Yesterday was a long day

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89)
06/05/2015 at 13:01 • Filed to: None

First off... drugs will ruin your life. I shouldn’t have to say that, but I do.

So, Wednesday night, I got a phone call from my mom. My aunt, her sister, had suddenly gone into cardiac arrest. She went to my brother’s room to use some of his oxygen because she couldn’t breathe. (Yeah, he gets oxygen, at 29 years old, because he suffered a serious heart attack from a pulmonary embolism last year)

So, she gets the oxygen, and he immediately calls 911, because something wasn’t right. She goes downstairs to sit on the couch and talk to my grandmother. Right as the EMTs arrive, she collapses and goes into cardiac arrest. She rolls off the couch, right into the arms of the EMT. Her heart stops. They get her revived and transport her to the hospital. She’s in the ICU. She must have been starved of oxygen a little too long though. She was having convulsions/seizures yesterday, but they got those stopped. She’s on a ventilator. She has a cooled blanket to lower her body temperature to try to preserve any function. The EEG yesterday showed that the only brain activity was seizure activity. More than likely, she won’t make it. No scenario is good. The possibilities are as follows:

They take her off life support and she dies.

She wakes up, but basically as a shell.

Now, the cause of all this? She’s been a pain pill addict for quite some time and only recently started getting cleaned up. She had been so doped up on pain pills for so long, that she’d apparently had multiple heart attacks, and because of the pills, nothing was ever noticed. We tried to help her many, many times, but it never worked. This was preventable. Now, her heart, as of yesterday, was functioning at 20%. Her chances were less than 50% as of yesterday afternoon, and if no improvement was made by this morning, she probably wouldn’t even wake up at all.

She just turned 49 two weeks ago. What’s even worse? Her next-of-kin is her son, who just turned 18 a week and a half ago. It’s his decision whether or not to take her off life support if faced with the choice. Granted, he’s going to make the decision in conjunction with my grandmother as well. But either way, that is not a choice an 18 year old should be faced with, concerning a parent.

Regardless of how preventable this was, this is extremely difficult, and very sudden. As much difficulty as we may have had with my aunt, and some of the bad things we said about her, (which I very much wish I could take back. It wasn’t right to say some things I did. I don’t like being negative towards people) she’s still family and I still love her.

Life isn’t fair sometimes. It really isn’t. Three weeks ago, my brother was in the ER for shortness of breath, and we take that seriously after his near-miss last year. Two weeks ago, my grandmother was in the hospital with a severe angina attack. (She had a bad heart attack a few years ago). End of April, I was in the hospital with heart concerns after an anxiety attack elevated my heart enzymes. My heart, thankfully, was determined to be healthy, though I do have Nitroglycerin now, just in case. Though, my grandfather on my mom’s side died of a heart attack 16 years ago, and he was only in his 50s, and my uncle has had some heart problems here in there. I’ve got some pretty bad genetic disposition towards it on my mom’s side of the family, to say the least, and most of my genetic-related health issues already have come from that side of the family.

People, keep yourselves healthy, and away from drugs. My family is pretty torn up over this whole event. I spent part of the day yesterday visiting my aunt in the ICU. It was like she wasn’t there. Just a lifeless body, barely breathing, hooked up to so many machines and tubes. It was very hard to see, to say the least.

JUST UPDATED: She’s being taken off life support in the morning. We’re going to say our goodbyes to her tonight. Such a tragedy, and a life lost too early.

It’s good that the last memory I have of her alive is from two weeks ago, at her birthday party. She seemed pretty good then. It’s going to be hard to explain to my three year old about this.

DISCUSSION (19)

Party-vi > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:04

I’m so sorry.

CaptDale - is secretly British > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:07

I am sorry about your loss. At least you have a good recent memory to remember her by.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:09

I’m so sorry to hear that.

thebigbossyboss > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:10

:( I am sorry for your loss.

When people close to me die I like to listen to the message of this song “remember all the good times, forget about all the bad”

Xyl0c41n3 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:14

I’m so sorry. My thoughts are with you and your family, especially your aunt’s son. Wishing you strength and peace, Wes.

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:20

Condolences. My father just passed away last month.

And I know you are in a bad space now. But drugs are not bad. Abusing them is what screws things up.

Uug > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:23

That is rough. I wish you and yours all the best through this unfortunate situation.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:24

This is pretty terrible, my condolences to you and your family.

CB > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:27

I’m sorry to hear that, Wes. My condolences to you and your family. Are you close to your cousin (in terms of proximity)? He’s probably going to need a lot of support.

random001 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:28

That really sucks. There aren't words. I'm really sorry to hear this.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > CB
06/05/2015 at 13:33

Yes, I am. We’re all local. And yes, he will absolutely need support.

Thank you.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Trevor Slattery, ACTOR
06/05/2015 at 13:34

Thank you. I’m very sorry to hear about your father as well.

And yes, you’re right. It is the abuse, not the drug itself. (In most cases, at least.) I don’t mean to make a blanket statement.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Xyl0c41n3
06/05/2015 at 13:35

Thank you.

RallyWrench > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 13:49

Nothing I can say but I’m so, so sorry for you and your family. All the best.

Osiris - I can haz Euro spec? > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 14:16

I’m sorry bro. Just let me know if you need to talk or anything. I’m (as well as the rest of Oppo, I’m sure) here for you.

TheVicious > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 14:16

It probably doesn't have as much meaning from a random person, but my condolences.

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 14:29

I hear you man. As a person with an addictive personality who has and continues to battle with it, I totally know where you are coming from and what your aunt went through. Believe me, she fought with herself over it. The gorilla is tough to get off of your back.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Trevor Slattery, ACTOR
06/05/2015 at 14:35

I know the feeling far too well. I come from a family with a predisposition to dependency on such things, so I’m very careful. I know I have the gene, and I’ve seen how it affects those around me. I don’t want to have to have that fight, if I can avoid it.

Good luck with your battle though. Support is the best thing you can have when dealing with something like this. Don’t let yourself be demonized, or let other people put you down. Something like this is difficult to handle. Keep on battling!

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/05/2015 at 18:04

I am so sorry. Condolences.