As some of you know I haven't been around much. I've been on one hell of a ride this past month. Most of below I don't remember, I was in a drug induced coma for most of the time. Here's what happened.
July 29th - Day 1: With pain in my chest/back, and a hard time breathing, I check into the ER on a Wednesday afternoon. My stats are taken, and I wait to see a doctor. A short time goes by and out of no where, I start vomiting and shaking uncontrollably. My lungs are shutting down. I stop breathing. Doctors intubate me, and I'm rushed to a medi-vac helicopter to be taken to the nearest trauma center 100 miles away.
Day 2-5: Doctors don't know what's wrong with my lungs yet. It's not H1N1. I'm now "under" on the drugs they have me on. A single machine is doing all my breathing for me - it's the only thing keeping me alive. X-rays show my lungs filling with fluid. The plan is to keep me in a drug induced coma while they figure out how to fix me. This will hopefully save the little oxygen my lungs are getting for my heart and brain. Both my mother and sister have set up camp beside my hospital bed.
Day 6: Surgery begins planning for the removal of the worst of my two lungs - my left lung. Fluid is pulled from my lungs and tested. It tests negative for cancer. I'm still unconscious. I have tubes everywhere. Central lines in my neck and chest. Two breathing tubes down my throat. Feeding tube down my nose for food. Catheter, EKG leads, pulse-oyx. My eyes are swollen almost shut. I'm a mess.
Day 7: Fluid is now building up outside my lungs. A tube is inserted between my ribs into my chest cavity and the fluid is drained. Lots of tests, x-rays, CAT scans, blood tests. Nothing definitive - The doctors are calling what I have acute pneumonia for lack of a better diagnosis.
Day 8-9: A last minute CAT scan shows marked improvement to my left lung - surgery to remove it is canceled. A nurse or doctor has now been with me 24 hours a day, every second to watch for trouble and make sure I don't pull my breathing tube out.
Day 11-12 - The breathing tube that I've been on for almost two weeks is now causing a secondary infection in my lungs. It's also doing a lot of damage to my vocal cords and throat. Breathing tubes are not designed to be used for so long. Doctors talk about putting a hole in my throat to do a tracheostomy.
Day 15-17: My lungs begin to clear. My feeding tube is removed - all my nutrition is coming from an IV bag along with lots of different drugs. Another central line in installed. A tube enters a vein near my bicep, travels inside a large vein, toward my heart and ends right before it. A camera in inserted into my lungs - everything is black. A biopsy is taken. I'm moved to a special bed called a "roto-rest". I'm locked into the bed, and it rocks side to side almost 90 degrees to help loosen all the junk in my lungs. It works very well.
Day 16: Doctors let me rise above the drugs to test my lungs. The good news is that I breath 4 times on my own before stopping and having to be put back on the vent. Bad news is my eyes are fixed and I'm unresponsive. This doesn't go over well with the family. Doctors assure them it's only because of the drugs I'm on. Oddly, a sign is placed on my bed to let other doctors know that my eyes are fixed due to the drugs and not to do anything rash.
Day 20-23: Today I begin coughing up all the crap in my lungs. In three short days I completely clear my lungs of almost all junk. It's the lucky break everyone has been waiting for.
Day 27: With my lungs finally clearing, I'm ready to be woken up and my breathing tube removed. It's been almost a month since I've been awake and breathing on my own. They wake me up from the drugs, and instruct me to take a deep breath. Then they rip the two foot long tube out of my lungs. This is by far the worst feeling I've ever experienced - I can't put into words what it felt like. The tube is out, and I''m not breathing. I'm scared and hold my breath. All 10 doctors in the room are now yelling at me to cough. I finally do and begin gasping for air. I'm awake, and breathing on my own for the first time in a month. I have no idea where I am or what has happened to me. My finger nails catch my eye. They haven't been cut in over a month. It's the first clue I get that tells me what has happened.
Over the next few days, the drugs clear from my brain and I am able to think clearly. Talking to the doctors and family, I finally start to understand exactly how far down the rabbit hole I've been.
Day 28-34: Now that I'm out of the woods I face my next problem. Muscle atrophy. I haven't used my muscles in a month. I have to re-learn how to sit up, stand, and walk. Lucky for me I have some amazing physical therapists that kick my ass into high gear. Soon I'm standing, walking, and doing everything on my own.
Well, that's what I've been up to. I didn't include a lot of the details. Some where along the way I also had a blood infection and an eye infection - and a dozen other problems. Being sick is not normal for me. I'm a 6'2" hard working, hard playing, healthy guy. I also didn't include a lot of my thoughts as they are quite personal to say the least - just to say that this has been very difficult and has changed me. I still have a lot of muscle to rebuild. Hopefully I can get back to work in a few weeks.
July 29th - Day 1: With pain in my chest/back, and a hard time breathing, I check into the ER on a Wednesday afternoon. My stats are taken, and I wait to see a doctor. A short time goes by and out of no where, I start vomiting and shaking uncontrollably. My lungs are shutting down. I stop breathing. Doctors intubate me, and I'm rushed to a medi-vac helicopter to be taken to the nearest trauma center 100 miles away.
Day 2-5: Doctors don't know what's wrong with my lungs yet. It's not H1N1. I'm now "under" on the drugs they have me on. A single machine is doing all my breathing for me - it's the only thing keeping me alive. X-rays show my lungs filling with fluid. The plan is to keep me in a drug induced coma while they figure out how to fix me. This will hopefully save the little oxygen my lungs are getting for my heart and brain. Both my mother and sister have set up camp beside my hospital bed.
Day 6: Surgery begins planning for the removal of the worst of my two lungs - my left lung. Fluid is pulled from my lungs and tested. It tests negative for cancer. I'm still unconscious. I have tubes everywhere. Central lines in my neck and chest. Two breathing tubes down my throat. Feeding tube down my nose for food. Catheter, EKG leads, pulse-oyx. My eyes are swollen almost shut. I'm a mess.
Day 7: Fluid is now building up outside my lungs. A tube is inserted between my ribs into my chest cavity and the fluid is drained. Lots of tests, x-rays, CAT scans, blood tests. Nothing definitive - The doctors are calling what I have acute pneumonia for lack of a better diagnosis.
Day 8-9: A last minute CAT scan shows marked improvement to my left lung - surgery to remove it is canceled. A nurse or doctor has now been with me 24 hours a day, every second to watch for trouble and make sure I don't pull my breathing tube out.
Day 11-12 - The breathing tube that I've been on for almost two weeks is now causing a secondary infection in my lungs. It's also doing a lot of damage to my vocal cords and throat. Breathing tubes are not designed to be used for so long. Doctors talk about putting a hole in my throat to do a tracheostomy.
Day 15-17: My lungs begin to clear. My feeding tube is removed - all my nutrition is coming from an IV bag along with lots of different drugs. Another central line in installed. A tube enters a vein near my bicep, travels inside a large vein, toward my heart and ends right before it. A camera in inserted into my lungs - everything is black. A biopsy is taken. I'm moved to a special bed called a "roto-rest". I'm locked into the bed, and it rocks side to side almost 90 degrees to help loosen all the junk in my lungs. It works very well.
Day 16: Doctors let me rise above the drugs to test my lungs. The good news is that I breath 4 times on my own before stopping and having to be put back on the vent. Bad news is my eyes are fixed and I'm unresponsive. This doesn't go over well with the family. Doctors assure them it's only because of the drugs I'm on. Oddly, a sign is placed on my bed to let other doctors know that my eyes are fixed due to the drugs and not to do anything rash.
Day 20-23: Today I begin coughing up all the crap in my lungs. In three short days I completely clear my lungs of almost all junk. It's the lucky break everyone has been waiting for.
Day 27: With my lungs finally clearing, I'm ready to be woken up and my breathing tube removed. It's been almost a month since I've been awake and breathing on my own. They wake me up from the drugs, and instruct me to take a deep breath. Then they rip the two foot long tube out of my lungs. This is by far the worst feeling I've ever experienced - I can't put into words what it felt like. The tube is out, and I''m not breathing. I'm scared and hold my breath. All 10 doctors in the room are now yelling at me to cough. I finally do and begin gasping for air. I'm awake, and breathing on my own for the first time in a month. I have no idea where I am or what has happened to me. My finger nails catch my eye. They haven't been cut in over a month. It's the first clue I get that tells me what has happened.
Over the next few days, the drugs clear from my brain and I am able to think clearly. Talking to the doctors and family, I finally start to understand exactly how far down the rabbit hole I've been.
Day 28-34: Now that I'm out of the woods I face my next problem. Muscle atrophy. I haven't used my muscles in a month. I have to re-learn how to sit up, stand, and walk. Lucky for me I have some amazing physical therapists that kick my ass into high gear. Soon I'm standing, walking, and doing everything on my own.
Well, that's what I've been up to. I didn't include a lot of the details. Some where along the way I also had a blood infection and an eye infection - and a dozen other problems. Being sick is not normal for me. I'm a 6'2" hard working, hard playing, healthy guy. I also didn't include a lot of my thoughts as they are quite personal to say the least - just to say that this has been very difficult and has changed me. I still have a lot of muscle to rebuild. Hopefully I can get back to work in a few weeks.
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