PRANAV TALKS TO US FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A YEAR --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Friends and Family, Namaste and Hello, This is Pranav writing to you from Kansas City, KS. It has already been a while since I was sick, and the joy of being able to make it through this deadly infection runs in my heart everyday. It was very confusing for me during the 35 days of sleep, what actually was going on. The day I woke up, April 7, 2006, everything was crystal clear to me. I don't remember anything when I went to the hospital or even what happened to me. I was in my own dream world during that time. I felt like that I went somewhere and I was lost and I wasn't able to come back from there. I was then just wandering about in that mere dreamland and suddenly I started hearing voices from my loved ones and the people closest to me. It would really confuse me and each time they called to me I would see them in my dream. At that time I was in the ICU of Overland Park Regional Hospital; doctors, nurses, and people would come to visit me and I could hear them talking and praying. I would hear my parents and my Uncle talking to me and I would wander where I was, what's really going on. Obviously I was in my sleep and the subconscious mind didn't have logic, therefore, I would see everybody in my dream. Sometimes I tried to move in my sleep and I wouldn't be able to do so, due to the paralytic medicine, and I would feel myself trapped in my dream world and I would be more confused what was going on. This happened throughout the 35 days of my sleep and the day I woke up I saw my family members in front of my eyes which made me shed into tears. It was a very joyous moment for me but still I wasn't able to talk due to the tracheotomy done to feed my lungs with the oxygen with the ventilator. I was then briefed by the nurses what had happened to me and I was really happy that I had made it and that my family and friends were beside me. My living in the ICU continued for five months. I wasn't able to talk, therefore, I had to use like a sign language to communicate with everybody. The hardest thing in the ICU was not being able to drink water through mouth. I used to think, just let me get better and I would drink gallons and gallons of water. I had a feeding tube in my stomach so all the food, medicine, and, water went through that tube. My body was very weak due to the infection and to regain my strength and mobility I had to exercise with the help of occupational and physical therapist. This how I spent my five months in the ICU, until August 4, 2006. After that my ventilator was taken out and I went to the general patient room and I spent one of my life's memorable days there. It was on my birthday when all the Therapists and Nurses in the ICU and even the busy doctors and my family and friends celebrated that day. There I also had my first normal meal, with the aid of speech therapists, after a long time. I went to Mid America Rehabilitation Hospital on August 11th. There I spent the next four months exercising and bringing my strength back. It is just like the saying 'Use it or lose it'. I had to learn how to breathe, speak, walk, talk, and eat since I hadn't used it for a long time. I would even forget to breathe in the ICU and when the respirator pushed air in my lungs, I would suddenly be conscious about it and start breathing. I really had to learn a lot of things in the rehab hospital. Regaining mobility after five months of sleep was obviously challenging. Sleeping in the ICU was easy but the real hard work started when I started moving. With the help of doctors, nurses, therapists, and many other people I am now able to walk with a walker. I have regained most of my mobility except for my hips which has HO (heterotopic ossification). HO occurs due to neurological lesions and conditions of prolonged functional immobilization. Bones have formed around my hip joints which have limited my range of motion, therefore, I can walk with the walker but climbing the stairs is a challenge to me. With the help of orthopedic doctors and more therapy I will be walking normally by next year. I am going for a hip surgery after couple of months, which the doctors believe will give me more mobility. This is the summary of my story friends and family. I know that lot of people who helped and prayed for me didn't even know me and yet they did it. I would like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. There are also people who know me who has prayed and helped me. I would also like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Friends and family in Nepal, I would also like to thank you for your help and prayers. I would also like to thank friends in Wichita and Kansas City who has done a lot for me and my family. I would also like to thank the Social workers, doctors, nurses, therapists, and everybody who was there for me in the Overland Park and Mid America hospitals for their wonderful work to keep me alive and mobile. Namely I would like to thank Jay Ji and Sav dai, A.K.A. Bijulee, for creating this website and keeping it alive; and I would also like to thank Darla Matney for taking care of the finances in the hospital. I would also like to thank the affiliate websites for their help. I would also like to thank the Spin Pizza restaurant family for their love and support. I would also like to thank the families in Kansas City for making our life manageable. I would also like to thank the Sai Ashram and Olathe prayer group for your prayer and support. I would also like to thank my parents and my uncle for being there for me when I need them the most. I would like to thank the people who took me to the hospital and staying beside me when there was nobody available. I would like to thank the friends who prayed for me in the ICU and gave me a lot of strength. There are lots of people I would like to thank and if I have missed, please consider this as a thank you from me and my family. Overall, I would like to thank the Almighty God for listening to the prayers of everybody and creating a miracle and giving me a new life. I can't be more thankful to the Lord than that. This is something the Lord has done for me that I cannot just thank with my words. He has given me an inspiration to help more and more people and I am all ready for that. Thank you Pranav