07/17/2024
Part 2. Two years ago, Sunday July 17, 2022 I almost died. The medical record description: shock with major organ failure. (see yesterday's post)
This year I researched how this happened. Anyone with access to my lab results could have sounded the alarm on Saturday June 16 and stopped heparin. IF someone had, there would not have been a HIT crisis. No shock with major organ damage. Every major medical journal, every major study nationally and abroad, and the National Institute of Health all made this recommendations. If the platelet levels are half of the patient's admitting baseline - Stop Heparin!
The nurses brought my family to my room with the strong possibility I would die. On the way down my husband prayed and was confident I would walk out of the hospital. My church family and others were asked to pray. But God.
Against all odds, my numbers quit falling. Then the entire bottoms of my feet and my fingertips turned ink blue. They were dieing and amputations were discussed. But God. The medical staff cannot explain how it happened, but everything turned from dead ink blue to living pink again. NO amputations.
I was on a ventilator then a trach a total of 4 weeks. Statistically I was never going to be able to breathe on my own. But God. I was gradually weaned off the trach successfully.
For 52 days I laid in a bed. For every day in a hospital bed, it takes a week to regain your strength and function. It took much longer than a year. I still work at it. But God. Six weeks after I was home, the home health nurse was shocked to see me standing and making a simple lunch. The nurse said over and over, I was sure you would be in bed.
My brain function was also affected. Open heart surgery includes the bypass machine and 'pump head'. Your brain just doesn't want to move fast enough. Them there is anesthesia for more than five hours. After HIT, medications to keep me calm, hit the brain again. And three more times of anesthesia - whew. I simply could not find my pre-hospital brain. But God. Just listening to the Holy Spirit encourage me. Reading and challenging my brain to work. It took almost two years to find 'my' brain. But God is good.
My kidneys quit and I had dialysis three times a week. If you know anyone on dialysis, do everything you can to make their lives more comfortable. There is no way to explain how difficult dialysis is - physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. But God. Ten days after I arrived home, no more dialysis. My kidneys were back.
By the grace of God and the prayers of His children, I am alive. But HIT left its mark. I have scar tissue in my throat that 'catches' food and pills at times. I wont describe how I fix that. My right lung has not cleared completely in two years. I have asthma. My kidneys are working but I now am in stage three kidney disease. I have neuropathy in both feet and especially my toes. Sometimes lightning bolts go thru my feet. I cannot walk barefoot or go without socks as it feels like I'm walking on gravel when it's smooth linoleum. I also have only 30% blood flow in both feet. They get cold even in the summer but I can't feel it. I had to replace all my shoes for a half size bigger to give the toes lots of room.
My heart. What should have been an amazing fix and a new lease on life became a nightmare. For two weeks I received continuous dialysis to clean out the sludge. But my heart, designed for thin blood, had to work very, very hard to pump my very thick blood. All of my heart issues were amplified. But God. My ejection fraction is still normal. We finally found meds that help when angina hits. I have a new goal - no stress. Good or bad stress activates adrenaline and makes the heart beat faster and harder and brings on angina. But God. In all these things He is my champion. God has helped me slow down, learn my limits, and understand my body so much better.
But God. I am still alive at His chosing. He still has much for me to do. You may have a long list of medical problems. Don't give up. There are so many things we can do today around our infirmities. We can still help others. God keeps opening doors. Hold on to Jesus. And if you don't know Him as your personal Savior, let Him in your heart today. I could not have survived without Him.
