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Email Greg & Erica
June 26th was a nice relaxed day. Greg and I started with a lazy Saturday morning, a movie in bed, breakfast and then we decided around noon that we would bbq. We had a few beers while preparing the food. We saw our neighbors and invited then to the bbq. Greg's daughter was in Seattle with her mother. Nicole, his daughter was expected home that day. She called to say that her mom had car trouble and that they wouldn't be back until Monday. Knowing that Nicole wouldn't be home we had a couple more beers, ate dinner and listened to music until 11pm. We went to bed like any other night. I was awakened by Greg gasping for air at 3:50 am on Sunday, June 27. At first I thought he was trying to scream as if he were in a dream and I tried to wake him, he stumbled out of bed and collapsed to the floor. As he was passing out I was calling 911. I remember one of the worst things was the 911 operator telling me that I couldn't give mouth to mouth or CPR until he quit breathing. I gave him mouth to mouth when he finally quit breathing. Thankfully the fire dept. was only 2blks away. Greg's heart didn't beat on its own for over 20minutes. We aren't exactly sure how long Greg was without oxygen but he now has what is called "anoxic brain injury" basically lack of blood and oxygen to the brain. You see Greg is a 41 year old man that looks 31, who windsurfs, mountain bikes etc. and for whatever reason his heart went into an abnormal rythmn and stopped. The doctors are not sure why. His cardiologist installed a defibrillator in case his heart should ever do this again it will pace and shock his heart into a normal rythmn. Greg has been home from the hospital for 18days. He is physically in great shape surprisingly enough Greg has the heart of a normal 41 year old. He takes vitamins and an anti-depressant. He however does have short term memory loss. One of the most frustrating things for me is that I find so little information on the subject on anoxic brain injury and what to expect. In a split second all of our lives changed as many of you know. Greg and I were to be married August 21st 1999, my parents 34th wedding anniversary. We have decided to postpone until Greg is able to remember the ceremony. That is all for now if you would like to e-mail us please do. Thank you to all of you and for telling your stories. This is the first website that has brought some hope and support.