This was the most intense weekend of my life.

moonbeast32

Well-Known Member
Everything was in place. I just got my CDL, and all the endorsements I wanted. I was hired by Werner, and was supposed to start orientation next Wednesday (which would have been today). I was looking forward to one last weekend with my family...

And then my father punctured his intestines.

My father is pale and gaunt, and looks about 1.6 times his actual age; a very sick man. He never drank, never smoked or shot up, never worked somewhere dangerous or around dangerous chemicals. Still though, his body appears to fail him at every turn.

He had just come out of surgery when it happened. We suppose that his body reacted so negatively to the operation that his intestines became severely inflamed. Nothing could get through there, so they eventually ruptured. The doctors were able to react immediately, but still, prospects were grim.

Sunday morning, about 12:05 am, we get a call from hospital staff. They say it's time for the family to come in. The implications are not lost on us.

The head doctor says they are detecting a buildup of lactic acid in my father's blood. His PH balance would soon reach fatal levels, and the only way to fix it would be to put him on dialysis. However, his blood pressure was already so low, that the resulting drop in pressure from the dialysis process would almost certainly stop his heart. They told us there was a 1 in 100 chance for survival.

We waited in that room for his heart rate to flatline, unable to speak to him because he was being constantly sedated. We waited hours and hours for him to die, until his blood pressure came within a hair's width of the fatal level, and remained there for a moment. Gradually, it began to rise again, but we weren't about to think the battle was won.

I drifted off to sleep in my chair at some point, and awoke to sunlight coming in through the window. My father was still there, still alive, and his blood pressure was still rising very, very slowly. I went home, but expected to get another call to come back at any time.

Over the next few days, I've been waiting. Still no call. The doctors say he's still making gradual improvements every hour. Yesterday, he had gained enough strength to make nigh imperceptible nods or shakes of the head when he was asked questions.

So I think I feel safe enough to have hope again. I'm going to call Werner again today to reschedule my orientation. I feel humbled after all of this. I watched a man survive a 99% fatality rate situation, and I think it was only made possible because of his fierce determination. It really puts things into perspective for me, and I believe the things I've learned from him this week will be critically important to my future driving career.

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry if it was too long.
 
Yes! Family comes first!:thumbsup: Don't even worry about Werner, If they understand that is good and if not, EVERYONE is hiring!
 
The older generation are scrappers....super tough and super strong..... take care of your family and hoping for continued improvement for your dad. There always be a job to work at......
 

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