Ohio Adventures

drummerboy said:

While shopping for my next car, I visited a few dealerships, and I don't know if this is a NJ vs Ohio thing, or whether used car culture has changed, but the salespeople I dealt with were all very laid back. By that I mean there was no hard pressure (except maybe the last one, a little bit). I hate shopping for cars because I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to negotiating.

Overall, it's been a a pleasant experience. 

In general, Ohio culture is more laid back than NJ/NY. Service won't be as fast but people can be nicer.


hi everyone.

I've been absent due to a medical event that has put me in the hospital for 6 weeks so far, and I'm not done.

Below is a description  of what happened. It's taken from what I sent to my lawyer so it's got more detail than you probably need.

On March 29th, after suffering from shortness of breath for several days i decided to take myself to the local ER. I never made it. I ended up calling 911 before I could get into my car.. When the EMT's arrived I had collapsed to the ground and was unresponsive.

After I was revived I was taken to Western Reserve Hospital and placed in the ICU, where I was diagnosed with double pneumonia. I was placed on a ventilator. My brother Nick, who lives nearby, eventually, found out where I was and was able to serve as an advocate for me during my stay at Western, as i was unable to speak due to the ventilator and was also under heavy sedation. At Western, it was decided that I needed a tracheotomy, which was performed soon after. I remained at Western until about April 14th when I was transferred to Regency Hospital Cleveland East, a critical illness recovery hospital. While at Regency the ventilator was eventually removed and I regained my ability to talk. However I was extremely weak and could barely stand up on my own.

On May 15th I was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospital to undergo intensive physical therapy (among others). My expected stay here is estimated to be 2 weeks.

It’s unclear what my future prognosis is and what the extent of my recovery will be.


Thank you for the update -- you'd been silent for a while so it's good to hear from you. Glad to see you well enough to post, and looking forward to future updates hopefully sharing a speedy recovery.


Well, I am very glad to hear that you are alive because, when someone goes dark on the internet, you never know. I wish you a full recovery and, as the Quakers say, I will hold you in the light. 


DB,

Oh goodness - that is terrifying. Wishing you the best in your recovery! Keep us posted.


Having been thru the same double pneumonia, I understand. It comes up slowly, then wham.  I found myself short of breath walking DOWN a street (called Hospital Road, in fact) and lucky for me there was a clinic only 50 yards away, downhill and I could barely make it. ID Card and $40 (US$5)in hand, I lucked out and was able to be seen quickly.  When I saw a doc she gave me a few prescriptions and while I was heading to the pharmacy down the hall, she brought me back in and gave me a blood oxygen check.  73%.  

She asked me if I could walk to a hospital right next door for an x-ray and I admitted I might find it difficult, so she arranged for an EMT team to take me to Queen Mary Hospital. X-rays, lots of blood work, two visits a day from the doc there (day and night shifts), respirator for first four days until meds kicked in and once I was breathing fine I unstrapped the respirator myself.  The nurses checked my O2 level: 94%, so I could keep it off.  

After discharge it took a good month or two before I was back to normal. Keep up with exercising but not over-exertion to get lung capacity back up. 



I’m glad you are doing better, because I had this feeling that something wasn’t right with you not posting for such a long period. I know you were afraid of Ohio, but I didn’t think it was that serious! Pneumonia is a serious illness, take care of yourself. 


It's good to hear you are recovering, Drummerboy. I wish you all the best.


Drummerboy, thank goodness you are in good hands and recovering in the nick of time, very scary.  Best wishes on your continued progress, and hope you are back in the saddle in good health over the next few months.  You have been missed, but at least you'll be on your way back soon.


Whew.  When I hear "unresponsive" I think cardiac arrest.  Not?  Stick to the happy MOL threads (no politics) until u feel stronger.


So glad to hear from you, db!!  Sorry for the awfulness you've been through, hope you'll have a steady and thorough recovery.  Fondly from out here, your initial-mate.


Feel better DB. Place definitely hasn't been the same without you.


DB - thanks for the update!  A transfer to the rehab sounds like a positive step in this whole process.  You have been missed.


Glad to hear you're recovering. I hope to see you mixing it up in the politics thread sometime soon. 


It was the pizza with the sweet sauce, wasn't it?


Drummer boy is one of the active members presently with the most posts on MOL. These are the people who make this site what it is, regardless of whether you disagree with their political views.


Healthy, healing vibes going your way drummerboy!


Oh  my goodness! Glad to actually hear from you at all. So scary. My father had double pneumonia in the 60's and they thought he was a goner. He lived until he was 80 and considering his lifestyle, that was impressive. Keep getting better! I don't pray but I'll keep wishing for the best for you.


Feel better drummerboy!


Glad to see your post. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. 


Db, please believe that I wish you well IRL, and pray that you will eventually come to realize that Conservatives are good people too. Miss your contributions to the Rose Garden! 


Hello? Hope you're doing well.


kthnry said:

Hello? Hope you're doing well.

I'm doing ok I guess, considering. I'm in a rehab hospital, getting about 3 hours of therapy a day. (physical and occupational) Mostly working on getting my strength in my legs back and getting my balance back. Still need a walker to get around though I've been working on using a cane too. Kinda shaky there.

My voice is almost back to normal since having my trach tube removed two weeks ago, though it seems to be lower than it used to be.

Took  my first shower in 6 weeks the other day. Yay!

All in all everyone seems to be pleased with my progress. Expected release date from rehab is 5/31. Then I'm off to stay with my brother for a few weeks (or more) before trying to head off on my own.

And I desperately need a haircut.


Progress!

Also, they moved up my discharge  date from 5/31 to 5/27.

Going home!


I'm surprised they didn't use "May Walk Unattended" because I can't be the only one who read "May Walk Alone" and immediately got Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams playing in their head.


Sorry you've been so ill, DB, and hope you will reclaim your health and independence soon.  Looking forward to more of your tales of Ohio.  


Well, I'm out of the hospital. Yay!

Got discharged on Saturday and am at my brother's house where I'll stay until my stamina and walking skills are more back to normal. I'm mostly hobbling around on a cane. And the fifteen steps to get to the guest room get pretty hard near the top.

To  be honest, when I first tried to stand after about 3 weeks into my stay, I felt so weak that I thought it would be months before I could walk at all. I got quite depressed. But the body has a remarkable ability to recover, for which I'm grateful.

Having the tracheotomy and being unable to talk was also depressing, as I thought I'd be talking with a robot voice once I was able to talk at all. But my voice is pretty much back to normal - it might be a bit lower than it used to be. Still have a hole in my neck, but it's healing nicely.


glad to hear you're recovering and making progress.  snake

This is a reminder that people eligible for the pneumonia vaccine should strongly consider it.


ml1 said:

glad to hear you're recovering and making progress. 
snake

This is a reminder that people eligible for the pneumonia vaccine should strongly consider it.

I had actually gotten the vaccine already.

Is it a yearly thing like the flu vaccine, or is it one and done?


I miss the Route 10 Farmer's Market.  LOL


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