Incredible unwillgness to die

H8CH

H8CH

Active member
So I have a pretty compelling and rad story to tell about my grandfather. It's a bit long - so im sorry, and spark notes don't do it justice.

To set the scene, this is a guy who has abused his body his whole life - has smoked like a chimney to present day, drank heavily his whole life and has always been over weight etc etc. His career was one of being a very successful engineer, and he is currently in his mid 80's.

Amazingly, he has never had any major diseases... im talking about cancer here.... or significant life threatening conditions, this guy is as strong as an ox.

About 5 years ago, whilst at home, he started to feel dizzy, light headed and with a slight shortness of breath... so was taking to the doctor for a "check up". What happened next is incredible - and to this day nobody understands it - he was suffering essentially heart failure - his heart rate at the Doctors was recorded at 17 bpm. No doctor has ever seen anyone alive with a heart rate this low, let alone someone who was just feeling a little light headed etc.... it blew the docs away - but he was rushed in to emergency surgery and had a pace maker fitted. A few weeks later, he's back to normal.... again, nobody could understand how he was alive.... he should not be.

Come forward now to monday this week - he doesn't really sleep or go to bed these days, merely sleeps in his chair..... and it was in this chair that he was found on monday morning, unconcious...

Unable to be revived - he was rushed to hospital #1 - where, after many tests, a CT scan finally revealed he had suffered a massive brain haemorrage. Here at Hospital #1, everyone was told there was nothing that could be done to save him - game over. It was also revealed that only very rarely do people with such a severe brain aneurysm even make it to the hospital alive.

Modern medicine, with it's networked systems however, meant that Hospital #2 (a bigger, university teaching hospital) had a chance to view the test results and scans online - at which point, on mon afternoon a neurosurgeon made the call and said, they'd like to see if they could give him a chance. So - he was moved to Hospital #2 and rushed into brain surgery to release the immense pressure.

Upon coming out of surgery, everyone was told that there were only 3 scenario's left - the severity of the aneurysm meant that he would either die overnight, be so severely brain damaged - they'd just have to let him go, or that he would have significant brain damage that his life would be fairly unlivable, and that he would more then likely die anyway within the next 30 days.

He made it through the night. Not only did he make it through the night, but upon being brought to a lower level of sedation - passed all initial brain function tests, e.g .he was asked to raise left arm - done, then right, done... and so on... the Doctors once again were in disbelief, this simply doesn't happen.... my sister visited - and thanked him for the day off work - to which he grabbed her hand and squeezed it and smiled. becuase of this - the doctors were so amazed, they moved him on to the next phase of treatment (had he not responded, they would have just left it... for the inevitable to happen)

Today, the heamorrage has been stopped and sealed internally through a 2nd operation which went text book apparently - he is responsive and agitated to have the tube that is helping him breath removed (he doesn't need it - but it was left in to rest his body)....

We should have been planning a funeral yesterday - he should never have even made it to the first Hospital, yet he made it to two.... and through brain surgery.... and then through the night.... even then - he should have lost pretty much most of the use of his brain given the severity of the bleeding.... but no, he appears to be pretty much, ok... they're going to bring him around slowly and see what kind of brain damage (if any... ) has occurred...

The fucker is just bomb proof... and i for one, hope i have plenty of his genes.... that's survival of the fittest right thur. Given these episodes, such as the heart incident etc.. im honestly starting to think he's immortal! haha...

Im not really looking for vibes etc - He is not out of the woods yet, but if anything does happen to him now, I will still just continue to be amazed at all these events and his inherent resilience... and just how tough he is... he defies all medical logic, doctors and surgeons cannot believe how he is still alive... and neither can i.

Sorry for the big post, but Just thought i'd share some of the incredible goings on over my last couple of days...
 
Would you honestly want those genes? I sure as hell would not want to go through all of that in my 80's. I don't want to be revived from my chair at that age, even if it is a miracle, which I am happy for you, I would not want it to happen to me.

I have a similar story with my grandmother. She is 93 (I think) and she has had congestive heart failure for over 2 years. That is simply amazing on its own. She also broke her hip a few years ago, and even though she gets around slowly with a walker, she is still going strong. But back to what I said before, she never expected to live this long. She is still sharp as a tack, but she is at that point where she is so frail that she cannot do anything, and therefore she cannot enjoy living anymore. Once you reach a certain age and lose your abilities, you do not want to be alive.
 
your grandpa reminds me of Red from Pineapple express, but really thats crazy hes made it through all that
 
I hear you - and the saving grace about things was he would of known nothing about it, and it's not like he's had some miserable battle with cancer, or outseimers (sp?) etc etc....

Which was what made me feel ok about it on Monday night, when i was fully expecting him to die over night.

Now im just amazed he's still going.... and just hope he isn't too brain damaged etc - but as i discuss, early signs are that he isn't...

it's insane... and unheard of pretty much.
 
Damn dude, i wish my grandpa was like that last year at this time.. He died of a brain tumor.

was/is your grandpa very athletic or fit? That may help alot.
 
Not as cool, but my grandma has one of the longest lasting liver transplants at 15 years.... They said it might last a year.
 
no - that's the amazing thing...

His whole life - he drank like a fish, i've never seen anyone just go through pints like that before... and he smoked like a chimney

By all known conventions he should of died of cancer, liver failure or a heart attack years ago!
 
I use to mow for an old lady till she was transferred to a nursing home. She was 95 when she moved out. I would be mowing and she would be gardening and walking around at 95! Shes still driving to this day too.
 
that's incredible dude. thanks for sharing, really.

i know what you mean when you say that you want those genes lol. my great grandma died two or tree years ago at around 96 years old. my other great grandma (both on my dad's side of the family) is still alive at 93 years old. she lives by herself, in a city, with like a 7 step staircase up to her house, and doesn't really receive extra help for anything (in a good way).

it's really amazing how some people can just defy all the odds and life such a good long life.
 
Your grandpa sounds bulletproof, thats insane. My grandpa went through something similar to that.

Late in his illness, they told all of us that he was at the end, and there was nothing they could do to help him, so they allowed him to go home and die in the comfort of his own bed. We all came over and said our goodbyes, and he was barely conscious, too weak to even open his eyes for more than a second or two. It was pretty sad, and we were all pretty sure he wouldn't make it through the night.

The next morning my grandma woke up and he wasn't in bed. She got up and he was sitting perfectly upright in the living room watching horse races on TV (one of his favorite things, 2nd to baseball).

Stunned, she asked him how in the world he got out there and he told her "I wasn't ready to go yet, damnit!" He managed to power through about 2 more weeks; long enough to give his old Pike fraternity pin to my brother for his initiation 4 or so months ago. Pretty badass. RIP Gramps.

 
I'm pissed off because i was going to give him a call this weekend, but never got a chance... my bad.... so - hopefully i'll get the chance to again... it's looking like that's the case now. Incredibly.

 
Honestly I feel like at that age, as long as you're mentally fit and have some degree of mobility, you want to live not for the quality of your own life, but to be able to witness the lives of your family, primarily your children and grandchildren. And just being able to enjoy their company for as long as possible probably makes it worth it.
 
it would be like watching a ski movie: just sitting back, taking it easy, and watching everybody else have fun. even if you can't do it yourself, it's good to watch others and you always get that good vibe.
 
i hope my uncle will be strong like this, he got rushed to the hospital today after his cancer started to progress.
 
Yeah - nobody had seen anyone alive with a heart rate that low before...
my words exactly - he is bomb proof.
 
Reminds me of my dad. He's turning 75 this year, and still skis at least 3 days a week. Hikes all the time, and would still backpack with us if it weren't for a surgery he had to have a couple years ago on his ankle. He still snorkels, scuba dives, and sails. Pretty much does everything, he's way more active and involved than many of my friends' 50 year old parents.
 
My Grandma is 73, and she's a beast. No diseases, climbs about 3 mountains a year, has written over 70 books, all published, and she's one of the most inspiring people I've ever met. Travels all over the world. Does whatever the fuck she wants.

My Grandma doesn't afraid of anything.
 
my dads also a beast, hes not as old as yours but still

hes 57, he skis 5 days a week and charges pretty damn hard, he works 60 hours a week building houses and during the summer rides his bike like 40 miles a day and can still bench over 200

he doesnt really have any cartiledge in his knees, so he cant really run or hike anymore, but he still gets after it pretty damn hard
 
I meant to also say - to everyone replying about bad ass grand parents etc who still ski, climb etc... That's the thing, my grandad has never been like that. He has abused his body his whole life.... There is now way he should still be alive, but it appears he just simply is bomb proof... I just don't understand it. How can someone like lance Armstrong-so healthy, get riddled with cancer-and just survive.... Then my grandad who would smoke 40-60 a day for 30-40 years, drink 20 pints easily... Eat shit, be over weight etc... How can he still be going strong after all this?? It blows my mind-my parents and the whole family find it almost hilarious-simply no one can believe it. It's almost like, the next time something happens to him-nobody is going to bother worrying as he'll prob just survive anyway! Ha. Amazing.
 
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