I Almost Died … Seriously

It’s true. I almost bought the farm late last fall. You may have noticed that I haven’t posted anything since the middle of November 2019 when I took ill. The fact that I am only writing about it now will tell you how long my recovery has been up to this point.

The photo that accompanies this piece is one taken of me in the ICU, not one of me reclining in a relaxed manner on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. The Love-goddess took this picture because she knew that I would want to chronicle this important event in my life.

The badness all began shortly after we had arrived home from a fun ten days in the Dominican Republic with friends. We were down there to attend a music festival hosted by John Prine, who as you know, passed away recently after contracting the coronavirus. I’ll write all about it another time.

Anyway, when I arrived home I started to feel a little funky. I should point out that this was not associated with something I caught in the DR. It was related to a urinary tract infection that I’d had back in August/September. At the end of the second day I was feeling so bad we decided an emergency room visit was in order. I think I remember arriving at our local hospital, but virtually nothing between then and approximately six weeks later when I regained consciousness. I’ve been telling family and friends that missing that horrendous initial phase was a bit of a blessing. Nobody really benefits from remembering being on a ventilator or standing on the edge of the dark abyss for an extended period of time.

When I came to, the Love-goddess explained what had happened and how I ended up with hard black fingertips and mummy-like toes. She also filled me on in on my time in the intensive care unit and all the steps that were taken to save my life. I also discovered that it was the nasty beast, Sepsis Shock, that nearly did me in.

I will not belabour my time in hospital, other than to report below on the care I received, and a few thoughts on the healthcare system in Ontario. I was discharged from hospital on Friday, March 20 after a stay of almost exactly 4 months. Not fun. This is not to say that I am fully recovered. My rehabilitation will probably take at least a year. Like most people who spend a lot of time in bed, my muscles have generally atrophied, and as I begin to write this piece , it is a challenge to get in and out of bed and to walk; even though I am walking with the use of a walker.

The good news, for me anyway, is that since my discharge from hospital I am receiving tremendous support in the home from the good folks at our local LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) office. Currently, the coronavirus is running rampant throughout the country, so there is some risk associated with having these healthcare workers come in, but, I’m sure I would’ve been at much greater risk staying in the hospital.

My Care

Generally, I’d have to say that the care I received while in hospital was excellent. I have no recollection of my time in the ICU, but I have been told that the good folks who work there applied all of their training and skill to saving my life. Even though they didn’t necessarily think I was going to make it. Yikes!

When I was moved out of the ICU into a more general care ward, all of the nursing staff and other healthcare professionals responsible for my care worked very, very hard on moving my recovery forward. Having said that, it was very clear to both the Love-goddess and me that these folks were working their tails off, and that inadequate funding was probably putting a strain on everyone’s ability to work at peak efficiency. Politicians in the province of Ontario, are you paying attention?

The second hospital I was moved to was predominantly a rehab facility, so things seemed a lot less harried and hurried. In both hospitals the nursing staff, with whom I had the most interactions, were professional, caring, hard-working, and obviously more concerned with the well-being of their patients than their own. To all of them I say, “thank you guys, you are awesome”.

Just in case you are not aware, a nurse’s usual workday typically involves a 12-hour shift – all of it intense, and psychologically, emotionally, and physically draining. Despite that, in my experience, they maintained a very caring and compassionate attitude.

As mentioned, I have been discharged from hospital, but continue to receive health care. I am enrolled in the LHIN’s Rapid Recovery Program. This provides me with nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and a personal support worker as required. Amazing!

As I have enjoyed pointing out to my American friends, the extended hospital stay, specialized treatment I received, and now the continuing home care all came at absolutely no cost to us. What an amazing country we live in. I have been saying to family and friends that when I submit my income tax payment later this month I really should include a note that says “thank you for allowing me to pay taxes. It is a great honour and privilege to do so”.

Family and Friends

Wow! Wow! Wow! When I regained consciousness, I discovered that a group of folks had been following my illness and recovery through an email chain. I was so moved by their concern and support that I felt compelled to write to them and thank them personally. This is that note. I have “initialized” some names to protect individual’s privacy. It says everthing I would like you to know about the amazing support they provided to us both.

I think it is only fitting that I write what may be the last update for a while to this email group. I know that you have all been following my recovery since I was put into an induced coma and on a ventilator in the ICU ward at . . . Hospital last November. I also know that the list started out as a small group of folks and grew, to what appears to be, around 100 people.

 

I am overwhelmed by your generosity of spirit. The support, concern, compassion and love you extended to me brings me to tears every time I think about it. And yes, tears are rolling down my cheeks as I write this message. I don’t think I could have made it through this long, dark time without all of you covering my back.

 

Some special thanks are due. First of all, to C. As you all should know by now, she was right there by my side through the darkest of times and remains there even now that things are improving exponentially for me. She is truly an amazing woman, and my rock. How did I get so lucky?

 

I would also like to extend my thanks to all of you for providing support to C. as she was dealing with my situation. Thank you for the meals you brought to her. Thank you for simply remembering to ask her how she was doing. Thank you for inviting her to your homes to give her a reprieve from all the challenges she was facing. You understood that she needed as much support as I did.

 

Secondly, thank you to my beloved friend, more brother than friend really, Nick C. who was right there by my side in the hospital virtually every day that I was in intensive care, and for helping C. to navigate the Ontario health care system. Thanks to L. for being there with Nick. I cannot imagine how I would’ve gotten through all of this without the two of you by my side.

 

Thank you to my cousin and dear friend Robert F. I woke up one afternoon or evening from a nap to discover Robert was still there during one of his many visits, asleep in the chair beside my bed. When I asked him why he was still there, he replied, “I didn’t want you to wake up and find yourself alone.“

 

Thank you to Walter M. for coming to the hospital to read to me every Sunday. Walter is still working, and gave up some of his precious weekend time to brighten up my day. Thank you to Robert M. for setting up an online visitation schedule, and for helping C. transport me between the hospital, home, and other places I had to get to.

 

Thank you to all of you who came to visit me in the hospital. The seemingly endless stream of wonderful people distracted me from what otherwise could have been tedious and boring existence.

 

Thank you to all of you who prayed for me. The fact that you turned to your faith, this powerful force in your life, in an effort to help me, provided me with great comfort. This may seem odd to those of you who know that I identify as an atheist. In truth, I am more an agnostic than an atheist. If you would like to know why I choose to call myself as a non-believer, I would be happy to explain that to you one day. That said, if your faith is important to you, it is important to me. God bless you all for caring.

 

The road before me to full recovery remains long. I have to regain my strength and relearn how to do many things I once took for granted. And, I will need to get past a couple of surgeries. I am ready for that challenge, and I know it will be easier because I will have all of you there with me.”

I am one extremely lucky guy to have so many wonderful people caring about me. This is not something I would ever take for granted, and for which I am deeply appreciative.

Interrupted Travel Plans

My little near-death experience had one ramification that annoyed me greatly. Our travel plans for the winter of 2020 were all shot to hell. We were planning on doing a trip around the Pacific rim. This was to include stops in San Francisco, Hawaii, Japan, Shanghai, Vietnam, Singapore, Bali, Australia, and New Zealand.

I had already begun to purchase plane tickets and book hotels for the trip before we took off to the DR. I had booked flights to San Francisco, Hawaii, and Osaka in Japan. While I was in La-La-Land, the Love-goddess and my cousin Robert contacted the various airlines involved to request refunds. Because of the medical nature of my need to cancel, JAL and Delta airlines we’re happy to return our money. The third airline I had booked with refused to reimburse us. And, which airline had no concern about my inability to travel? Why, good old Air Canada of course. They had no interest in my dire medical condition, nor were they interested in refunding us for our flight. Not their finest hour.

However, we did end up getting back an amount of money equivalent to the Air Canada flights we had paid for between Toronto and San Francisco, and for the prepaid hotel we had booked in San Fran. Both the Love-goddess and I had clauses in our health benefit plants that cover emergency travel interruption situations. It was the good folks at RTIP and RTO who covered our costs for the first leg of our trip. Good on you guys! Keep this in mind if you ever need to cancel a trip for medical reasons.

Lessons Learned

There are certainly lessons to be learned when you have a near-death experience. I guess. 🙂

Clearly, one should always remember afterwards that life can very quickly jump up and bite you on the backside. No one is immune. Don’t assume that it will never happen to you. Live your life accordingly.

Secondly, it is important to stay positive when you are dealt an awful hand unexpectedly. It definitely will assist you to get through the hard bits, and will assuredly help you with your recovery.

Finally, your friends and family will rush to your side when you most need them. Let them in; you are not alone.

Epilogue

It has now been approximately five weeks since I started writing this piece, so an update on my progress is probably in order. I am happy to report that I have made significant improvement while involved in the Rapid Recovery Program. I am now able to walk much greater distances with the use of a walker, and I am able to walk with some ease without a walker. My physiotherapist even has me working on climbing stairs. When I arrived home from the hospital I spent most of my day reclining on our bed. Now I get up first thing in the morning and don’t hit my bed until it is time to tuck in late in the evening. These may sound like simple things to you, but for me they are giant steps forward.

I am on the path to recovery. I look forward to getting back to churning out articles that may or may not be of interest to you. 🙂

Enjoy your good health! You never know …