My Life's Journey - Life's "CARD" Game - Part 3 - My Brother Nikola And A Pencil To The Rescue
Three of us before the troubles started to unfold. My brother Nikola, and my father Milan.
It has been 5 months now and it is time to resume telling you guys what exactly happened with my father this summer. And, how some quick thinking of my brother Nikola probably saved his life. I was not at the home for the weekend as I had to go to Zagreb for a meeting planned out a month back. So after my father fell down with what it seemed to just bruises, strained shoulder, and ribs, turned out to be something far more dangerous than we could off imagined. And, only thanks to my brother it did not get even worse. I hope you guys learn from my brother's and my experience. So maybe if you find yourself in a similar situation you will know what to do. So let me tell you how a pencil and quick thinking of my brother saved our father...
If you missed the first 2 parts of the story you catch up by clicking below:
Part 1 Part 2
So What Happened Next?
It has all started with another phone call. But, this time, it was not my father, but it was my brother Nikola. He was starting to notice strange things happening with my father. He noticed my father started to have a hard time with balance, and he was starting to act a little bit strange. Nikola thought something is not going very well. He was very worried about him.
I was not there so I could not see what he seeing, but I just told him to keep a close eye on him and let me know if it was getting worse. I honestly thought maybe the pain pill they gave him was so strong that they were messing with coordination as some of those painkillers sometimes do have side effects of "knocking" people out and putting them to sleep. No one could off prepared us for what was about to happen...
A couple of hours later I got another phone-call from Nikola. This time I can sense in his voice something is wrong. Way off. He told me it is getting worse. Our father was not himself, he was passing out for 10 sec and waking up not being able to recall he fell asleep, his balance was way off now, he started to forget simple things... And, the biggest clue something was wrong was he could not control his left hand either now. Which he did not hurt. My brother decided it is time to call 911.
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You know as a kid you think your parents are unbreakable. Especially, when it comes to our dad's. They are our superheroes. And, the thought of them not being well, sick, or hurt, would never cross our minds. I was still calm after the phone call but started to get worried as well. I can't imagine how my brother felt when things started to unfold. But, we were lucky he started to notice those things because who knows what would happen if he did not...
The Ambulance
So my brother calls an ambulance and in a short period of time, the ambulance arrives. We live in a small city so it did not take them long to arrive. Now I will tell this part as my brother described it to me. The paramedics arrive, they enter our house, and start checking the usual stuff as they do on all interventions. While they were doing it, my brother was explaining to them why he called them in the first place. He told them all about my dad strange behavior. But, here is where it get interesting.
They thought, my brother was "crazy" because, in those moments, my father did not show any signs of those things my brother saw. The paramedics checked to usual things and it was all normal. They started complaining to my brother as it really seemed like he is ok. Telling him he should not call 911 for no reason. It is wasting time and resources. They checked and saw his diagnosis from the emergency room 2 days ago and saw he has to return for a check-up in 2 days. And, we should just be patient and take him for that check up in 2 days. I can't even imagine how my brother felt at the moment. But, thank God, my brother did not GIVE UP. He kept pushing and telling them something is not ok with our father.
And, right before they are about to leave my brother remembered one thing he saw our father do, that would surely prove them something is not right. Unwillingly, the paramedic agreed to do it just to get my brother of the case already. So my brother told them to drop a pen on the floor and tell my father to pick it up and put it behind his ear. As earlier that day he saw my father drop his glasses on the floor and was having a hard time picking them up from the floor and it would take 4-5 tries to do it. As he would be missing the spot where they dropped.
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Paramedics told my father to sit down and they put the pen next to him. He had to pick it up and put it behind his ear. So my father started reaching for the pen. And, as my brother saw before with the glasses he was partially touching or missing the pen entirely 5-6 times in a row. He was touching it, but could not grasp it. And, after a couple more tries he did it. He grabbed the pen and put it behind his ear with a huge smile on his face. Like he was saying to all of them, you see, there is nothing wrong with me. My brother told me he almost burst in tears at that moment. You are probably asking yourself why would my brother almost start crying if my father accomplished the task? Well, let me tell you what happened?
Nikola almost started crying right away because the pen he was supposed to pick was still on the floor while my father was thinking he has picked it up and put it behind his ear. He only grazed the pencil, but he did not grasp it. But, in his mind, he was sure he did it. I can't even imagine how my brother felt when he saw what just happened. After the paramedics saw it they finally realized something is very wrong and they prepared him for transport to Šibenik. Which is the closest city to us with a big hospital so they can run more tests.
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So how was my father able to regain and hide all the other symptoms? Well, my friends, our bodies have miraculous defense systems. And, as my father heard Nikola is calling the ambulance he got scared and adrenaline rush hit him. He regained his motor skills, and his concentration and mind improved enough to almost fool the paramedics. And, he would off succeeded if my brother did not keep pushing them. I am sure if my brother did not keep pushing things could off been even worse then they later unfolded in front us. And, my friends, unfortunately, this was just the beginning of our long journey. It has gotten way worse before it got better. But, the cleverness of my brother and a pencil saved my father. I can only thank God for my brother being there at the right moment pushing.
To be Continued...
Final Thoughts And Advice
So my friends, what is the lesson here? Listen to your gut as my brother did. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation in life and I hope you will not, keep PUSHING. Pay attention to signs, don't discard them, call an ambulance if you are not sure. Because even minutes can be a difference between life and death. As you will read in the next parts you will understand how my brother pushing has saved our father. If my father stayed home for another two days, he would not make it to the check-up as couple hours later his adrenaline rush dimmed down, and the situation with his health condition got worse and worse...
Thank you all for reading, trust your GUT'S, much love,
dbjegovic 💕 💞 💓
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Hats off to Nikola for staying strong and persistent with both calling for the ambulance and being insistent with the paramedics
What a brilliant idea with the pencil
It must have been such a stressful time fir Nikolai but he managed to stay calm and thankfully he did for your fathers sake
The bodies way of hiding things with adrenaline and the mind is amazing but at times amazingly bad
Yes, he did an amazing job and the pencil was a brilliant idea. Thank God he was able to stay calm and think in the way he did. It saved my dad no doubt in my mind now because you will see why as the story will unfold in the next part...
Thanks for stopping by, brother, have an amazing day as always. :)
You to have an amazing day
Your brother had such presence of mind to act in that way. What a tense situation. I suppose it must be difficult for medics and paramedics to always get the diagnosis right. I have a friend who kept having " funny turns", but the doctors could not work out why. She was eventually diagnosed with Munchausen's by proxy, a psychological condition where you basically pretend to be ill. Just as she was being diagnosed, she went into cardiac arrest, and was rushed to the operating theatre. it turned out that she had a rare heart condition. She now has a pacemaker - apart from that, she is very fit!
Yes, he really did an amazing job of staying calm and thinking outside the box. If it was not for his pencil test it could have gone a lot worse for my father. I know it was not easy for paramedics, but attacking my brother and basically telling him he is lying is not a way to go. Because they are not perfect and they can make a mistake. But, if you are polite, and listen to what my brother was saying they could of more easily figure out what is going on. And, they almost did make a mistake. A big one. As you will see in my next post what started happening later.
Well, when it comes to your friend it is pretty much the same as in my father's case. It is not an easy job to be a doctor, and making life and death decisions is no easy task. And, they do make mistakes as they did in your friend's case and almost in my father's case. But, being a human being first and not talking down to somebody is the first thing they need to change.
Thank you for your amazing comment @natubat. Have an amazing day. :)
Wow! What your brother did was simply amazing! Kudos to him for not giving up and being determined to prove something wasn’t right . I would have cried too if it were my dad. Thank you for sharing this with us and urging us to listen to our guts. Thanks God your brother was there with him.
He really did an amazing job. I have no idea how he came up with the idea but I am glad he did as you will see it was crucial in the next part I will write. I am glad he kept pushing and convinced them something is not ok. This is just the beginning of a very long story. I will write the next part next week.
Thank you for a wonderful comment. Have an amazing day. :)
I look forward to reading the next part. Thank you for sharing your families journey with us!
You are more than welcome, my friend. Thank you for reading and being supportive.
Have a blessed day. :)
You as well ;)
That's freaking sad..I really don't know if I could handle it all by myself..
This is just a beginning, unfortunately. This is just a start to a very long 4 months of my life. One of the difficult ones I had to face. It will take me another 15 parts long as this or longer to describe everything which happened in those 4 months. And, that is me keeping it short as well. And, leaving stuff out because this would be 150 page book no doubt in my mind.
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Why do I think you will write 10 more of these before we actually get the information about what happened... :D
I am glad your brother was determined and stuck to his opinion and am happy to know that it worked out for the best. Now I only have to read and actually find out how and what happened lol. You really had it rough for the past couple of months but I am sure it only made you stronger and wiser.
I think even 10 parts will not be enough as this is just the tip of the iceberg. One huge iceberg I came across this summer.
I am glad he was there and that he reacted as he did because who knows what would happen if they did not take him that night to the hospital. As you will read in the next part.
As far as I am concerned, I think this so far has been the biggest challenge I had to face in my life. You will see why...
I have definitely learned some hard lessons this summer, and I am still learning from it all.
Thank you for such an amazing comment. You are AWESOME and don't you ever forget it. :)
Thanks for sharing @awakentolife, this is a good way to express your feeling and tell us how everything's happened. Thanks God you really have a good brother and determine too.
Sharing is helping me get it all out of me. There is a lot more I need offload out of my mind. It has been a long full of challenges summer and I hope my story can help someone if he finds himself in a similar situation.
Thank you for your lovely comment. Have an amazing day. :)
Oh my gosh Durko, reading your story is almost like watching a movie. I am just glad your father is well now. Your brother is a very clever guy; I don't know what I would do in that situation!
Heck you and me both. That idea was genius. Thank God he was there and persistent. :)
He was guided by angels for sure Durko 😍
Really brilliant. I'm afraid not all of us listen to our gut feeling. Often times the voice of authority gets imposed. We have a lot of stories in our families of loved ones who died because of medical negligence and here in Venezuela, as if our economic crisis were not enough, we have a long-standing history of impune crimes committed in the name of arrogance and irresponsibility.
My wife's aunt died of a respiratory failure after complaining of an allergic reaction to a medication. WHen they told the doctor and asked her to please stop or change the medication she asked them who had studied medicine, they or she.
My father also died of brain damage caused my the wrong medication.
Blessings
I am sorry to hear about what is happening in Venezuela, my friend. I read and heard it a terrible situation right now for people. I can understand you completely, my friend. As my closest cousin died at the age of 21 because of a brain aneurysm. She had gone to a doctor for five days with severe headaches before and they sent her home with pain pills. 5 days later she was gone.
As you will see in the next parts of my story. The same thing almost happened to my father as well. If it wasn't for us pushing and showing my father would not survive. I understand doctors can make mistakes, but first of all, we are human beings, and how you talk to people matter no matter what your job or position in life is.
I hope the situation in Venezuela gets better soon, my friend. Thank you for your great comment. Have a blessed day. :)
Hi awakentolife,
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Hi guys, thank you so much for all the support I got from you since I joined Steemit. I truly appreciate it. Much love for you guys. :)
Have an amazing day all. :)