OT Reader's Digest: For those of you that asked - KC

[Guest guest]

I know many of you had asked at the time for the story that Reader's

Digest did on myself and Sharon after my freak accident. Well, it

finally hit the web, here it is.

KC

http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=27936 & pageIndex=0

A Very Dangerous Day

Carstens needed help fast when he suffered a freak accident.

BY ANDREA COOPER

From Reader's Digest

November 2004

Searing Pain

Carstens hacked away at the brush on his land in the foothills

of the Smoky Mountains. It was warm for a Sunday afternoon in early

January, even for esville, Georgia. But loved being

outdoors amid the blackberry and wild rosebushes with a view of

distant mountains.

It had been a good day for his wife, Sharon, too. They spent the

morning on their deck, talking and drinking tea. Sharon felt strong

and focused enough to cook, starting a pot of homemade soup -- a

task that would have been nothing a few years ago, but was a little

triumph for her now. Her illness had left her weak, often confused.

While the soup simmered, Dusty, the family dog, sat nearby, and

chatted about dropping a teetering tree in the old cemetery

adjoining their land. It needed to be chopped down before it toppled

and destroyed some of the grave markers.

After lunch, loaded a chain saw and ropes into his van and

took along his cell phone and a knife. Then he drove through a

grassy field into the forest not more than a thousand feet from

home. A rugged five-foot-eleven, with muscular arms and legs built

in a career as a cabinetmaker and installer, stepped carefully

among the toppled tombstones. This was a slave cemetery. The markers

were little more than rocks tilted at odd angles in a shady gloom,

like jagged bits of teeth sticking up from the earth.

crossed through the scrub to the huge oak. He wound the rope

around the trunk and expertly knotted it. had dropped trees

many times before. Sharon used to help him with such tasks -- but

that was before her illness. She had been so healthy and vigorous

when they first met working at a Florida wildlife sanctuary 25 years

earlier.

From the start, he'd liked her long, thick hair, feisty sense of

humor and fearlessness. When she bragged she wasn't afraid of

snakes, he asked her to hold a boa constrictor during a class he was

teaching. She grinned and did it. After they married, they fished

for shark together, canoed on wild rivers.

Sharon was the take-charge person in the family. She was seldom sick

until 1997, when she began suffering terrible headaches. One day at

work, colleagues said she didn't look right and urged her to go to

the hospital. She rose from her desk and collapsed. She could hear

voices, but couldn't speak. It looked as if she'd had a stroke.

Other stroke-like episodes followed. She had difficulty walking. She

ran a fever all the time. The headaches never stopped. She and

spent all their savings on doctors' appointments and medical tests.

In 2000, physicians determined Sharon had brain damage that left her

with episodes resembling dementia. Once, she visited a familiar

store and couldn't remember where the exit was. Another time, she

was making spaghetti, but didn't know what to do after the water

boiled.

After seeing specialists, and Sharon came to believe that

exposure to mold had caused Sharon's condition. Her world was

certainly shrinking. At times she needed a wheelchair. The woman who

never liked asking for help was essentially housebound and dependent

on her husband.

From the dead tree, uncurled the guide rope, anchored the

other end to his van and pulled forward to tighten it. Then he took

a second rope -- one used to tow cars, with large hooks at both

ends -- and hooked one end to a loop on the guide rope. He wound the

other end around a poplar and hooked the tow rope onto itself. With

the guide rope now held by the tow rope, he unhooked his van and

drove it out of the way. Finally he anchored the guide rope to a

large pine tree across the road.

stepped back a few feet to survey what he'd done. It had taken

more than an hour, but he always took extra precautions when he was

working with a chain saw. At last he was ready.

He pulled the starter, the chain saw roared to life, and he began

cutting through the old oak. In minutes it fell, right where he

planned. Now all he needed to do was dismantle the ropes, and he'd

be done. He strolled back to the poplar, flipped the hook off the

tree, and let the rope drop. When he turned, intending to untie the

rope from the pine across the road, he heard an odd gnawing,

swishing sound behind him. It was the tow rope.

had made one miscalculation. The oak had dropped downhill,

putting more tension on the rope than he expected. When he released

the tow rope, the hook whipped around the poplar and flew toward

him. The steel hook hit him on his wrist, collided with his left

shoulder -- and lodged in his neck. The line pulled him chest-first

against the poplar. The tension on the line was tremendous.

felt his neck bulging as the hook lodged deeper, tugging on muscle.

The pain was searing. He grabbed the rope with both hands and tried

to loosen it, but it wouldn't budge.

Choking, he screamed for help. His voice came out stifled, rasping.

It took tremendous energy to form words. He could barely breathe.

And Sharon didn't expect him back for some time. He was trapped and

horribly alone.

A Miracle

Dusty let out a bloodcurdling howl. Sharon, watching TV, got up to

see what was the matter. Dusty always yelped when she heard an

ambulance. But the dog had never made this kind of noise before.

Sharon gazed out the glass doors into their backyard, listening

intently. But she couldn't see or hear anything unusual.

didn't want to die there in an abandoned graveyard. Sharon

needed him. A cold sweat came with a rush of panic, but then he saw

a light like a star close to his face. He watched in fascination. He

had no idea what it was, but the glow calmed him. And he remembered

the knife in his pocket.

He took a deep breath, held the rope with one hand to still

vibration, and sliced vigorously. The rope was under such tension

that when he cut through, it snapped like a rubber band and shot 50

feet in the other direction.

slid down the tree trunk and sat on the ground. He tested his

voice to see if he could speak. Gingerly, he felt the gash. His

fingers went right through his skin into his neck. He tried another

spot. Then another. You've got to be kidding, he thought in horror.

His neck was gaping open. How much blood had he lost? He fumbled for

his phone.

When she heard the ring, Sharon reached for the phone. " Call an

ambulance! " she heard saying in a choking voice.

" For you? " she asked, confused.

" Yes! "

Quickly, she called 911. He's hurt himself with the chain saw, she

thought, as she shuffled to the front of the house toward the path

leading to the cemetery. She screamed for her neighbors, but no one

was home. What should she do? She wanted to run to the woods and

find her husband -- but who then could show the paramedics where he

was? Fortunately, her mind was clear, almost like before she got

sick. She realized she had to stay put and wait for the ambulance.

It had been a quiet day for Habersham County emergency dispatcher

Deborah . Back just two months after maternity leave,

Deborah was looking forward to seeing her baby at the end of her

shift. Then her line rang.

She heard a gravelly male voice. , desperate, had also called

911. Deborah asked his name and location.

" Hurry up, " he begged. " I've got a big hook stuck in my neck. " The

man sounded winded, unable to breathe.

A fishhook? Deborah wasn't sure what he meant. " , we're getting

an ambulance out to you. I'm going to keep talking to you to make

sure you're okay, " she said.

A supervisor interrupted to ask more about the hook.

" It's a big hook, like you'd use to pull a truck out of a ditch. "

His words stunned Deborah -- a hook like that was the size of a

hammerhead! She heard the fear in his voice. " It's okay to be

scared, " Deborah told him. " You've got a reason to be scared. " She

urged him to be calm, but all around her, colleagues were running to

summon fire and medic crews.

The first emergency vehicle shot past Sharon. She frantically waved

her arms to get the driver's attention. A second ambulance pulled

up, and medics jumped out. Sharon pointed toward the cemetery. As

they ran into the woods, she followed, limping.

saw a firefighter running toward him. The man knelt in front

of him and asked to see his wound. slowly peeled his hand away

from the bloody hook it covered. And he saw the man's mouth drop

open.

When Sharon arrived, he asked her, " How bad does it look? " She held

his hand. " You did one helluva good job. "

The medics called for an airlift to Atlanta Medical Center, where

chief trauma surgeon Dr. Vernon prepared for a Level 1

trauma patient.

was amazed when he examined . The man's neck was cut

wide open. A hook emerged next to the right sternocleidomastoid

muscle. The carotid artery and jugular vein were located immediately

behind that muscle. If they were lacerated, only the pressure of the

hook might be preventing the patient from bleeding to death. There

was also the danger that the hook might shift and block the airway.

ordered a breathing tube inserted immediately.

Miraculously, when removed the hook, he found the jugular

vein and carotid artery were intact. He began cleaning and closing

the wound. It took 200 stitches internally and an additional 21

staples outside.

On bad days feels as if he's wearing a tight collar. But most

days, when he sits in a recliner in his den, he is simply grateful

that Sharon was there for him in his moment of crisis, and that he

escaped a lonely death in that old abandoned cemetery.

[Guest guest]

Wow, very powerful. Actually I read that article when it came out (I'm a

long-time subscriber to RD).

Sorry you have been through so much.

Lori

[Guest guest]

KC, what a story. I was wondering why you never sent the story just the

other day. I don't know what made me think of it. You are lucky to be

here. Also 1997 was the year that I got ill from mold. I thought the

article had your picture also.

[Guest guest]

,

Yes, it did have several pictures, but apparenly they didn't put

them on the web. I completely forgot about it and just happened to

run across it yesterday.

Thanks,

KC

--- In , " ldelp84227 " <ldelp84227@...>

wrote:

>

> KC, what a story. I was wondering why you never sent the story

just the

> other day. I don't know what made me think of it. You are lucky

to be

> here. Also 1997 was the year that I got ill from mold. I thought

the

> article had your picture also.

>

[Guest guest]

The two are a wonderful couple. Praise God that you are with us and encouraging

others. KC I am at the stage Sharon was in when she colapsed. Pray for safe

housing for me. Thank all of you. Leigh

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote: ,

Yes, it did have several pictures, but apparenly they didn't put

them on the web. I completely forgot about it and just happened to

run across it yesterday.

Thanks,

KC

--- In , " ldelp84227 " <ldelp84227@...>

wrote:

>

> KC, what a story. I was wondering why you never sent the story

just the

> other day. I don't know what made me think of it. You are lucky

to be

> here. Also 1997 was the year that I got ill from mold. I thought

the

> article had your picture also.

>

[Guest guest]

Wow, thank you KC for sharing that story with us!.

The two of you have used the gift of life and survival to help others and

make a difference. Along with the enormous contributions from Sharon K. and

others here are a true inspiration and light for us to follow.

What has been amazing to me is to see how in spite of so much hardship, in

spite of the sometimes knock down drag out politics of all of this, how in

spite of it all, compassion remains in your hearts, with a never ending supply

of endurance and commitment.

" The probability of failure should not deter us from a cause that is just. "

Abe Lincoln

With gratitude and blessings,

In a message dated 9/7/2006 9:29:23 AM Central Standard Time,

mccallalton@... writes:

The two are a wonderful couple. Praise God that you are with us and

encouraging others. KC I am at the stage Sharon was in when she colapsed. Pray

for

safe housing for me. Thank all of you. Leigh

tigerpaw2c <_tigerpaw2c@..._ (mailto:tigerpaw2c@...) > wrote:

,

Yes, it did have several pictures, but apparenly they didn't put

them on the web. I completely forgot about it and just happened to

run across it yesterday.

Thanks,

KC

--- In _@ic_ (mailto: )

, " ldelp84227 " <ldelp84227@lde>

wrote:

>

> KC, what a story. I was wondering why you never sent the story

just the

> other day. I don't know what made me think of it. You are lucky

to be

> here. Also 1997 was the year that I got ill from mold. I thought

the

> article had your picture also.

>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

I would just like to thank you all for your nice comments. We are here

to stay and don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon.

, you said, " compassion remains in your hearts, with a never

ending supply

of endurance and commitment. "

I think one of the main reasons that kept Sharon & I going is that we

never forgot how lost we were in the beginning. The fact of not knowing

the cause of her symptoms, the desperation, the lack of resources and

most importantly, no one to turn to. I remember those days very clearly

and sometimes they effect me today as if it just happened yesterday.

With the help of everyone on this board, we must try to prevent any

other unsuspecting person from going through this nightmare alone or

thinking they are alone.

KC

> >

> > KC, what a story. I was wondering why you never sent the story

> just the

> > other day. I don't know what made me think of it. You are lucky

> to be

> > here. Also 1997 was the year that I got ill from mold. I thought

> the

> > article had your picture also.

> >

>

>

[Guest guest]

If it were mine to give I would give you a humanitaian award.

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

I would just like to thank you all for your nice comments. We are here

to stay and don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon.

, you said, " compassion remains in your hearts, with a never

ending supply

of endurance and commitment. "

I think one of the main reasons that kept Sharon & I going is that we

never forgot how lost we were in the beginning. The fact of not knowing

the cause of her symptoms, the desperation, the lack of resources and

most importantly, no one to turn to. I remember those days very clearly

and sometimes they effect me today as if it just happened yesterday.

With the help of everyone on this board, we must try to prevent any

other unsuspecting person from going through this nightmare alone or

thinking they are alone.

KC

> >

> > KC, what a story. I was wondering why you never sent the story

> just the

> > other day. I don't know what made me think of it. You are lucky

> to be

> > here. Also 1997 was the year that I got ill from mold. I thought

> the

> > article had your picture also.

> >

>

>

[Guest guest]

KC...you and Sharon ROCK!!