Claimed:Memoirs of an Invisible Man

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Memoirs of An Invisible Man

 

For those who haven’t noticed or for those who I haven’t told, I have been a missing man over the past four weeks. During this time I have endured several medical hardships on top of previously beating pancreatic cancer and currently living with Type 2 diabetes. During these past four weeks, I have learned a lot about life, what’s important and to not take anything for granted. These are sentiments that I would hope others would take and cherish. Even though I loved my life before these events, having a series of serious medical issues really puts things into prospective.

 

During these four weeks, I have had to undergo testicular cancer procedures after finding a mass during a self-examination. The thought of having another cancer really took a toll on my mind and overall being. In trying to be positive for my family, there were days where getting out of bed was difficult. Once a series of visits to my doctor ended, I traveled to Saskatoon in order to conduct an ultrasound on top of the blood work that I had to complete. For ten days of waiting, I did not eat, barely slept and was a mere shell of myself. I was at home in body, but my mind was not in the right place at times. Being a diabetic and not eating for that length of time, I became extremely weak and tired and had developed a real bad case of anxiety and depression that I hadn’t experienced before.

 

The end result of this particular occurrence was good in that the results came back negative and that the mass was a cyst, which would be treated and diminished through medication. In the days after the good news, I felt somewhat back to my normal self, but was still stuck on hypertensive mode. Roughly five days after receiving the good news, I developed pain in my left chest area so painful that I was rushed to the Victoria Union Hospital here in Prince Albert. The heart isn’t something to fool around with, so the series of testing that I underwent was rigorous and taxable. I had seven different blood work samples taken, underwent two EKG’s, performed a stress test by running on a tread mill and was hooked up to machines and intravenous’ to decrease the heart rate that had reached such a point that my body couldn’t comprehend. Having spent three days in the hospital for a person that absolutely detests medical centres, I was glad to finally be feeling back to what I would consider normal.

 

I had regained my strength, got my heart under control and was eating again. All the tests performed showed that I had suffered a minor heart attack. Between the exams for my testicles and this heart ordeal, my body had suffered so much stress and anxiety to the point where I developed severe tremors in my extremities. Attempting to resume normal life activities was tough. Any little body twinge threw my mindset from one end of the spectrum to a completely different end and then back again. Your mind stays on medical focus and even the slightest occurrence stirred up a mixed bag of feelings and emotions. I don’t know if my mind has ever been this overworked and I don’t know if I have ever been this mentally and physically fatigued with worry and sadness.

 

 

Now, as much as I wanted to convince myself that I was over this stuff and ready to focus on some positives, I knew that I still didn’t feel quite right. I know the strain on my body was immense and that finding the positives in things was tough. A week and a half ago now, I found myself back in the hospital for another instance. After leaving work early one morning, I came home to have a bath and relax a bit; almost needing some “me time.” While out on the deck wanting some fresh air and waiting for my wife to return home for lunch, I came into the house to check the time. The next events that took place would only be described to me after the fact as I had no recollection of what had occurred next. My wife, only to come home from work on her lunch break, found me unconscious, non-responsive and without a pulse in the hallway. I had apparently passed out, hit my head, broke my glasses and broke my cheek bone during the fall, losing consciousness as a result.

 

I was rushed via ambulance to the hospital, where the paramedics were able to bring me back to consciousness. Unfortunately, it took a day for me to be able to speak properly, so without being able to speak and my wife not in my presence at the time of me passing out, getting information to the doctors took a bit longer than normal. From the time I fell to two days ago, I had been detained in a hospital bed to undergo neurological tests, CT scans, blood work and anything else as a result of the bruise my brain suffered as well as the doctors trying to find out what caused me to pass out. Their findings came as a result of anxiety and my body shutting down due to the stress put on it previously. Obviously the bruising of the brain was a result of the fall, so the medical staff needed to keep a watch on me to ensure that I sustained normal activities like walking, talking and anything else cognitive.

 

It has been two days since I have been out of the hospital and these last two days have been the best two days I have had in over two months, being pain-free and worry/stress/anxiety free. I have been on twenty-three pills (including my normal diabetic medication consisting of Metformin, Crestor, Ramipril and Praxis) for the past month, but now have it scaled down to my diabetic medication and some others to help with the anxiety.

 

I don’t know when the next thing will take place, but what I do want to say is that I am glad to be alive and glad to be feeling stronger each day. I just want everyone to take something away from this media spot; don’t wait until a health scare or a series of them to appreciate your life and the simplicities of it. It is also extremely important to be on top of your health and to talk things out with people. It helps and I know that during the initial periods I was trying to deal with this stuff on my own, but I now realize that it is important to talk with people and to enjoy life and what it has to offer. I am grateful for my life, my family and any positives that I can take out of it. I am also glad to be back in the league to let all of you in on what has been going on in my life and to hopefully spread some sort of a message. These events have once again made me stronger and it also made me appreciate the things that a person just takes for granted.

Edited June 28, 2014 by Svoboda_3

[Kyle 667]

Stay strong, Slobo! It sounds like it's been a rough ride but if you can beat pancreatic cancer, you can beat your current slump.

[eaglesfan036 4,603]

Thanks for sharing your story Slobo. I hope you have a full recovery!

[Molholt 2,185]

Content: 3/3 - I can't imagine going through those struggles and maintaining any sort of positivity. Your trials will only make you stronger, and it sounds like you're going to have an even better existence from what you've taken from it. I wish you the best medically and in life, I think you deserve a little peace and relaxation for  a while now. We are glad to have you back, and hope your health continues to improve.  

Grammar: 2/2 - yes

Appearance: 1/1 - yes

Overall: 6/6

 

leaving open

Edited June 28, 2014 by Molholt

[Guest]

You are one of the strongest people I've come to know, so I have faith that whatever obstacle put in front of you, you can overcome. We'll all be here cheering you on and knowing you'll come out on top!

[Smarch 3,153]

Claimed