Personal Stories: John J. Behrendt
Friends:
There I was… shopping at the “Biggest Souvenir Shop” in Las Vegas with my daughter, when I felt a sharp pain between my shoulder blades and then what felt like a warm waterfall going down my entire back. I thought to myself, “what just happened?”. In all of my 52 years on the planet I surely had never experienced anything like that before. Well, luckily my daughter was driving, so I told her that we needed to go. I don’t think that I could have gotten myself home because the pain was increasing with every moment that went by. We hopped into her little Hyundai Accent (I’m 6′ 3″ at 240 lbs) and sped home. Thank God the passenger seat reclined. Once there, I took some Tylenol and tried sitting in my very comfortable recliner with the built in massager. That didn’t help, so I laid down in bed.
The fetal position was about the best, until I finally gave into my daughters offer to take me to the hospital. Good idea, HUH? Well, you can imagine how that went. At that point I couldn’t even sit down, so I stood, (mind you, for about an hour and a half) patiently waiting my turn. When they called me in it was all I could do to make my way to this tiny room where they told me to sit and try to relax while waiting on the doctor. Yeah, right! Can you picture this? Ok, The young woman doctor comes in, and in her broken English she has me explain my self, to wit I added, please give me something for the pain. She did, and I requested more. She was very accommodating and brought me another shot (of what, I don’t know or care, at this time).
At that point they decided to do a CT scan, then they pumped me full of blood pressure medications. The next thing I knew, I was being whisked off to another hospital by the two most unlikely characters to drive an Ambulance you’ve ever encountered. I remember the ride. I was being thrown from side to side and front to back while laying flat on my back on one most uncomfortable gurney. I was rushed into intensive care. While lying there freezing with 8 blankets covering me, a young male doctor (about half my age) came to the side of my bed and looked down at me. I’ll NEVER forget what he said. “Hi, I’m Dr. so & so. You’re very lucky. (and get this)… I don’t think I could have gotten you on the table fast enough”.
He said that I had had a Descending Aortic Dissection the length of my aorta, and in a split second decision, decided not to open me up. Keep in mind that at this point it didn’t seem that this was really happening to me, with all of the drugs running through my veins. I looked at him, standing there in amazement, and said……..OK.
Well, folks; After 10 days in ICU, and 2 weeks at my brothers home (in Nevada) recuperating, I then flew back to Wisconsin where I now reside with my loving wife, three and some years after the fact. I have restricted blood flow to my arteries, one of my kidneys shut down, I’m on pills (with side effects) for the rest of my life, I have a CT scan and see my cardiac doctor once a year (I can finally pronounce his entire name), and I feel like the luckiest man alive!
After my crash course into the world of AD, and knowing what I know now, I am humbled at how fortunate one can be to have this “Second Chance” at life. To pull through this without going under the knife is remarkable. Kind of changes your whole outlook. Even though I face a 10% chance of living through a very complicated surgery some day (God forbid), I still feel blessed.
PLEASE tell your family and friends to monitor their blood pressure. Thank you.
John J Behrendt
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello john,
I am from Belgium (Eur.) and have aortadissectie stanford B.
Can you tell me if you have the same and you haven’t hat a operation?
What wouth be the best blood pressure , do you have also a high pulse rate?
Sorry for my english.
Best regard,
Guido
My Dad is in the hospital right now with AD. He went in with crippling pain in back under shoulder and chest. He took a nitro pill at home of my stepmoms who had triple bipass surgery where the surgeon found lung cancer that was too out of control to treat. Anyway the nitro helped the pain so Dad thought he was having heart attack. Went to ER and they sent him on to Wichita Ks Heart hosp. He had taken his BP and it was 211 over 110 before going to hosp. After doing enzimes check and ekg had a CT scan done on Mon. that confirmed a decending AD from top to almost bottom. the pain is unbearable and they have 4 bp meds in him controlling that at about 125 over 70 can’t get any lower. put him back on nitro drip and want to do a heart cath thru his arm this Mon Oct. 3 2011. I am not sure if this needs to be done but DR wants to eliminate all posibilities of cardio problems. His pain is a huge concern he has a high pain tolerance and he is to a point he can’t handle this pain. He is getting Dilladin thru IV every time pain is unbearable. I am just concerned and looking for the right advice whether it is something Dad will just have to live with or what. Did u experience this kind of pain and is it just something you live with or medicate?