In my first posting I talked about my accident on lake Mohave. However, I didn't say much about what happened after the initial impact. Like I said before, most of this comes from bits and pieces that have been told to me by others (as I have zero recollection of what happened).
Upon impact I suffered all of the damage described before and caused me to drown. If you look to the right of my home page you'll see a list just some of the people involved in my rescue. Which, started first and foremost with Jordan Rodebush. He was the first to reach me and begin the process of saving me. The best recollection that anyone has is that I was in the water for about 2 minutes before Jordan turned me over and helped pull me on to boat that took me back to the dock.
On that boat was my next major rescuer, Ted Sage. Ted had just launched his own boat with his family for their traditional annual trip on lake Mohave. They were leaving the dock when another boat, speeding in the wake less zone, intercepted them asking if anyone knew CPR because someone was dead in the water and another was drowning. Fortunately for me, thou I was the one they were saying was dead in the water, I had only drowned (or "only mostly dead"). Well boy, does Ted know CPR. You see, Ted is a Fireman from Orange County (one of their best if you ask me).
Ted joined the other boat and reached me as Jordan was trying to help me. They pulled me onto the boat and Ted began administrating CPR. He complete 4 rounds before I began breathing again. That amounts to a total of about 6 minutes without air (2 before CPR and 4 during). While Ted was performing CPR the boat (and I wish I new the owners of that boat) took me back to the dock.
Once on the dock the local rangers helped to get me on the air transport to Las Vegas. Good thing for me Ted stayed to make sure all went well. Although I'm sure the rangers do well, Ted had the most experience with rescue as a member of an elite t group of firefighters, known as California Task Force 5 that travel around the country helping where ever they are needed. Ted helped to make sure that my C collar was placed correctly and that I was properly handled, safeguarding my neck and back against further damage as my neck was broken.
The next in the line of my rescuers was Bishop Tum Vongswad and Barry Bean. They were two of the people there on the lake with my group. They also hold the Priesthood of God and where able to use that priesthood and where able to administer a bless to me as they loaded me into the ambulance.
After that I was in the hands of medical professionals with all of the skill and ability necessary to save my life. They had to use all of their skills as the first challenge was in transport to the hospital in Las Vegas. While on the medical helicopter, my heart and lungs failed again. They had to work to get it working again. The best news of that day was that they were taking me to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, undoubtedly the best hospital east of the Mississippi. I've listed on my "My Stories" page several things that I "experience" while in that hospital.
I listed several of the doctors and nurses instrumental in my treatment. I know I've missed several and will work to complete that list in time. There is a lot to go over just in the hospital so I'll save that for another posting but, I'll sum up my list of rescuers with everyone that prayed on my behalf. I believe in the power of fasting and prayer and appreciate all those who did so for me. I know that that was also a major contributor to my recover.
Now, I'm on this journey to see how far back I can come from that. Yesterday I run 4.5 miles and Saturday will be 6. The next major running milestone will be for me to hit the double digits. My training schedule has me running 10 miles on Saturday 9/4. I hope that I can make it...
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Time for a second opinion
Well, I saw my orthopedic surgeon for my hip today. His response was predictable. Although my hip showed no new degradation since my accident, he's still concerned with me participating in high impact sports. He suggested that I bike and/or swim. I told him that that was only 2/3 of my plan. I still need to run. He showed me where my hip was showing early signs of osteoarthritis and where a cyst was on my joint. He went on to explain that my joint was stiffer than the other one and had less range of motion. We talked about the risk and treatments if my hip did start to get worse. I could need anti-inflammation shots, joint resurfacing or complete replacement. He told me that I could go my whole life without needing to replace it if I take care of it. However, my feeling is that I could spend the next 40 years NOT doing the things I enjoy, i.e. basketball, surfing, etc. (I can't say running because I don't enjoy it but it is my goal), and keep my hip or 20 years of doing those things and then another 20 not. Either way I can still have my grandchildren on my knee. As I see it, it's all bonus time now anyway after that day on the lake. So I took the news and immediately went out I ran 3 miles. Two more 3 milers this week and then 6 this Saturday. Next, I'm going to find a new orthopedic surgeon and get my second opinion. Maybe someone with a sporting influence. I also setup my pulmonologist for 9/10 to make sure I don't have exertion induced asthma. We'll see if I can't get 2 out of 3 thumbs up anyway.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Poo Dollar
Wow! I just got my first real sponsor, Gaujome Regional Park. While running this morning I came across a dollar in the path. Now, I wouldn't stop for a quarter or something but a whole dollar; that's a different story.
Stopping is no small deal. I don't think I've said this previously but, I HATE to run (good thing I made this my goal, huh!?!). You've heard "if man was meant to fly...", well, I prescribe to the similar notion that if man was meant to run, God would have given us wind-(thanks Janice)-up legs (like a McDonald's Happy Meal toy). The only good part about running is the stopping. So stopping and then going again is a big deal.
Back to my paying gig: So I decided to stop and pick up the dollar but then it came immediately to my thought that "maybe this is a practical joke" and someone has left a "rigged" dollar to see if someone will try and pick it up. When you do, bam! You get more than you hoped for once you grab the money. Well, I looked around to see if someone was near that could have dropped it or, was waiting to watch someone try to pick it up. Then I examined it closely, decided it was safe and took the money and ran. Now I've made my running work for me. Maybe I can run some more lucrative paths in the future.
Stopping is no small deal. I don't think I've said this previously but, I HATE to run (good thing I made this my goal, huh!?!). You've heard "if man was meant to fly...", well, I prescribe to the similar notion that if man was meant to run, God would have given us wind-(thanks Janice)-up legs (like a McDonald's Happy Meal toy). The only good part about running is the stopping. So stopping and then going again is a big deal.
Back to my paying gig: So I decided to stop and pick up the dollar but then it came immediately to my thought that "maybe this is a practical joke" and someone has left a "rigged" dollar to see if someone will try and pick it up. When you do, bam! You get more than you hoped for once you grab the money. Well, I looked around to see if someone was near that could have dropped it or, was waiting to watch someone try to pick it up. Then I examined it closely, decided it was safe and took the money and ran. Now I've made my running work for me. Maybe I can run some more lucrative paths in the future.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Cardiologist Down
Great News! I just got the word from my cardiologist, Dr. Carr (how appropriate is that name?), about the results from my stress Eco that I took on Monday. All signs point to YES! He said that my heart is "completely recovered". In fact, he said that it strengthens with exercise and showed no signs of any problems. It was as though I wasn't even in an accident. He cleared me to start an exercise routine. Not bad for the heart that stopped 4 times 2 years ago and was only 30% efficient.
Now I have my orthopedic surgeon appointment on Monday to clear my hip for running. I'm sure he's not going to like it as he was the one that told me to stop playing basketball (which I totally ignored). Although, he said I could keep surfing and that's the only thing that has hurt my hip since the accident so....
I do need to check in with my polmonologist since the only thing that really bothers me is my breathing. I have diminished lung capacity since they were torn open and notice it when surfing and running. I can't hold my breath nearly as long as I could before, which can get worrisome when you're being held down by a large wave. When I run it's not 50 yards before I'm breathing like an asthmatic in search of an inhaler. The good thing is that after 2 miles that settles in and I can run, until I come to too steep a hill.
I did complete my 3 mile run last night but proved that one must never "eat and run". Most people already know that but after having a late dinner with Allison last night I still had to do my run for the day so I went out at about 10:30. Getting the fun done was worse than normal. One thing you need to understand about me is that I HATE running (I guess that's why I'm doing this). The only good part about running is the stopping But, last night it was even harder. I guess I'm going to have to make sure I only run on an empty stomach.
I was reading through the diary that my sister-in-law, Brenda, kept during my recovery. It brought back many memories and got me thinking that I should share some of what went on then. So, if you check out my links at the bottom of the page you'll see on to "Care Pages" where my family posted details during my recovery in the hospital. From time to time I'll add interesting stories that aren't posted there under "My Stories" link at the top of the page.
Now I have my orthopedic surgeon appointment on Monday to clear my hip for running. I'm sure he's not going to like it as he was the one that told me to stop playing basketball (which I totally ignored). Although, he said I could keep surfing and that's the only thing that has hurt my hip since the accident so....
I do need to check in with my polmonologist since the only thing that really bothers me is my breathing. I have diminished lung capacity since they were torn open and notice it when surfing and running. I can't hold my breath nearly as long as I could before, which can get worrisome when you're being held down by a large wave. When I run it's not 50 yards before I'm breathing like an asthmatic in search of an inhaler. The good thing is that after 2 miles that settles in and I can run, until I come to too steep a hill.
I did complete my 3 mile run last night but proved that one must never "eat and run". Most people already know that but after having a late dinner with Allison last night I still had to do my run for the day so I went out at about 10:30. Getting the fun done was worse than normal. One thing you need to understand about me is that I HATE running (I guess that's why I'm doing this). The only good part about running is the stopping But, last night it was even harder. I guess I'm going to have to make sure I only run on an empty stomach.
I was reading through the diary that my sister-in-law, Brenda, kept during my recovery. It brought back many memories and got me thinking that I should share some of what went on then. So, if you check out my links at the bottom of the page you'll see on to "Care Pages" where my family posted details during my recovery in the hospital. From time to time I'll add interesting stories that aren't posted there under "My Stories" link at the top of the page.
Monday, July 19, 2010
In the beginning
This blog is born out of a question I've heard over and over the last 2 years. "How are you feeling now?" Any time I've seen someone for the first time since my accident, that's the first question that I hear.
I don't mind the question, people genuinely what to know how things are going for me and as my wife says, I don't mind talking about myself. But, in order to understand why getting this question regularly is the birth of this blog, I need to go back two years to it's inception.
Two years ago my wife, Allison, and I were traveling through the California dessert to spend the weekend with friends and family camping and boating on Lake Mohave. While traveling we were having one of those conversations that help to build your relationship. I don't remember the specifics now, but we spoke of our children, grandchildren, ourselves etc.
The one thing I do remember very clearly is my saying "I feel very fortunate having lived a life with no real adversities". Now, mind you, we've had our share of stuff. Everything from loosing my job in the dot com bust to family trials, but nothing I considered true adversity. Little did I know, in a mere 24 hrs those words would prove to have been a little premature.
The next day, after an evening of enjoying my oldest granddaughter and a morning of playing in the water with her, I proceeded to hit, head on, a boat while riding a rented wave runner. 
I don't mind the question, people genuinely what to know how things are going for me and as my wife says, I don't mind talking about myself. But, in order to understand why getting this question regularly is the birth of this blog, I need to go back two years to it's inception.
Two years ago my wife, Allison, and I were traveling through the California dessert to spend the weekend with friends and family camping and boating on Lake Mohave. While traveling we were having one of those conversations that help to build your relationship. I don't remember the specifics now, but we spoke of our children, grandchildren, ourselves etc.
The one thing I do remember very clearly is my saying "I feel very fortunate having lived a life with no real adversities". Now, mind you, we've had our share of stuff. Everything from loosing my job in the dot com bust to family trials, but nothing I considered true adversity. Little did I know, in a mere 24 hrs those words would prove to have been a little premature.
The next day, after an evening of enjoying my oldest granddaughter and a morning of playing in the water with her, I proceeded to hit, head on, a boat while riding a rented wave runner.
Much of what I say next comes from a collection of witnesses, park ranger reports and my best guess since I really don't remember up to 10 minutes before the accident. The last thing I do remember is telling Allison that I was going to take the wave runner back to the dock to get somethings from the car. That was just 10 minutes before I collided with the boat at a combined speed of about 60 mph.
The report says that I was jumping a wake and was several feet in the air and lost control. Witnesses say I was passing friends in a boat in the opposite direction. Knowing me, I was probably trying to show off to my friends and jumped their wake behind them. What I can only assume is that I didn't even see the boat just coming up to speed and beginning to plane in the wake behind my friends boat.
In a weak attempt to accuse myself: I know that the boat was traveling from the dock where several large house boats were moored off shore. I suppose that with the boats in the background, I couldn't perceive the looming danger in the foreground. At any rate, we hit and hit hard.
They tell me, at the last minute, I tried to make a hard turn to the left in order to avoid impact. Unfortunately, this exposed my right side to the front port side of the bow. In the collision almost all of my ribs on my right side were broken in at least one spot and some shattered and punctured my right lung in both the upper and lower lobs. With the hard turn to the left, my right arm was raised in the attempt. This allowed my right shoulder to be jammed into the right side of my head breaking my neck at the occipital bone. My left leg was trapped by the handle bars of the wave runner, causing my left hip to be dislocated. Both lungs aspirated and filled with water while I drowned.
There's a whole other story related to my rescue and saving to be covered in another blog but sufficient to say, I'm still here.
However, people like to hear how I've improved over the last 2 years. My answer has always been the same, about 80-90% of normal. But then, another month would pass and I'd be answering the question again and I'd realize that I felt better than the last time I was asked. Therefore, my previous response must have been incorrect. So, I'd answer the inquire the same, about 80-90% of normal.
Obviously, I'm a bad judge of my own status. That started me think though, how would I know when I was 100% back to normal. Could I even get back to where I was before. Not that I was such a specimen before but I was playing basketball 3 times a week and surfing as much as I could before the accident. I began wondering how I'd know when I had made a full recovery.
There are a few things I know are never going to get any better like, my lung capacity, the feeling that something is clamped to my chest and the range of motion of my shoulder. There's also never being able to fully clear my throat due to the scare on the inside of my throat from my tracheotomy.
Then I decided being a 50 lb over weight 47 year old wasn't necessarily the best thing to ascribe to. So I decided to get more than 100% of normal but how much more. Therefore, I have a new goal in life, improve enough to run a marathon, or maybe better, participate in an Ironman competition.
That's a big goal from where I was 2 years ago (or where I am now) and I'm not even sure if its achievable but I'm going to give it a try. So, I lost 45 lb, bought some running shoes and started training. My next step is to listen to my wife and get my doctors sign0ff before I going too much further.
Today I met with my cardiologist and performed a stress-Eco. I hope to get the results back this weekend and get the green light to proceed. In the meantime, I'm on coarse to run in the Los Vegas 2010 Marathon. I'm currently running 3 miles a day, four days a week. Soon I'll be pushing up to 3 moderate runs and one long run a week.
Before I get there, I need to get signed off by my Orthopedic surgeon. When I saw him a year ago he recommended that I not play basketball in fear that I'd eventually need a hip replacement. Since I haven't listen to him thus far I'm not sure if I will next week when we meet again but I promised Allison I'd see him so...
Well, this has been a long first post and I promise to not make them so long in the future but I though a good foundation was the best start.
The report says that I was jumping a wake and was several feet in the air and lost control. Witnesses say I was passing friends in a boat in the opposite direction. Knowing me, I was probably trying to show off to my friends and jumped their wake behind them. What I can only assume is that I didn't even see the boat just coming up to speed and beginning to plane in the wake behind my friends boat.
In a weak attempt to accuse myself: I know that the boat was traveling from the dock where several large house boats were moored off shore. I suppose that with the boats in the background, I couldn't perceive the looming danger in the foreground. At any rate, we hit and hit hard.
They tell me, at the last minute, I tried to make a hard turn to the left in order to avoid impact. Unfortunately, this exposed my right side to the front port side of the bow. In the collision almost all of my ribs on my right side were broken in at least one spot and some shattered and punctured my right lung in both the upper and lower lobs. With the hard turn to the left, my right arm was raised in the attempt. This allowed my right shoulder to be jammed into the right side of my head breaking my neck at the occipital bone. My left leg was trapped by the handle bars of the wave runner, causing my left hip to be dislocated. Both lungs aspirated and filled with water while I drowned.
There's a whole other story related to my rescue and saving to be covered in another blog but sufficient to say, I'm still here.
However, people like to hear how I've improved over the last 2 years. My answer has always been the same, about 80-90% of normal. But then, another month would pass and I'd be answering the question again and I'd realize that I felt better than the last time I was asked. Therefore, my previous response must have been incorrect. So, I'd answer the inquire the same, about 80-90% of normal.
Obviously, I'm a bad judge of my own status. That started me think though, how would I know when I was 100% back to normal. Could I even get back to where I was before. Not that I was such a specimen before but I was playing basketball 3 times a week and surfing as much as I could before the accident. I began wondering how I'd know when I had made a full recovery.
There are a few things I know are never going to get any better like, my lung capacity, the feeling that something is clamped to my chest and the range of motion of my shoulder. There's also never being able to fully clear my throat due to the scare on the inside of my throat from my tracheotomy.
Then I decided being a 50 lb over weight 47 year old wasn't necessarily the best thing to ascribe to. So I decided to get more than 100% of normal but how much more. Therefore, I have a new goal in life, improve enough to run a marathon, or maybe better, participate in an Ironman competition.
That's a big goal from where I was 2 years ago (or where I am now) and I'm not even sure if its achievable but I'm going to give it a try. So, I lost 45 lb, bought some running shoes and started training. My next step is to listen to my wife and get my doctors sign0ff before I going too much further.
Today I met with my cardiologist and performed a stress-Eco. I hope to get the results back this weekend and get the green light to proceed. In the meantime, I'm on coarse to run in the Los Vegas 2010 Marathon. I'm currently running 3 miles a day, four days a week. Soon I'll be pushing up to 3 moderate runs and one long run a week.
Before I get there, I need to get signed off by my Orthopedic surgeon. When I saw him a year ago he recommended that I not play basketball in fear that I'd eventually need a hip replacement. Since I haven't listen to him thus far I'm not sure if I will next week when we meet again but I promised Allison I'd see him so...
Well, this has been a long first post and I promise to not make them so long in the future but I though a good foundation was the best start.
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