As a social media volunteer and newsletter creator for Langley Pos-Abilities Society, I am always on the search for someone's story to tell. When my mom, Ayron, mentioned Steve to me, I knew that I had to reach out and ask if I could tell his story. Steve was happy to have his story told but struggled to find the right words. Thankfully, his long-time friend Lisa agreed to help. She owns and lives upstairs in the house he rents. She played a major part in his story and we are thankful that she was there! Here is Steve's story told by Lisa:
It all began in May of 2016. It was an extremely warm May and I was out in the backyard working on my garden. Steve came out of the suite and announced he was going to 7-11. I was a little thirsty so I asked him what he was getting. “I am extremely thirsty, I’ve been thirsty a lot lately, I just can’t seem to quench my thirst, I’m gonna get a few Gatorade’s”, he said. “You should really get that checked, when my Dad was diagnosed with Diabetes that was one of his symptoms”, I said. At that time I didn’t think that was the issue, I was just making an observation. Little did I know……
Unbeknownst to me, at the time, Steve had been following
Dr. Oz’s ‘Watermelon Diet’. Watermelon to a diabetic is poison. Little did he know that he was slowly killing himself.
A week went by and I started to notice Steve looking a little under the weather. He had lost some weight and was starting to look jaundice. His behavior started to change. He didn’t want to come up for dinner anymore, was dodging my invites and started to become distant. I was beginning to get concerned. Being the nosey pain in the butt I can be, I began to harass him. Knowing that he hadn’t been to the doctor in quite a few years, I sent text after text begging him to let me take him to the clinic. He kept telling me no, not yet.
It was Thursday night and Jeff (my boyfriend) and I were going to the Black Sheep Pub with some friends for dinner. I texted Steve and told him that I was not taking no for an answer and that he was coming OR I was going to call 911. He agreed to come. We were standing by the car waiting for him to come through the gate when he came around the corner by the garage and that’s when I knew something was definitely wrong. There was no denying it. His face was gaunt and very jaundice. I looked at him and said, “You look sick” and that’s when he looked at me and said, “I know, I’m scared”.
We went to The Black Sheep and I ordered my meal. I sat next to Steve, he didn’t want any food but he ordered a glass of water. I insisted that he eat something off of my plate, he refused then said, “Well okay” and grabbed a french fry. I couldn’t have been any happier for someone to eat a french fry!! During dinner we spoke quietly and he promised me he would go to the clinic when it opened first thing Monday morning. I was relieved!
I checked on him Friday night. His TV was off (unlike him), no music playing, just Steve lying under a blanket being one with the couch. He was sleeping so I let him be. On Saturday morning I went down to check on him and he looked horrible, I begged him to let me take him to the clinic and all I got was “I promised you Monday”. FINE! Saturday evening Steve texted me begging for a glass of milk, I was in the middle of dinner so I poured a large glass of milk and asked Jeff if he would take it down to him. Jeff appeared 5 minutes later and told me that “Steve looks really bad”.
Sunday morning I woke up early with Steve on my mind. I texted him “How is my patient this morning?” and no reply……20 minutes went by and I get a reply “I’m sick, HELP”. I ran as fast as I could downstairs and into his suite. He was lying on the couch and hadn’t moved in two days. I asked him if he had gone to the bathroom and he said no. I asked him if I could PLEASE take him to the clinic and he refused. I went back upstairs and filled one large travel mug with lemonade and one with warm chicken broth. I told him I was running to Costco and I would be one hour and if both fluids weren’t consumed by the time I got back I was calling the ambulance.
Jeff and I proceeded to Costco and did a fairly large shop. We were coming back over the Pitt River Bridge and I had a really bad feeling and asked Jeff to drive faster. We got into the driveway and I immediately ran from the car. Steve was lying in the middle of the floor. I sat on top of him shaking him while I yelled to Jeff to call 911. He was barely responsive, could barely speak and all I kept saying was “Don’t you dare die on me!”.
Only minutes went by before the paramedics and firefighters arrived. They asked me about his history and I told him he had been sick and told them everything I knew. I asked them what it was and they were certain he was entering a diabetic coma.....his sugars were 71 (normal is 5.7) and his kidneys were failing.
When Steve’s Mom and I arrived at the Emergency he was complaining his right leg was painful and he was flailing around. I asked the nurse for some cream and sat at the foot of the bed and massaged his calf and foot which seemed to calm him down. He finally fell asleep. It was a long day so his Mom and I said our good nights and went on our way. At 9:00 a.m. the next morning I received a phone call from Steve’s doctor asking permission to intubate him. "Why?”, I asked. She replied and said “We don’t need to intubate him to preserve his life, we need to intubate him to protect the nurses as well as protect him from himself”....oh! I explained that she could do what she needed to do to make him well.
She proceeded to tell me that she couldn’t understand why he was so disoriented and being harmful to himself and others, as the medication had brought his sugars down to 25. She was afraid he may have had a stroke so she wanted permission to perform a CT scan. “Absolutely”, I said, “Could you please call me after and let me know what you find?”.... "Of course”, she replied.
Four very long hours went by and the doctor called me back. They had found nothing. She asked if they could transfer him to Abbotsford in order to do double dialysis in order to scan his lower extremities.... "Of course”, I said. “We are prepping him for transport, he should be in Abbotsford by 4:30pm”.
The next day (Tuesday) I had just finished getting ready for work when the phone rang at 9:50 a.m. It was the doctor at Abbotsford. They called to inform me that Steve had an aggressive blood clot in his right leg moving very quickly towards his heart. They informed me that they would be performing surgery to amputate his right leg 8 inches above his knee at 12:50 p.m. “Please inform the family as it could go either way”. My world ended at that moment, that’s when I broke.
As I fast forward this story to almost 5 years later to the day, I reflect on Steve’s accomplishments. We have gone from me having to calm him down during overwhelming transformation and change. Meds and dietary changes to mobility and simple daily tasks that we all take for granted. Learning to walk, learning what to eat and not to eat. Dealing with Type One diabetes and many different medications at different times throughout the day, injecting insulin etc, learning to drive.
He has done it all. It has been a very long road but he’s now self reliant. He has a treadmill and walks almost everyday. He has a bike and cycles an average of 15km a day, he works part time. He shops, cooks and lives to the best of his ability, every single day. He doesn’t give up. His determination didn’t stop there, he was adamant to golf again. With lots of practice, he’s back out on the course perfecting his game at least twice a month. He even took up kayaking and graduated high school through the adult learning platform.
With the love and support of family and friends and the determination of setting goals for oneself, Steve is a prime example that you can overcome any obstacles that are put in your way. Life is a journey, not a destination....anything is possible! When I received the call that finally broke me THAT day, I could have only hoped that he would persevere and conquer all of life’s challenges that began that day. AND HE DID ❤️
