Comments on: Hey Everyone, I Almost Died … Again

By: Tammy

Tammy — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:34:57 +0000

I go to Code Blues every day at work. My hospital calls in therapists/social workers automatically on all codes; we're part of the Rapid Response Team. Thank you for this, Nick…what it's like the be the person in the bed with so much chaos going on around. And that everyone has moms, Alejas, not to mention thoughts and feelings many times while this is going on. PTSD would absolutely fit for some people. Again, many thanks for sharing.

Tammy

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:14:00 +0000

Yes, most people wouldn’t have understood “AMBU”, but a nurse who works with patients on vents sure as hell should have.

(Hi Nick, been to your site before but just alerted to the fact that you’re now in New York City. I’m also a vent user, living at home.)

By: Benjie

Benjie — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:50:00 +0000

What are you doing in New York without me? (see ur e-mail)

By: Robert Smith

Robert Smith — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Hey Nick,
This the first time I have commented on one of your posts, I do read quite often though.

First I'd like to say I am glad you are ok. I too have a trach and am on a vent 24/7 and have been for the past three years. I do know what you are talking about and the feeling of having the inner cannula plugging up, not a fun experience to say the least. Luckily it has not come to using the ambu bag.

Robert

By: Sharon Cobb

Sharon Cobb — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 05:19:00 +0000

i JUST got your message. For some reason you were in my Spam folder!
Thank G-d I checked it.

I don't know what to say! It seems,though, you have a purpose for being here, so get busy doing whatever it is you're suppose to be doing!

How frightening that experience must have been.

Please call me or have your mom call me if G-d forbid that happens again.
I'll try to get to NYC to take care of you myself!

By: aleja

aleja — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:03:00 +0000

“I know that much”, even.

By: aleja

aleja — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:01:00 +0000

Ruth, that’s a good explanation, and I like the animated visual you found.

Also it doesn’t surprise me to know or hear that dealing with these kinds of events can cause PTSD-like feelings, and I’ve only been around a short time. You learn quick, I know that much now.

By: R Belasco

R Belasco — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:43:00 +0000

Jamie has had the experience of having a mucus plug clog his trachea so completely that bagging didn’t work and we had to pull out his trach tube and replace it very quickly. That’s why we keep spar trach tubes close at hand. Once, did this in the van pulled over on the side of the road. It was scary, but thank goodness changing the trach worked! Jamie had this experience at least one more time; he was with a nurse, and the rest of use were at school.

These near-death experiences that you and Jamie have each had multiple times have each worked on me somehow. Each experience is carved or tattooed on me, you know? It’s like living in a war, maybe, and you’re being bombed every now and then. You tend to huddle under a table when you hear anything that reminds you of the bombing. Maybe we have PTSD?

By: R Belasco

R Belasco — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:19:00 +0000

Most people probably can’t visualize what you mean by bagging or ambu-ing someone. A manual resuscitator is often called an “ambu bag” because of a company named Ambu that produces the self-inflating manual resuscitator. It is also called a “big valve mask” or “BVM”. Look at the following for a description and an animated visual:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_valve_mask

http://vam.anest.ufl.edu/checkout/check-sirb.html