What I Learned from Almost Losing My Dad
by Dr. Adam N Rushford DC
Eight years ago, I received a phone call that led to a formative experience, shifting how I manage my own health and that of my patients. The panicked call came from my Mom, explaining that my Dad had lost consciousness at home and EMS was on its way.
Within the hour, he was being airlifted to Marquette General, and my Wife and I were ignoring all traffic laws as we sped to the UP.
What started as fear and uncertainty turned into anger as we arrived at the hospital and were given a clearer picture of what had happened. My Dad had suffered a major heart attack to the left anterior descending coronary artery, also known as the widow maker. While being airlifted to the hospital, he had coded 8 times, having to have his heart shocked back to life each time. Upon arriving at the hospital, his body presented in a posture that indicated significant brain damage may have taken place due to the lack of oxygen to the brain. I made my way to his hospital room. I found him in an induced coma, having the miracle on ice procedure, a last-ditch effort to slow brain damage following a lack of blood flow to the brain by placing the patient in a coma and cooling the core temperature down.
The outlook was grim. The chance of survival was slim, and survival looked like a long, slow recovery to a quality of life unaccustomed to my parents.
And I was angry...
Leading up to this incident, my Dad was a vibrant 64-year-old who could kayak all day on Lake Michigan. He did the work. He ate well, worked out regularly, and meditated. He had purpose, love, and intention in his life. I mirrored his life, from childhood to adulthood, through my habits and the way I cultivated my health and, later, how I led my family and patients to achieve higher levels of health. And despite all of this, we were going to lose him at 64.
He chilled on ice for the next 2 days as my family rallied around him and filled the ICU with love, laughter, and support. We were all in the room as they began to warm his body and start to pull him out of his coma. My anger started to turn to hope as his eyes fluttered open, and he looked upon us all with recognition. The most significant flood of love, hope, and tears came next as they removed the breathing tube; he locked eyes with my Mom and croaked out, "I'm sorry." I remember that exchange more clearly than any other moment in my life, and even thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes eight years later.
Challenge came next, but with it, hope. Getting off all the life-supporting tools, recovering from the fog of morphine, and a battle with MERSA. As I left Marquette a week later to get back to my kids and patients, I was filled with hope and excitement to share what I had learned from the experience.
I realized through this challenging event that no matter how hard you work on your health, unforeseen circumstances can still arise. Unexpected accidents, injuries, stresses, and health scares are unavoidable. What you can control is how your body reacts, recovers, and heals from these events. Meet these challenges with poor health, and the chances of coming out the other side with a high quality of life are slim. My Dad would not have survived if not for the 60+ years of active, vibrant life dedicated to health. So do the work. Commit to supporting your body through nutrient-dense foods, regular diverse movement patterns, proper hydration, deep restful sleep, and a focus on clarity and presence in your thoughts.
There is no greater freedom in life than trusting your body's ability to support you and all the unforeseen stresses that come with it.
