Where do I ever begin??

Great title huh....so much has happened in the last 4 days and I was 'computerless' so will try to remember it all...good luck to me!!
Monday morning began normally....radio blaring at 4:24am, and off to a normal day at work about an hour later. The day continued to be....normal....not a bad thing at all!! When I was about ready to leave work, just a bit after 1, I checked my phone for any texts that may have come my way and there was one....from Libbey....another....normal thing!! This is when things became anything but normal. Her text said she had tripped, hitting where her ileostomy is and it had 'gushed' blood but she thought everything was ok. Hmmmm, I called her right away and she said that all was well...no problem...whew!! When I got home she was a bit unnerved since it was bleeding quite a bit again. I thought we better see a doc to have it checked right away and was told there was 'nothing available' until the evening....I told them....she is bleeding....NOW. They found a spot for us a bit later, but it wasn't long that I told Liz we were going to the ER to be checked....NOW!! She had emptied the ileostomy bag which was full of blood before I got home, and it was rapidly filling again. As we drove to the hospital we laughed and talked and I was even joking about....maybe they will use Lifeflight and take you back to Cleveland....and Lizzey also laughed and said that would be great since she would be 'concious' and could enjoy the ride!! Little did we know......
We were at the hospital by 2 and waited and waited and waited....as her bag continued to grow...huge. I finally told her I was waiting 5 more minutes and I was going to go out and 'squeal' at the counter....she was thrilled!! Luckily, a nurse finally came in and began with all 500 questions that they always ask, and we kept telling her that the 'bag' was going to explode if 'something' wasn't done. The ER doc came in and was great, but admitted that he knew very little about stomas, but lucky for us, a stoma nurse was there and he sent her in to drain the bag and asses the situation....they both were great. I had mentioned to Liz on the way to make sure to let me know if she felt 'funny'...dizzy, or lightheaded since she was losing so much blood, but each time she assured me...no problem. The nurse was pleased with how things were progressing when all the sudden Lib said.....'I feel kinda lightheaded'.....and she was...gone. Well, actually she was laying there....white as a ghost, unresponsive, with her eyes wide open. Then the action really started as the nurse hollered for help, oxygen and who knows what else. Our little room was soon filled with at least 15 people working on her to get some sort of response from her with no luck. Things turned critical as her blood pressure bottomed out, and they could not get a pulse, but the monitor said her heart was beating.....40 beats per minute....not good. I think it was here that I sent Dave a text.....come....now. It seemed forever until he arrived and by the time he walked in, she was not able to breathe on her own and respitory had come down to do the breathing for her. She was moved to the trauma room for more space and they continued to work on her with multiple calls to her surgeon in Cleveland. While we had been waiting earlier, I texted her surgeon a picture of the bulging bag and asked for her thoughts, so she knew that we had gone to the ER, but was unaware, of her critical condition. The ER doc said they were not able to handle what she needed so after multiple calls to Cleveland Clinic and also to Toledo, the decision was made to Lifeflight her to Toledo since it was closer and she could get the help she needed.....faster. Sometime during all of this, she also was intubated, and put on a ventilator to do the breathing for her, since there was still no response, and blood pressure and heart rates were almost non-existant. As they were making arrangements for Lifeflight, I couldn't help but remember the laughter that we had on the way to the hospital talking about 'taking a ride'....and now....it was really happening...how could this be....was this really happening? We were told as they got ready to intubate her that they were giving her meds to paralyze her and that it would also give her no memory of this ordeal. Only later, after Libbey told us about her experiance in that ER did we realize that yes, the drugs had paralyzed her, but she heard....everything, and felt....everything...right down to the intubation tube being shoved down her throat. She said she was trapped in her own body, unable to tell anyone that she was hearing and feeling everything....and she was....scared...to death. How could this have happened??
We soon heard a helicoptor landing and so the moment had arrived and my question was....can I fly too? The thought of watching her leave, alone on a helicoptor was more than I wanted to think about, so I was hoping I would be allowed to fly also. As they worked to stabilize her well enough to fly, I was told that yes, I could go too. The pilot took me out and told me where I would be....next to Liz, and also what to expect during the flight. I had always wanted to go in a helicoptor....but....not like this...no, not like this at all. What seemed like forever, we waited for them to bring her out and load her up....when finally they came out with her all bundled up and all I could see was her face....and the monitor recording her heart rate....which was bad, and her blood pressure which was also....bad. I was told our 'ride time' would be about 12 minutes, and to sum up the ride....amazing...well, for me....I could see, but remember, again, Lizzey was laughing about 'flying' since she would be concious and could enjoy it....no such luck, although she remembers the cold wind on her face as they wheeled her out and also taking off...but, that was...it. We landed on top of Toledo Hospital and she was taken to the MICU where she stayed for the next 2 days. They kept her on the ventilator for about 24 hours before they felt she was able to be weaned off of it...hooray for that!! Since she was unable to talk to us, when she was able, she wrote to us with her first statement being....'don't leave me'.....ummm, this is mom and dad here....leave you...not a chance!!! I was asked soooo many times about her 'fall' with many thinking she had passed out. She also had a hard time convincing anyone, that this was a simple 'trip' and not a flat out fall. While she was in the MICU she saw neuro, critical care, 2 from cardio, had heart sonograms, an EEG, MRI and many, many other tests and visits from other docs. It is hard to pinpoint exactly the cause of all of this. We know it all began with the 'trip' and the bleeding....ohhhh, the bleeding....it was massive and the stoma eventually had to be stitched to stop it. So, we know blood loss played a huge part in this, but testing also pointed out a few things that we need to think about and decide what to do. We got varying advice from different docs which makes it a bit hard...who do you listen to and what is the best route to take. We know we need to go back to cardio so are waiting for a call from there. Neuro, well, we need to talk about all that has happened and then decide what direction to take. We do know one thing....we all need sleep. The last time I was in a bed was Monday morning, before I jumped out at 4:24....I have not been in a bed since, nor has Dave, well, guess he got to lay on a couch last night since we were moved from MICU to a regular room on the floor....but other than that, sleep has come....here and there sitting on a chair....waiting....wondering....hoping....and praying. We have watched Liz endure more 'stabs' than anyone should have to....her veins are small and not great and she has counted over 20 'pokes' in her wrists and arms looking for just the right vein....usually with no success. Finally a PICC line was put in to help with that.
She had great docs and nurses who did everything possible to try to make her comfortable, all trying to find out what happened and how to 'fix' it! So many times this week I had to remember that I wasn't in Cleveland....we were just there...in a hospital, so being in a hospital, again, so soon, well, it felt like Cleveland which was rather funny at times. When we had the TV on and a commercial would come on for something in Toledo, my first thought was.....why are they advertising that....in Cleveland...ooops, wait, I'm in.....Toledo!!
We just got home a few hours ago, unpacked the few things that we had taken...we 'thought' we were taking a quick trip to the ER....wow, were we ever surprised that our quick trip had taken over 3 days, and we had gone from laughter, to annoyance at waiting, to very critical and now back to normal....well, not normal, but at least we are on the way!!!
We thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers....we couldn't do this....alone.