Prayers please

[waywardgs]

Um.. You bet your ass it would be different.

[Asha]

Anyone feel free to steal what I'm about to say for a song or a poem to your dad or girlfriend if you're an emo kid but stress actually does cause death.
A broken heart for instance can actually cause stress induced cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart. Not forgetting stress raises blood pressure and over a long term can cause what's known as death.

I think what Bob is saying is that stress causes stress related diseases that can cause pain or death but it's not the stress that caused the stress related disease that's responsible.
Which is completely wrong.

Razorblade snowflake tears in my heart.

[Savrin]

Does it matter? We're not filing a lawsuit.

Regardless of what could of happened, I doubt many families want more than to see their loved one better. If the possibility of a payout is more important then priorities need to be checked.

Well said. Have they made any conclusions yet about what brought on the sickness?

[Bobmuhthol]

I think what Bob is saying is that stress causes stress related diseases that can cause pain or death but it's not the stress that caused the stress related disease that's responsible.
Which is completely wrong.

Stress does not generate disease. It might trigger disease, but it doesn't create it. If I had a condition where I dropped dead when someone said, "Drayal is really cool and I like him a lot," and then someone actually said it around me, I don't think they can be sued.

The point is that a sentence that leads to someone dying of stress is not exactly the fault of the person who said it. Even if you want to say the stress killed the person (obviously wrong but you seem to disagree), they're not legally responsible.

Ergo, STOP SUING PEOPLE FOR SPEAKING.

[Gnome Rage]

We had a not so nice trip to the hospital this evening. Matt fainted in the hallway, they believe it was something to do with his vegas nerve, the temperature change and a bit of dehydration or something of the sort - though the neurologist says she doubts dehydration.

Either way, he had a CT scan and it actually looked better than the one before. They discharged him in a little under 4 hours, but it was still a not so fun trip.

Keep praying.

[Kuyuk]

We had a not so nice trip to the hospital this evening. Matt fainted in the hallway, they believe it was something to do with his vegas nerve, the temperature change and a bit of dehydration or something of the sort - though the neurologist says she doubts dehydration.

Either way, he had a CT scan and it actually looked better than the one before. They discharged him in a little under 4 hours, but it was still a not so fun trip.

Keep praying.



seems strange they would discharge him so quickly after all the problems after surgeries... sucks for him :(

[Gnome Rage]

He didn't want to be there. And he's going back on Thursday for a check up anyways. He seems okay today. Wants to sleep, had some applesauce.

[Gnome Rage]

So, we're back home. This is just a reminder to please keep him in your prayers. He is still struggling through recovery and is supposed to go back to work on Nov. 1st. As it appears right now, that may be extremely difficult. However, he would have to go onto unpaid disability if he wanted to keep any paid time for his radiation. So please, please keep him in mind and hope that this residual pain goes away soon.

[AnticorRifling]

Is he making any progress?

[Divone]

You're profile pictures makes me giggle. I picture the caption "Take my wallet, just don't hurt me!"

Still praying for you and Matt and hoping recovery from here on out is speedy and free of pain.

[Gnome Rage]

Progress is minimal at best. He is still taking pain pills to deal with throbbing. Except now he's nauseous more often than not. He's frustrated and overwhelmed which makes recovery that much harder. He is stubborn and doesn't like asking for help. =/

He has an appt. with his ENT in CT on the 27th.

[Gnome Rage]

He also lost nearly 35 pounds now. He's 5'9"/5'10" and is only at about 135/140 lbs.

[Gan]

Thoughts and prayers.

[Bobmuhthol]

(He was overweight before)

[Gnome Rage]

Yes, he was. However, he isn't at a healthy weight now which was the point. Your desire to be cruel is a little insensitive at this time. I'd prefer you attack me and not the man that I love, who you have never met or spoken to.

Thanks.

[Bobmuhthol]

(140 pounds is not an unhealthy weight)

[Drew]

5'10 -135 is unhealthy according to the internet I just consulted. Besides weight free-falling is almost never healthy unless it's from actual exercise/diet.

[Gnome Rage]

perhaps if you saw how thin he is. how he struggles to walk sometimes because his legs lost most of their muscle mass from laying in a bed for 2 months, you'd understand. but i dont expect you to try.

[Rinualdo]

Yes, he was. However, he isn't at a healthy weight now which was the point. Your desire to be cruel is a little insensitive at this time. I'd prefer you attack me and not the man that I love, who you have never met or spoken to.

Thanks.

Hate to tell you this sister, but posting someone else's medical diary on a text based video game forum is going to open him up to insensitivity, as you call it.

You want to protect him from mean internet people? Stop posting the play by play of his medical condition.

[waywardgs]

Does crb still have the cash from that twitter fiasco? Maybe the PC should send him $2000 worth of pizza.

[Asha]

rofl

[Archigeek]

You know, sometimes it helps to be able to talk about it, and a request for prayer is never a bad thing. It amazes me that people can be so crass, while someone else is staring down the barrel of a life and death situation. And yeah I don't need you to explain to me that it's the internet. Grow up.

[Bobmuhthol]

I just want to clarify that I wasn't insensitive to anything but the claim that someone in a healthy weight range is not in a healthy weight range. Also, let the record show that all of my prior, current, and future attacks are intended strictly for the overdramatic Gnome Rage at her request.

[Gnome Rage]

You continue to say that he is in a healthy weight range, however he is not. We have been told by the doctors that he is not, and I know that you are an intelligent guy, but I think I'll stick with what the doctors are saying.

[Kuyuk]

You continue to say that he is in a healthy weight range, however he is not. We have been told by the doctors that he is not, and I know that you are an intelligent guy, but I think I'll stick with what the doctors are saying.

Hope he's doing better.

But just remember, those doctors (or interns/whatever) also said he had bad bacteria and was gonna die... just sayin.

But I know he's not in a healthy weight range. (Although I looked slim and mean[cracked out] at 145 at 5'9. Now I cant drop below 158, damn cookies are stuck to me)

[Gnome Rage]

Different doctors. This is his general.

[Mathari]

Gnome Rage, you're absolutely right to stick with what his doctors (and others who have actually seen him) are saying about his weight. While it's true that at least some BMI charts say that 135-140 is within the "healthy" weight range for people who are 5'10" -- and I'm assuming that this is where others are getting the idea that he's not at an unhealthy weight right now(?) -- BMI calculations do not take into account things like an individual's bone density, musculature, distribution of fatty tissue, waist size, etc., and so cannot be used by themselves to diagnose whether or not any particular individual is at a healthy weight level. The calculations ignore extremely relevant individual differences in body composition and instead take into account only two things: height and weight. About the most that you can (reasonably) do with those calculations is use them as heuristic devices allowing you to say with some justification that a person of a given height and a given weight is likely to be overweight (or underweight, or of healthy weight, etc.), assuming a largely sedentary lifestyle and that all else is equal. (And given your boyfriend's condition, I doubt that all else counts as equal.)

Anyway, there's a nice bit about some of these issues with the BMI here, for anyone interested: http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_05_09.html

[diethx]

(He was overweight before)

Successful troll is successful.

[Gan]

The lack of understanding the difference between wisdom and knowlege in this thread is sad.

Hang in there GR.

[Gnome Rage]

New Update
Matt entered the hospital at around 2:45PM yesterday via ambulance. He was white, clamy, alert but not verbally responsive. When I got there at about 5, we were waiting on the OR to be free so that the surgeon from his first (March) surgery could place a drain in his skull. They drilled a hole and basically put a one way valve (like a pool float) in his head so that it could release the air in his skull. He had CSF around the brain, but inside the brain it was dry. He has an infection, but the culture haven't had enough time so we're not sure what it is. He's on three types of antibiotics to cover the most likely culprits.

So right now he's sedated by medicine (the kind Michael Jackson was using without a ventilator and died), and on a ventilator. He's got his arms tied down by these straps so that he doesn't pull the IVs (all 3 of them). His vitals are all good, his color is good. The surgeon is coming in at 10. (The surgeon that said that if Pittsburgh weren't far away he'd send him back there rather than doing the surgery because he was offended that the radiation specialist referred him there in the first place, his words. Not mine)

[Gnome Rage]

The ENT from his first surgery just came in and told us that they refuse to do any more surgery on Matt and will be flying him back to Pittsburgh, possibly tomorrow. This is after the neurosurgeon told us that Matt wouldn't make a helicopter flight if they tried. Apparently 24 hours makes a huge difference...

They also both conveyed that they were extremely offended that we went to see other doctors - even though the radiologist refused to treat Matt unless he had more surgery. While I'm sure the ENT and neurosurgeon DO believe they can't perform more surgery on Matt - it feels driven by the fact that they took such great offense to us getting different doctors.

I'm glad that he's going back to Pittsburgh, because the neurosurgeon there truly appears to care for Matt, even if it is a false-front I'd rather that to the extremely cold and harsh demeanor of the doctors here.

However, I won't be able to see him until he's back - or Thanksgiving break.

[DoctorUnne]

That bothers me that doctors put their own pride above what is best for the patient

[Stanley Burrell]

Man, I don't know how you talk about personal stuff like this, but it's admirable, GR. I've been throwing out lots of minor bullshit complaints my whole life so I don't ever have to address the serious shit.

Whatever, I'm jealous of your ability to be so forthright and candid about these things. Again, hope everything goes O.K. as O.K. can go.

[Gnome Rage]

That bothers me that doctors put their own pride above what is best for the patient

Yes, well. The ENT told me today that I obviously don't have Matt's best interest in mind. Needless to say, I was livid.

and as far as posting here - I think that it relieves some stress so I don't attack the doctors who have been so crass

[4a6c1]

One of my favorite people in the world is this little Vietnamese dude I always fall into study group with. He's a genius of course but the problem is he wants to be a brain surgeon. A BRAIN SURGEON. And he never gets my Grey's Anatomy jokes. That should be illegal btw - prospective brain surgeons who dont know who McDreamy is, amirite?!

Anyways. I think he hates people. He has been here 12 years and refuses to speak English unless he has to. When he finally does speak English it is to bark orders at someone. And he's smarter than us so we mostly do what he barks.

So last week while he was barking at me in bad english I got peckish and took advantage of the open lines of communication. "You're going to have to improve your bedside manner if you want to be a brain surgeon, Doctor Tran." All up in his personal space. Because traditional asians are traditional.

Tran: "Why? I wont have to talk to anybody." Said with a straight face. Full honesty. And turned away - ignoring my attempts to make him uncomfortable.

:(

I think Doctors should be healers but *I think* the reality is most of them go into it because they are simply intelligent enough to analyze complex mechanical systems on a fundamental level and troubleshoot until they can hypothesize with regard to data and intuition.

[TheEschaton]

And we all know what happens when you have good bedside manners - you cut LVAD wires.

[AnticorRifling]

I like our family doc BECAUSE he has zero bedside manner.

[4a6c1]

And we all know what happens when you have good bedside manners - you cut LVAD wires.

:rofl:

After that you need to lay on your dead husband that you've known for a week in a pink satin dress that you bought to get married in.

[TheEschaton]

Dude, she bought that dress for the prom they were throwing. You thought you could trip me up like that?

[Gnome Rage]

One of my favorite people in the world is this little Vietnamese dude I always fall into study group with. He's a genius of course but the problem is he wants to be a brain surgeon. A BRAIN SURGEON. And he never gets my Grey's Anatomy jokes. That should be illegal btw - prospective brain surgeons who dont know who McDreamy is, amirite?!

Anyways. I think he hates people. He has been here 12 years and refuses to speak English unless he has to. When he finally does speak English it is to bark orders at someone. And he's smarter than us so we mostly do what he barks.

So last week while he was barking at me in bad english I got peckish and took advantage of the open lines of communication. "You're going to have to improve your bedside manner if you want to be a brain surgeon, Doctor Tran." All up in his personal space. Because traditional asians are traditional.

Tran: "Why? I wont have to talk to anybody." Said with a straight face. Full honesty. And turned away - ignoring my attempts to make him uncomfortable.

:(

I think Doctors should be healers but *I think* the reality is most of them go into it because they are simply intelligent enough to analyze complex mechanical systems on a fundamental level and troubleshoot until they can hypothesize with regard to data and intuition.


Fortunately, the Doctor in Pittsburgh does have bedside manner as well as the intelligence to analyzed complex mumbo-jumbo. The guy here told us, though I doubt the honesty and wonder if attorneys were involved at the top, that he didn't know how to fix Matt so he wanted to send him where someone knew what to do.

So the Doctor he's with today is good with bedside manner and he's a good surgeon. So, I guess that's all you can ask for

[Eoghain]

Doctors with poor bedside manner get sued if anything ever goes wrong, and shit inevitably goes wrong. He'll get his. The only doctors that don't really need bedside manner are Anesthesiologists and... I think that's it actually. Even your surgeons have to come check on you afterward and follow up on stuff.

Good luck GR. I wish the best for him.

[Liagala]

The only doctors that don't really need bedside manner are Anesthesiologists and... I think that's it actually. Even your surgeons have to come check on you afterward and follow up on stuff.
Anasthesiologists have to talk to you too, when they come to knock you out. I fought with one once, because my doctor told me I was going to be unconscious for my surgery and the anasthesiologist wanted to just give me a spinal.

[msconstrew]

Doctors with poor bedside manner get sued if anything ever goes wrong, and shit inevitably goes wrong. He'll get his. The only doctors that don't really need bedside manner are Anesthesiologists and... I think that's it actually. .

Don't forget about pathologists!

[diethx]

Doctors with poor bedside manner get sued if anything ever goes wrong, and shit inevitably goes wrong. He'll get his. The only doctors that don't really need bedside manner are Anesthesiologists and... I think that's it actually. Even your surgeons have to come check on you afterward and follow up on stuff.

Good luck GR. I wish the best for him.

Anesthesiologists still talk to the patients before surgery, so, not true!

eta: Suckit Lia!

[Gnome Rage]

He made it through the surgery okay. The previous surgery had patched his nose with fat from his belly - but because it was dead tissue it didn't take hold the way it was supposed to, so they sealed it with more of the tissue that makes up the inside of the nose, this way it will live and grow and therefore replace itself. The shunt was not placed because the doctors believe he still has an infection, once that clears up they will put in place the shunt.

[4a6c1]

eta: Suckit Lia!

Estimated Time of Arrival: Suckit Lia!

I like this sentence very much. A very merry unbirthday.

[Gnome Rage]

He has been taken off the ventilator, he isn't complaining of a sore throat which we were expecting. He is still in pain as far as his head, but they gave him a pump of dilauded. They expect to move him to a regular room tomorrow. He is even talking, not quite coherently but he is trying. He barely remembers what happened between Saturday and today... which I think is kind of a good thing.

[diethx]

Do you really think that he's going to be happy you posted that picture? I understand you use this forum to vent your feelings, but that picture seems a bit inappropriate.

[Asha]

Agreed with diethx. Nobody.. nobody needs to see those eyebrows.

[diethx]

Agreed with diethx. Nobody.. nobody needs to see those eyebrows.

lol, I heart you.

[Archigeek]

The last thing I remember my anesthesiologist saying was, "I'm going to give you a little something to get you started."

[Gan]

OK - OK - OK
Just a little pinprick
There'll be no more Aaaaaahhhhh!
But you may feel a little sick

[TheEschaton]

There is no pain, you are receding....a distant ship's smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves, your lips move, but I can't hear what you're saying...

[Asha]

The last thing my anesthesiologist said to me before I went out was ''I'm the guy who is going to take you to Heaven'' as he pushed some milky liquid into a vein on my hand.
That kinda didn't ring true to me and scared me.
He asked me to count down from 25 and I watched him empty the syringe instead. I remember being about to say this is bullshit and I'm scared as the bed was tipping backwards to help the blood rush to my head.
I got to 24 when I felt the rush of cold from my hand to my arm to my body and to the base of my skull then 2hrs later I woke up.
It was awesome and I asked him when I could actually talk what it was he hit me with and he said a mixture a valium and morphine. The next 24 hours were an amazing mixture of sleep and being awake feeling amazing.
He was right with the Heaven thing.

[Rinualdo]

Seriously. WTF is wrong with you posting that picture.
You are one fucked up bitch.

[Gnome Rage]

Surgery tomorrow to place the permanent shunt - slightly rushed because he has a fungal infection (this time for real, I guess) that they believe is from the temporary drain that was placed in his skull. He's on an anti-fungal by IV 4 times a day and orally 3 times a day. He still has blurred/double vision and headaches. Please keep him in your thoughts tomorrow, we're not sure what time the OR will be free but I'll post as soon as I know he's alright...

[Gnome Rage]

I guess they just put a new drain in and will be putting the shunt in after about a week. Which is good news because he was going to have to wait another month before. That's all I know now.

[Gnome Rage]

Feeding tube is being placed directly into his stomach from the outside, as well as a draining tube to remove the "gross stuff" in his stomach so he will stop vomiting. Surgery is Thursday. I'm flying out on Friday. =/

[Androidpk]

If I was him I'd be telling them to pull the plug right about now.

[Kuyuk]

wtf.. :(

Why is he having so many damn complications - it seems pretty fucked up to have so many. Wishing him the best still. He's a good guy.

[Showal]

I feel awful about what's happening to him. I just know if it were me and I ended up pulling through, i would feel violated if I ever saw this thread about me. Especially with that picture. I don't need all my medical information and complications broadcasted to the world, particularly strangers.

[AnticorRifling]

Not sure why you're calling us strange Mr. Red Ninja....apparently you need a good bar brawl to get yourself back in check.

[Gravebane525]

wtf.. :(

Why is he having so many damn complications - it seems pretty fucked up to have so many. Wishing him the best still. He's a good guy.

the DR's may be milking the insurance company. I had it happin with my grandfather. he thought he might be having a heart attack (at this point he's had plenty) and was rushed to the closest hospital. his medical records say he is to be stabilized then transported to the hospital his heart DR is at which was about an hour away with out sirens. instead they held him there agenst his will for 3 days running all kinds of unnecessary tests until they triggered another heart attack, then they finally released him to be transported to his own DR.

DR's at hospitals are one step above lawyers and mechanics on how trust-able they are. you can find really great ones that care alot about there patients. my grandfathers heart DR was one of those and we had alot more time with my grandfather because of him. then you also have DR's that look for shit and when they can't find it they make it up, or come up with more tests and more tests that arn't needed just looking for some excuse to run more tests.

[Tgo01]

the DR's may be milking the insurance company. I had it happin with my grandfather. he thought he might be having a heart attack (at this point he's had plenty) and was rushed to the closest hospital. his medical records say he is to be stabilized then transported to the hospital his heart DR is at which was about an hour away with out sirens. instead they held him there agenst his will for 3 days running all kinds of unnecessary tests until they triggered another heart attack, then they finally released him to be transported to his own DR.

Wow they strapped your grandfather down and held a gun to this head during his whole stay? That is pretty horrible, hope you called the police.

[Gravebane525]

Wow they strapped your grandfather down and held a gun to this head during his whole stay? That is pretty horrible, hope you called the police.

yep pretty bad ain't it. even when his DR sent an ambulance to pick him up the place he was at still would not release him. the ambulance drivers couldn't take my grandfather with out the hospital that had him signed release forms.they were not done milking the insurance company. the ambulance drivers couldn't take my grandfather with out the hospital that had him signed release forms.

[AnticorRifling]

Hyperbole and retarded writing skills, snatch this one up ladies.

[Gravebane525]

Hyperbole and retarded writing skills, snatch this one up ladies.

yea I wish that was exaggerating.

[Gnome Rage]

I feel awful about what's happening to him. I just know if it were me and I ended up pulling through, i would feel violated if I ever saw this thread about me. Especially with that picture. I don't need all my medical information and complications broadcasted to the world, particularly strangers.
I'll address this once. He's read the thread - until he was unable to see straight he kept up on the thread. Its one of his bookmarks. If he ever asked me to stop, I would - but he never expressed any discomfort from it. In fact, when people wish him well, he'd bring it up in conversation and tell me to make sure I thanked them, etc.

[Gnome Rage]

wtf.. :(

Why is he having so many damn complications - it seems pretty fucked up to have so many. Wishing him the best still. He's a good guy.

Because it isn't something dealt with a lot - he is seeing one of the most experienced surgeons in the country, but no one really knows exactly what to do. I don't blame them for having to do all the surgery, I know they're trying to help - the ones in Pittsburgh that is. It just becomes frustrating for everyone, especially him, and that is what bothers me.

[Asha]

Han in there hon. This must be awful for you.

[Gnome Rage]

So, I made a twitter for his family to follow, anyone that wants to see updates - if you PM me I'll give you the link and such.

[home2decorate]

"Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."
------------------------------------------
Interior Design Living Room (http://www.home2decor.com/)

[Asha]

Answer to all your problems right there.