My niece almost died Saturday night. Long story with a gut-shot overlay.

[DemoTex]

She was gut-shot by an asshole Brit punker with a 38-cal in Paris about six years ago. Totally random shooting on a Paris street. She survived and went to law school. She married a Yale lawyer three years ago.

She had a gut problem Saturday. By Saturday night they had opened her up. The surgeon said that her small bowels looked like a nest of black snakes: gangrene. Over 60% of her small bowel was totally dead with gangrene. At 6 am Sunday, with her still in surgery, they told her mother (my sister) that she had short hours to live. Two hours later they gave her better odds.

I am at my brother's beach house in Grayton Beach, FL. He, being a radiologist, is at her bedside in Atlanta. He is quite encouraged by her progress. If she is better tomorrow, I stay and my brother and his partner come back down. If she is not better, I go to Atlanta.

Anybody in your family with a gun shot wound? It seems to be a gift that keeps on giving! Fuck a bunch of guns.

Mac

[MisterP]

1. my aunt's cousin was killed in a gang shootout in Riverside, I think

[Pirate Smile]

2. Has she been complaining of stomach pain for a long time?

I would think that would hurt like hell.

[DemoTex]

7. Yes. In and out of ERs ..

We did not know about that.

Mac

[SeattleGirl]

3. Oh God, that's awful.

I'm glad the news for your neice is looking a little better. Hang in there and keep us updated. I'm sending good thoughts her way (and yours).

[SoCalDem]

4. I had one pointed at my head.. he did not shoot me

:)

[SeattleGirl]

17. Try 4 rifles and 3 handguns....GULP

Happened in Texas years ago. Ex and I had been out to eat late at night, and were coming home when about the time the bars closed. We had not been drinking, though. Anyway, the street we were on was brick, and we were kind of bouncing around. Got stopped by a cop so we pulled into an empty parking lot. Next thing we knew, we were surrounded by cop cars, rifles and guns. The cop who stopped us started to say something to my ex, saw me, tipped his hat, and said, "Oh pardon me ma'am. If I'd a known you was in the car, I wouldn'a stopped you." (No kidding, that's what he said and how he said it). He started to walk away and I yelled at him to come back. (I was mouthy, even at the age of 19.) Anyway, I asked him if he would tell us why we were stopped, and why we had guns pointed at us (which the officers had now put down, thankfully). He said that the Ft. Worth Police Department had received a threat from someone who said they were gunning for the cops, and they would be in a green van with out of state plates. Guess what we were driving?

I can understand why they pulled us over, and why they were on guard, but wanting to just walk away with no explanation because "ma'am" was in the van -- BZZZZ! Wrong answer!

[SoCalDem]

20. Mine was an armed robbery

:eyes:

[SeattleGirl]

21. Now THAT would be scary!

I used to do maintenance on ATM machines, and several of the branches I serviced had been robbed -- thankfully I was not on the premises, but that was something I was always scared of.

[Flying Dream Blues]

5. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your niece.

I've never heard of such a thing happening so much later. I hope her recovery is well on the way. Sending healing energy and love to all of you.

[havocmom]

6. Damn, we may need some sort of emergency hex removal for your clan!

Mac, will be sending good energy your way. And maybe you best be lookin up some ol hill country witch to undo the whammy off you and yours.

[DemoTex]

10. Real bad month.

mac

[kstewart33]

8. As an Alabamian, I remember

the day that George Wallace was shot. He had just eaten at Burger King a few minutes earlier (had a Whopper), and that one undigested meal resulted in major intestinal and stomach problems for years thereafter. He was almost always ill for years after the surgery from the gunshot wound had healed.

Our insides are indeed complex.

[WilliamPitt]

14. I remember seeing Wallace getting wheeled into the Capitol bldg

when I was a kid. He was still Governor at the time. He was green.

[DemoTex]

19. Arthur Bremer shot George Wallace

I actually knew George and Jerry Wallace. George was at a funeral of an old uncle in the 60s. We skipped the funeral because we hated the Wallaces so much! You can only imagine how racist my uncle was.

Mac

[Zynx]

9. Oh God that's nasty.

Some people are shitty and do evil things like that to other people. I hope she gets better and I hope that guy who did that to her dies the most horrible death.

[deadparrot]

11. My cousin was shot at Columbine.

AFAIK, it still gives her problems.

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. I am sorry that she went through all that and still has trouble *hugs*

------------------------------------------------------
URGENT yet easy! Hold the government accountable for Katrina's aftermath
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4736062

Save the gulf, then save the nation! http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[deadparrot]

36. Thanks.

:hug:

We live pretty far apart, so we don't see each other very often, but she just graduated from graduate school (with a MA) last spring. The lingering problems have been with her shoulder, but she seems to have thrived otherwise.

[spacelady]

12. I am so sorry for her struggle; sounds like one strong lady.

Praying for good outcome. I feel that she will be OK.

[applegrove]

13. Peace to your family.

[greatauntoftriplets]

15. Oh, my God, Mac....

I hope to hell that your niece recovers. No one in my family with a gunshot wound, but my mother is 93 and had 1/3 of her colon removed 5 years ago. Not gangrene, but due to diverticulitis.

I realize that this is small compared with your niece's injuries, but thought it might help a bit.

[Fridays Child]

16. This happened to my son, though not as severely.

Adhesions kinked the intestines and he lost about half of his small bowel. They took out his appendix, too, so that, if it ever happened again, no time would be wasted wondering if the pain was from appendicitis. Anyway, like your niece, he was years out from the original event--in his case, a spleen lacerated in a car accident. A very dangerous and potentially deadly situation. I know what you and your family are going through. And I know my son feels your niece's pain. :hug:

[xyzpdq_us]

18. Prayers on the way

Sorry to hear about that. We'll keep her in our prayers for a speedy recovery.

[WiseButAngrySara]

22. What most probably happened, judging by the 6 year time lapse, is that

fibrous scar tissue formed as a result of her initial injuries, and entrapped her bowel, resulting in infarction (loss of blood flow) and resultant necrosis/gangrene. As long as all of the dead intestines are removed, she should recover. She will probably have to have supplemental nutrition though for the rest of her life, depending upon how much of her small intestines have been compromised. Patients can have bowel obstruction due to fibrosis after surgery from something as seemingly indignificant as the powder in surgical gloves! Even a routine appendectomy can result in fibrotic scar tissue and result in bowel obstruction. I trust and hope that she will recover completely!

[brentspeak]

23. Prayers for your sister.

[dweller]

24. Hang in there Mac, we are all behind your niece and send

healing thoughts her way. Sounds as though her prognosis is good for now.

Stay focused, and stay positive.

dp

[joanski0]

25. This is so upsetting, DemoTex.

I'm so sorry. Please keep us informed.

My thoughts and prayers go your way.

[DemoTex]

26. Update 9/13: Things are looking up.

My niece is doing better. She has been moved to the interim ICU (I call it the halfway house). The MD in charge of that ward is a good friend of my brother, and he had a meeting with her a few hours ago. My brother is sufficiently encouraged to head back down here to the beach. He is on the road now. He can get back to Atlanta in 6 hours if need be (or quicker in a chartered airplane).

The first two of three scenarios seem more likely now. One is that she recovers and leads a normal life. Two is that she recovers and lives with supplemental nutrition. The third scenario is a spread of the gangrene to any of the remaining small bowel. That will kill her. But the surgeons seem confident that they got all of the gangrenous small intestine .. confident enough to waive the usual second day laparotomy that is common with intestinal gangrene.

I am holding off visiting until this weekend, when she will be in a regular room. They have told her that she will be in the hospital for three more weeks. I'll stop in Atlanta for a couple of days on my way back to NC.

Mac

[MaineDem]

29. Good news!

I hope she continues to improve.

[soup]

30. sigh of relief. Sending hopes for a speedy and full recovery.

:hug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

27. I am so sorry *hugs and prayers*

------------------------------------------------------
URGENT yet easy! Hold the government accountable for Katrina's aftermath
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4736062

Save the gulf, then save the nation! http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[SmokingJacket]

31. A friend was impaled through the gut on a branch while skiing...

he was in and out of the hospital for the rest of his life, several surgeries even years later, though he ended up dying for other reasons.

Best of luck to your family, Mac!

[frankly_fedup2]

37. My son was in a bad car wreck in his senior year the day before

Princess Dianne's wreck that killed her in Paris. He was wearing his seatbelt; however, it caused severe internal injuries. If he had not been wearing his seatbelt, he would have been killed because after the car hit him in the side, he then ran head on into a tree, and he would have had terrible head injuries if he had survived injuries like that.

They called me at home from the hospital and I remember I felt like I had went into another world. I called my husband, told him to come and get me, and then we would have to drive back into town because there was no way I would be able to drive.

Thank God he survived; however, they had to do emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen, his bowels were perforated and punctured but not through the lining so that saved his life. He had a bruised heart (I know sounds weird), and he had a small fracture of the liver (I didn't think you could fracture your liver?) Anyway, he had to have blood transfusions and I hated signing that paper because I have a brother-in-law and sister-in-law who both died of AIDS just the last four years.

He looks like he has a zipper from his belly button to the middle of his chest. He complains about stomach problems, but the doc keeps telling him it is reflux. I know that over time scar tissue will start to cause problems with some people who have had extensive surgery.

We all can be thankful that our loved ones survived. I cannot imagine how people handle the loss of a child and I'm thankful I didn't have to find out. I'm so thankful to God that he got through all this but he was 17 at the time and young, strong, and healthy.

He had a six-pack where he worked out back then, and I'll never forget the day after the surgery and he was getting some sense about him that he hated that catheter. He told the nurses to take it out and I would take care of him as far as that was concerned. Really surprised me because he hadn't allowed me to see him naked since he was five so now at 17 it really surprised me. Anyway, the ICU nurses would come and get me every time he had to use the bathroom and I'll never forget the first time I helped him urinate in that urine catcher thing. I walked in and the nurse was telling him to roll on his side a bit and grab my arm and slowly pull him up (because the kid had been gutted from his belly button to the middle of his chest and had drains and staples in. Well he was still on the Morphine drip but it was amazing that he did this the day after the surgery.

He just sat straight up in bed and then threw his legs off the side of the bed. The nurse was freaking out about it. She was amazed that he could do that without much pain. I pointed out how muscular his stomach was and she said that must be why he was able to do that without much pain and why usually the young will survive an accident like he had more so than somebody 40 and over.

[spuddonna]

32. Our hearts and prayers to your niece...

What a horrible thing to have to go through... :(

I hope her full recovery starts soon!

[blm]

33. Best wishes to you all for peaceful times ahead.

.

[Skittles]

34. oh dear

I am thinking good thoughts for her Mac

[ryan_cats]

35. I'm sorry to hear about here problems.

I'm sorry to hear about her problems. I pray she makes it through this and I also pray for you and your family. It's good to hear that they keep revising their prognosis upwards.

I was at the wrong place and the wrong time when someone I barely knew had their house raided. Three undercover cop cars filled with DEA agents armed to the teeth. Talk about being scared. Luckily, they realized I didn't have any connection to the illegal activities there. Having all those shotguns and M-16's pointed at me was quite scary.

I know someone whose leg was grazed by a handgun and it left a small scar. The guy was real proud of the scar but I could do without...

[geniph]

38. One of my brothers was shot in the hand almost 30 years ago

He was waiting for a bus and this guy stopped his car and offered him a ride. When Greg got in, he noticed the guy was drinking straight vodka. He tried to get out of the car at the next stop, but the passenger doorhandle was screwed up and the door wouldn't open. He saw a flash out of the corner of his eye, and brought his hand up, grabbing the muzzle of the gun. He didn't realize it at the time, but the gun fired when he grabbed it and blew his hand nearly to bits. He wrestled the guy for several minutes until they both fell out the drivers' side door, and finally the cops showed up - and tried to arrest my bleeding brother.

Four surgeries, each averaging more than five hours, later, and his hand is still Dali-esque in appearance. He's never been entirely without pain for the last 30 years.

I'm really sorry about your niece, Mac.