The month of May started out like most months. I was looking forward to getting caught up on several things that I was too busy to deal with during tax season. I turned 73 this year, so I spent some time with my financial planners addressing the required minimum distributions I must take from my retirement funds.
RMDs are calculated by dividing the balance in your retirement savings accounts by your life expectancy. The IRS figures that a 73-year-old male will live for another quarter century or so. I sent my 92-year-old sister a birthday card and I visited my 91-year-old-brother in the hospital after he fell and broke his hip. Based on these data points, I certainly did not expect a visit from the grim reaper in the near future.
But then one afternoon, I suddenly felt ill. I thought I had food poisoning, but it lasted several days. Then I came down with a high fever and was unable to go to the bathroom. My wife, a retired registered nurse, correctly surmised that I was seriously ill and took me to the emergency room at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.
Before I knew it, they were drawing blood and performing multiple CT scans.
Shortly thereafter a doctor stood beside me advising me that I had sepsis, I was entering septic shock and I had double pneumonia. He said I am lucky that I did not go to the hospital the following day or that I was not 10 years older because, in either of those instances, my chances of survival would not be great.
But he told me not to worry, they were going see that I recovered.
Although his confidence reassured me, my initial thought was, “Holy cow! What about that 25-year life expectancy in the IRS RMD calculations?”
Then I thought about Kenny Chesney’s song lyrics “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.”
I was transferred to the ICU, where I spent several days, but I do not remember being there. After leaving the ICU I went to a less intensive part of the hospital where I noticed that I was hooked up to multiple IV lines. I also spent several days there.
At this point, I must give a big shout-out praising the hospital staff, who were simply amazing. I was a difficult patient but every one of them took care of me with a smile and offered words of encouragement. The quality of care was truly outstanding.
As my condition improved, I was moved twice more within the hospital confines. When they eventually had me get up out of bed, I found I had difficulty walking. I spent my final 10 days in the hospital undergoing physical and occupational therapy. Again, the professionalism of the staff was superlative.
I was discharged after spending 20 days in the hospital. While I am now recovering at home, progress is slow and will be measured in weeks and months. I continue to see many doctors as the illness affected several organs, which are still recovering. My wife is taking great care of me and I owe my life to her.
At one point during my hospitalization, I heard that NASCAR driver Kyle Busch passed away at the age of 41. He also had sepsis, but apparently did not get to the hospital in time.
Sepsis and septic shock are serious life-threatening conditions that appear suddenly. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.7 million Americans of all ages are afflicted with sepsis annually. Unfortunately, the mortality rate exceeds 20%.
Common symptoms include high fever, obvious symptoms of infection (e.g., pain, pus from a wound, a persistent cough, or burning upon urination), a sudden decline in your mental state (including severe sleepiness, difficulty waking up, confusion, or disorientation) and experiencing pain or severe discomfort as well as shortness of breath.
If you experience these symptoms, please don’t take a chance; get yourself to a hospital emergency room as soon as possible. It is better to have a false alarm than to end up like Kyle Busch did.
While I was hospitalized, my longtime cardiologist visited me on several occasions. He is a friend who is very religious. At one point he said with a big grin, “Jimmy, it looks like the Lord is not ready to call you home, you still have things on Earth that you need to do.” Hopefully that includes writing future columns.
Jim de Bree is a Valencia resident.
