We are finally home...thanks for the prayers

[cosmo cruiser]

Thank you to each of you for the kind words and all the prayers. We are finally back home and thankfully my husband is making progress toward recovery from a very rough experience. We are very blessed. We got back on Feb 18th and my husband was finally back home on Feb 25th.

 

We sailed on Carnival Splendor out of Miami on 1/11/15. Kenny had a heart attack right after sitting down to dinner the very first night. We had ordered and introduced ourselves to our wait staff when he started to feel ill. We ended up going by wheelchair (one of the waiters RAN while pushing him in a wheelchair) to the infirmary where he received amazing care in a matter of minutes. The medical staff was professional and totally knew what they were doing. We were both very impressed. It was determined in short order that he needed to be evacuated and fast. We were heading to two days at sea before our first port so he wouldn't be able to get the care he was going to need on board. We were medi vac off the ship around midnight onto a smaller boat for a long, rough, and windy ride to Freeport. Carnival diverted the ship as close to Freeport as possible even though we were not scheduled to stop in the Bahamas. Once there we were taken to a local hospital so he could be stabilized. We were there for 12 hours and then we were medi vac by air ambulance to Ft Lauderdale to the Broward Heart Hospital which is a level 1 trama center.

While the stay in Freeport was brief and the staff was wonderful you do not want to be in the hospital there. Very old equipment and out dated technology to say the least. Thankfully we were able to get to Ft Lauderdale quickly. IF he had only had a heart attaqck we would have been home in less than a week. They did a heart catheraztion and put in 2 stinks and his heart was up and running fine.

 

Unfortunetly he aspirated on the medical flight (threw up into his own lungs) while he was strapped down upon take off and things went down hill fast. He developed aspiration pnemonia which is pretty serious by itself. When they treated the pnemonia it killed all of the good bacteria in his body and he developed C-Diff which is a serious infection in his gut. Over the course of the next two weeks his kidneys shut down, his bowels stopped working, and his colon stopped processing. He had respiratory failure and was on 100% breathing machine. His became septic and went into septic shock. He was on 24 hour a day kidney dialisis for 4 days and then had an additional three days of 4 hour a day dialisis. He was sedated for a total of 19 days and was delerious for a week after that. He had two main lines put in, was tubed twice and had to have a trach put in on day 18.

 

When it was all said and done he spent 33 days in CVICU and an additional 6 days in a regular room. We had to have a medical transport home to Indiana (an RN went on a commerical flight with us) and he was on oxygen for the flight home. Once home he had to go to a rehab center to regain his balance enough to be home alone so I could go back to work. Last Thursday he was readmitted to our local hospital because he was feeling horrible after only a week or so home. He ended up being dehydrated and having a urinary tract infection as well as a stomach virus. He is home again as of yesterday and the virus will run it's course. He is on meds for the infection and hopefully he will start physical, occupational and cardiac rehab again next week.

We are praying he will make a full recovery in time. He lost so much muscle mass being sedated and in bed for 33 days that it is going to take time. He has a good attitude and wants to get better and get back to work so that is a huge part of the recovery process.

I feel very blessed that we received the amazing care in the infirmary, in Freeport as well as at Broward Hospital. I am afraid if we had been sent to a different hospital or had any other team of doctors he very well may not have made it thru it all. The team of doctors he had in Ft Lauderdale were nothing short of miracle workers with everything he was dealing with at once. They truly saved his life.

 

I had often wondered what kind of medical care you would get on a ship if you ever needed it? I now know they can do what needs to be done and they are amazing. We hope to sail the Splendor again (as of now we are booked to sail her to Canada/New England in September) and hope to have a chance to say thank you in person.

 

We were supposed to be on the Glory this week for a cruise but we had to cancel that one as he isn't strong enough yet to be on a cruise and I am out of vacation time due to being gone for almost 6 weeks while all of this was going on. We will sail again and it will be on Carnival. We will be lifetime supporters and customers after the way they took care of us in our most desperate time of need.

 

We always have sailed with travel insurance and like most people have considered not buying it a time or two just because we never used it in 25 previous cruises. All I can say is I am so thankfull we had it. The air flight from the Bahamas alone was almost 12K and every penny was covered by the insurance. I don't even know yet what all of the other things cost but quite a lot of it will be covered once I am able to get the claim sumitted. I was pleasently surprised to learn that the cruise insurance also will cover up to 10K of non covered medical costs after our regular insurance pays. We may have enough to cover most of our deductables and out of pocket costs. What a blessing it is that we spent that $90 per person just to be on the safe side!

 

Sorry this is so long but quite a few people asked how he was doing and what actually happened so I wanted to fill you all in. Thank you all again for the prayers, we felt them all the way to Florida. Safe travels :)

__________________

[beshears]

I am so sorry I had not read this until now, but I'm glad God's protecting hand was upon you two at this time, and that your husband is doing better.

 

I have a feeling you were not on the Splendor long,but we are to do the Splendor for the first time next month. I glad to read that what you went through at that time, you folks got good care, and that tells me that the Splendor cannot be as bad as some people have said.

 

As I've said before, we are going to do the Splendor with a "positive" attitude, and see what happens.

[lazydayz]

I hope your husband continues to improve and that both of you are able to make that September cruise. Well wishes. Linda

[elliair]

First off, you had quite an ordeal and I'm so happy your DH is doing well. I just can't imagine going through what you did. Half of the assurance is the insurance:

 

We always have sailed with travel insurance and like most people have considered not buying it a time or two just because we never used it in 25 previous cruises. All I can say is I am so thankfull we had it. The air flight from the Bahamas alone was almost 12K and every penny was covered by the insurance. I don't even know yet what all of the other things cost but quite a lot of it will be covered once I am able to get the claim sumitted. I was pleasently surprised to learn that the cruise insurance also will cover up to 10K of non covered medical costs after our regular insurance pays. We may have enough to cover most of our deductables and out of pocket costs. What a blessing it is that we spent that $90 per person just to be on the safe side!

 

You have made a believer out of a lot of people by what you said above. On our cruise to Hawaii in January, we had 5 people pass away on our cruise and all of them were heart attacks. One man was only 54 years old. So, it does not matter your age, things could happen that could leave you penniless without the insurance.

 

May you and your husband enjoy many more cruises together. Life is precious.

Edited March 10, 2015 by elliair

[tea4ular]

This is an amazing story! I'm sorry for all you've been dealing with and hope for a steady upward trend for your family!

Edited March 10, 2015 by tea4ular

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Thank you to each of you for the kind words and all the prayers. We are finally back home and thankfully my husband is making progress toward recovery from a very rough experience. We are very blessed. We got back on Feb 18th and my husband was finally back home on Feb 25th.

 

We sailed on Carnival Splendor out of Miami on 1/11/15. Kenny had a heart attack right after sitting down to dinner the very first night. We had ordered and introduced ourselves to our wait staff when he started to feel ill. We ended up going by wheelchair (one of the waiters RAN while pushing him in a wheelchair) to the infirmary where he received amazing care in a matter of minutes. The medical staff was professional and totally knew what they were doing. We were both very impressed. It was determined in short order that he needed to be evacuated and fast. We were heading to two days at sea before our first port so he wouldn't be able to get the care he was going to need on board. We were medi vac off the ship around midnight onto a smaller boat for a long, rough, and windy ride to Freeport. Carnival diverted the ship as close to Freeport as possible even though we were not scheduled to stop in the Bahamas. Once there we were taken to a local hospital so he could be stabilized. We were there for 12 hours and then we were medi vac by air ambulance to Ft Lauderdale to the Broward Heart Hospital which is a level 1 trama center.

While the stay in Freeport was brief and the staff was wonderful you do not want to be in the hospital there. Very old equipment and out dated technology to say the least. Thankfully we were able to get to Ft Lauderdale quickly. IF he had only had a heart attaqck we would have been home in less than a week. They did a heart catheraztion and put in 2 stinks and his heart was up and running fine.

 

Unfortunetly he aspirated on the medical flight (threw up into his own lungs) while he was strapped down upon take off and things went down hill fast. He developed aspiration pnemonia which is pretty serious by itself. When they treated the pnemonia it killed all of the good bacteria in his body and he developed C-Diff which is a serious infection in his gut. Over the course of the next two weeks his kidneys shut down, his bowels stopped working, and his colon stopped processing. He had respiratory failure and was on 100% breathing machine. His became septic and went into septic shock. He was on 24 hour a day kidney dialisis for 4 days and then had an additional three days of 4 hour a day dialisis. He was sedated for a total of 19 days and was delerious for a week after that. He had two main lines put in, was tubed twice and had to have a trach put in on day 18.

 

When it was all said and done he spent 33 days in CVICU and an additional 6 days in a regular room. We had to have a medical transport home to Indiana (an RN went on a commerical flight with us) and he was on oxygen for the flight home. Once home he had to go to a rehab center to regain his balance enough to be home alone so I could go back to work. Last Thursday he was readmitted to our local hospital because he was feeling horrible after only a week or so home. He ended up being dehydrated and having a urinary tract infection as well as a stomach virus. He is home again as of yesterday and the virus will run it's course. He is on meds for the infection and hopefully he will start physical, occupational and cardiac rehab again next week.

We are praying he will make a full recovery in time. He lost so much muscle mass being sedated and in bed for 33 days that it is going to take time. He has a good attitude and wants to get better and get back to work so that is a huge part of the recovery process.

I feel very blessed that we received the amazing care in the infirmary, in Freeport as well as at Broward Hospital. I am afraid if we had been sent to a different hospital or had any other team of doctors he very well may not have made it thru it all. The team of doctors he had in Ft Lauderdale were nothing short of miracle workers with everything he was dealing with at once. They truly saved his life.

 

I had often wondered what kind of medical care you would get on a ship if you ever needed it? I now know they can do what needs to be done and they are amazing. We hope to sail the Splendor again (as of now we are booked to sail her to Canada/New England in September) and hope to have a chance to say thank you in person.

 

We were supposed to be on the Glory this week for a cruise but we had to cancel that one as he isn't strong enough yet to be on a cruise and I am out of vacation time due to being gone for almost 6 weeks while all of this was going on. We will sail again and it will be on Carnival. We will be lifetime supporters and customers after the way they took care of us in our most desperate time of need.

 

We always have sailed with travel insurance and like most people have considered not buying it a time or two just because we never used it in 25 previous cruises. All I can say is I am so thankfull we had it. The air flight from the Bahamas alone was almost 12K and every penny was covered by the insurance. I don't even know yet what all of the other things cost but quite a lot of it will be covered once I am able to get the claim sumitted. I was pleasently surprised to learn that the cruise insurance also will cover up to 10K of non covered medical costs after our regular insurance pays. We may have enough to cover most of our deductables and out of pocket costs. What a blessing it is that we spent that $90 per person just to be on the safe side!

 

Sorry this is so long but quite a few people asked how he was doing and what actually happened so I wanted to fill you all in. Thank you all again for the prayers, we felt them all the way to Florida. Safe travels :)

__________________

 

 

You guys have had quite an ordeal. You are truly blessed. Here's to a speedy recovery for hubby so he can get back to work and get you both back to your normal routines.

 

Hope you guys have a GREAT next cruise.

 

Bill

[familyfuncruise]

So glad all is fine now. Prayers sent for a fast recovery.;)

[teacher32]

My goodness! Thank you for sharing your story.

Praying your dear husband makes a full recovery and will be 100% long before your fall cruise.

 

Do you mind me asking if your travel insurance was through Carnival? That's what we always purchase the day we book a cruise.

[CJinFLA00]

Thanks for sharing. Best wishes and speedy recovery. Get back cruising soon!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[pe4all]

What a beautifully written update . So glad dh is on the road to recovery. And thankfully you did have trip insurance. I buy it within an hour of booking a cruise. Have used it twice so far- but not for anything nearly as catastrophic as you went through. Continued well-wishes for a speedy recovery sent your way!!p.s.- you may want to post this on Carnival Funville site, and send it to Customer Care dept. at Carnival. I am sure they get more complaints than compliments on cruise matters!

Edited March 10, 2015 by pe4all

[SMSACE6]

OMG what an ordeal you have both been through! Thank you so much for up dating us here at CC, and continued postive thoughts, prayers and hugs still coming your way. Bless you both, and also kudos to the wonderful Carnival staff and hospital staff everywhere, who helped you along the way and to back home.

Edited March 10, 2015 by SMSACE6

[mips]

You have been in my thoughts often in the last few weeks. I am so glad that hes home and doing better.

 

I have always brought medical insurance just because I lead a 'charmed' life, usually just the medical and evac and it costs me about $40 for both of us (reasonable young) and that's nothing for peace of mind.

[acceber32]

Wow! Just wow! I'm so sorry you all went thru all that. But so glad your husband is recovering. Praying he continues to improve and that you both get to make that return trip to say thank you in person.

[Warm Breezes]

Prayers for you and your husband. I'm glad to know we will be in good hands next month on the Splendor...

[mz Miami]

We were on this cruise and I have video of the evacuation if you would like to have it I can send it to you via email ..my prayers with you and your family always ..

[amyh13]

As we say in the south, bless your heart. So glad everyone is on the road to recovery (physically and mentally!).

 

And what a great Public Service Announcement for Travel Insurance. We are young and healthy with two elementary age children but have never traveled without insurance and don't understand why any would take the risk.

[Cruisegirl6]

What a nightmare but thankfully a good ending. We always take out insurance the way we see it if we are spending over 2k plus for a cruise what is another $180, surely to just have that peace of mind and the fact if we need it we have it is all worth it, glad you had it too!

 

Its a good thing you didn't go on the Glory this week, a 21 year old young man went overboard and as far as I know which was two day later after he jumped (camera's were used to confirm) he wasn't found, surely a depressing cruise for all those passengers. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Happy cruising.

[Kobayashi]

Hoping the best for you and your family. Thank you for sharing your story.

[Crusin Karen]

Oh my....what a nightmare you lived thru! SO VERY THANKFUL that your DH is recovering and may he continue to gain strength. Please take care of YOURSELF also. I can't imagine going thru something like this and I am sure your love and support was a big factor in his recovery. GOD BLESS YOU BOTH and may you have many more cruises to build HAPPY MEMORIES of in the future.

[Rellyrooly]

What a terrifying experience. I am so glad he is doing well. Cheers to happy endings!

[luddite]

Yikes amighty.

Godspeed and good wishes that he recovers nicely.

[OCruisers]

Thanks for reporting back to let us know how things are going.

Continued T&P coming your way!

LuLu

[demos]

Very happy to hear you were taken such good care of by Carnival and Broward Hospital. What an amazing story thank you for sharing an update . I pray your husband has a speedy recovery and is back cruising soon!

[keywest1]

I'm so glad things are going better. Thanks for sharing and also for reaffirming the need for travel insurance. Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.

[Gallivanting Souls]

I'm glad your DH is doing well. There is a hard road ahead on recovery. I know. I work in a Rehab hospital on the Cardiac floor. -But if he is blessed enough to get to go to Rehab, and wants it enough...

I see miracles each day.

My prayers are with you both!

 

Our family has been on two cruises. Have paid for travel insurance each time without fail. We also were booked and to sail on the Carnival Holiday the day that Hurricane Katrina hit. We got our money back with no problems. On our first cruise Mex Riv, we saw a 14 yr old get air-lifted off the ship with an appendicitis. You just never know!