Hello all,

As you can probably understand, I've been a bit busy lately and probably will be for several weeks to come.

My wife had a backache that started about a month ago after picking up an overweight dog and twisting to place him somewhere else. Not a bad injury, but just enough to irritate. After a week of it bothering her, she went to the doctor and he gave her some pain killers and muscle relaxers to help her with the healing process.

In reality, a previous staph infection she had (which was totally non-serious) had found the injury and began making a home there. What do people do for a backache? Heating pad and rest. What does staph bacteria do in heat? BREED.

Over the past 3-4 weeks the back pain has become more and more intense until she could barely move, walk sit, or even breathe because of the pain and muscle spasms. She went to the doctor a couple more times and got various steroids, pain meds, and muscle relaxers but nothing helped.

Then we went on vacation just as it began to peak.

During the driving from one place to another (the longest of which was a 10 hour drive up to the Ozark mountains) is when the pain became unbearable. We cut our vacation short and hauled ass home so I could get her to a hospital and get her checked out.

Got home, took her to the emergency room, and she had a 104+ fever and could not move in any way without agonizing pain.

ER doctors have her potasium, muscle relaxers, pain pills and a couple of Tylenol. Her temp dropped 2 degrees so they discharged her and told her to follow-up with her regular doctor if she didn't feel better the next day.

Next day she begged me for no movement. No doctor visits, no hospitals, just wanted to take enough pain meds to try adn pass out for a while. At this point the pain was so bad she has not slept in 3-4 days, and I have not slept much more because of her moaning in pain constantly. It's bad and I know it's bad, so I call our regular doctor again.

After a couple of calls to the docs office, he sees the results of some lab work that scares the crap out of him and says "do not wait until tomorrow, we need her in a hospital right away. bring here here so we can work to get her admitted".

At the doctors office, her blood pressure was 69 over 44, she was shivering, covered in welts, panting very shallow because of the muscle spasms, and still in excruciating pain.

The doctor called 911. She was in shock and very near death at that point.

A few heated conversations with hospital staff and administrators got things kicked into gear after we made our SECOND trip to the ER in 2 days' time.

The bacterial infection has spread into the bones of her spine, caused spinal menengitis (infection of the spinal cord fluid) infection in the fluid around the brain, and the infection was in her blood supply. My personal doctor took me in the hall to explain it all and told me the following 24 hours would be the most critical, and then we would know if she would survive or not. I asked him what his opinion was, and he told me he didn't think she would make it. He looked like he had already been crying.

That was 3 days ago. She is still alive, so that's one good sign!

She's slightly better after these 3 days. She is being kept completely sedated. She's on a respirator to help her breath deeply and regularly, although she could breathe on her own if they removed it. Her blood pressure is stable without medication. Her pulse has slowed to below 120 beats-per-minute (not a good rate at all, but it started at over 150). Doctors and nurses seem more optomistic now, but she is by far not out of the woods yet.

Progress:
In about a week, they may have fought back the infection to a point where they feel she can be brought out of the drug induced coma and remove the breathing tube.
All of her organs were shocked (damaged from loss of blood supply) but normal function appears to be returning.
They have put luquid food down the tube that goes to her stomache and it stayed down and digested.

She has a long hard fight ahead. She was given little hope of surviving the first night, so I honestly believe that our prayers have gotten her this far. Don't stop yet. She is by FAR not out of the woods yet. She's still in the Critical Care Unit and her condition is listed as "critically ill". The little things like a drop in temp, or heart rate dropping 5 BPM a day are gleams of hope that we're excited about, but in the grand scheme of things, it's little progress.

On a scale from 0-to-10 (with 0 being "gone" and 10 being perfectly healthy) she went from nearly 0 three days ago to about a 1.5 so far.

In order to fully appreciate the situation, you have to realize that we have a 18 year-old daughter and 13 year-old son together. She's 40 years old and was perfectly healthy. We met when we were 19 and we've been together 21 years. We are best friends, not just "spouses". The only reason I am the person I am today, the only reason I have any success in my life at all is because she was with me and made me who I am. When I met her, I worked as a cook and slept on top of the Western Sizzlin where I worked. Without her, and building my life around her (and later our children) there is no doubt in my mind I would not be amoung the living today. The life I have, my home, my children, home, and the very air I am breathing while I write this to you is only possible because she saved me.

I only pray I get the opportunity to spend the rest of my life telling her that.

My prayers and those of my family and friends are with you, my liege.

good luck and godspeed to your wife

Scary stuff. I almost lost both my girlfriend and brother at the same time two years ago to that. Two loved ones in hospitals with a two hour drive seperating them. I spent a lot of time driving. What seemed best in the end was having family there with them every moment you can. Good luck with everything hope it all works out.

i pray that all turns out well for you and your family

I hope she continues to get better. My prayers are with you and your family.

I hope for the best, Corpsie.

same.

That whole thing literally brought tears to my eyes.

I really hope everything gets better in the end; you have way too much to lose. I'll be praying for your family, Corpse.

Same

My family's prayers are with you.

i REALLY hope she gets better

im glad she is progressing and u and ur family will still be in my prayers

My prayers are with you and your family.

i will continue to pray for u and your family. i hope she gets better

I havent bee around in alittle while but this is what the n00bfest family is all about...Corpse i hope she gets better and my prayers are with you and your family for the best recovery possible

Buzz, I really hope she makes it through man, that's one of the sweetest things i've read or heard a 40 year old man say or maybe any man so far period, almost brought a tear(like real dang close), she for sure needs to read this and I hope you do get that chance to tell her when she makes it out of this retarded situation she's in. And Boo to the docs for not seeing and knowing this sooner!

I am happy to see she is getting better. But like you said it still a long road ahead. I pray for you, your wife, and your family Corpse.

Good to hear that she's getting better.
All the best to you and yours.