Brad Borchers:
CLASS OF 1985
Le Mars Community High SchoolClass of 1985
Le mars, IA
Brad's Story
Every Thursday people start posting pictures of what used to be and reminisce. I look at my life as a calendar of events. Rarely do I get past one point in my life, it stops my thoughts every time. It was the day I died. I'll try and explain. Back in the late 1990's I ended up in the hospital going through one of my muscle episodes (that's another story). This time because of my pain, the doctor prescribed a pain killer called Dilaudid. As it flowed into my veins, I could feel it creeping up my body like a warm breeze. It felt good, pain was going away. I finally fell asleep. Still not sure what time it was, I remember my hospital room filled with the whitest, brightest light I've ever seen. The light wasn't coming from any direction, it was just light. I was standing at the edge of my bed watching myself sleep. I could see the machines, the numbers as they changed yet no sounds. At one point the numbers dropped to nothing and the screens started blinking.
My expression was of peace. Soon a nurse came in and was very frantic; she was followed by 2 other nurses. They never saw me standing at the edge of the bed. They went and was trying to wake me, repeating my name, one even pushed on my chest. Soon Dr. Laird arrived, he was telling the nurses something, guess it was orders as with every sentence each went and left the room. I listened so hard but nothing could be heard. One returned with the portable xray. Within that moment, a split second of time, I went from watching to being behind my eyes, laying in bed. Nurses seemed to be yelling my name, so hard to breath and the pain was coming back. Trying to figure out what was going on. One nurse on each side pulling into a sitting position, another sliding a cold plate behind my back. Why are they doing an xray? Why was doc here? Whats going on? I was thinking all this but nothing was coming out of my mouth.
Confused and scared. Unable to lift my arms, barely able to gasp in any air. Just noticed I had oxygen mask on, why? Words slowly filtered in, then sentences. Trying to find out what was going on. Someone was asking if wife had been called, doctor wanting to know how soon helicopter would be here and someone explaining that it was busy and had to leave by ambulance. Heard another say, wasnât leaving until wife seen him. Nurses dropped bed down and lowered the metal rails, took all of them to transfer me to ambulance gurne...Expand for more
y. I see my wife and Ali, she is handing me something, nurses take it. Later found out it was a flashlight. I see them, but cannot hear them or talk. So freaking scared a that point. Now in the ambulance, looking up seeing an angel wearing white/ nurse with light coming from behind her head. As she sat back, could see the ceiling light, then she placed plastic mask over my mouth and forced air into me.
I could hear but not see the doctor talking to EMT about doing a tracheotomy and how they practiced on pigs in school. Nurse looked at them and they stopped talking. Trying to move mask away and talk, nothing came out and she went back to bagging me. Thinking we had just reached LeMars, they hit a bump so hard the nurse looked like she hit her head on the ceiling, road construction. Soon, seemed like a blink of my eyes, we were at St. Lukes in the ICU. Memory gaps puzzle me to this day. So many things hooked up, beeping, and blinking. Everytime they tried to recline the bed, Iâd stop breathing. Spent what seemed like a week awake watching everything. No idea what day it was or how long I was there. A tech came in and explained that she had to run a pick line to my heart and that I had to turn my head to the left or it might run up to my brain. I did what I was told. Looking away as she began to run line, my hand got real cold and could hear drops of liquid hitting the floor. Something wrong with the line and blood was dripping off my fingers making a blood pool on the floor. At that moment my aunt Carol popped in, she was working at Lukes and heard I was here. Tech asked her to leave and send nurse in. Bet that was a sight. The days blurred together, Aliâs crayon art was taped to the wall. I donât remember people coming in, only Aunt Carol.
Not sure how long I was in ICU but got transferred to a regular room on a different floor. Still very tough to move or take a breath in, weak was an understatement. Everytime I tried to sleep or even lay flat. Panic would set in and Iâd sit up or climb into a chair. To this day, still have sleeping issues where that moment happens and I panic. It changed me, good or bad not sure only time will tell. What happened was the Dilaudid relaxed me so much that my diaphragm muscles stopped(they are what do the breathing) followed by my heart muscle. I have no idea how long it was, thatâs when life changed, letting me see a bigger picture.
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