A 2nd Deadly Issue Stops CJ’s ReStart As 1st Eased
Hello and thanks for taking the time to read this. I'm Christian. Quick relevant start of all this: For several years, I have been a level 8+ pain patient due to defective medical devices. These devices had the ability to cut into organs, and the result was infections that could go septic in a short time. I was tethered to Omaha, Nebraska ( my hometown ) - and the hospital trying to keep me together and preventing infections. Before the devices were implemented, I was on a short list of rising fashion photographers living in Miami Beach. In Omaha, my world didn't exist. I proudly helped many models and actors from Omaha to get to the cities I sorely missed, and the best agencies worldwide. Aside from that, the majority of my skill sets were rarely needed in a city like Omaha. With the pain I lived with every day, my medication and efforts at masking reality were sometimes thin, and I wonder what people thought when they could see that much pain in someone. After a surgery relieved some of the pain and reduced the threat of infections, I got the amazing news that I could move, and for job I'm trying to start, I decided Las Vegas would be great. ( Photo: Despite it's look it was the least pain I had felt in 8 years )
Before my move to Las Vegas, I assembled a "nest egg" with everything I had left. 8 years of living in pain and having limited capabilities in a city that had very few jobs for my skill sets - left me with very little. I got creative. I sold everything of value, figuring I would get better things as I went ( ie. Vegas cars never rust ). I earmarked money for time sensitive things - home, car, computer, cameras were urgent. I would space other things over time. I sold everything possible... cars, huge clothing collection, camera gear, video gear, furniture, things I never thought I'd sell and collected everything I had from all sources. I settled with clients who hadn't yet paid, already got deposits from new clients in Las Vegas. Earn, beg, and borrow to restart and then I would grow.
I arrived in Las Vegas and was excited to get going. I felt like I was in a new body and something seemed off. The pain I was used to was reduced, so I wondered if it was always like "this" but other things had my attention. My first few days gave me concern. I wasn't running sprints but I was breathing hard doing minimal things. My first week hadn't finished but I did something I've never done, I woke my friend. pleading for her to call 911. I couldn't breathe and I was scared to death.
Ambulance got me to the hospital quickly. I was put on a nebulizer and finally felt some relief. My breathing was shallow but I was breathing. Someone was getting my information while I was being treated. They asked me for my ID, info, and a bank card. Happy to be breathing a little, I passed everything to the woman. For 14 hours I remained in the waiting room with brief moments being wheeled into different tests. At 5 hours a doctor told me he didn't see clots and thought that COPD took a nose dive. At about 9 hours, another doctor told me they were waiting for a room to put me in.
The day following my arrival, I was awakened by a Priest Administering Last Rites. That was a shock and upsetting... but I understood.
The following days were a series of antibiotics, steroids, blood tests, 3ltr Oxygen tubes, pain meds, and lots of nebulizers. It was non-stop. Sometimes a nurse and I would attempt to walk and I would collapse out of breath like I was sprinting miles.
Over a week later and my normal nurses were off. No doctor. A nurse assistant brought meds and noted that I would be going home. I still couldn't get to the bathroom without hitting the alarm. Not possible. I figured I would ask someone I recognized about it. Instead, she returned later saying I had been discharged. I said it wasn't possible - I was as messed up as when I got there. She was saying I should pack and brought discharge papers. I rifled through the papers. Diagnosis: Asthma Attack and it was followed with step by step instructions on how to use an Asthma Inhaler. My heart raced and breath ran away with it. I asked for doctors. She informed me they left and she would have to wheel me down to my ride. When my nebulizer was done and I took a bunch of pills, she wheeled me down to my friend's car and off I went. I took my Oxygen tubes but they didn't give me an Oxygen tank. I noticed earlier when I walked with her - after my O2 Sat hit 90 she turned it off. Shortly before I was down again. They were going to discharge me?
My friend and I stopped for a bite on the way home. From my seat in the restaurant to the parking lot - I was on the ground in the parking lot, I was already saying "911 911." I knew then I had to get back to Omaha. The Las Vegas hospital couldn't be right, this wasn't Asthma. My skin color was being mentioned by people. My lips were bluish. We got to the apartment. I crawled tossing some clothes in my bags and tried to get my airline ticket for first direct flight. Card failed. Friend quickly grabbed it since it was almost full. I sat still staring at the door until my Uber was to arrive.
My airport adventure to return to Omaha was beyond frightening. Paramedics were called before I got to the ticket counter and my first flight was denied. I will post photos and a link to things on my Facebook Page. I have never been so close to death - I find it hard to speak about or type. If the world worked the way it was supposed to - every path led to me dying in the airport that night. Only by a Fuzzy line with friends helping, deception like a desperate person would, prayers, and good timing led to me flying. A miracle kept me from dying before landing.
Lakeside Hospital in Omaha was the opposite of Las Vegas. Doctors and staff moved me around like a race car. They quickly saw and showed us pneumonia and they sent my mother home - I wouldn't be going anywhere. They requested scans and X-Rays from Las Vegas. Omaha didn't wait, and all new scans etc... were done in rapid fire. I dozed off around 6am in a room. At 7:10 the treating Doctor woke me to tell me they had answers. Pneumonia and a series of blood clots were easily found. 4 large ones and several smaller ones. The biggest in my lungs and another 3 big ones in my legs. Treatment to dissolve them was already in progress. I finally "felt it all" later, when at last, I could pull in a full breath.
After discharge and with the threat passed, I went to the bank to check on my "nest egg", to see how I would modify to get back and start working. My "nest egg" had been cracked, scrambled, and eaten. I never expected that my account would be cleaned out completely. But it's also overdrawn horribly. No money earmarked "urgent". I have no home, car, no desktop publishing computer, no replacement camera gear. But it also means no food, no prescriptions, airfare, and no way to earn. It feels like a 3rd deadly condition.
A friend suggested a GFM account, and I hope as I finish writing this on my old laptop, that people who I have helped over the years, will help me now in my crisis. I never thought I would need such assistance. I'm terrified by the thought that I have to ask, and even more that I may be stuck, as those people never expected this either. I feel like this is another crisis - and I've had too many in a short time. My career is taking a new turn and it's aimed at helping all kinds of people - I now suppose - if all kinds of people help me first. Thank you for taking the time to read this.