weekend post LONG WARNING!
 

Okay, so this is sort of a hey, please pray with me, also a please be careful on jetskis type post- take it or hate it i dont care, i feel like crap and need to vent so LJ and GC get it....
Okay,
this is a long story but please read it all and then please join me in prayer.....


This weekend we went to the lake Saturday-Monday...
There were 12 boats all parked together out on the lake of friends of ours and we had a lot of fun... one couple, Sandy and Mike- went jet skiing yesterday..
at some point they did a 360 and flew off of the jetski and it flung around- the entire force of the jetski's front his sandy in the head and knocked her unconcious...
Her husband saw her laying limp (face up) and pulled her over to lay on him- he waited a few moments and told someone to get a runabout because she was still out cold.
Immediately I jumped in the runabout, along with John and my cousin Shaun and connie...
We got over there and I immediately was like "let me immobilize her neck" and her husband just kept saying "put her in the boat, she'll be fine".
I was adamant about immobilizing her neck (DAMNIT I took CPR and first aid and safety, I know something here!) and finally they agreed to make sure I kept her neck stable while they moved her into the boat. We got her into the boat and as we rode past some of the boats we were docked with they hollared for us to come over there as we did they said "brian is on his way out" Brian is an EMT, btw... I was like F$%# THAT- get her to the dock the ambulance is on it's way (at this point she was unconcious for 15 minutes) she was breathing, however....
So as we pull out of the cove we see Brian and slow, he jumps in and we are off, he watches her pulse and her breathing while I keep her neck immobile.
We get to the dock and the slow down for the no wake zone- i was like- F$%# THAT PLOW THROUGH this is a GD EMERGENCY!
So they do-
we get to a covered slip and are saying her name repeatedly... her husband is still in this "shes going to just wake up" mode.
Her eyelids were moving and and i noticed her tongue was taut and against the roof of her mouth- so i asked if she had ever had a seizure and he said no. Her neck muscles were spasming and i could feel them.
Finally the paramedics arrived and took her to Burkesville hospital- by this time she had been unconcious for 45 minutes-

They immediately airlifted her to Louisville for the head trauma unit.
She is still there.
I called Konrad (a guy I messed around with for awhile and we haven't talked in AGES!) because he is an anestesiologist at UofL and he was working today so he is going to see how she is and what is going on-
last we heard late last night she woke up and knew everyone- but then she started to convulse and went out- it was so bad they had to tie her to the bed and sedate her- she hasn't woken up again. they think there is brain damage.

and now i feel horrible. Konrad should call me back to let me know how she is any minute- and i am praying she is okay... plus i am hoping i didnt do anything that made it worse.
i feel horrible.

I'm so sorry. :( I hope she pulls through ok.

The important thing is that she is alive and she at least has a chance to pull through. If not for your help, she most likely wouldn't have that chance.

As for jet skis, I never saw the appeal.

I am so sorry to hear this. I had a horrible jet ski case a few years ago. If anyone needs more than this story to never ride one again please PM me and I will share.

bruinaphi

I'm sorry to hear about this. :( I hope she pulls through!

Jet skis can be fun but I've heard of several people that have been badly hurt from them. While on Spring Break in the Bahamas a few years ago, my friend tried slowing down on her jet ski and wasn't able to control the ski. She was flew about 9 feet in the air and smacked her thigh back down on top of the jet ski. Her leg was badly broken. It's been 2 years and her leg is still bruised a nice purple color from the accident. Plus, sitting around in a Nassau hospital for about 5 hours wasn't the highlight of our Spring Break. ;)

I'll keep your friend in my thoughts.

I'm sorry, I hope everything turns out ok!

I was thrown about thirty or so feet from my jetski this weekend as well but I never do 360s because of the danger of whipping around and getting hit from the backend of the ski.

I hope your friend gets pulls through.

Hope your friend pulls through ok

Sarah I hope everything is okay with your friend.

She is in critical condition in the trauma center at UL hospital- they are the only hospital to be designated a level 1.
ugh...
i feel sick to my stomach.

Sending out good thoughts to your friend...

You did all that you could do. And at least you had some knowledge under your belt to help her.
I will be thinking about you and your friend. U of L's hospital is excellent!

Feel better hun :(

You and your friend are in my prayers :( She's lucky she had you there to help... CPR is something extremely helpful that more people should learn.

I hope that your friend makes a speedy and complete recovery. She's in my prayers.

Your friend was able to make it to the hospital because of you and others helped in an emergency. Xylochick is right. CPR is a good thing to know.

Both of you will be in my prayers tonight.

I hope your friend recovers.

We do have realy good trauma people in the USA.

I know of another guy that had permanent nerve damage from jet ski accident.

I got an update late last night- my friend that is a doctor at the hospital there read her chart-

they did 2 CT Scans and neither showed any blood- good news.
She was listed in serious no longer critical condition-good news
she is on a respirator- bad news (she was breathing on her own)
she is having violent seizures- bad news (she has never had a seizure before)
she may have brain damage-bad news
and she may always have seizures-bad news

all in all i am feeling better but worried.
My friend is doing the 12 on, 12 off thing.
they are supposed to try weaning her off the venhilator tomorrow.
ugh
i feel exhausted.

The husband must be a wreck.

I'm so sorry about your friend...I'll keep you all in my prayers.

You know what is strange?
The entire time we were getting her into the boat, he was like
"Dont worry about her neck just get her in and lay her down, she'll be fine"
He didnt even want to call the ambulance at first.
He acted like it was nothing.
And on the boatride in he kept smacking her face saying
"Damnit wake up"
I mean i guess different people handle things in different ways, but if my husband is unconcious I want the BEST ambulance taking him to the BEST hospital with the BEST care and I would always rather people err on the side of caution than just "Throw him in the boat, he'll be fine!"

When my mom had her first seizure 5 years ago my dad was like that, too -- "we'll just get her in the house. She'll be fine." Wouldn't listen to me saying we needed to leave her where she was (front sidewalk) because of the possible damage we could do to her spine by moving her.

He loves her like CRAZY. This is a man that gets up extra early to "pre-warm" her coffee thermos for her so her coffee will stay hot all day.

I think some people just get weird during emergencies. They either panic, or they are hoping SO SO badly that it's *not* an emergency, they forget to plan for the "what if".

thoughts and prayers are with you all.
may your friend pull through.

I hadn't updated this in a long time, so I thought I would share-

Sandy was in the hospital for a week, up and down....
She was released and sent home. She is doing rehab and therapy five days a week. She has had to learn how to walk and talk all over again.
She cannot read, she is very skiddish, has little to no short term memory, etc.

Basically she is starting all over.
She is showing improvement but it is slow and is going to take time. She and her husband are selling their jetski.

Thank you, everyone for your prayers. She has a long road but with her family and friends i am sure she will make it!

I am so sorry your friend is having such a difficult time. I hope that she completely recovers.
I really think that your quick thinking and training helped save her life.

I know it has been a long time, but I wanted to update because I saw Sandy this weekend.

She is still in therapy, and they aren't really sure if she will ever go back to 100%.
She has a limited vocabulary and sometimes she uses a word the wrong way... you can see the frustration in her eyes.
She used to be able to play the guitar, but her cooridination is off, so she can't any longer...
She has to ask questions a lot to understand things, and honestly, you can also tell sometimes she still doesn't understand them she just lets it go out of frustration.
She is happy, I can say that. Not as vibrant as she once was, but her husband was saying she takes nothing for granted. Her short term memory is a problem but the doctors think with time it could work itself out. They told them it will be 2 years past her accident before they know what is permanent and what can be worked on.

Just a reminder that you can be doing something fun, and still manage to alter your entire life. And, if you ride jetskis, 4wheelers and other small vehicles like them, PLEASE be careful. All it took was one 360 to change her life. Don't think it can't happen to you.

I had a friend who was in a car accident and is now towing that same tough line with the therapy and such. It's so hard to see that frustration at a misused word or something. It is good news that she still has a good spirit and her friends and family are there supporting her, continued positive thoughts !

Let's keep the positive thoughts coming. I just read this & am glad to hear that your friend pulled through & that everyone is being supportive.

If you were interested I could give her husband some advice on smart nutrients or the smart drugs commonly used for rbain injury in Europe. Unfortunately most docs in the States are not well informed about them.

Well, I don't have any way to get in contact with them except seeing them at the lake. But if you want to PM me I can send it down with my parents to leave on their boat.

Also FYI They sold the jetskis.

Thanks for the update. I also wanted to let you know, I am not sure where you live but in NYS, there is a special waiver program for people who have Traumatic Brain Injury. I recently started working for it providing service coordination. People are eligible for a whole bunch of great services to help them with their rehabilitation. It may be worth looking into for your friend and her family.