john row
05-30-2001, 12:00 AM
I want to take this opportunity to sincerely THANK ALL of you at the forum!!
I had had three or four bouts of pneumonia since the first of the year.
On March 12th I was feeling extra bad and Heidi called an ambulance for
me. My oxygen level was down to almost brain damage and death. And I
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! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> I worked really hard! I just didn't want to lay there, go crazy or die! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> 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. 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 look at it as a chance to rethink lifestyle and what's actually important in life.
I wanted to thank all of you at the forum! I can't begin to express how much the prayers, good wishes, cards, and emails have meant!
Take care
John
"I'll have the Harpy, please, and a straight, serrated Spyderco with a four-inch blade...""Anything else?""Yes. I'd like a Spyderco Civilian..."
I had had three or four bouts of pneumonia since the first of the year.
On March 12th I was feeling extra bad and Heidi called an ambulance for
me. My oxygen level was down to almost brain damage and death. And I
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! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> I worked really hard! I just didn't want to lay there, go crazy or die! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle> 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. 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 look at it as a chance to rethink lifestyle and what's actually important in life.
I wanted to thank all of you at the forum! I can't begin to express how much the prayers, good wishes, cards, and emails have meant!
Take care
John
"I'll have the Harpy, please, and a straight, serrated Spyderco with a four-inch blade...""Anything else?""Yes. I'd like a Spyderco Civilian..."