We had a terrible health events the last 4.5 months this year for our family. Fortunately our household has been spared but the immediate family has seen some issues.
My wife's side has born the entirety of it. Her brother lost his wife during labor (baby died as well but was brought back) under odd circumstances. The official stance was amniotic embolism but there were a ton of issues during the entirety of their hospital stay which just didn't make sense. Far too many to even begin to say here but it just didn't make sense what so ever in how they reacted until they found her dead.
Since my wife has been a Trauma / ER RN for a decade + she was unhappy with the official story but there wasn't much we could do. Regardless of the malpractice my brother in law is a moron and refused an autopsy despite being called 3x and pressed to do one because of the circumstances and has pretty much refused to do anything to help himself or the girls financially.
He has a history of terrible decision making and ostrich syndrome and he has been virtually impossible to give advice to even before this incident so after she died just forget it. He has a really bad case of the little boy wanting to play adult but not making obvious good decisions. Things like exploring malpractice so he doesn't have to slave away 65 hours a week or even simple things like going to social security to get survivor benefits for his kids. Proper planning in his mind is being too financially centric. He's an idiot but I still feel bad because of how he lost his wife.
Anyway, if that wasn't a shitty enough year. Her father, who had been ignoring high blood pressure for some time, hand an aortic dissection.
Really good site to read up on what it is if you're medically inclined:
Aortic Dissection. Acute Aortic Dissection Information. Patient | Patient.co.uk
Really good site to read up if you just want the layman explanation with diagram:
Aortic Dissection - Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment of Aortic Dissection - NY Times Health Information
His is type b which is why he is still alive. The different types simply indicate which path had the dissection. A, is serious as it leads to the brain which is a far less forgiving organ if you throw a clot or reduce blood flow. B, leads to the abdomen which is very important but less of an immediate risk of death should things not go perfectly.
They are both incredibly serious events which at best have a so so prognosis on the Type B side but its better than almost guaranteed death. The net that this particular event can cast is fairly wide. Everything from your pressure building to the point where it just ruptures and kills you nearly instantly to a slow death of lack of proper blood flow to your organs should the dissection increase in size or if the blood flow occlude or even DVT or a plenthora of other complications.
There are surgical options but the death rate from the surgery ranges from 17 to almost 50% depending on the situation. In addition there is a serious risk of paraplegia from the surgery. So opening up people for this is only done if its life or death. Hopefully before they get so weak that surgery is a guaranteed pink slip from life.
Anyway, feels good to type it out and maybe it will help someone here take their blood pressure meds if they need them.
I'm not sure how many of you have good relationships with your in laws but mine are fucking amazing people. He was an idiot for ignoring his blood pressure but he is a great man. Has helped his kids and their spouses immensely and has always made me feel like a son and never an outsider. I know many people have shitty relationships with their in laws but these people are just easy to love and I'd like to see him get as much time as possible.
Hope all of you with issues get them resolved to your satisfaction or better.
