Post by mikesmdachallenge on Jan 11, 2023 21:44:47 GMT -5
I wanted to share a true story about me and the event that led to me getting a tracheostomy. On Oct. 30, 2018, the day of my 37th birthday, I woke up in the morning unaware that my life would change around midnight. I had a pretty routine day. My aide came in the morning like normal and everything seemed fine. Later in the night, I met up with all my friends at a local restaurant for dinner and celebrate my birthday. My nurse Sharon, who usually came that night, was going to take the night off but decided not to and came with my mom and I to the restaurant. So we had dinner and had a great time with my friends and family. My mom, Sharon, and I went back to my house, and I went on my computer for a few hours to play some games and check my social media. Around 11pm Sharon was finishing up her shift and was getting ready to help my mom put me to bed. At the time, I was using non-invasive ventilation. I have a Trilogy vent and I wore a mask over my nose but I usually switched to a different mask at night because I couldn’t sleep with the day mask. So my mom switched to the night mask like usual, but sometimes it took a couple of tries to get it on like it did on this night. My mom gets it on asks if I’m okay. I say yes and next thing I know, three days had gone by and I’m lying in a hospital ICU bed with no memory of what happened or how I got there. I probably don’t have to tell you I was confused and a little scared.
What happened? So after my mom got the mask on, Sharon asked me if I was ready for bed. I didn’t answer her. She comes over and I’m sitting there with my eyes open but unresponsive. Sharon checks my pulse and it’s not there. Immediately Sharon went to get my oxygen tank in my room and discovered that the valve was broken and the oxygen would not work. So Sharon came back to the living room and, with my mom’s help, she got me to the floor to administer CPR while my mom called 911. The EMTs, Fire Department, and the police arrived at my house in 3 minutes. The EMTs took over CPR and got me into the ambulance. They sat in my driveway for a good 15 minutes, trying to stabilize me. My heart stopped several times, and I had to be given adrenaline about 4 times and then as they drove to the hospital, they lost me two more times and gave me two more shots. When I arrived at the hospital, my heart had been starting and stopping for about 45 minutes altogether. The EMTs got me into the ER where the doctor took over resuscitation attempts. He lost me a couple more times but continued to try to save my life. He failed, and I flatlined… At that point, he decided there was nothing else he could do and at around midnight; I was pronounced deceased. The doctor went to give my mother the bad news that her son had passed with tears in his eyes. He then returned to the room where I was to get a death certificate or something. I’m not exactly sure why he came back. But when he came back into the room, the nurse tells him I somehow woke up and when he looked at me I was looking back at him. Needless to say, the guy probably shit himself. My mom says he came out and said I don’t know how to tell you this but he’s back. He was white as a sheet because I was physically dead and then I wasn’t. Just to be safe, they induced a coma to let my body rest. For the next few days, the doctor wasn’t sure if I was going to have brain damage or not because of how my heart was on and off. My mom and the nurses didn’t think I had brain damage because they were asking me questions and asking me if I knew who this was or that was and I answered without hesitation. That’s when I had a decision to make. I could either stay on the mask and risk it happening again, which I may not survive the second time, or I could get a tracheostomy and increase my chances. Immediately, I decided after going through that and surviving that it wasn’t going to the be for nothing; I chose life and I agreed to get the Trach. It was hard for like the first month but after some adjustments to the vent it became something I started not to notice and I began speaking about six weeks later.
What the cause was? The hospital said I suffered a spontaneous respiratory failure, most likely because of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. They don’t think it was a mucous plug(gross) because they saw nothing on the Xray. It definitely was NOT heart related. Right before this incident, I saw my cardiologist, and she said that my heart is probably the strongest out of anyone with Duchenne MD. She confirmed it had nothing to do with my heart. In fact, my Cardiac muscle tissue didn’t decrease at all despite the incident. So here I am today! I’m like a phoenix rising from the ashes lol.
What happened? So after my mom got the mask on, Sharon asked me if I was ready for bed. I didn’t answer her. She comes over and I’m sitting there with my eyes open but unresponsive. Sharon checks my pulse and it’s not there. Immediately Sharon went to get my oxygen tank in my room and discovered that the valve was broken and the oxygen would not work. So Sharon came back to the living room and, with my mom’s help, she got me to the floor to administer CPR while my mom called 911. The EMTs, Fire Department, and the police arrived at my house in 3 minutes. The EMTs took over CPR and got me into the ambulance. They sat in my driveway for a good 15 minutes, trying to stabilize me. My heart stopped several times, and I had to be given adrenaline about 4 times and then as they drove to the hospital, they lost me two more times and gave me two more shots. When I arrived at the hospital, my heart had been starting and stopping for about 45 minutes altogether. The EMTs got me into the ER where the doctor took over resuscitation attempts. He lost me a couple more times but continued to try to save my life. He failed, and I flatlined… At that point, he decided there was nothing else he could do and at around midnight; I was pronounced deceased. The doctor went to give my mother the bad news that her son had passed with tears in his eyes. He then returned to the room where I was to get a death certificate or something. I’m not exactly sure why he came back. But when he came back into the room, the nurse tells him I somehow woke up and when he looked at me I was looking back at him. Needless to say, the guy probably shit himself. My mom says he came out and said I don’t know how to tell you this but he’s back. He was white as a sheet because I was physically dead and then I wasn’t. Just to be safe, they induced a coma to let my body rest. For the next few days, the doctor wasn’t sure if I was going to have brain damage or not because of how my heart was on and off. My mom and the nurses didn’t think I had brain damage because they were asking me questions and asking me if I knew who this was or that was and I answered without hesitation. That’s when I had a decision to make. I could either stay on the mask and risk it happening again, which I may not survive the second time, or I could get a tracheostomy and increase my chances. Immediately, I decided after going through that and surviving that it wasn’t going to the be for nothing; I chose life and I agreed to get the Trach. It was hard for like the first month but after some adjustments to the vent it became something I started not to notice and I began speaking about six weeks later.
What the cause was? The hospital said I suffered a spontaneous respiratory failure, most likely because of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. They don’t think it was a mucous plug(gross) because they saw nothing on the Xray. It definitely was NOT heart related. Right before this incident, I saw my cardiologist, and she said that my heart is probably the strongest out of anyone with Duchenne MD. She confirmed it had nothing to do with my heart. In fact, my Cardiac muscle tissue didn’t decrease at all despite the incident. So here I am today! I’m like a phoenix rising from the ashes lol.
I'm not sure if the recall is over I think it is.