The past few weeks have been a hard reminder of how important it is to always tell the people you care about, how much you love and appreciate them. I was recently slapped in the face with this revelation that my best friend had died during some surgical complications, and the whole thing just shook me to my core. This is the story of how my best friend died, and the nightmare that was all of the medical procedures that he had to go through.
I guess I should start from the beginning now. My best friend TJ recently had to undergo a complex surgery procedure for his jaw to correct his underbite. They put two plates and screws on the left and right side of his upper jaw, and one set on his lower jaw. They had to reset his jaw so that all his teeth would touch. The surgery went fine, but he was in extreme agony for the first few hours afterwards because they had to keep tubes going down his nostril and his throat so that they could drain excess blood from his stomach and his facial wounds. He couldn't swallow or breathe properly with them, so he begged them to remove the tubes.
When they finally did remove the tubes, however, an hour or so later he started puking up a bunch of blood and stomach acid. A bit later, his nurse in the ICU noticed that his eye was swollen shut and then saw that his pupil was severely dilated. Realizing that it was a definite cause for concern, she called an ambulance and they wheeled TJ away to another hospital to get checked.
At the new hospital, he was brought directly into another ICU ward and a neurosurgeon came and ordered an MRI for him to determine what was causing his eye to stay swollen shut like that. The MRI revealed that he apparently had suffered a subdural hematoma, bleeding in his brain. In spite of this discovery, they told him that he would be ok to go home in a few days because they thought it would eventually subside and the swelling would go away after the bleeding stopped.
He was eventually sent home a few days later, and everything seemed normal, but apparently TJ knew that something was still way off. He was experiencing this constant "whooshing" sound on the side of his head and his eye started to swell even more, causing him even more pain from the pressure in that area. After a few days, he had a follow-up appointment with his surgeon, who told him that it seemed to be getting worse, so he directed him to yet another medical facility, which specialized in eye-related things.
Upon getting checked out at the eye center, they were very adamant that he needed to get admitted immediately to the University of Utah Neuroscience hospital, because his eye was apparently sticking out 3 cm further than his other eye. When he got to the U, he had to undergo another MRI as well as a CAT scan so that they could get to the bottom of what was causing the swelling and the pain in his eye. They eventually came to the conclusion that he had what was called a carotid cavernous fistula in his carotid artery.
This is where his pain and suffering was multiplied tenfold, however. To really find out what was going on, they had to perform an angiogram on him, which consisted of them making an incision on the inner side of his right thigh and pushing a tube with a camera up the artery all the way up to his head. This was an agonizing procedure for TJ, because they could not administer general anesthesia to him since it wasn't an actual operation. Yes, he was basically wide awake for the whole thing. Every excruciating second of feeling a foreign object being shoved all the way through his body...
They eventually were able to determine that there was a tear in his carotid artery and blood from it was flowing into another blood vessel that was close to it, which was causing the whooshing sound in his head. They said that the only way to fix it was to go back in and seal it, which they did the next day. This time, thankfully, they did put him under for the procedure. No one could have possibly anticipated what happened next.
Shortly after the procedure, while TJ was still in the ICU, he was talking to one of the nurses, when suddenly, he started feeling really weak and everything started to get really bright. Apparently, he was having a stroke, and that caused his leg artery to burst open. Blood was squirting everywhere and doctors were rushing into the room. That was when it happened.
That was when my best friend died. They couldn't save him before his body gave out...
...but they continued to work their asses off to save/revive him, and they did not stop until they had accomplished their mission. TJ eventually regained consciousness, and he was informed that he had been dead for a whole 8 minutes and 14 seconds. To bring him back, they had to give him 4 liters of blood and they had to perform another angiogram on him to make their earlier procedure more operable.
Eventually, after about a week or so of being fed different drug after different drug, he started to feel somewhat normal again, until they had to inject him with blood thinners, and that's when he noticed his strength starting to decline once more. They ran more blood tests on him and told him that everything looked like he was fine to go home.
Despite getting the go-ahead to go home, TJ knew that something was still wrong. He was having a really hard time standing up and he would get really dizzy and lightheaded, which made something even as simple as using the restroom an extremely difficult task. He said that it was like he was about to lose consciousness every time.
Sure enough, over the short period of time that he was home, he was having complications with using the restroom and would come very close to losing consciousness, so they contacted one of the nurses to inform her of what was going on, and she had an ambulance come pick him up immediately. They tried to give him an IV, but his blood pressure was so low that they ended up sticking him like 10 times before they decided that their efforts were futile. They brought him to another facility, where they put more blood into him and carried out another MRI to try to figure out what was going on.
Eventually, they life flighted him back to the U, and he met up with the neurosurgery team from before. They ended up having to cut his other thigh open so that they could put a line in to get him blood transfusion quicker, and then they told him that the GI unit would be by to give him an endoscopy. Another tube down his throat, and they discovered two ulcers that were constantly leaking blood into his GI tract. They kept him in the hospital for 4 more days to monitor his condition before they finally cleared him to go home.
After he got home he shared his insane story with me, and that's when I found out that he had died for a whole 8 minutes and 14 seconds. That revelation really messed me up because during this whole thing I was really worried about how he was doing, and I wanted to visit him in the hospital, but I ended up not being able to. I know that TJ was also really nervous about the whole surgery, more so than I was, obviously.
My best friend died, and to this day I still can't believe it. If those doctors hadn't fought their hardest to bring him back to life, this story would be ending on a much sadder note. I can't even begin to imagine how I would be coping if that had been the case. Thankfully, TJ is alive and well today and is in full recovery mode in the comfort of his own home. I can't wait for him to fully recover so that we can resume our many raving adventures together!
This whole ordeal has been a very sobering reminder for me, that I really need to be telling the people that I love, how much I love them and appreciate their presence in my life. Life is too short and too unpredictable. You never know who will still be around tomorrow. You never know when Life has other plans for people. You never know when the Grim Reaper will decide to fill his quota with someone you love. So while they are still around, TELL THEM. Make sure that they know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much you love and care for them.
One of the biggest regrets that I hear from people who have lost someone, is that they didn't put enough effort into making sure that their loved one knew that they were loved, etc. Don't be one of those people. Go out into the world and tell your friends how much you love them. But more than that, tell them WHY you love them. Just make sure that they know. It's important.
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!steemitworldmap 40.754539 lat -111.902618 long Salt Lake City, Utah local Steemian! d3scr
That's a much happier ending than I was expecting! @ironshield
Yeah, I wanted to tell his story in a way that incorporated such a twist in it, to see who among my followers (and people on Steemit in general) actually reads my posts to the end before commenting :P
I'm so glad he's okay!! I wonder how many people will comment about how sorry they are, and not even read through to the end. ;P Is this your friend who is the intj?
Thank you! Yes, I wondered about that too, when I chose the title for my post. There's already at least 2 who have done so XD And yes, it is indeed the INTJ! :)
aww , i know about such Stories , i lost mine a couple years ago too. I know words dont really help there as much as they needed.. but i want to send a HUG over the Ocean...
Thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Thankfully my best friend made it back to the land of the living.
hey man my best friends brother died 2 years ago and it was pretty hard time accepting that it happend and that we cant see him again but you have to think positive otherwise you find yourself in a hole full of depression.
Thank you. Yes it is indeed important to try to think positive instead of focusing on the sadness and what could have happened.
@rodeo670 glad your friend is fine now. I can understand even imaginibg of loosing someone close gives goosebumps. TJ had lost breath for almos 8 min. I belive he is a real fighter and not going to give up so easily. I wud say just spent max time to make him comfortable of all the pain he is going thru. 👍
Thank you so much, I'm glad he's fine now too. It's such a relief that he is recovering well now.
Wow what an incredible post, when he died I was about to kick off and start cursing the doctors and hospital for the terrible job they had seemed to have done. The body is not an easy thing but thats the problem aswell too many doctors relating cases, and not looking at people on an individual basis. But when you said he was revived I cheered. But can I ask not meaning to sound morbid did he say what it was like when he was clinically dead, did he see anything does he remember???
Thank you for reading my post! He said that he saw and felt nothing but cold black darkness....perhaps he just doesn't remember the other side, or maybe there really are two types of people, the ones who see stuff when they die and the ones who don't...
Wow @rodeo670... my heart was breaking. As I was reading, I was holding my breath in hope, even when it seemed hopeless. I'm glad hope prevailed. I definitely know TJ had angels watching over him. I hope he continues to get stronger. (So relieved.)
lol... just realized I forgot to upvote. Resteemed too. :)
Thank you so much, @karencarrens! I appreciate you taking the time to read the story, as well as the upvote and resteem! He can't leave this world yet, we have far too many things we need to accomplish first :P
What an amazing story. Happy to hear of a good ending.
Thank you so much!
I am so sorry hun, that is not only heartbreaking but tragic that these mistakes happen. I can't imagine being the one to hear this, knowing the powerlessness ofwhat could have been. hugs I accused someone of not reading but I was so sad I didnt finish the post. hahahah! guilty - I am so happy he is alive!
Thank you so much @torico! That's exactly what messed me up so much about it, the whole "knowing the powerlessness of what could have been" thing. It still shakes me to my core today just thinking about it honestly...but I'm trying to move forward now and just focus on the positive fact that he came back to us and he is still here today :)
Wow, what an ordeal to go through. It's scary to see the progression of a smaller procedure to become a life-threatening event. Good to hear that he made it through! Did he have any insight about the afterlife?
Thank you so much @road2nowhere! I'm glad he made it through as well. You know, I haven't asked him about that honestly, but from what he told me it sounded like he's one of those people who ended up in nothing but complete darkness. Like you know how some people will come back and say that they saw bright lights and went on some spiritual journey etc., and then some other people will swear that there's nothing there but darkness and nothingness...
I hear ya, I had a friend that was DOA after a car crash and they brought him back. He said he saw nothing. From what I've read only about 15% of people have an afterlife experience.
Thank you for sharing this story about TJ. I am so happy he is alive and you are okay. This life experience is an eye opener. Its always awesome to know that anyone can help turn a situation around as long as they are willing to fight for their life or fight for someone else's life.
Thank you so much @heyitsjooo! It really is an eye-opener. I've had a lot on my mind lately but this whole ordeal has been one of the biggest reminders of the important things in life.
A lot of people dont realize that we are all mortals. Hope you and your friend have a good life
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post!
Rodeo,
Welcome back. Much love to your friend as well. Thank you for sharing this experience with the world. I will not go into detail, but this resonated with me and my recent events. Wishing you and your loved ones, all the blessed.
Thank you so much, @jacobts! It's good to be back. All the best to you and your loved ones as well.
I'm so glad he's okay, but what an ordeal!! I agree, it's important that the people you love know that you love them. That's why I always make it a point to tell my husband I love him even just once a day, cause you never know.
Thank you! Yes, you literally never know. That's one of the crazy things about life, someone you love could be here one second and the next they could be gone forever... :(
I am glad you friend is actually alive and well. And, making progress. Sooner than later hopefully he will be back to his full strength. I am glad it all worked out in the end as I know a lot about losing your best friend.
My best died in a car accident after being 3 months in a coma when I was just a kid. It was a very side period of life for me. He was an amazing friend and a good-hearted person. So my advice to you is to hug your friend every day and show him how much he means to you. Because you could of easily never got a chance to do it again. Just like I did not.
Very happy your friend is ok and well. Wishing him a fast recovery. :)
Thank you so much for reading my/his story, @awakentolife! I'm chuckling at your username right now though, because he really did "awaken to life" after dying :P But on a more serious note, I'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through the loss of your own best friend at such a young age. I hope that you have since then fully recovered on all levels. And yes, I am a big hugger type lol so I make it a point to always hug the people I love :) I hope you're having a good day!
I'm sad that your friend had to go through all of that. Very happy he is still here. Hope that he does well going forward.
Thank you so much, I hope that he does well going forward as well. I appreciate you taking the time to read my/his story!
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I feel sorry for your loss.
Thank you for your message, it is so true.
The people you love should know that you love them.
You never know when the time will come and maybe then it will be too late.
Best wishes to you
It's not a loss if you actually read to the end...
Ok sorry seems like i didn‘t read thoroughly enough.
The better that he is alive!
My condolences on losing your friend. The medical neglect and incompetence honestly makes me very mad.
Glad he pulled through.
Hey @rodeo670, great post! I enjoyed your content. Keep up the good work! It's always nice to see good content here on Steemit! :)
Are you a bot? lol I literally just posted this a minute ago, there's no way you could have read the whole thing and actually known what it was about.
what a total ASS you are. did you even read the content??