Personal Recall - 8 years later: October/November 2000

October 1, 2000. A day that for me lives forever etched in my brain.

And the intervening 5 weeks after that also remain etched...what I can recall through the drugged stupor I was in for the first week of that anyway, and about everything since.

I'll attempt to go through the first two days each as I either remember it or was told that it all happened, then continue with a recap of what I do recall of this time period.

October 1, 2000

I went to church as I normally do on a Sunday. And yes, I remember it being Sunday. Anyway, I recall several people asking me if I was okay; my shoulder had been hurting and I told them so. But then...it got worse. I began turning blue. I wasn't getting oxygen and I didn't even know it.

I was run to the pastor's office while they called my mom down from the 9am service. After minutes of discussion, I was rushed to Children's Hospital in Cincinnati (I was 15 at this time). As soon as my mom got me to the ER, I remember staring up at lights, and that was it. Nothing after that registers from that day in my own personal memory. I was later told I coded, or went into cardiac arrest, for about 10 minutes that Sunday morning. They did emergency surgery and discovered I had ruptured both bowel and bladder, which had allowed large amounts of toxins to be released into my blood. That had choked off the oxygen supply, which explained why I had turned blue.

October 2

I was still in a fog. I don't remember much of anything, except that church staff came to see me in the hospital. I was extremely weak at this point. Meanwhile, back in Florence, massive amounts of information were being sent out about my condition. At Ockerman Middle School, my sister and brother spread the word. At the Boone County Bus Garage, when word was received I was in the hospital, somehow, someway, they found out just how critical I was, and this was passed on to Boone County High School, which I attended. The word went around the school like a wildfire.

October 3-13

I continued to drift in and out of consciousness until October 7. At that point I began to slowly come back to life. Additional visitors came to see me, including a few of Boone County High's staff. Steve Horstmeyer, who was then at LOCAL12(then branded as 12News, WKRC-TV) and is now at WXIX-TV 19(and by the way, this is one of only TWO media references you'll get in this blog, I promise), also came for a visit. I was released October 13. I also received a LOT of cards and well-wishes.

October 14-29

I was home schooled during this period. Continued to receive visitors to my home here in Florence, and also received I don't know how many cards and things from fellow students both at BCHS and OMS. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of these even contained about 50 dollars)By 10/21, I was beginning to target October 31 as my comeback date.

October 30-November 6

On October 30, I made an appearance on 12News First at Four (second and final media reference) following a doctor's appointment, to tour their studio. This came about because of a personal interest in meteorology that, as WIXY will tell you, continues to this very moment. This was to test my physical endurance. The question wasn't if I was a tough guy, I knew I was that. The question was: Could I handle being out of the house for 8 hours? The answer: Yes, I could and I was ready for a return to routine. I returned to BCHS the next day, Halloween, and was greeted with an unbelievable welcome back. My fellow students didn't let me forget how much they were glad to see me and that I had returned in one piece. This continued for almost a full week before I had a...

November 7-16

...setback. I had to be hospitalized again. This time, it was for a bowel obstruction which had to be flushed out, I would return on the 16th, and that was that.

Special Note: If I had never taken the time to thank you for the well wishes...I am now. I know - I am HORRIBLE at this stuff. But, I do mean this from the bottom of my heart. Especially those of you who I went to school with in that time period of my life.

Blogging about my disability, part two in what will be a 3 part series.

I decided to parlay the blog from last weekend into a three part series. I told you last week about the perspective I see things through, being in a wheelchair for sixteen years and not having use of my legs for all 23 years of my life.

Today, I have decided to let you have a peek at some of the things I have had to endure over these 23 years, separated into 3 segments: Birth to 10 years, 10 years to 14 years, and 14 years to today. This isn't a complete medical history, but it DOES give you a look at some things I have had to deal with in 23 years.

Birth to 10 years:

1985 - Shunt placed in my head, correction to spina bifida, tendon releases for club foot. Also a broken foot.
1986-88 - Bladder infections, but that was really about it.
1990 - Attempt to use a walker. Didn't go over too well.
1992 - First use of a wheelchair.

10 years to 2000

1995 - Cyst removed from spine. Also began having more and worse latex reactions.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: To this day I cannot come in contact with latex balloons, toys, or anything containing latex. Otherwise, you'll be watching 3rd degree burn-type blisters sprouting on my arms and other areas)
1996 - Bladder surgery.
1998 - Surgery to correct scoliosis.
Early 1999 on to mid 2001 - Pressure ulcer issues. This is due to weight shift following the 1998 Scoliosis Correction Surgery.
2000 - Septic Shock - First major illness. Spent 13 days in hospital, another 2 weeks at home for this alone. Then in November, bowel obstruction landed me in hospital for another week, and in December, a broken leg put me in a cast for 3 weeks. I've suffered an additional obstruction since then but cannot recall the date. (AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I will describe what I remember of the October/early November timeframe in the next blog)

2001 to today

2001 - Finally had correction of pressure ulcer from 1999.
2004 - Car crash. Destroyed wheelchair, but otherwise I was fine (incredibly, and by God's hand alone)
2005 - Mitroffanoff began to close off. Late December surgery to construct first ilial chimney.
2006 - Another bout of septic shock that June, caused by inadvertent clog in ilial chimney. I had severe pain in my stomach for two days and a very high fever. I was later told that if I had waited another 36 hours, I would have been killed. Two weeks in hospital leads to recovery by late June.
2007 - Another pressure ulcer becomes infected and results in 7 month bedrest, with surgery done in December resulting in the final month of rest. Also, early 2007 - depression diagnosis, but haven't had a significant episode of such since then.
2008 (Current to Nov. 29): Broke neck in April. Had surgery in May to construct a second ilial chimney. Another pressure ulcer led to 2 months of restriction which was lifted August 20 in time for a small 23rd b-day celebration. Nothing since.

Thoughts after stuffing myself with turkey for two days!

Greetings from the Northern Kentucky DJ who has stuffed himself with turkey, stuffing and potatoes and who does NOT have a regular on-air shift on Saturday! Let us get to the bloggage without further ado:

-- I have always wondered why it is that sometimes, the best meals are the meals that wind up making us have to undo a button or two? LOL...I ate too much, and my stomach has paid for it. I am at about 118 pounds, this may put another pound or two on me!

-- I never thought I would say this, but, I can't WAIT for the first snow of 2008! I want snow so I can get a picture of me and Doris in it...and it looks like I will get some beginning Sunday night.

-- I think my past is better left there than brought back time and time again. What brings this topic of discussion up? Several family members bringing up the subject of my ex-fiancee. I won't talk about it right now, that will just bring back the bad memories. Maybe sometime soon, when I feel like it's all safely in the past and won't hurt me anymore, I will do a blog about just that one subject.

That's it for another edition...I will catch everyone Saturday night sometime late, prob. after 12 midnight.

One more thing...

I just took about 15 minutes to wish the readers of all the blogs that I also read a happy Thanksgiving...please, if you read this, show the same love to all the blogs YOU might be following!

A few Thanksgiving notes...

Just gonna drop a few thoughts on you, with Thanksgiving Day underway in the east and 3 hours away on the west coast...

-- I hate when people around me break down and cry. See, my hope had been to try and get a little housecleaning/straightening done today. And I got some done. But...about 5:30pm, I got a message from Doris, saying she needed to talk...she was in breakdown mode. Here's a little tip for all y'all who know me: I prefer visual and physical contact, to that established via the internet if the person lives within a short distance. Meaning, within 10 miles of here. Doris lives 4 miles away but was at the Boone Co. Library in Florence, 1 mile south. So...yours truly took the 1 mile sprint to the library in about 16 minutes. (EDITOR'S NOTE: To figure out how long it would take me to walk somewhere, simply take the amount of time it takes to drive there, and then multiply by 4.) And you should see how quickly I left. I left so fast, I didn't take my cell phone, or my bag, or nothing else. Just myself, a jacket, and the clothes that were on my back.

-- I do not mind at all being there for people. I really don't. It's just that it throws everything else into total chaos. (ADDENDUM 5:16PM: I don't mean for this to sound as though I am complaining. In fact, if I had Wednesday to do over again, I would in a heartbeat.)

-- I LOVE Thanksgiving and Turkey! Just saying...no seriously, yours truly plans to pig out, eat a lot, and just chill with family and friends. Which leads to my final point.

-- I won't be blogging until late tomorrow, if I do tomorrow at all. Tri-State Media Watch will be shut down for the day...that will allow me to spend the time with my family. I love my blogging friends, and I hope your Thanksgiving Holiday is blessed.

Thoughts after The Hub...

I just got back an hour ago from The Hub...which was well attended. :-) I had a good time with great people...on to a few thoughts and reflections about Thanksgiving...

-- We talked tonight about being thankful. We should all be thankful that we have the things that we do...if you're a Christian especially, be glad for what God has done for you.

-- Other things I am thankful for this year:

-- Great friends, both on- and offline.
-- A hospital-stay free 2008 except for one surgery.
-- A wonderful family.
-- A God I love dearly and know is with me 24/7/365.
-- A wonderful girlfriend (Doris)

-- What are my plans for the holiday? I gotta do some cleaning up tomorrow, and then Thursday we have somewhere around 15 people coming to the house for dinner about 4-5pm. Oh and I DO have to be on air tomorrow 9-12 noon. (My on-air schedule is changing, I will be doing Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9-12, and beginning next week, Monday and Thursday nights 9pm to whenever the last person leaves. They didn't want me doing a double shift on Thursdays.)

That's it...I may blog tomorrow, but otherwise I will be scarce til Thursday night...Happy Thanksgiving 2008 everyone, from here in Florence, Kentucky!

Check this one out...

Our friend WIXY's Gone Bananas just informed us of somebody who's posed an interesting question. Head over to Remember Love Canal to check that out.