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Helen McKean
My husband James was not feeling too good back in July 1996.On an overseas civilian contract to the Air Force in Spain he visited the Dr's at the Navel Base in Rota.A suspicious lymph node was suspected and a biopsy was scheduled.The Dr was an ENT surgeon.He discovered a carotid body tumour(benign) wrapped around the carotid artery and decided to investigate.Big mistake.The tumour and position of it required a Vascular Surgeon.The ENT cut through James's carotid artery causing a bleed.When he realsied what he had done he clamped off the artery and called for a vascular surgeon.The surgeon arrived 3 hours later.James's brain was without oxygenated blood for this long.The result was a massive right brain stroke.He was on life support and transferred to a Spanish ICU unit where the Spanish Dr's took him off the ventilator and the brain monitor too early which caused swelling. He was brought home to North Carolina in August 1996.

We had not reconnected at this point.His parents had just retired to Wilmington.A long and frustrating road for all involved in James's care.

The Rehab Hospital had James up and walking withnin days of his arrival.He was in PT/OT and Speech therapy.He had memory loss,left paralysis,word retrieval problems,visual agnosia and severe depressions.He was suicidal and tried to convince everyone that he would be better off dead.

He was walking unaided after 6 weeks.The Dr's all said it would take possibly a year to walk unaided.

We were brought back together by James's sister.I visited James in April 1997.We married Jan 1st 1999 and moved to Virginia in June 2000.

James has made a remarkable recovery although he doesn't think so at times.We have tried all the "conventional" methods of treatment and we now feel we are not progressing.So now we are looking into to alternative methods,one beingHyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.We are due to go April 16th to Maryland for at least 10 treatments to start off.We will post a summary of our visit.

We still have a long way to go but we will get there togetherwith or without the Medical Professionals approval.

Email Helen