John Barnett's Miraculous Fight
Donation protected
How do you condense someone’s life in a few paragraphs and let others know the essence of who they are? John has always been the epicenter of our family. Always striving to be the best father, husband and provider for our family. He is unwavering in his faith in God and in his care of those he loves. He is a man that always works hard, plays hard and fully devotes himself to friends and family.
He is a veteran and a man that is governed by a strong moral compass. He is always willing to stand up for others, a lot of people say that, but John has actually put himself in harm’s way to protect an elderly gentleman being confronted by a convicted felon in a drug fueled rage. He’s always that guy that you want to have in your corner.
He has always been very devoted to his family, coaching fast pitch softball and little league baseball for years and more recently teaching self-defense to middle and high school students after being moved by meeting a young girl battling cancer who would never be able to run to escape conflict. He served his community for years in local public office while working in a chemical terminal. He has always been very health conscious, growing his own food, eating clean and exercising are a way of life for him.
On November 5th he went to the Krav Maga studio where he has worked out for the last few years and was an hour into a workout when break was called and he laughed with a friend and then 30 seconds later fell to the mat with a massive heart attack, brought on by a genetic condition that had been undetectable until that point. The cardiologist at the hospital said he was an enigma and it would not have been predicted or prevented. John is trained in emergency response and has offered assistance countless times to others and on that day he was fortunate to have two men working out that also had emergency medical training and were able to immediately start administering CPR. The owner of the facility also had an AED on site. When the paramedics arrived he was unresponsive and would suffer four cardiac arrests before arriving at the emergency room.
The emergency room doctor said that John had been brought to the hospital in critical condition and had been assessed as having no neurological function and likely would not survive the stent in progress. They said that even though CPR had started immediately he was evaluated as having been denied oxygen to the brain for over ten minutes. The doctor said that even if he survived the procedure that he would likely be in a vegetative state. It was a transforming moment when the entire world changed for our family; we were transported from a normal day into the midst of a catastrophic crisis. One of the residents that was in the emergency room when he was brought in said, “There was a crazy moment when everything slowed down because in those situations we usually don’t continue but then it was like everyone looked at him and he looked so young and healthy and everyone just seemed to start moving all at once, we were just trying to do everything we could to give him a fighting chance even though there was no detected neurological function.”
John survived the stent and was placed in a coma and his body temperature was lowered and for six days he would suffer many life threatening moments as his body began to fail. He was assessed again and found to be without neurological function but against all medical predictions he awakened, he was fighting to come back but the odds against him were almost overwhelming at times. The list of specific issues and damage related to his body is very extensive.
It was agonizing to watch as such a strong man suffered through so much as his organs began to fail, he developed 3 holes in his lungs, he had a blood aspiration in his right lung and his left lung had completely filled with blood and collapsed over his heart which would lead to two more cardiac arrests. Through it all he continued to fight and his strength of will and body were inspiring. He was a man used to fighting and his determination allowed him to continue battling long after others facing such incredible pain and misery might have given in.
John spent 40 days in the hospital most of it in intensive care and he lost 60 pounds as a result of all that he endured including critical care myopathy and rhabdomyolysis which ate away the muscle fiber in his body and left him in a severely weakened state. He had extreme lung damage and chest wall trauma so severe that it caused the bone marrow to be stunned so he was receiving blood. He developed a devastating bacterial infection in his digestive tract that left him very ill and vomiting which was torturous given then trauma to his chest and the fact that he was unable to take pain medication because of concerns of interfering with his respiration.
When the sun came up on November 5th he was strong and healthy and looking forward to working out and sparring with his friends by noon that day our lives were forever changed and he was fighting to survive and we came to realize how perilous his situation was and how fragile his life was. John came out of the coma on the third try with neurological function, recognition of family and friends, eventually neuromuscular function was restored and after 38 days he regained the ability to swallow without risk of aspiration.
It has been a long hard fight and it’s taken its toll physically, mentally and emotionally. He has to have further testing on his heart and lungs when he’s stronger and another heart procedure. He has a long road of recovery ahead, and needs daily care. His shoulders are very painful and have only regained about 50% mobility. Not being in a position to provide for us financially is a huge burden on him psychologically. He is unable to return to work for the foreseeable future. All savings have been depleted and medical bills are pouring in. There have been many unforeseen expenses associated with his care that have depleted what resources were available. Any financial support would be greatly appreciated, it would help ease the financial worries and allow him to relax his mind and focus on getting better. Every dollar will go toward his medical expenses, recovery. on-going physical therapy and medical needs as well as the mortgage. Anything you can give would be greatly appreciated, we appreciate your love, support and prayers in this difficult situation.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and believe that the man that died seven times and fought his way back will continue fighting with everything he has to recover.
He is a veteran and a man that is governed by a strong moral compass. He is always willing to stand up for others, a lot of people say that, but John has actually put himself in harm’s way to protect an elderly gentleman being confronted by a convicted felon in a drug fueled rage. He’s always that guy that you want to have in your corner.
He has always been very devoted to his family, coaching fast pitch softball and little league baseball for years and more recently teaching self-defense to middle and high school students after being moved by meeting a young girl battling cancer who would never be able to run to escape conflict. He served his community for years in local public office while working in a chemical terminal. He has always been very health conscious, growing his own food, eating clean and exercising are a way of life for him.
On November 5th he went to the Krav Maga studio where he has worked out for the last few years and was an hour into a workout when break was called and he laughed with a friend and then 30 seconds later fell to the mat with a massive heart attack, brought on by a genetic condition that had been undetectable until that point. The cardiologist at the hospital said he was an enigma and it would not have been predicted or prevented. John is trained in emergency response and has offered assistance countless times to others and on that day he was fortunate to have two men working out that also had emergency medical training and were able to immediately start administering CPR. The owner of the facility also had an AED on site. When the paramedics arrived he was unresponsive and would suffer four cardiac arrests before arriving at the emergency room.
The emergency room doctor said that John had been brought to the hospital in critical condition and had been assessed as having no neurological function and likely would not survive the stent in progress. They said that even though CPR had started immediately he was evaluated as having been denied oxygen to the brain for over ten minutes. The doctor said that even if he survived the procedure that he would likely be in a vegetative state. It was a transforming moment when the entire world changed for our family; we were transported from a normal day into the midst of a catastrophic crisis. One of the residents that was in the emergency room when he was brought in said, “There was a crazy moment when everything slowed down because in those situations we usually don’t continue but then it was like everyone looked at him and he looked so young and healthy and everyone just seemed to start moving all at once, we were just trying to do everything we could to give him a fighting chance even though there was no detected neurological function.”
John survived the stent and was placed in a coma and his body temperature was lowered and for six days he would suffer many life threatening moments as his body began to fail. He was assessed again and found to be without neurological function but against all medical predictions he awakened, he was fighting to come back but the odds against him were almost overwhelming at times. The list of specific issues and damage related to his body is very extensive.
It was agonizing to watch as such a strong man suffered through so much as his organs began to fail, he developed 3 holes in his lungs, he had a blood aspiration in his right lung and his left lung had completely filled with blood and collapsed over his heart which would lead to two more cardiac arrests. Through it all he continued to fight and his strength of will and body were inspiring. He was a man used to fighting and his determination allowed him to continue battling long after others facing such incredible pain and misery might have given in.
John spent 40 days in the hospital most of it in intensive care and he lost 60 pounds as a result of all that he endured including critical care myopathy and rhabdomyolysis which ate away the muscle fiber in his body and left him in a severely weakened state. He had extreme lung damage and chest wall trauma so severe that it caused the bone marrow to be stunned so he was receiving blood. He developed a devastating bacterial infection in his digestive tract that left him very ill and vomiting which was torturous given then trauma to his chest and the fact that he was unable to take pain medication because of concerns of interfering with his respiration.
When the sun came up on November 5th he was strong and healthy and looking forward to working out and sparring with his friends by noon that day our lives were forever changed and he was fighting to survive and we came to realize how perilous his situation was and how fragile his life was. John came out of the coma on the third try with neurological function, recognition of family and friends, eventually neuromuscular function was restored and after 38 days he regained the ability to swallow without risk of aspiration.
It has been a long hard fight and it’s taken its toll physically, mentally and emotionally. He has to have further testing on his heart and lungs when he’s stronger and another heart procedure. He has a long road of recovery ahead, and needs daily care. His shoulders are very painful and have only regained about 50% mobility. Not being in a position to provide for us financially is a huge burden on him psychologically. He is unable to return to work for the foreseeable future. All savings have been depleted and medical bills are pouring in. There have been many unforeseen expenses associated with his care that have depleted what resources were available. Any financial support would be greatly appreciated, it would help ease the financial worries and allow him to relax his mind and focus on getting better. Every dollar will go toward his medical expenses, recovery. on-going physical therapy and medical needs as well as the mortgage. Anything you can give would be greatly appreciated, we appreciate your love, support and prayers in this difficult situation.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and believe that the man that died seven times and fought his way back will continue fighting with everything he has to recover.
Organizer
Casey AndJohn Barnett
Organizer
Battle, LA