the 2 happiest words !!!!

[RhodyRams]

A little over a year ago I carried my wife into the emergency room after coming home to find her unconcious on the couch and burning up with fever. At the emergency room they told me her temp was at 104.3 and her white blood cell count was skyrocketing at 29,000 ( normal is around 8-10 k) After several hours of test after test after test she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. The doctor sat me down and told me she had about a 20% chance of pulling out of it and told me to notify anyone I needed to (next of kin, siblings etc) , because the next few days were going to be extremely rough. After 7 days of medically induced coma, while on a steady drip of 4 broad spectrum anti-biotics they started reviving her slowly, with the thought of seeing how she was doing pain wise etc. She stirred a few times but said nothing, completely unresponsive.

Finally she woke up, looked around the room to see me, her sister, our nephew and about 4 doctors and nurses all in scrubs, masks and latex gloves standing around her bed. She looked at me and said "I'm scared" and went back to sleep. Those were the 2 best words I ever heard her say besides "I DO"

She is doing fine now with little side effects dealing with her short term memory. But as I tell everyone, she could still remember every time I screwed up over the last 26 years !!! She did have to stop taking flying lessions for her pilots license and has to write everything down now to help her remember things, but other than that she is still the girl I fell in love with so many years ago

Tomorrow she goes for and EEG to check her brain (been telling her she needs her head examined for years now, finally listening to me)



Thanks for reading !!

 

[rdlkgliders]

Very scary story with a nice ending. Well written I sensed the fear and yet you seem to have remained as light hearted as anyone could hope. Glad to hear She (name?) is doing well and congrats on 26 years of marriage. I hope your appt goes well

 

[brokeu91]

Wow, that's a scary story. Bacterial meningitis is very dangerous. I had no idea that you were going through that last year, maybe you mentioned it, but I had totally overlooked it or something. Anyway, that's great news. I'm very happy for you both

 

[fearsomefour]

That is nasty stuff. Comes on like a freight train.
Glad she is doing well.
Blessings everyday.

 

[Prime Time]

I met you and your wife once while in St. Louis. Good to hear she is on the mend. My wife of 29 years, yes I had to top you , was in a head-on accident a few months ago. Both cars were totaled but both she and the occupant of the other vehicle lived with minor bumps and bruises. Monday she has to go to court for being a "negligent driver." My son's car, which we bought for him, was totaled last year by two teenage girls who were driving stoned. Seat belts and air bags do come in handy. Life is scary sometimes. My two favorite words are "I'm fine."

 

[LesBaker]

Rhody I had no idea you were dealing with that and I'm very happy the story has the ending it has!!!

 

[RhodyRams]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone ,!!! To be honest I didn't share what was going on with you guys because I wasn't familiar enough with most of you on a personal basis. My how things have changed over the course of a year !!!

 

[Thordaddy]

Give me her first name and I'll pray for her when I do my rosary tomorrow

 

[Dodgersrf]

Relieved to hear she made it through.
She must be a wonderfully strong woman.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I met you and your wife once while in St. Louis. Good to hear she is on the mend. My wife of 29 years, yes I had to top you , was in a head-on accident a few months ago. Both cars were totaled but both she and the occupant of the other vehicle lived with minor bumps and bruises. Monday she has to go to court for being a "negligent driver." My son's car, which we bought for him, was totaled last year by two teenage girls who were driving stoned. Seat belts and air bags do come in handy. Life is scary sometimes. My two favorite words are "I'm fine."

Tough to imagine. I'm glad that all walked away.

 

[ScotsRam]

I love all you guys. We all have a bond here despite the fact we will probably never meet in real life.

I hope your wife's health continues to improve and I wish you both all the best going forward.

 

[-X-]

I can't even imagine how scared you were, dude. You had to feel completely helpless.
Awesome that she pulled out of it. She has the perseverance to be a Rams fan, fo sho.

 

[RhodyRams]

Christine says hello and thanks to everyone !!!

and Hi to Prime Time and hope she see you again some time...is there something you 2 want to tell me? LOL

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

A little over a year ago I carried my wife into the emergency room after coming home to find her unconcious on the couch and burning up with fever. At the emergency room they told me her temp was at 104.3 and her white blood cell count was skyrocketing at 29,000 ( normal is around 8-10 k) After several hours of test after test after test she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. The doctor sat me down and told me she had about a 20% chance of pulling out of it and told me to notify anyone I needed to (next of kin, siblings etc) , because the next few days were going to be extremely rough. After 7 days of medically induced coma, while on a steady drip of 4 broad spectrum anti-biotics they started reviving her slowly, with the thought of seeing how she was doing pain wise etc. She stirred a few times but said nothing, completely unresponsive.

Finally she woke up, looked around the room to see me, her sister, our nephew and about 4 doctors and nurses all in scrubs, masks and latex gloves standing around her bed. She looked at me and said "I'm scared" and went back to sleep. Those were the 2 best words I ever heard her say besides "I DO"

She is doing fine now with little side effects dealing with her short term memory. But as I tell everyone, she could still remember every time I screwed up over the last 26 years !!! She did have to stop taking flying lessions for her pilots license and has to write everything down now to help her remember things, but other than that she is still the girl I fell in love with so many years ago

Tomorrow she goes for and EEG to check her brain (been telling her she needs her head examined for years now, finally listening to me)



Thanks for reading !!

Good news Rhody!

We have more in common than I thought. I was diagnosed with Bacterial Menningitis when I was 9. Every time they cured it I got it back. It took from September to February for the Docs to finally figure out that I had spinal fluid leaking out of my nose. That allowed germs to go up to my brain. They located the leak and patched it up and the illness subsided until about a year later when I got sick again. In all I had Menningitis about a dozen times and had 7 leaks repaired. All but one was from 9 to 20. I had other repair attempts that were unsuccessful that I dont count. An ENT doctor realized that I had uneven bone growth in my skull that was causing the leaks and it was getting worse as I got older. The last leak I had was when I was 26, 20 years ago, when I stopped growing. I dont ever want to deal with that stuff again.

 

[beej]

When you go through something like that, every new day feels like a bonus. It puts a log of trivial things in perspective, doesn't it?

 

[ramfaninfla]

Very glad to read all is working out for you and your wife. I know It is a very scary/helpless feeling. I lost my wife (Nancy) 3 years ago to 2 brain tumors. Nancy was only 50 years old. We thought it was an inner ear infection at first. Took only 7 weeks from the time she went t the doctor till her passing. Enjoy every minute you can with her now and never ever worry about any small and meaningless things that life throws at you. Again, So glad for the both of you that all will be ok. Enjoy each other!!

 

[RhodyRams]

sorry for your loss @ramfaninfla The whole thing was supposedly caused by an ear infection that she had the previous week so the doctors say, but they were not 100% sure

Funny thing is she was always the cautious one, always thinking about the bad things that happen, especially after losing her mom a few months before. Now she is definitely making every day count

 

[Thordaddy]

Christine easy to remember ,was my rich old widowed aunt's name who left me a bunch of money,one rosary coming up.

 

[Memento]

I'm glad that your wife is doing better, Rhody. May she continue to recover to full health, and may you both enjoy the blessing of many long and happy years together.

 

[RamFan503]

Man Rhody. That would indeed be rough. And so glad that she is doing better. Really looking forward to meeting you two in FL.