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Stories of Northwest ARDS Survivors, Families and Friends
Mike Weglin of Tacoma
shares his courageous, honest, gripping account of a suicide attempt in
1998, the ARDS that followed, and his long journey to a full
recovery. His incredible story of survival is a tribute
to the triumph of the human spirit. Read his story here.
Carrie Walker Bookless
of Tukwila has an incredible story of survival after being hit
and dragged by a truck in Pioneer Square after a 1993 Fat
Tuesday celebration. Her story of courage and resilience
will move and inspire you. She battled pulmonary
fibrosis for five years and passed away on December 30, 2001
while awaiting a double lung transplant. After her
passing, I discovered that she had posted an entire page of
her thoughts and feelings and experiences since making the
difficult decision to put herself on the transplant list--an
online journal of sorts. Since the story that was posted
on this site was written when she was adamant about NOT having
a transplant, I asked her husband Tod for permission to
provide the link to some of what Carrie was experiencing
during the last months of her life. She was quite an
inspiring woman. Here's
the story. (Note: The entries are in reverse
chronological order, dating from August 28, 2001 to November
20, 2001, so for them to make sense timewise, read from the
bottom up.)
| "But
what about the ARDS you say? Well, it nearly
killed me many times. I had over 20 chest tubes
placed into my chest. I was one of the worst ARDS
patients they had ever had at that time. My
pulmonary team tried new things on me, that they had
only theorized over before, because the likelihood of my
living wasn't what they considered a reality. My
family was called in time and time again to say goodbye
to me. I was given my last rites. It is
because of some of the things they tried with me that
many of you are here today. If the one thing I
have remembered about my life is that what happened to
me helped others to live, this will be enough. I
can thank Dr. Steinberg and Dr. Hudson for that."
- Carrie Walker Bookless |
Steve Yarnall, M.D. of
Edmonds miraculously survived ARDS after falling out of a ski
lift in Reno in January, 2000. His survival prompted him
to write a book about his recovery from ARDS and the role that
love, prayer, humor, music, touch and pets play in the healing
process. Read his story here.
Meg Tapucol-Provo of
Des Moines fought the battle of her life after giving birth to
her daughter, then suffering an amniotic fluid embolism and
going into cardiac arrest 40 minutes later in December,
1998. One of the sickest patients ever treated at
Swedish Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit, Meg overcame
almost insurmountable odds by surviving ARDS as well as
several other usually fatal conditions. Read her story here.
Preston Wilkinson of
Boise, Idaho survived ARDS after a bout with pneumococcal
pneumonia. Read the story
of his amazing recovery, as well as his struggles with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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