11 weeks

For those of you who don't know the story, I had a baclofen pump surgically implanted in November of 2011. The surgical site kept opening creating a wound that persisted for some time. We tried to let it heal naturally but when that wasn't successful it was closed surgically. It didn't stay closed for long however, eventually leading to another wound. In December, the doctor and I agreed to take the pump out and let the wound heal for about six weeks and then we would try to implant the pump again.

On December 11 I went into surgery and the doctor removed the pump. He found that I was infected with bacterial meningitis. It was so bad that I became septic. As they pumped me full of antibiotics to fight the infection, I started suffering from baclofen withdrawal. These symptoms are worse than heroin withdrawal. It didn't take long for me to become incoherent and shortly thereafter unconscious. They gave me tons of medications to try to combat the withdrawal symptoms. I was told that they gave me enough Valium to kill a horse… Twice!

Nothing worked and the doctors didn't know what else to do. My father suggested for them to call my surgeon at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis for advice. The neurosurgeon in Miami said that they should implant another pump to give me the necessary baclofen and stop the symptoms. On December 28 they implanted another baclofen pump this time on the other side of my belly where there were no wounds.

During my hospital stay while the doctors were pumping me full of drugs and I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, I suffered from horrific hallucinations. These paranoid delusions were so real that when I finally became lucid I had to take time to distinguish fact from fantasy. I get anxiety when I reflect back upon what haunted my thoughts when I was in a coma.

I spent six weeks in a coma, eight weeks in ICU, and three weeks in rehab before returning home on February 26.

I am grateful for everyone's thoughts and prayers, all of the cards, Facebook messages etc. Your prayers were heard and your positive energy helped me pull through.

I am very grateful to be alive. I am very grateful to be home from the hospital, now trying to put my 11 week ordeal behind me.

Grateful for prayers for Nate

Hi guys, Amy here.  Today I'm grateful for all the loving souls in the world who are praying for Nate's speedy recovery.  My dear friend Nate went in for surgery last week and when we talked the night before his procedure he said he'd call me on Friday, anticipating a quick recovery.  Unfortunately his recovery has become quite complicated and he's still in the hospital struggling to heal from an infection.  After all of this is over, he will undoubtedly tell me a story about someone who did something positive for him in all of this (and extra points for you if you're guessing it will be about a cute nurse!).  Rather than waiting for his next "Grateful" post on this terribly outdated blog (it's been a tough year for all of us, me and Nate included...), I'm posting about my gratitude for YOUR love, prayers and support for Nate.  He needs us and he deserves us.  Please join me in sending prayers and GRATITUDE for Nate his way tonight.  And please post comments on this blog entry to leave him a note to read when he's home SOON!

Love you, goofball.  Get well very, very soon!

Nate & Amy in 2010

My thoughts on the Superbowl...

I'm getting sick of hearing that the Giants are the better team, they stopped us, this and that!

A safety (Brady's fault) and then NY gets the ball right back and scores making it 9-0. First quarter over and we had one play. A terribly thrown pass to Gronk led to an INT (Brady's fault.) Dropped passes by Welker & Branch that would have iced the game. More dropped passes by Welker & Hernandez on the final drive when time ran out.

The Pats forced three fumbles, but the Giants recovered two of them and the third was nullified in the Pats red zone because they had 12 men on the field. The Giants scored a few plays later.

I give Eli credit for the game winning drive and a circus catch by Manningham but the fact is the Patriots GAVE THE GAME AWAY! The Giants did nothing spectacular in that game.

What hurts the most for us New England fans is knowing that we SHOULD have won!

Ok, rant over.

Grateful for Nate...

I may have said this before but I'm just really grateful for Nate in my life.  When I say such things he asks me how much I've had to drink.  I usually say "a lot - you're expensive" but it's just plain true.  He's a kind and sweet soul and I feel completely at ease and free to be my entire silly self with him.  He's a gift to know and if you are lucky enough to know him, take a moment to enjoy him just a little bit more... even if he is slacking on his own blog.  ;-)  A good heart and an honest soul are more rare than I once believed so I'm glad to have his in my life.

Now, off to finish that bottle.  <3

Boys will be boys

I am very grateful to have a nephew and even more grateful to have a new nephew coming in the next three weeks! My nephew, David Junior, turned 3 in September and is the same age that I was when my brother was born. He has a lot of the same characteristics that I did at that age. He is very rough, physically, and demands a lot of attention. He has heard a lot about his little brother Sam and I think that it is starting to irritate him. It didn't take long for me to start roughhousing with and picking on my brother, and I think that David is going to follow in my footsteps, unfortunately.

I guess all that I can say is beware, and don't let those two in the same room alone!

My Grammie

Moment of gratitude: Despite hitting a pot hole on my way home today which caused me to lose a hub cap and suffer 100 miles with a cracked (and very loud) muffler, I arrived home in one piece today after spending time laughing with and loving my favorite person in the universe: my grandmother. I'm so glad that we still get to act like kids together and talk like we did 25 years ago. She is proof that being 90 and watching your body fall apart doesn't mean that your spirit is any different from what it always has been. I love you, Grammie!

Reflecting upon 9/11

Has it really been ten years since we were so cowardly attacked by terrorists on our own home soil? It certainly doesn't feel like it and I was going to attribute it to the fact that time flies but I think there are other reasons. It is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events where every single person knows exactly where they were and what they were doing when they found out that this tragedy was occurring. For the baby boomers it was the JFK assassination, and the generation before it was Pearl Harbor. Over the last few days I was watching some film that showed different perspectives on how that day unfolded and events thereafter. The images are seared into our memories because unlike any event in history we didn't simply hear about it and tune in for the aftermath. Anybody with a television or radio nearby was able to watch or listen in as it happened live! People in New York saw it happen right in front of their own eyes, up close and personal as many of them feared for their lives not knowing what would happen next! For the rest of us it was as if we were watching a movie and that's exactly what it felt like because it was so surreal! I know that is what I was thinking and I'm sure most everybody was too! After the first plane hit the World Trade Center it looked like a tragic accident but once the second plane hit the other tower I think most of America and the rest of the world realized it was no accident.
I am not sure what the most horrific part was...there was so much to digest. First there was the shock that any sort of terrorism of this magnitude could actually occur in our homeland. I think that most of us thought that we were immune to these type of acts because we are surrounded by oceans and this sort of thing only happened in other countries. That ideology changed in a hurry on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it was such a beautiful day in the Northeast with bright sunshine and nothing but clear blue skies. As we watched the towers burn it became apparent that there were people trapped in the upper floors and that there was no way of saving them. I kept thinking to myself why don't they just get helicopters and save them, but that was unrealistic. With flames and smoke billowing out of the windows and onto the roof helicopters couldn't get anywhere near the building. Some people jumped to their deaths to escape the flames, some holding hands, and I can't say that I blame them, I might've done the same thing. We then found out that there were more planes. One had hit the Pentagon and another flight from Boston was unaccounted for. We had no idea what was next!
Out of all of the evil that occurred that day there was some good.
I am grateful for all of the first responders who risked their lives and many of them lost their lives trying to save others. I am grateful for the many heroes, many who remain anonymous, who selflessly helped to get others out of the burning towers and also to those citizens first on the scene who rushed to help others without regard to their own safety. The flight that was unaccounted for was flight 93 which crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. I am grateful for the heroic passengers on board who attempted to take over the plane so that it wouldn't be used as another terrorist weapon. I am grateful for the heroic efforts of people at the Pentagon, again many of whom remain anonymous, who pulled people from the burning wreckage and saved countless lives.
In the days since 9/11 I am grateful for the potential terrorist attacks that have been thwarted because of the due diligence of our military intelligence. I am grateful for our troops and everything that they do for us to ensure our safety.
Last but not least I am grateful to live in the greatest democracy in the world even if our economy sucks right now! We are America, we will bounce back, we always have!