What is the closest you have come to dying?

[binzing]

I've heard that's the most painful stomach problem one can have. But it's not life threatening, right?

Only if sepsis doesn't bother your body. Lol

 

[drizzle]

My wife had bought some "authentic" cajun seasoning and used it to make a hearty stew one night while I was working. The next morning, I had a big bowl of that stew for breakfast, then headed to a mill in Lincoln. I just about got to the mill and realized that I was "out of it". Apparently, a main ingredient in "authentic" cajun seasoning is MSG, and I was having a very severe reaction. Somehow, I found my way to the hospital there and got to the door of the ER. They bundled me into a wheelchair and got me to the ICU. The doctor asked why I was sick and I told her "MSG" then said "epinephrine". She asked If I had taken anything for the reaction and I told her "Benadryl" (all one-word answers - I was in sad shape). A nurse was monitoring my BP and pulse and she told the doctor my BP was dropping fast, but the doctor did nothing. Finally, the nurse hollered some impossibly-low numbers like 20 over 15 and said "Epinephrine STAT! We're losing him!) The doctor gave me a quick shot of epinephrine and (at some point) put me on a drip, but all I remember of that session was the doctor and two nurses restraining me through seemingly endless and violent convulsions. Eventually, I passed out, and only "came to" sometime in mid-afternoon. When I came around, the doctor was sitting at my bed-side and she was crying. She said "I'm SO sorry." and left me to the nurses. I have never been so sore in my whole life. I felt like every muscle in my body had been pounded with a baseball bat. They had me on all kinds of monitors for a couple more hours, and it wasn't until early evening that I was stable enough to be released.

I had an Epi-pen in my backpack, but hadn't thrown it in my car that day. That mistake (and the misfortune of being treated by a doctor that didn't think an MSG-sensitive person could die of anaphylactic shock) nearly cost me my life. It's sad that doctors are aware of anaphylactic shock with triggers like seafood, peanuts, bee-stings, etc, but can be blissfully unaware of less-common triggers and wait and do nothing while somebody is dying before their eyes. Luckily, the nurse was experienced and on her toes.

good to have you back Turbo

ps. I feel this wasn't long ago, was it?

 

[Quincy]

I keep rereading this looking for a punchline.

"Luckily, my mom knew the Tesla maneuver..."

lol yeah I know it's unusual; I liked to put things in my mouth (like all toddlers) and it just slipped in...

 

[ThatTallGirl]

When I was 10, I was taking a shower and slipped. My initial reaction was to grab the towel rack, which yanked out a few ceramic tiles. When I threw my hand out to catch myself, I severed an artery near the center of my palm. I lost about a pint of blood, had to get 3 stitches in the artery and 8 in the skin of my palm, and I was anemic for almost 3 months.