LadynRED's blog: "seriously"

So, after this time has passed, I’ve decided to let you all know what our Kill story is. I know many of you have seen where I’ve posted. Klaus’ health this, that, he can’t do this his stress won’t allow that, I figured I let you know his story. He is probably the hardest working and most gentle soul I’ve ever met. In 1998 he became very ill four days after his 40th birthday. So much in fact, he called me to bring him to the hospital. Now he is the man who won’t be seen by any doctor. He missed one day of work since he was 14 and that was the toilet blues. He couldn’t breathe. My biggest fears came to light. He had a bronchoscope done to find out why he was having difficulty breathing. No answer to be found. Meanwhile he is getting more ill as time goes by. His lung x-ray’s showed his lung shrinking. The doctor’s scratched their heads. A week and a half after he was admitted he ended up intubated. He was induced into a coma so they could let a machine breathe for him. They searched and figured he needed a lung transplant. He was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, bronchial obliterus, and a systemic disorder. He had bronchial pneumonia, and what the doctors feared Schleroderma. This disease is an autoimmune disease where your immune system becomes stronger than you are and starts turning you off one organ at a time. It is also a hard skin disease. There are three forms of this disease. It attacks your internal organs, your muscles and your skin. Most people have one or another, but my sweet hubby has all three. Your heart sink when the Doctor can’t explain to you what this is. I did extensive research on this as did the doctors. After six days on life support he showed signs of improvement, enough to send him to Denver’s University Hospital. There he was supposed to spend four days, having a Lung transplant evaluation. After a day and a half, Klaus was on life support again, but much worse than before. His blood oxygen level was at 82 percent. You need to be over 90 percent to have adequate oxygen in your bloodstream. He was on 17 IV’s, 100 percent oxygen and 100 percent Nitric oxide. His blood pressure was extremely low 56 over 32. His heart rate was over 300 beats a minute. They had to defibrillate him 22 times over the course of a weekend. The doctors did kidney dialysis to rule out any infection there. They went into his chest to remove pressure on his heart. They inserted a catheter into his chest to drain the fluid building up around his heart, before it was crushed. They pumped him so full of fluids to try and bring his blood pressure up that he was almost not recognizable. They did blood tests every hour to find the right anti-biotic to fight this unknown infection. It was an unbelievable roller coaster ride. I had received an envelope from a friend of Klaus’, containing over 1800 dollars to help me and the girls make ends meet. I was in Denver and my daughters were here in the Springs. Taking care of business. At 16 and 17 they became the most responsible adults I had ever met. I’m very proud of them. That first Sunday he was up in Denver, I was sitting in the waiting room filling out thank you cards for everyone who had been so generous. A family came into the room wanting to watch the Bronco game on TV. I didn’t care. My family stayed down here tending to their families needs. Then the doctor had come into the waiting room. And told me something I never dreamed I would have to hear. You need to call your family. We have exhausted everything we possibly can. We don’t know what else we can do. I gave them Shirley’s phone number; She is Klaus’ younger sister. She made the calls here to have everyone come up to the hospital. I sat there numb, and just balled. I was thinking, Oh my God, how am I going to do this. Then I cried. That family had been watching the game came over to me sat down and I was admiring their baby girl. They had told me she was number 8 out of 8 children. I was thinking wow that’s where I am in a family of 10 children. Then there was a lot of the normal small talk, then the man asked me how Klaus was, and I answered. Then he asked me how the girls were handling all of this and I answered. And he then asked me the question I thought would never even be considered, How much do you love your husband. I told him of course more than the world, then he asked if I loved him enough to let him go. My heart sank. My faith had been tested so much those last three weeks and now this total stranger asks me this question? I looked at him and told him I do, I love him enough to let him go. I didn’t want to see him suffer any longer. We had a prayer and then just sat there in total silence. Then they said we have somewhere else to be, and as they were walking away, the man said, “Sarah, don’t worry anymore about Klaus he’ll be fine. God will take care of him”. Suddenly I felt this overwhelming peace, and I knew it was going to be God’s will. Over the course of that evening all of the family had came up to see him, say their prayers as did the friends. I just knew in my heart I couldn’t worry anymore. I stayed the night up there. Shirley and I had decided if he didn’t turn we would ask the doctors to disconnect because he didn’t want this. The next morning his heart rate had dropped to 88 bpm, his blood pressure had stabilized and his blood oxygen level had come back up. Of course we were so happy. A few days had gone by and I had asked the doctors if they knew who that family was, I wanted to thank them for their kindness. The doctors looked at me as if I had lost my mind. The doctor told me I was alone that day. I just sat there, no words could come…I just sat there. I then remembered the words spoken that day; I never told them my name, Klaus’ name or that I had two daughters. How could this be? I have resolved to the fact, God had sent angels; I had no other reasoning as to what had happened. Too many unknowns were in fact known. Klaus over the period of 35 days became better but still needed much help. The doctors were amazed of his turn around. God truly does answer prayers. His stay lasted for 4 ½ months. He came home on Shannon’s 18th birthday. He had lost over 90 pounds and had to learn everything all over again. How to walk, talk, eat, go to the bathroom, every little thing we take for granted became his biggest obstacles. He now has been stable for four years. He takes 22 pills a day; life-sustaining drugs and he can not work. Because the environment could kill him. But I still have him here, he sees the doctor every six weeks. Klaus doesn’t like his forced retirement, but he’s learning to deal with it. The first month he was in the hospital he almost died three times. I know I’m truly blessed to still have him here. After all of the kindness that was given to us, funds, prayers and meals; we do the Benefit shows to help give back, to help others as we were so many years ago. I’m hoping someday more awareness will come of this horrible disease, Klaus has to take a kemo drug, to keep his immune system low… this sometimes is a difficult thing to deal with knowing if someone sneezed on him the wrong way he could get very ill. But we still do the shows, So if I get at an emotional state and mention Klaus’ illness, you all know why and what. You all have become my therapy and I just felt compelled to tell you this and say Thank YOU. Never under estimate the power of God’s will and the power of prayer. Thanks for letting me share.

And that's why I became the mechanical type, I learned the hard way how to work on cars. Today I celebrate, on Friday 10 years since Klaus has got out of the hospital, The doctors finally said what we've been longing to hear for so long..... You sir, are in remission. I couldn't help but fall to my knee's and once again Thank God for allowing me to still Have that man of mine. I can only hope that you my friends can find that one true love.