I pray for the gratitude that the good Lord saved me not once but 4 times on the surgery table; I flatlined and the doctors came out to tell my 30 yr old son & my 21 yr old son with my precious wife, their momma that I was going to die there’s nothing else they can do. Somehow a doctor at another hospital Integris and I was at Saints 1st, he heard about me & came to the hospital to meet my wife and said he could give her 5% chance that I would live if she allowed them to put me on a ECMO machine, which pulls your blood out and cleans it and returns it to your body. Well I survived but I was in very bad shape and still could die. I dropped from 240 to 123lbs and this happened on a Sunday morning while making coffee I collapsed in a cold sweat my shirt was soaked in just a second or two & I called my wife from my cell she was still sleeping and thank God she woke and answered cause I couldn’t move my body especially my stomach was swelling and I was in & out of consciousness. Well, I’m still recovering and there’s more to my story. I’m a Navy Veteran and permanently disabled. Praise God for opening my eyes today. Thank you for reading & sharing. I went on to be in many different hospitals due to insurance and hospitals politics I was in ICU for 11 months and 2 years of no eating or drinking except ice chips once in a while I was constantly vomiting. They were only pumping nutrients that keep you alive. I didn’t have the strength to lift myself out of the bed. I also had drain bags a feeding tube they used to put meds in my gut.. constantly changing the strong long IV in the blood. I have scars all around my neck from that IV plus new skin over the big hole in my stomach my belly button is 3” to the right. I survived all of that and I even had ‘drop foot’ that’s because no one from doctors on down thought of putting the boots on me feet so my calves locked up pointed down like laying in the bed. Well I started using the wheelchair after some hard physical work while vomiting all the time I also had 30+ surgeries and procedures during my 3 yrs in various hospitals lots of cat scans and x-rays and MRI’s. They changed the two drain bags on each side of me every 2 weeks for 3 yrs.
I had bad moments I mean bad moments throwing up became a habit and diarrhea. Lots of bed baths cause I wasn’t strong enough to stand on my own. I had some good nurses and some mean/rude nurses and that goes for doctors too. One would say give him this for his pain or anxiety attacks and another one would change it all to what He thought was right. I got out of the hospital still using a wheelchair and walker. My family helped especially my wife, my precious beautiful wife. Endured lifting me when I fell and the last time I fell I broke my collarbone and 30 stitches in my head and they kept me in Accell s rehab hospital. I finally got out when my wife got real sick and she was in another hospital and came home before me with oxygen I almost gave up but Faith in God & my family kept me going & now I have to be extremely cautious on what I eat and where I go because I’m still recovering they said for every day in the hospital equals 3 days of recovery at home. I am walking, I am driving and I try to walk at our local park to build up my strength and stamina because I have two grandkids now and lost my dad in Florida and I couldn’t go, but my wife and brother sons went also my only brother whose 3 years younger from Virginia went to help our mom and my boys papaw and nanny with their Uncle and their mom. Gif bless them for staying by my side…… and the story will continue by the grace of God…….thank you for any prayers and/or thoughts. God bless y’all…..