There is not much I remember about the whole experience. I remember going to work to do some transcribing for a court case, joking with some of the majors, and then going into the office to get started. Everyone ranked captain or higher was going to be doing interviews for potential employees. About 15 minutes in, I was listening to this audio and for some reason my brain could not comprehend it. Nor could I get my fingers to start typing it. It was difficult to explain. A few seconds later, I started shaking uncontrollably. I'm usually cold, so this would be nothing unusual, except that even when I put my jacket on, I was still shaking. I tried to dial the dispatch office with my cellphone, as well as the landline, but I was shaking too hard to push any buttons. I tried to get up, but fell straight back into the chair. I remember praying, "God, please just help me get out of this room!" I don't know how, but I made it to the dispatch office. The telecommunicator on duty was an officer on light duty. He was also a paramedic. I woke up periodically in the ambulance, but I was still shaking so bad that they couldn't get a BP, EKG, or an IV started. I have very few memories of the ER, but the few I remember were shaking so much they had to hold me down. The scariest came when I asked the ER doctor if I was going to die. She told me they were doing the best they could to save my life. I asked her if I would die before my mom got there in 7 hours. She gave me the same answer. I later found out I had a 40% chance of survival. I was in the ER for about 8 hours. They said they couldn't take me upstairs until my BP was above 70 systolic. There were several times I felt like I was on the outside looking in...or maybe the upside looking down would be more accurate. One of those times my BP was 40/28. They had 6 IV's they were pumping as hard and fast as they could. When my veins would burst, they'd start a new one. Finally around 8:30 pm, they took me to the Critical Care Unit. My Mom arrived about an hour later.
The pain was absolutely horrific, and I still couldn't stop shaking. My Mom layed in the hospital bed next to me to hold me when the shaking started. The only thing they could give me for pain was Tylenol.
It took 3 days on 2 high-powered anti-biotics and 1 anti-fungal before I started to improve. After a week, I was feeling much better, and walked out of there. (Actually I rode out in a wheel chair, but my point is still valid...lol). There were 5 separate "bugs" they pulled off my PICC line. Only one made it into my blood stream, thank God!
It's hard to believe that it's been a year since that happened. While the details are foggy, the goodness and mercy of God is not! I could've - and should've - died. But I thank Him everyday for sparing my life! I remember repeating Ps.23 over and over. I also remember hearing a minister say that "goodness" and "mercy" were like the sheep dogs that followed the herds of sheep. He was absolutely right!
