The Almost Huling Hugot

Apologies if I haven’t updated my blog in a while. You see last Monday, I almost died. My blood had slowly changed its acidity level and it was poisoning me. When the muscle spasms hit, the pain was unbearable. All the muscles in my arms and legs were suddenly firing and I lost all control. I ended up on the floor shaking and vomiting.  Next thing I knew I was being shuttled into a nearby hospital where I was literally screaming in pain the whole time.

I knew it was serious when they started hooking me up to IVs. I had a tube shoved up my nose so they could feed me and they had to make minor surgeries to create a central line to my heart. My heartbeat had become irregular and I was close to cardiac arrest. After stabilising me, they transferred me to the ICU and I stayed there for four days. They also attached a valve on my neck so that they could clean my poisoned blood.

So here’s what I learned so far. To some people, spending the whole day in bed is a dream. After the first day, that bed becomes a prison. The fact that you cannot stand or move at all will play tricks with your mind. They had to keep me moving so that I would not develop sores all over my back. The constant chirping and buzzing of the machines had become slow nightmare.

The feeling of utter helplessness is sobering too. Having people bodily lift you up and down and wash you and take care of you feels like both a violation and a blessing. There were times that I would wake up in the middle of the night and I had to call out because I had phlegm stuck in my throat and I could not breathe. I was fed the whole time I was there and the medicines they were giving me terrible nausea.

In any case, this is the first day I’m strong enough to write and tomorrow, fingers crossed, I might be able to go home. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you who prayed for me and took care of me. I will recover stronger from this ordeal. Perfer et obdura. Dolor hic tibi proderit olim. 

anghulinghugutero