NoBlood

I wanted to share a personal experience I had in hopes that it will help anyone who might be having a similar experience gain some hope. I was in a car accident on December 9, 2004. The Texas State Police closed the road temporarily as state law requires because they thought I would die. Because of the injuries I suffered, they called Life Flight. Life Flight is a helicopter ambulance system used for cases that are severe. They are stationed on the top of Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston, Texas.
I sustained many injuries in my accident. 27 broken bones to include all the bones in both legs, all the bones in both arms, several ribs, 4 vertebras in my neck, crushed 1 ankle, 1 knee and one elbow. I also punctured a lung and the fire department needed to use the jaws of life to first open my truck, and second to remove the steering wheel from my head. The steering wheel had crushed my head and I sustained a category 7 brain injury. Memorial Herman had a neurologist on its staff that had developed a prototype procedure that involved putting my brain in hibernation. They wrapped my head in a cooling blanket and lowered my body temperature to 60 degrees and held it there for 24 hours.
Upon arriving via the helicopter at Memorial Herman Hospital, they found that I had lost a large amount of blood. Within hours of the accident, my blood count went down to 2.2, which is about 1/2 pint of blood. The first thought was to amputate my leg, that’s were the bleeding could not be stopped. Because Memorial Herman Hospital is one of the best medical facilities in the world, I had the best medical staff available to me. One of the doctors was able to save my leg and it was not amputated. But as far as my blood count was concerned, Memorial Herman’s medical staff was advising my wife that if I did not have a blood transfusion in 2 hours or less, I would die.
My wife and I are Jehovah’s Witnesses and because our faith and trust in Jehovah God and what he teaches us in his word the bible, taking a blood transfusion was not an option that we would consider. Actually, I was unconscious and would remain in a coma for 47 days, so my wife was the one who was under the pressure to make this decision. She honored my faith and belief by informing the medical staff that I would not take a blood transfusion.
One of the Elders in my congregation contacted the Hospital Liason Committee that Jehovah’s Witnesses have set up for needs such as this. A member of this committee came to the hospital immediately to talk with the hospital medical staff and explain to them my faith and alleviate my wife from the pressure of making this decision and give her much needed comfort. Memorial Herman acted in a very professional way at this point and after they had the information the brother shared with them, they focused on what they could do without a blood transfusion.
The wife of my PO contacted an associate of NoBlood.org. This associate contacted the hospital medical staff and supplied them with information that would help them to save my life without a blood transfusion. The end result was that my body took care of its needs naturally and built up my blood count with no transfusion. Yes this took time, but I was in a coma, so time was not an issue for me.
This was a very unusual situation, but the blood issue is not. Many people find themselves in a situation similar to this in regards to blood. However, I had one doctor make a statement to me after I woke from my coma, that in his opinion, the fact that I did not have a blood transfusion may have been a major contributing factor in my survival.
He explained to me that when a person has a blood transfusion he or she will need to take medications designed to prevent the body from rejecting the blood, much like an organ transplant patient would take. Blood is an organ so it made sense to me that the body would try to reject something that was not natural to it. The doctor explained that because my body did not need to fight off the foreign blood or the medicines that prevent the body from rejecting the blood, my body was able to focus on the injuries it was capable of resolving. Yes, I still needed to take medications that aided my body in replenishing what it needed, but that was so much easier and better for my situation.
Again, I am sharing this with you in hopes that if you find yourself in a similar situation, which I hope you never do, you will have hope. There are good medical resources out there and my situation testifies that with the best medical attention a very low blood count does not mean that you will die without a blood transfusion. So seek good help from qualified persons, and most importantly don’t give up hope.

David's story is very remarkable. I have had the privilege to meet him and his family and to hear his story first hand. It is totaling amazing that he is here and functioning-even working- considering what his body went throught. It would be wonderful if we could tape him and hear his story for a video conference. His wife was particularly faithful during this whole ordeal and she should be commended as an example of how a medical power of attorney should act and take charge of a critical situation. As pointed out by David when he came out of his coma, that physcians are now recognizing our stand on blood can be beneficial for patients.

My experience was the opposite of David's. The hospital staff were very much against our stand on blood and made this very clear. "If he dies, it must be God's will!" was one of the things the anaesthiologist said. "We've got one who's refusing blood". Was what the A&E nurse shouted across the room when our son (also called David) said that he wouldn't have blood products. I asked the surgeon how David had been when they took him for surgery and he said that David had been told that he was going to die!
David's injuries? Fractures to right leg, top and bottom - no other injuries.
True to their word, David did die.
Moral of the story? Talk in depth to those caring for the injured person and make sure that you detect no animosity or prejudice. The best equipment in the world is useful, but the attitude of the staff is crucial.

I am so sorry to hear of the sad consequences you faced with your son's injuries. Indeed, time and unforseen occurrence do befall all of us, but the negative attitude of supposed "care"givers is not only reprehensible to those of us who do care for patients, but such an attitude can literally poison the spirits of the patients for whom they provide "care". In such circumstances, the fact that you and your son maintained dedication to your Bible-based principles is deeply appreciated, if not by the callous and narrow-minded medical staff you encountered, then by me and many others who recognize the injustice of your ordeal. I hope other health care professionals reading your account do take a lesson for their own attitudes: positive energy can indeed heal when nothing else seems to work. Thank you so much for relating your experience.

__________________
Jan Grossberg, RN, BSN
Editorial Team

My experience related to this is that of a health care practitioner, as an anesthesiologist.
One 21-year old male sustained a cardiac tamponade from a stab wound in the chest (ice-pick used). I practice in a 100-bed hospital in central Philippines and we don't have the luxury of sophisticated medical equipment. The patient was the son of a Jehovah's Witness but he himself was not baptized. Postoperative hemoglobin was 4 grams. The surgeon gave me the prerogative to manage the patients anemia. Crystalloids and dextran was given to maintain BP and hemodynamic stability. He was not extubated and since we did not have a ventilator that time (early 1990s) his breathing was assisted with the use of an Ambu bag, with the relatives taking turns squeezing the bag. We call it "relative ventilator." Oxygen was administered through a port at the bottom of the bag. Iron sorbitol was given IM (the only one we had) once a day.On the second hospital day, patient extubated himself and refused re-intubation. He insisted on eating his meal as he claimed he was hungry and not in pain. The surgeon resumed his diet and we placed him on oral iron twice a day. On the 7th day his hemoglobin was 6 gms and he went home. After a month he was alredy working in Manila and he sent word that he was fine.

Second case was a 67 yr old male who underwent excision of multiple gouty tophi but developed GI bleeding due to use of pain relievers (NSAIDS). He was not a Jehovah's Witness but children were. Hb dropped to 6 and he developed chest pain. I gave him nitroglycerine patch and oxygen and he was put on complete bed rest while IM and oral iron were administered. His attending physician scolded him and told him that in a week's time he will die if he doesn't get a transfusion. His chest pain ceased and on the 7th day his Hb increased so he told his MD , " See Doctor? I'm still here!"

These are only 2 among several patients , JW and non- Witnesses, who refused blood and who who have been treated in our hospital without a transfusion. I am one of only 2 Jehovah's Witness doctors practising in our small city and other medical practitioners have already been convinced that a Hb lower than 10 gm is not really scary in some patients, and even more beneficial.

__________________
Angelina A. Gapay, MD

Angelina A. Gapay,
It was so nice to hear about your experiences as a doctor. I had one doctor in my case that explained to me his reasoning for my survival was because I did not take a blood transfusion. He did explain this to me in his medical terminology that I don't understand, but I think he was saying exactly what we as Jehovah's Witnesses know because of the wealth of infermation on the subject of blood that we get, like the blood video. We are very fortunate to have this information, but as many have already noted, you need a receptive additude in order for all this good medical treatment to have a good affect. So people like me that find themselves in a difficult blood situation appreciate having doctors like yourself who practice the best kind of medicine. Thank You!
David Martin

Martind has related an experience that I, for one, am going to print out and carry in my purse, in case I ever need emergency medical treatment. He suffered from multiple serious traumas: 27 broken bones, including all the bones in both legs, all the bones in both arms, several ribs, 4 vertebrae in his neck, a crushed ankle, knee and elbow, a punctured lung, and worst of all, the steering wheel crushed his head and he sustained a category 7 brain injury! With these horrendous injuries, he had lost all but about ½ pint of his blood, was unconscious and remained in a coma for 47 days. During that time his wife courageously bore the responsibility of upholding his religious stand on blood as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Many would consider it a miracle that he lived through it to tell us about it.
Importantly, martind’s situation involved many factors that, taken together, worked in a very powerful way to help preserve his life. The medical personnel used their skills in innovative and proactive ways while honoring his wishes not to receive blood transfusions; the Medical Liason Committee of Jehovah’s Witnesses came to the hospital and worked with the staff to explain his stand and offer assistance; an associate of NoBlood was contacted and worked with the hospital staff to provide medical information and resources that allowed his physicians and nurses to treat him successfully without blood. This was clearly a team effort with no valuable energy wasted in conflict over the patient’s refusal of a particular treatment. It appears that these medical providers gave their all to help a human being in need.
While recognizing the amazing value of respect and positive action on the part of martind’s healthcare team, I noted the heartrending post of philologus, which only serves to underscore the vital need for medical personnel to learn and apply true caring and respect for human dignity.

__________________
Jan Grossberg, RN, BSN
Editorial Team

It is true that not all doctors and nurses respect patients' wishes, especially re blood transfusion. And even if a doctor respects one's wishes at one time, he might not do so at another time. And it boils down to one thing - the fear of a lawsuit if something happens to the patient because blood transfusion was not given. As a doctor who has travelled around the Philippines to lecture on alternatives to blood transfusion, I have met different answers and attitudes. One of my co- residents in training even told me, " Are there alternatives? Call the priest!" Another told me , " It's tantamount to suicide". However, I told this doctor that smokers are also committing suicide, only "killing me softly".
Anyway, when I go around to give lectures, I always present to my audience the list of my patients who have undergone surgery and anesthesia and survived with very low hemoglobin levels. And some of these patients are doctors too who refused transfusions. And they are not Jehovah's Witnesses! Little by little, these doctors have come to realize that blood is not all they can give for survival. I can see that some attitutes are changing, but it takes courage and persistence on my part to change attitudes about blood transfusion.

__________________
Angelina A. Gapay, MD