Dave has a blog: January 2006

I am not sure where to start, the first thing I remember was waking up in the hospital, I had tubes in my arm's, my mouth, and other places tubes should not be. I had no idea what was going on, and I was tied down to the bed. I remember hearing someone saying, "he is still unconscious", and then nothing. The next time I woke up I was angry, someone was stabbing me in my arm, and every time I tried to roll over on my side I got pushed back to my back. I had these weird socks on my feet. Then I remember Mandy, my girlfriend, my hero.

You see earlier that month Mandy had come to my house one evening because I was not answering my phone. She knew I was a little stressed out because I was off work after collapsing in the bathroom on the job one day (later it would be diagnosed that I had had a minor stroke). I was on short-term disability. While on disability from work, and going through the stress of trying get my insurance to cover my wage (Manulife sucks, did you know that Manulife is the only insurance company in Canada that takes the money that the government pays you for your disability? Every other insurance company in Canada will pay you your hard earned insurance amount, and allow to you to collect the minimal amount that you are entitled to by law by the government), My TV explodes. My doctor ordered me on bed rest. I am at home all day filling my time with TV and Xbox, and then the fuckin TV explodes. When you are not working, and home on disability your TV is sometimes the only thing that keeps you sober (I love Oprah). So Mandy comes over to my house a little worried because I am not answering my phone. She was out the night before at her friend's house and wanted to check in on me. When I don't answer my phone she decides to come check on me. Little did she know that I had collapsed in my home, with my brain bleeding. I had had some kind of stroke. Technically it was not a stroke, it was a brain bleed, but a stroke is when your brain is bleeding! I am not sure on how they qualify that it's a stroke or a brain bleed. Anyway I was sort of conscious and had done a nice job of smashing my apartment up, and myself, as I struggled to stand up and move. While in my state I had stumbled into a class coffee maker I had lodged class in my wrist, and cut my feet nicely. So Mandy shows up at my house and nocks on my door, she has keys so when I don't answer, she tries to open it. My security lock is on and she can't open the door all the way. She can hear me though, and see enough blood and hear the sound of my breath to freak her out. Like any smart female would do, who didn't have enough room to put her head in a door, and puts her compact in. From what I am told the picture wasn't pretty, enough for her to freak out and call 911 and my close friend Parry (See his blog). Who drops what he is doing and comes running to my place.

The first to arrive is the fire trucks they kick open my door. Then the ambulance arrives and whisks me up almost immediately. The police come to, and soon it's a party in my apartment. Apparently I had a lot of drug prescription bottles and they were all freaking out about them. So one parametric is grilling my girlfriend about my medical history while the other whisks me out the door. As I am being loaded in the ambulance Parry arrives he takes one look at me and freaks out a little bit. The police start grilling everyone. Trying to figure out weather I was assaulted, stoned, raped, or committing suicide. Maybe all of the above. So while I am being sent to the ER, Parry call's my folks, and Mandy and He take heat from the cops.

I need to be in the ER. I am transported to Burnaby hospital ASAP. While in the emergency room it is diagnosed that my brain is expanding inside my head. With limited space for it to grow, with that damn skull in the way, they determine that removing my skull will save my life; if my brain continues to expand and runs into my skull I will die. I am shipped to Royal Columbian Hospital where they can perform the surgery.

My parents arrive, after they were called by Parry and speak to Dr. Chan a surgeon who informs them that if they don't take out my skull, I will die. They sign all the forms, and I am whisked into the emergency room.

While I am having my skull removed, my girlfriend, friend, and family all try to figure out what happened. In the waiting room my girlfriend was treated like a secondary citizen. Listening to everyone try to explain how this could have happened. Now keep in mind I still might die any second. This woman has been my best friend, my lover, and my biggest supporter for two years. We spend all our free time together; she was my staple when I was on disability. She was the one who was there for me never judging me even in my weakest moments. There are no secrets between us. If anything we are too honest with each other. We went camping together, we went to play's I cooked for her and her family. Her family welcomed me with open arms. I became a part of her family; she became a part of my life. Plus she has a great a...err butt. We were like any other couple in the world. And she has no say because we are not married. I knew I should have put a wring on her finger

I am in surgery for several hours, my skull removed and then frozen in liquid nitrogen and preserved until my swollen brain returns to normal. This takes almost a month.