Category: Near Death Journey

Guest Writer There is so much that happened in that first week when the family and I were trying to grasp what Dana was going through. When I re-read my notes, text messages, and talk about that first week, I am amazed that Dana lived through those first two nights. When I brought her to…

Guest Writer The family was quiet on Facebook about what was happening to Dana in the first few days of her #neardeathexperience. We at first did not fathom the scope of her illness, the pneumonia, the fact that she was taking her last breaths on July 17. By July 19 the situation was becoming clearer…

I don’t remember too much between this time period. My mother and BF and doctors and nurses kept me informed as to what was going on, but I don’t recall having too many lucid memories. I knew that I couldn’t talk and I was so frustrated not to be able to communicate, and if you…

Guest Writer July 24, 2018 My morning report from the night nurse before she left for the day: Dana was awake a lot during the night. (By “awake” I mean that she opened her eyes and looked around but was unable to talk and she is still pretty doped up.) The nurse asked Dana if…

Guest Writer July 23, 2018 During these first few days of visiting the hospital and checking in at work and keeping up with household stuff, none of us ate or slept very well. The doctors encouraged us to take care of ourselves. We scheduled our lives so we could be in ICU when the doctor…

Guest Writer July 22, 2018 Notes from Messenger. 1:16 a.m. BF wrote: Dana is good. The doctor ordered her back on the vasopressor. The nurses changed the bedding, washed her and moved her position and her blood pressure dropped down to the 60s but she improved. She is super tired and looks comfy. 6:17 a.m….

Guest Writer July 21, 2018 Dana has been in and out of consciousness since she was first sedated for the intubation. The vasopressors have turned her fingers and toes even more purple than when she was brought in to the emergency room and they were bluish. At one point she had four vasopressors running into…

Guest Writer NOTE: At the time of these events I did not have a definition for vasopressors. I thought staff was saying “pressers.” All I knew was that her oxygen levels were poor and so the pressors were being used to clamp down blood flow to her arms and legs and concentrate the flow to…