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Ben’s Hospital Story [part 1]

in My Life on 04/13/17

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What Happened: 

Late Friday night we headed to one of Ellie’s tournament soccer games. Ben was in a good mood, acting completely normal. Afterward, we caught the end of my niece’s game at the same soccer park. We chatted with his brother and sister-in-law for 30 minutes, then headed home. 

Ellie had a nightmare early in the night so ended up crawling in my bed and Ben went down the hall to the guest bedroom. 

Around 1:30 am I heard a huge thump down the hall. I figured Ben was getting up to use the restroom and knocked over a lamp or something. I turned over and went back to bed.

About 30 minutes later I heard knocking at my bedroom door. I jumped out of bed, and then Ben started calling my name. Slowly opening the door, Ben was on all fours saying I had to call an ambulance.

I helped him to bed. He started talking about how his hands were on fire. Now, normally his body is extremely weak after a seizure because his entire body tightens up. Usually, he feels a seizure coming on because he gets auras, but this time it was during his sleep without warning.

The next morning I let him sleep in until 9 am before I checked on him. I had a quick work thing, but when I woke him up he assured me he was fine, just wanted to sleep things off. Just complained a bit about his hands being on fire. 

I got back around 11:30, checked on him again, and he was able to make his way downstairs. Still very wobbly and in pain, but again I just assumed it was just muscle pain. 

The Road to Recovery: 

When things didn’t get better by Saturday afternoon, Ben called his doctor and was told to go to the ER. Twenty minutes after arriving Ben was being admitted to the hospital for further testing; they wanted to run an MRI and CT scan.

Ben spent Saturday night in the hospital with no answers. Then early Sunday morning we got the news that when Ben fell out of bed from his seizure, he injured his spinal cord. He had 2 bulging discs and would have to get surgery to remove them and replace with cadaver bones. The compression of the discs was causing nerve damage, which is why his hands were burning and he could barely use his legs. But first he would have to go to a rehabilitation hospital to gain strength, then have the spinal surgery.

The physical therapist visited Ben a couple times to test his legs. Ben could barely make it 10 steps without either getting tired or getting too wobbly. They said just give it time, he will improve, and the two-week rehabilitation hospital stay will really help.

We met with the surgeon, talked with the rehabilitation hospital… everything was on track to begin therapy right away and then have surgery in 2-3 weeks.

But the neurologist was concerned about this seizure. He had another one back in January. Normally it’s years between seizures so something seemed a little off to the neurologist so she ordered an EEG.

And that’s when stuff got crazy…

Ben’s Epilepsy Story:

Ben has had epilepsy since he was 23, having his first grand mal seizure while I was driving him home from work (we worked together at the time). What’s funny is that he asked me to drive that day since he wasn’t feeling well, and then IT happened. I hate thinking what would have been if Ben had been behind the wheel that day, especially since we were driving down a winding two-lane road with no neighborhoods around. 

I’ll never forget that we were chatting away, he put his hand on my knee all of a sudden, and just said “hold on a minute” mid-conversation. Then BOOM, grand mal seizure. Luckily I pulled off onto a little side road and found a house. Some middle-aged man had just gotten home and was walking from his car into the house. I rolled down my window and started screaming to call 911. The ambulances were there in a few quick minutes and we were taken to the local hospital. He stayed in ICU for about 10 days, given some prescriptions for anti-seizure meds, and assigned to a neurologist. That was 13 years ago.

And seriously, watch a video on YouTube if you want to see the types of seizures Ben has. This one is pretty close to what he normally experiences (you only need to watch the first two minutes to get the idea!).

 

 

 

16 Comments

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Comments

  1. Deborah B says

    April 13, 2017 at 8:25 am

    May God be with you and your family in your time of need! I will be praying for your husbands full recovery!!

    Reply
  2. Elaine says

    April 13, 2017 at 8:36 am

    Don’t leave us in suspense, What happened next? Very exciting story. I hope he is getting better. Take care of your self. Yours truly Elaine in Virginia USA

    Reply
    • howtonestforless says

      April 13, 2017 at 9:05 am

      I honestly feel like I’m writing a movie here! But if this was the script, you wouldn’t believe it’s based on a true story!!

      Reply
  3. Pam says

    April 13, 2017 at 9:03 am

    Sending prayers for your hubby and you. I have a nephew who is now 22 and has epilepsy since he was 10 years old. I pray your family will gather strength from this ordeal and may God Bless You All!

    Reply
  4. Renee says

    April 13, 2017 at 9:25 am

    Oh my, you guys have been through so much! I’m so very sorry to hear about your pregnancy loss and now Ben’s health issues. I will be praying for all of you! Hugs.

    Reply
  5. Susan says

    April 13, 2017 at 11:12 am

    PLEASE, can you possibly(!) tell us ‘the rest of the story’ — at least so far??!!
    PRAYING HERE for you both & reminding myself that God knows the whole story and He is in control!!! May you sense His presence and all the love & prayers on your behalf…….

    Reply
  6. Beverly says

    April 13, 2017 at 1:29 pm

    i am praying for you, your husband and family. You are in His hands and I know how much He loves you and cares for you. You are never alone.

    Reply
  7. Mrs Mike says

    April 13, 2017 at 1:52 pm

    my sister has a seizure condition she was born with, and has had seizures off and on throughout her life. My heart goes out to you and your family because I know how hard it is to watch someone go through a grand maul and know there’s very little you can do to help. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your husband for a full and speedy recovery.

    Reply
  8. Rana says

    April 13, 2017 at 2:54 pm

    I don’t really comment on blog posts but I’m glad you are back. I hope Ben is doing better

    Reply
  9. Jenny says

    April 13, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    How incredibly terrifying! My younger sister has petite mal seizures and those scare the crap out of me! I can’t image grand mal.

    Is Ellie ok? I’m sure this has been so scary for her as well. I hope Ben is on the recovery side of this story and you all can get back to normal soon.

    I’m praying!

    Reply
  10. Frani says

    April 13, 2017 at 3:38 pm

    Sending Ben healing prayers. Bless your heart, so scary! Hugs

    Reply
  11. mib says

    April 13, 2017 at 6:30 pm

    What an ordeal you are living through. We can and will wait until you have the strength and time to share your story. Please take care of your family and yourself first. Wishing you all strength and comfort, and a full recovery for your husband Ben.

    Reply
  12. Ashley says

    April 13, 2017 at 10:21 pm

    I had my first grand mal seizure when I was 26 and engaged to my now husband and it is now just how it is. They are only at night when I’m sleeping (not always like that but that is what they are now). I say epilepsy sucks but it is so much harder on my husband then it is me. Stay strong. If you get a chance listen to “Her & Me & it” on the Moth. praying for you and your family!!

    Reply
  13. Pam Cates says

    April 13, 2017 at 10:46 pm

    How scary for both of you! Prayers for you both.

    Reply
  14. bonnie says

    April 14, 2017 at 2:32 pm

    I’m praying for Ben to have a full recovery and I’m praying for you also. I know it must be emotionally draining.

    Reply
  15. Jacquelyn says

    April 15, 2017 at 12:39 pm

    Praying for Ben and your whole family!

    Reply

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We love to conquer DIY, home improvement projects, and room makeovers. We're not experts; we just try to design on a dime.

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