A Near-Death Experience

This is the strangest story I’ve done in a long time. 

 

Within a matter of weeks, I went from being a healthy 74-year-old to someone who struggled to get out of bed. I could not stand or walk.

 

It was the perfect storm: a ‘medical mishap’ followed by severe blood poisoning [sepsis]. Joining forces with a bacteria, a virus attacked the lower part of my spine [lumbar 4+5]. The result — spinal stenosis — left me partially paralyzed.

 

And — thanks to painkillers — I was in “another world,” not knowing what year it was … and what was going on.

 

Hang on. Here we go …

 

---

It was 1 AM on Monday, April 8, 2024, and I couldn’t move my lower body. I was in considerable pain as well.

 

I was rushed by ambulance to University Hospital in South Edmonton. Lights flashed and machines beeped as attendants attached various cords to my body and peppered me with questions.

 

Someone yelled, “Morphine!” Bang! “How’s that?” an attendant asked as she shot the ‘pain blocker’ in my left shoulder. Moments later, I asked, “How about another?” Bang! A second shot.

 

The ambulance crew [a driver with two attendants in the back] were professional-plus.

 

We got to the hospital in no time at all. I was feeling no pain when we pulled up in Emergency at the U-of-A Hospital downtown. An attendant recognized my name on the Alberta Health card and asked if I was ‘media.’ Given my industry’s lack of credibility, I wasn’t sure what that meant. Maybe they’d take a wrong turn and drive to Ontario …

 

Turns out, it meant nothing.

 

I watched as ambulance attendants and nurses scrambled to look after patients. It wasn’t all love and roses. A teenage girl tried to kick an ambulance attendant. A worker shrugged her shoulders and said one word — “drugs” — as if to say the aggressive behaviour was not uncommon.

 

I struggled to stand or walk. From the waist down, I was partially paralyzed. I could slowly drag my feet, but that was it.

 

There was more bad news. According to hospital records, my chances of survival were just 20 percent. That’s because blood poisoning had set in and my body was shutting down. I had Streptococcus B, a known killer of people over 60. The virus had targeted the lower part of my spine.

 

I was on oxygen 24/7. Nurses would panic when the tiny plastic tubes dislodged from my nose.

 

Not only was my heart, lungs, kidneys and liver shutting down, but so was my brain. I knew my name, but that was about it. I did not know the year [I thought it was 2019] and I didn’t recognize some who came to visit. You could say that I was the perfect candidate for an appointment to the Canadian Senate.

 

Months later, I still can’t recall the visitors who stood by my hospital bed. Thank you, morphine.

 

I knew I was in trouble because — as we well know — the eyes shout what the lips fear to say. Imagine. 20 percent chance of survival. Let that sink in. This was something out of a Twilight Zone episode. One doctor figured the chance of me not pulling through was closer to 90 percent. No matter. Numbers aside, I was in serious trouble.

.

Some actually thought I had dementia. Err, no. I was hallucinating because of the drugs. God only knows what would have happened if I’d been given a cognitive test, and fast-tracked to a nursing home. You wouldn’t be reading this post had that happened.

Progress was painfully slow. Two steps forward, one back kind of thing.

 

I want to give a special salute to the nurses on my [5th] floor, especially a therapist who encouraged me to take my first steps and returned daily to push me to strive harder. And to eat! I had no desire to eat anything. However, every day without food and leg movement saw my muscle mass deteriorate by 7 to 10 percent. I would eventually lose 60 pounds. I was looking like a Canadian soldier released from a Japanese internment camp in World War Two.

One of my roommates, Calvin, a man in his late 20’s I reckon, would wince from the constant pain, but he did not complain. He sure knew his music. From my iPhone, I played hit tunes from the ’60s and ’70s, and he knew them all.

 

There was one touching moment, and for the love of God, I will never forget it. It was about three in the morning and three patients [myself included] shared a room with only the flimsy hospital curtains separating us. We were all moaning and someone suddenly exclaimed, “Jesus, why have you forsaken us?” Just weird.

 

Wanna know something else that was weird? I’ve lost track of the number of people — family, relatives, neighbours, co-workers, etc — who have said much of the credit for a recovery is thanks to the Big Guy Upstairs. I suspect that’s true.

 

Months have passed since the accident and I can type several words in a row without having to stop and correct. And I can WALK, although I use a cane now and then to steady myself. A hat-tip here to Doctor Ben Peterson, a helpful chiropractor whose love for his work was infectious.

 

Oh. And this is important. NO ONE knowingly did anything wrong. I was being treated for a severe cold that just wouldn’t go away. Turns out it was pneumonia and the prescribed meds I was taking were perfectly normal.

 

I’m now well on the road to recovery — and I’m staying on it until it’s my time to ‘check out.’ I’ve regained most of my lost weight.

 

This whole mess has made me a better person. I’m more tolerant of anyone and anything, and more appreciative. And after what I’ve been through, it’ll be at least a decade or two, before I die.

 

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes. Recognized and appreciated!

HOW HAS THIS CHANGED ME?

First off, it’s made me more appreciative of not just being able to walk again, but grateful to be alive period. It was one heck of a wake-up call. This whole experience has made me realize that life can change in an instant and that our time is short,

 

I’ve pushed into high-gear plans to write a book about my career as a journalist. There are plenty of meaningful stories to be told. A tentative title for the book is “Connections.”

---

 

SOME FREE ADVICE …

Take it or leave it — but exercise caution if you use the drug gabapentin. It is a ‘nerve blocker,’ given to treat back pain. I had this drug but it did more harm than good. It really messed up my brain. I was doing things no sane person would ever do or even imagine.

 

A medical friend described gabapentin as nasty. However, others have said people are alive today because of it.

---

 

 

---

MY REMEMBRANCE DAY – 2024

That was Sunday, November 10th. I made two ‘thank you’ visits that day.

I first thanked the congregation at St. George’s Anglican Church in Devon, southwest of Edmonton, for their prayers when I was on death’s doorstep. I told them their prayers worked because I was no longer in a wheelchair or on crutches. Or using a cane.

My next stop was at the U of A Hospital where I presented nursing staff with flowers and Reese peanut butter chocolates and a card … click to enlarge.

My penmanship is the pits, I know. Here’s a translation: “A huge ‘thank you’ to all the staff on this unit for their love and care when I was terribly sick back in April. I’m [now] about 90-95 percent recovered from blood poisoning. When I arrived by ambulance, my chance of ‘mortality’ was 80 percent [CORRECTION]. I can now walk. No more wheelchair, walkers or canes.  I can dress myself. I can drive again and I’m working again. It hasn’t been easy. Thank you to all your staff. I’m a better person because of this experience. All the best. Byron Christopher. 780-716-4693. PS: Enjoy the goodies.”

---

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Christopher