Some of you on here have wondered about Alan and how he's doing. Well here's a letter he sent out at Christmas time.... MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Seigworths GREETINGS in the name of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ! There is a lot to tell about 2008 for the Seigworth family. The biggest news is that (in case you may not have known) is that on July 17, I (Alan) suffered a major headache like nothing Id ever experienced before. It turned out to be something far more sinister, I was Life Flighted from Clarion Hospital to UPMC Presby in Pittsburgh with what the doctor called a spontaneous brain bleed. They were unable to pinpoint the location of the bleed as it had stopped on its own. All people have a natural drain from their brain, mine just happens to be extra small. The doctor gave me a new drain via a shunt and a tube that is attached to the back of my stomach. I also got the following diseases while there: MRSA, S-bacterium, ARDS (Adult Respritory Distress Syndrome), pneumonia and congestive heart failure. These were added to the DKA (Diabetic Keto-Acidosis) which came from them not monitoring my blood sugar, as was strongly emphasized by Heather. I filled up with fluid (Heather said I looked like a big frog.) I was placed into a roto-prone bed to squeeze the fluid out of me. Shortly after being placed in the bed, my kidneys shut down. My temputure was constantly high, it even reached as high as 104.9, which they were sure would fry my brain. They told Heather to expect that I would suffer memory loss. Twice during the 2 month stay (once in July and again in August) in Pittsburgh, they asked Heather whether to pull the plug or not. Thankfully our wedding vows really meant something as In sickness and health til death do we part kept the plug in the wall. I dont know whether to call dying a problem or not, as I stood before Heavens Gate where GOD said to me, Your place here is not yet ready, therefore Im sending you back. Do my will on earth and it will be a long time before I call for you. The doctor, who did the surgery, told me that there was nothing he did that saved my life. He said this was the first time during surgery that he didnt feel like he was doing it, it felt as if has hands were being guided. Hed never experienced that before. He told me to thank ONLY GOD above for the miracle I received. What a Miracle its been! I was moved from Presby ICU to Montefoire to the Specialty Select Hospital (a bridge connects the two hospitals). I was supposed to be there for a month. I was only there for 2 weeks. I was then transferred to DuBois Hospital to the rehab unit. I was to be in DuBois until Saturday, October 11. I ended up being released on Wednesday, October 8. I do physical therapy three times a week at Andersons Physical Therapy. I am working on restoring the strength in my body and control of my left foot. Its coming but its a slow road, at least by my standards. But I was used to life in the fast lane. My driving privileges were restored around Halloween. We had started remodeling the house in May and we had some issues with the progress of the work. When I went down, Heathers Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jim stepped in and did a marvelous job finishing the front half of the house (the kitchen, living room and dining room). We had found insulation issues in the front half of the house and knew the back half would be as bad. As I lay in bed in DuBois, I said aloud, God, who can I get to do the back half of the house? It wasnt ten minutes, when my best friend from high school walked in to see me. He said that his place of work was getting ready for winter lay-off. I asked him if he needed a job. Now the back half of the house is done along with redoing the bathroom to make it handicap accessible. Heathers dad is in a wheel chair, so we took advantage of a torn up house to make the necessary changes to upgrade his visits. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And may God Bless you ALL in 2009! In Gods Love, Alan
Every so often you think to yourself, boy, do I have a problem. Then you read a letter like that and holy smokes, my life is an absolute cake walk. WOW! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Really focuses you on what's important in this life. God bless
