It's been several days since I promised a narrative about my accident, and this morning I feel considerably stronger than any day since I've been home, so here we go.
Saturday before Labor Day I had a full day planned. A friend had asked me to play golf with him. I haven't played since high school but replied I would on one condition .......... that he shoot sporting clays with me, which he had never done. This day he would shoot with me in the morning, then we would drive on up to Clark's Hill Lake for a huge Trump boat rally, and ride on a friend's big 34' cigarette boat. We did all that, then headed the boat back to my friend's houseboat, which has a high waterslide attached. I was feeling particularly teenagery that afternoon and went down that slide. After a bit I decided to go again, and let that old "need for speed" get the best of me. At the top I kinda jumped onto the slide to get extra momentum. This went all wrong, and I tipped way too far back when contacting the slide, and landed on my back, and hit the back of my head on the slide, rendering me immediately unconscious.
I went straight to the bottom of the lake, in about 12' feet of murky water. After a few moments a friend noticed I didn't come up and "blew the whistle". As many as 15 guys jumped in and began searching for me, to no avail. One Marine, TJ, remembered he had a mask, got it, dove and found me. With assistance he got me up and on a dock or something. He didn't know me, but without thought for himself he began administering mouth to mouth resuscitation. TJ was shot on two different occasions in the Middle East, released from service, and now works at another Augusta area hospital. He brought me back, getting my blood and vomit into his own mouth in the process. I had been on the bottom for approximately 5 minutes. (See how long you can hold your breath sometime).
When I was revived my buddy called my son at home, told him what had occurred and his wife heard . She is a L & D nurse at the biggest hospital in Augusta and told my buddy to order the ambulance driver to take me to that particular one, as there are two other hospitals in Augusta. The driver resisted a second or two, but my friend was firm. This turned out to be a huge decision by my D-I-L. TJ rode with me in the ambulance, which is unheard of. They lost me again enroute, and TJ brought me back again, with the EMTs watching.
When I arrived at the ER there was a doctor awaiting us. He has been there 11 years and specializes in ....... guess what ....... drownings and near drownings.. He just happened to be on duty . He had treated a boy who had a similar experience in the same lake a few weeks earlier and suspected the same bacteria would be in my lungs. He was right, and got me on a ventilator and IV drip with appropriate antibiotics for those bacteria immediately.
I lay on the ventilator for roughly a week, they tried to take me off it, and my heart resisted by going into an arrhythmia, "afib" I think they said (?), so they backed off for two or three more days. Somehow, before the next time they tried to remove me from the ventilator, the word got out that they were going to do it at a certain time. Prayers went nationwide in minutes, and removal was totally successful .
So, breathing tubes remained, and I was brought back from under sedation. This was the worst ....... the breathing tubes. Imagine your mouth stretched fully open, a big wad of tubes down your throat, can't swallow and can't speak. That was a perfectly miserable three days. When they pulled them all out, I can't express the joy I felt. I could immediately speak and drink water.
I went to my GP Monday afternoon. He said there will be 100% recovery. I lost 20 lbs. and only weighed 148 lbs, in rehab. I can stand in the shade under a powerline. Muscle loss. He told me to eat lots of protein, keep doing what I'm doing, and it will all come back. He and another doctor there, and shooting buddy of mine, stated that 95% of people who were underwater that long would not have survived, yet here I am, and with no diminshed mental capacity except for some memory loss of that particular day .
I'm a believer and follower of Christ, I've made no secret of that here. For those of you who are also, you will undoubtedly see God's hand at work throughout this past month. I highlighted some of the things that are the most evident signs of that. I cannot express my gratitude to all of you who held me in your prayers and offered your thoughts and concerns for me.
I'm getting stronger everyday here at home, and am working on getting my lower body strength back. My blood oxygen level, with no supplemental O2, runs around 97-98%. I'm going stir crazy. Lord give me patience.
Thanks Dave, for allowing this forum to be used on this thread, and the other, to keep my many DGJ friends aware of what happened.
God bless you all, SRH
