Internal bleeding following somewhat minor surgery. How close was I to dying?

[supermotooo]

Hi! I was recently in a motorcycle accident that left me with a broken humerus, 5 broken ribs, and a 2 inch laceration across my forehead.  Surgery was needed for the humerus. A ~6” rod was inserted through the bone to align and rejoin the break.

In the few days following the surgery, my hemoglobin levels dropped significantly. See progression below:

10/5 - 13.2 g/dL (pre-surgery; measured within 2 hours of accident)

10/6 - 12.1 g/dL (post surgery. surgery over at 1400. sample taken @ ~ 1600)  

10/7 - 8.2 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 0600)

10/7 - 7.5 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 1200)

10/7 - 6.5 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 1800)

10/7 - First blood transfusion performed. 1 unit.

10/8 - 7.3 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 0600)

10/8 - 7.4 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 1200)

10/8 - 8.6 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 1800)

10/9 - 7.0 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 0600)

10/9 - Second blood transfusion performed. 1 unit.

10/9 - 9.0 g/dL (sample taken @ ~ 2200)

10/10 - 10/12 - levels fluctuated between 8.0 and 10.0.

10/12 - discharged from hospital.


My memories from 10/6 to 10/7 are strange. I was lucid and aware, but the memories are sepia-toned. The room lighting is warm, the walls were off-white, and the faces of the staff and family were gentle and kind. I felt like I was home, in a sense.

My memory of the first blood transfusion was in an even warmer room, and I was sitting in a comfortable chair facing the wall, feet on the ground. I was worried at first, but the fear subsided and I just accepted that I didn’t know that I was going to survive this. Realistic? Probably not, but I needed to come to peace with that.

The rest of the week for the most part was in a bright, white hospital room in a hospital bed; legs up, stacked with pillows. A hospital room. Not warm and comfortable like the previous two rooms.

After speaking with staff and family after being discharged, they informed me that aside from x-rays and CT scans, I never left that room or that bed for the entire week. My feet never touched the ground and the lighting never changed.

This got me thinking; why did my brain do that? Why are my memories so different than reality? Was I anywhere near death? Is that normal?

Thanks in advance.

[auntiejessi]

According to several sources on a quick google, a hemoglobin below 6.5 can lead to death.

How close were you to death? Well, a lot of factors are at play here - your other injuries, how big the bleed was, any other health conditions you might have. You weren't in good shape, for sure, and thankfully, you were in the right place to get the treatment you needed.

So what caused the visions, as I guess we'll call them for lack of a better word, or memories? Again, hard to say. Maybe the medications you were surely on, the head injury, the low hemoglobin, or a combo, or maybe something else. The mind is a really powerful thing and has ways of making us cope with stressful situations. You may never know for sure about all of it.

Happy to hear you are on the mend, and are doing better now, but don't discount the trauma of this, both physically and mentally. Just as your body needs help recovering, your mind might, too. Lots of people need therapy after traumatic events like serious accidents.

Wishing you all the best as you continue to recover.

[SassyLassie]

Hello~My thoughts are you probably had these visions, etc due to the meds and the stress of the accident. It sounded like a horrible accident, your body has been very traumatized by it so it is going to take awhile to heal, especially the brain and thoughts. I would take it as easy as possible and let your mind and body recover.