—u/RosemaryGoez My parents were contacted in the middle of the night and we all caught the first plane out to the hospital to say our goodbyes. We expected to arrive too late. The doctors said there was no way he would survive the night and even if he did, by some miracle, he would never walk again. However, he didn’t die before we got there and actually managed to recover almost all of his mobility over the next few years." —u/IcedMercury Although he’s still not completely out of the woods, at least the surgeons were able to successfully close his abdomen, his infection is currently under control, and his legs are finally healing properly. If you ask me, he’ll probably live (if the local gangs don’t invade the hospital and kill him before he’s discharged, because it almost happened with him a month into his stay)." —u/NY38 —u/throwawaydidtrt —u/PM_ME_YOUR_ART_PLZ
[She was] fully septic. The ascending colon was removed, and an ileostomy was fitted. Sepsis shut down everything, and her heart kept pumping. She coded numerous times in recovery. … Hospital folks would tell her she was the Christmas miracle. Still amazed she is still with me 17 years later. For the longest time, she kept asking her surgeon, ‘what is typical recovery time’ and he deferred the question. She had an additional seven surgeries, so we got to know her surgeon, and he finally admitted, ‘you’re the only one who survived a total septic shutdown.’" —u/ParkieDude
One month later, a healthy looking man (fit, groomed) approaches me and tells me he’d like to continue the chemotherapy because he’s feeling great. I had no idea who I was talking to until he introduced himself as Mr. X. My jaw dropped to the floor and I sort of rushed to schedule his next rounds of chemo. I asked him what changed his mind about staying and he tells me that on the way home, after about an hour on the road he’s got a weird appetite so he asked his friend to pick up about a dozen cans of Spam* (the European equivalent at least) and he just devoured them on the way home. Seeing that, his friend told him when they got home: ‘well, X, if you can cram that shit in your stomach I’m pretty sure you can take at least two more rounds of chemo.’ So there he was — the living proof that Spam changes lives. So at the end of chemo (8 rounds), he had what we call a ‘Complete response (CR)’ — a CR that lasts to this day (5 years later), pretty much equivalent to ‘cured.’" —u/Qvd1
—u/taywil0402 —u/taywil0402 … After another day or so went by, she still was not getting any better. She was consistently getting worse and worse. Finally, we talked her to going back to the ER because this whole situation was scaring us. This time we saw a different doctor. … He immediately wanted her to do a CT scan. … He said she had a bursted brain aneurysm deep in her brain and that her brain was in fact bleeding on the inside. … He was pale as a ghost because he said he’s never seen or heard of anyone living with a bursted brain aneurysm. He couldn’t believe she was up walking around and still talking. He told us she should be dead. We were in shock. My mother has been dealing with this FOR A WHOLE WEEK. The doctor and nurses prepared my mom to be taken by helicopter up to OKC to see one of the best brain surgeons in the state and have immediate brain surgery. However, when they got her to OKC she ended up having a massive stroke. (This is what they were trying to avoid happening.) The stroke affected her vocal cords and the right side of her body. Once again, she lived through all of that. And she still hadn’t had her brain surgery. Once the brain surgeon explained to us how this surgery was going to go, my dad had to sign a paper giving his consent that it was okay for my mom to be ’legally dead’ for just a few minutes while the surgeon clips this bleeding aneurysm in her brain. It was the only option considering he had to go deep in her brain. The surgeon had the means to bring her back to life once he finished the procedure. … She made it through the 8 hour surgery so beautifully. … My mother had to be in ICU for over a month. … After the ICU she went to 2 different rehab facilities. She fought hard to learn to walk again. … Fast forward to this present day. My mother is still very alive and well. She’s been on a long journey over the years. The doctors all told us she might not make it fice years after she had her brain surgery. 14 years later she’s still here and doing better than ever. She walks and exercises every day. She does everything for herself. She cooks, cleans, and can even drive! Her voice isn’t 100 percent but I can understand her just fine. Her health has never been better!" —Britt_Good
