David’s Letter to the World
Stem Cells For Life
To whom It may concern,
My name is David Aldrich. I am a 49-year-old quadriplegic. My injury level is a C3, C4, incomplete. On May 27, 2002, I slipped and fell off of a boat anchored in shallow water and struck my head causing my injury. No one saw me fall, which resulted in me drowning. Friends of mine on the beach eventually spotted me floating face down in the water and pulled me to shore. I was not breathing. Fortunately there were two paramedics anchored on the same beach on their boat and they heard the cries for help. They immediately administered CPR and brought me back to life. I was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, where I clung to life in a coma. My family flew to be by my side. I was not expected to live, the prognosis was grim. The doctors told my family that I had injured my spinal cord and was paralyzed from the nipples down. I came out of the coma after three days and was on a ventilator and a feeding tube with a halo brace on my head. I had no feeling or movement in my entire body. I was almost totally blind and had lost most of my hearing. I thought I was in a very dark room and remember wanting someone to turn the lights on. Since I was on a ventilator, I was unable to speak and could only blink my eyes and make pops and clicks with my mouth to communicate. I didn’t realize the extent of my injuries for several months. At one point, I had made the choice to end my life and my brother Paul, who was my guardian, went through the steps to remove my life support. Just hours before pulling the plug I changed my mind and decided that I wanted to live. I spent a total of 359 days in three hospitals between Florida and Colorado. My mom and dad came to be with me every single day while I was in Florida and the whole family took turns visiting me while I was in Colorado. We have a very close family and they all put their own lives on hold to make sure that someone was with me most of the time. For this I will be eternally grateful. I endured and survived several pitfalls such as an 8
8 comments April 23rd, 2007
