danmdevries wrote:I'm amazed that some of them can walk.
It's been my experience that once they are no longer able to walk, they die.
They're constantly toeing the line between life and death, and the slightest insult can push em over the edge. Influenza takes out a lot of them. But once they quit walking, they get blood clots n stuff. Goes pretty quickly downhill.
Drafter
Morning all!! Damn little Chihuahuas had me up EARLY this AM! Started crawling around on me like a couple of ants at 3:50 AM!!!! Wife's the Nurse Educator and had to go in at 5 AM the last couple of mornings for the yearly "Skills Fair" that her group of clinics is required to complete. SO, they thought it was time to get fed a half scoop of food.
Hey Dan, I can understand about the terribly obese folks, BUT, how's your experience with someone who's MAYBE 10-20 lbs overweight, at least back then, maybe even less than that, who survives two rounds of bilateral PE, each episode around a year apart. I was busy for 10-12 hours/day, but working, some walking, mostly seated, flying at least a couple of times/month. No clotting factor/disorders, etc. I was taken off Coumadin after around 6 months after the first episode. I'm talking 6 days in the hospital and both lungs basically "blacked out" on the scan! Talk about pain and I was already on a constant dose of pain meds from the host of issues dealing with Deg. Disc disease, Spinal Stenosis, bad arthritis, etc. I can block out pain for the most part, but when you have a wife that's a RN, she wants you pain free and fixed. That, combined with her pushing me, as well as the "hack" that did the fusion, to have a cervical Titanium replacement in December of '11. That's how I can always remember when I started here, I was dosed out on some crazy muscle relaxer for around a month and was trolling the internet about cigars and found this place, LMAOOOOOOH!
A few doctors, Vanderbilt, and a local Neurosurgeon that graduated from Vanderbilt later, I finally got the truth! My wife is quite careful with wording and a proper Neurosurgeon explained that he would've NEVER performed the surgery on me, 'cause I only have a 15% chance of a GOOD outcome. I've had other doctors that told me I should sue the original Surgeon, but he left the State just a few years later. I have had a muscle spasm from that fusion since I "came to" after surgery! AT six months after surgery, Vanderbilt did a scan and the screws were still loose in the Titanium replacement, hence, why I always laugh and say I always knew I had a loose screw in my head, well maybe neck, but all the same. It took a year for that sucker to finally heal and "set"!!
Next round of blood clots, I caught myself, based on the prior pain. My regular Dr. finally explained about the pain. Sort of like letting a rubber band stay on your finger too long and cutting off the blood flow! Felt like I was being scraped with sandpaper in my upper lung lobes and diaphragm. I just thought I had pleurisy or something and the Cpap may have kept me alive that last night. I drove the almost 10 miles and went into a "walk-in" clinic and am now the reason that there's a red sign that says IF, you have severe chest pains, etc. GO TO the ER, LOL. The Dr there nailed it, wouldn't let me drive to the ER just a few miles away and I told him my wife was just across the bypass, a RN and could drive me. He said "She can't do CPR while she's driving!" Then put a nurse on each side of the door to that exam room, and called the Ambulance. Also, everyone is just surprised that I can tell if I'm out of the therapeutic range, especially if it gets around 4-5.0
Every doctor since says I'm a walking miracle! Especially the one that finally convinced me to stop my last official job, which I DID NOT want to quit, I was making STUPID money, but when he asked if I wanted to die in a hotel room, I said, "Why, HELL NO!" Been on damn SSDI since, that was almost ten years ago, maybe longer, GRRRRRR. All over two doses of blood clots that should've killed me and evidently almost always does kill the normal person, so I already know I'm a walking miracle, BUT, what's your experience with the longevity of having to live on a cornucopia of drugs?!?!?! I hate taking all this crap! But, I can't find any natural, healthy foods, lifestyle, etc. that will get me off this mess!!!!
