- Joined
- May 31, 2000
- Messages
- 651
I want to take this opportunity to sincerely THANK ALL of you at BF and to let you know what took place!! I had had three or four bouts of pneumonia since the first of the year.
On March 12th I was feeling extra bad and my wife, Heidi called an ambulance for
me. That was the last thing I remember until I woke up 4 & 1/2 weeks later!!
My oxygen level was down to almost brain damage and death. And I
flat lined / crashed on the way to the hospital. A respiratory specialist decided it
best to induce a coma so that my muscles and brain didn't use any oxygen
my body couldn't spare to survive. I kept blowing out IV's and generally
was in big trouble. They finally got me stabilized but I was in the coma
for 4 1/2 weeks in ICU. Pretty much all my body shut down including my
digestive system so they weren't able to give any nutrition. When I came to, I couldn't talk because of a tracheotomy to insert a respirator. All my
muscles atrophied and I looked like a concentration camp survivor! I lost 70 pounds and was for all intents a quadriplegic. They figured it would take six months in a rehab hospital to recover. I was released after three & 1/2
weeks! I worked really hard! I just didn't want to lay there, go crazy or die! I can't begin to describe the total feeling of hopelessness of not having enough strength to do anything but bend my wrists and not being able to communicate.
I still have a long time doing out-patient rehab. Relearning how to use muscles. Probably 6 months to a year. I'm still pretty weak, but I can walk, sit up, etc with major effort and some pain. One really scary thing is a loss of short term
memory. I used to be able to kick butt on most subjects on Jeopardy, give complete "family tree" type info on Rock bands. Military History, automobile stats, spout statistics on Spyderco knives and a lot of other brands. I fumble to find the "right" word or phrase. And that's REALLY frustrating!!!
I have kept this in perspective though. I look at it as a chance to rethink lifestyle and what's actually important in life.
I wanted to thank all of you at BF! I can't begin to express how much the prayers, good wishes, cards, and emails have meant!
Take care
John
------------------
A day without Spydies is like a day without ... WELL, Spydies!!!
On March 12th I was feeling extra bad and my wife, Heidi called an ambulance for
me. That was the last thing I remember until I woke up 4 & 1/2 weeks later!!
My oxygen level was down to almost brain damage and death. And I
flat lined / crashed on the way to the hospital. A respiratory specialist decided it
best to induce a coma so that my muscles and brain didn't use any oxygen
my body couldn't spare to survive. I kept blowing out IV's and generally
was in big trouble. They finally got me stabilized but I was in the coma
for 4 1/2 weeks in ICU. Pretty much all my body shut down including my
digestive system so they weren't able to give any nutrition. When I came to, I couldn't talk because of a tracheotomy to insert a respirator. All my
muscles atrophied and I looked like a concentration camp survivor! I lost 70 pounds and was for all intents a quadriplegic. They figured it would take six months in a rehab hospital to recover. I was released after three & 1/2
weeks! I worked really hard! I just didn't want to lay there, go crazy or die! I can't begin to describe the total feeling of hopelessness of not having enough strength to do anything but bend my wrists and not being able to communicate.
I still have a long time doing out-patient rehab. Relearning how to use muscles. Probably 6 months to a year. I'm still pretty weak, but I can walk, sit up, etc with major effort and some pain. One really scary thing is a loss of short term
memory. I used to be able to kick butt on most subjects on Jeopardy, give complete "family tree" type info on Rock bands. Military History, automobile stats, spout statistics on Spyderco knives and a lot of other brands. I fumble to find the "right" word or phrase. And that's REALLY frustrating!!!
I have kept this in perspective though. I look at it as a chance to rethink lifestyle and what's actually important in life.
I wanted to thank all of you at BF! I can't begin to express how much the prayers, good wishes, cards, and emails have meant!
Take care
John
------------------
A day without Spydies is like a day without ... WELL, Spydies!!!
