hi,,, my name is jeanette. I"m a 59 year old mother of 4 and grandmother to 3 precios grandsons. Unlike some of your stories - I sustained my brain injury at a health center where I went to have a cyst removed from my shoulder. After the procedure was completed, I had a seizure,went into cardiac arrest and was in a coma for 2 1/2 days. This happened in February,1996. I don't remember what happened but I am told I was carried out on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance where I was thankfully resucitatted after being jolted by the "paddles" 6 times.When I arrived at the hospital I was comatose and in intensive care for the next 2 1/2 days. My family was called and when they arrived they were told I was in a coma and they didn't believe I was going to live and suggested that they call a priest to give me the last rites, which they did. My family was devastated by all that was happening and the doctors were evasive as to what happened. No one believed I would survive . My parents and 3 sisters flew up from Florida immediately. When my father came in the room to see me, he patted my hair and said "my little girl" over and over and my family said that I opened my eyes and turned my head toward my daddy. My daddy woke me up from my coma - but, I don"t have any memory of that or what followed the 3 1/2 weeks I was in the hospital. My husband cried uncontrobally, my 2 daughters never left my side . One of them was always beside me talking me into waking up, coaxing me to eat, holding my hand, anything they said to make me feel better. My older son had just gotten married 3 months earlier and his bride would whisper into my ear that if I would wake up from my coma she and my son would make a grandchild for me to love. They kept their promise and gave me a beautiful grandson 9 months later. I call him my "precious heartbeat". I am so thankful that I am still here and able to hold him in my arms and watch him grow. I"m so thankful to be here for my husband and my 4 children and grandchildren. They have been my lifeline and helped me survive. I have been in excellent health my whole life. I was very independent and worked 12 or more hours a day, seven days a week with my husband at our family owned deli which our kids worked part time with us. We had a house, lots of friends and future which would allow us to sell the deli and live a nice "golden retirement dream. All that changed - we were forced to sell the deli at a huge loss because I was unable to return to work. I handled all the financial stuff, paperwork, ordering, maintenance of operating a deli and when I was unable to do all that - we were forced togive it up. I had to start my life over as "the new Jeanette" When I came home from the hospital, my daughter stayed with me constantly I was unaware of the changes I had . It was about a few months later that I started to become aware that I talked very slow and deliberate, I walked slow and felt like I was in a fog, unable to focus on more than 1 thing at a time and I realized that my memory was only shor t term memory. I didn"t want to do anything and worst of all, I was very depressed and I would cry for no reason. I didn't want to see my friends, especially my closest friend who had a stroke 11 months before my cardiac arrest. It hurt me to think of all the crazy things we used to be able to do and now, I felt like we were 2 invalids. She lost use of her left arm and leg and I was in a zombie state of mind.What a pair! Now we can talk about what happened 4 years ago and we can laugh it away. We shared a lot of crying - our frustrations of losing control over her body and my mind. But, you know what, now we make the time to enjoy a walk in the park and we enjoy the quiet moments talking about our grandchildren and thankful we can laugh about all the hard moments, days, weeks, months and years we shared getting to where we are today. That's what friends are for - in good times and bad, a friend is there for you. I hav e a cardiac defrillator implanted in my and I have that monitored every 3 months. I see a therapist almost every week who talks to me and I can talk with her about all my feelings of depression and she heps me cope with my mental losses. I can't drive right now because I can"t deal with too much confusion around me. I get anxiety attacks if ther are too many people around me and I need to retreat away for seclusion to clear my brain. I"m on an anti depression medication, take another pill (Inderol 60mgs.) to keep me stable so my heart doesn"t have an irregular heartbeat that could lead to another cardiac arrest and between seeing my primary care physician and cardiologist I feel like it's a never ending cycle of doctors and medication. I"ve come a long way - it wasn't easy. People look at me and say I look wonderful after what happened to me but, it's what my brain isn't doing is what's bothering me. I have short term memory loss which makes me crazy. Important things th at I should remember are forgotten . The doctor explains it as a protection so I don"t get too excited - I hate it. I don"t feel the PASSION in my life. Happy moments are now flatlined in my brain. Sad times, I can"t cry. This is very difficult for me because as an Italian, I'm a ver, very emotional woman. I used to be a bitch if I had to now, I just roll over and give in. It's hard to accept the new person I"ve become but, there are times it's nice because I'm more laid back and appreciate the little things in life and I don't take things for granted now. Every day is a treasure because you never know what tomorrow will bring. I found that out 4 years ago. One minute everything is perfect and the next, BANG- life throws you a curve. But, you go on and somehow you find it inside of you to go on and do the best that you can. Thank you for listening to my experience and if there is anyone who would like to talk with me, you can e-mail me and call me Jeanette. Thank you a and hang in there !
