Ted's Story
The early years
I was born in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, February 24th, 1965 in the Illinois Masonic Hospital. I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The Kidney Operation
On December 23, 1982 I was helping a friend deliver his newspapers so that we could both go Christmas shopping afterwards. It was a very warm day inspite of the fact that it was only two days before Christmas and we were in Michigan. The temerature was around 50 degrees.
I had just exited my vehicle and began to cross the road when I was hit by a Ford Escort. The driver was looking at the houses or somthing and was not paying attention to the road and so he did not see me. I was hit so hard that I was thrown onto his windshield. The driver immediately got out of his car and offered me his assistance. He tried to cover me up and he went to a nearby house to call an ambulance. The first thing that came to my mind is that I had to get out of the road so that I would not be hit a second time. It took all of the energy I could muster to stand up. I immediately discovered that I had broken my collar bone in the accident. As soon as i stood up I felt the broken bone pressing against my muscles and it was painful. I immediately discovered the position your arm needs to be in to prevent the bone from moving too much. As soon as I got to the side of the road I collapsed onto the lawn. The accident occured on Race Street near the St. Joseph Catholic Church and I collapsed onto their lawn. I was going in and out of consciousness and it seemed like it took a very long time for the ambulance to get there. Although no witnesses saw the accident directly a crowd soon gathered around me to see what happened. They are like giant rats coming out of the sewer, one minute no one is there and the next the place is infested with vermin. As a victim of a serious accident I can say that gawking is a very bad thing to do. Unless you can do somthing to help stay away.
No one needs to have some gawker looking to see if you are dead or have body parts hanging out when you have a serious accident.
Often times, the gawkers get in the way of the people who are trying to help the victims of the accident. This was one of the worst days of my life and there were people who were so damn curious that they just had to right there in my face.
When the ambulance got to the scene they asked me where I hurt. I told them about the collar bone and then they asked me if I thought I could walk. They should have simply put me on a stretcher. I could have suffered further injuries by attempting to move. The paramedics should assume the worse possible injures and move the person as carefully as possible. Instead I had to walk to the ambulance.
I was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital. I was treated only for the broken collar bone and then I was released. At the time I was released my blood pressure was 200/100 (120/80 is considered normal) no further test were done to determine if I had suffered any other injuries. I believe that I was treated this way for two reasons. First of all, the hospital emergency room was very busy and secondly, I did not have any insurance. With a blood pressure that high I believe I should have been admitted for observation and further test. Who knows, maybe my kidney could have been repaired at that point instead of removed later.
On Christmas day I could barely move. I had a clavical brace on for my broken collar bone and my knee was swollen up to about the size of a large softball. I could barely get my pants on over the knee. My knee was injured when it hit the hood of the Escort and dented it, just before I hit the windshield with the left side of my face. I could not use crutches due to the fact that the collar bone was broken. I hopped around all day on the good leg and each time I moved it felt like I was being stabbed in the area of my collar bone. For me Christmas was ruined.
Over the next few weeks I began to get very sick. I felt pain in my back and on my side. It hurt to sit up, It hurt to lie down, It hurt in the house, it hurt with a mouse, it hurt here and there, it hurt everywhere. To steal a line from Dr. Suess. I did not understand what was happening. I was just 17 and at that age you don't often think of illnesses as being life threatening. For about two weeks I barely ate at all. I could not hold anything down. I was extremely weak and I went from about 145 pounds to 112 pounds. I began to notice blood in my urine, which is a sign of internal bleeding. I was scared.
On Tuesday January 11th, 1983 I went to school because I had a final examination in a physical fitness class. This was not a good idea. Inspite of the fact that I was obviously very sick, I later found out I was close to being dead, the coach in his infinite wisdom suggested that I take the test. Although I was very weak I did manage to run a few laps for him. I was turning very pale and the coach could see that it was not a good idea to have me take the test. The coach said that day,"no pain, no gain." That may be true for some minor pain but, the pain of a ruptured kidney is very extreme. This pain is a signal that somthing is seriously wrong and you should immediately seek medical attention.
After physical education I went to work in the library for an hour. I did this instead of taking a study hall. As soon as Del Farnsworth, the librarian, saw me he suggested that I go home and have my parents call for a doctors appointment. What was not obvious to the coach was very obvious to Mr. Farnsworth. I went home and called my mother she came and picked me up and we went to the doctors appointment.
The doctor thought she was being funny when she said I ordered a urine test not a blood test. The humour was lost on me in my weak state. The doctor told my mother to immediately take me to Bronson Hospital where there would be people waiting for us. When we got to the hospital I was taken into a private examination room. I remember the intern, I won't use his name, made a very stupid remark when he saw me. He said, "you look bad!"
After a quick examination he asked me, "Don't you know the signs of kidney failure?" My quick response was, "no, I must have missed that day of medical school." Even in my weak state I got him good. The other doctor took the intern out into the hallway and chewed him out.
When the intern came back he explained to me that it was very likely that the accident had caused some internal injuries that were causing me to get sick and pass blood. He also told me that if I did not have surgery very soon I would get sicker and I could even die. A punctured kidney releases toxins into your system that can eventually kill you if left untreated. I was then asked if I agreed to have surgery the next morning or as soon as it could be scheduled. I thought my choices were limited so, I agreed to the surgery.
That night I could not have anything solid to eat because of the surgery. I could only have certain fluids. I asked if a chocolate shake is considered a fluid. They thought that would be o.k. and brought one. I thought it was great that I could have ice cream. I don't remember being in too much pain once I got to the hospital. I did not have to move around at all which helped. I remember enjoying being taken care of by the nurses, I loved the attention. I did not get that at home.
The next morning, Wednesday January 12, 1983 I had my surgery. I had to wait around for a long time due to the fact that my blood pressure was too high. The drugs that are used to put you out for surgery also cause your blood pressure to rise. The doctors were afraid that if I went into surgery with a high blood pressure I could have a heart attack or a stroke when I got the drugs to put me out for the surgery.
I remember thinking about what could happen as I waited, which was probally not good for my blood pressure. I believe I had an unusual experience as I waited. I don't remember feeling any pain, inspite of the fact that I had a punctured kidney. I was very calm and at peace with my situation. If I died it was o.k. I did not want to die but, I was no longer afraid of death. Somehow, I knew that whatever happened it would be o.k. I believe that was a spritual experience. There are some who say it must have been a result of the pre surgery drugs. But, after the surgery I had some very strong drugs and I did not have a similar experience. I remember when I woke up the first person I saw was a nurse named Beth. I thought to myself, "Thank God I made it through the surgery and I am alive!" I was also thinking she might have been some kind of angel. She held my hand although I could not feel it, it comforted me. Maybe, there is a reason I did not die that day. Maybe, there is some special purpose for me in this life. I do not know. But, I do know that inspite of all of lifes difficulities, and I have had many, that it is Great to be alive! Where there is life there is hope!