I mentioned before that we were in the process of planning a benefit for B’s friend, T who died last week. Last night was our first planning committee meeting. We’re actually trying to put together a series of benefits throughout the summer to help the widow with the huge medical expenses. We’re trying to plan a benefit concert, a silent auction and a biker rally. Yeah, a biker rally.
During the meeting we were able to get some more information concerning what caused his death. It’s very complicated but the way T’s brother explained it, apparently T was sitting in his office and he was drinking some fruit juice. They think it went down the wrong way and the fluid got into his lungs. He was recovering from a bout of bronchitis so his lungs were already in a weakened state. He was by himself so no one really knows what happens next. A secretary (or someone in the office) heard a noise and went in to see what was going on and they found T slumped over his desk. We don’t know how long he was there but it was several minutes because he suffered quite a bit of brain damage before he got to the hospital. The brain damage was irreparable and he was on life support. The family made the decision to discontinue the life support and he passed away.
I sat in the conference room last night and listened to this series of events. I mentioned in this post about how I had problems with choking and the subsequent procedure I underwent in order to fix the problem. As I listened to what happened to T, I couldn’t help but wonder … all those times I was choking, how close was I to death?
I remember vividly being alone in restaurant bathrooms coughing and crying and thrashing around trying to either cough something up or push it down A pea, a piece of shrimp, a sliver of chicken … trying to drink water to push the food down didn’t work because the food acted like a dam and blocked the entrance. It was horrible and it was scary but I had no idea it may have been deadly.
There was one night that I tried to take a Ty.lenol PM and it got stuck. It wouldn’t move. I tried to swallow it but that pill wouldn’t budge. I could talk and I could breathe and I tried not to panic because I didn’t want my kids to panic. But I was scared. I calmly asked my son to give me the Hei.mlic.h … it didn’t work. I told him to go next door and get my big, corn-fed neighbor, So.nny. So.nny arrived and was also very calm. I was standing there in my nightgown but there was no time for modesty. He got behind me and performed the Hei.mlic.h without success. He said in a very low tone, “J, call 9-1-1.”
My kids were getting nervous. I was still trying to cough this stupid pill up but it wouldn’t move. I tried to swallow water but the water wouldn’t go down. The EMTs arrived and their presence made me even more nervous. I kept coughing and finally one of the EMTs told me to stop because it was possible that pill could wind up in my lungs “and you don’t want that to happen.” They did say that eventually the pill would dissolve because, well, that’s what pills do. They asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital, I said yes. Looking back, I think they thought a trip to the hospital was a waste of time.
My kids went to the neighbor’s house and I got in the back of the ambulance. While in the ambulance one of the techs told me to put my chin on my chest and swallow. I did that a few times and eventually I felt the pill go down before they got a block away from my house.
They brought me back home. My kids came back from the neighbor's and my son was as white as a sheet. We went back into the house and he broke down … “Mom, you could have died. I don’t know what I would do if you died,” he sobbed.
All of this ran through my mind last night. Was I that close to death? Why was I spared? I don’t have the answers to these questions. I don’t know if I was really in that much danger or not. I don’t want to know … not really.
The sun is shining today. I thank God that I'm here to see it.
Note: Donations to the Tom Hall Memorial Fund can be sent to any Virginia TowneBank (www.townebankonline.com for locations) or via paypal at www.dc3band.com.
What is meant to be will be
