The Operation

Hey there, friends. As many of you know, I've been in the hospital for a few months now, undergoing several various operations. I had a relatively minor shoulder injury that developed complications and eventually became life-threatening. Under the thorough and loving care of Dr. Dan Erlewine, my injury was fixed and I eventually healed. Since this was a major traumatic experience for me, I am going to detail the specifics of my hospital stay for you.Please be warned, the photos are extremely graphic.

I would like to finish up by saying how grateful I am for my friends, and for my life. I came closer to death this year than I ever expected to this early in my life, and I feel truly blessed to be given a second chance. I vow never to take my life for granted, and to live every day to the fullest from here on out. I hope you all will do the same!

My injury before entering the hospital. It looks like an average shoulder injury, but there were several rare complications that made it a severe, life-threatening injury.



At the hospital, scared out of my mind. The doctors didn't know if I was going to make it out alive.



Dr. Dan Erlewine, one of the best specialists in the world, administers some Everclear Grain Alcohol so that I will lose consciousness for the duration of the surgery.



They had me count down backwards from 10, but I was out before I even got to 8!



My loyal friends Kate, Carl and Brad wait nervously in the waiting room.



Surgery begins. Under the expert care of Dr. Dan, I felt confident and hopeful that I was getting the best help available to me.





They had to drill a hole in my back in order to gain access to my insides.







The hole was uneven...



...so Dr. Dan used his precision instruments to create the perfect hole.





The next step was to fill my body with epoxy. This will make my entire body stronger.



Dr. Dan works on the epoxy mixture as I wait on the operating table.



Preparing for epoxy insertion.



Pouring the epoxy.



Epoxy got all over my skin and it was very uncomfortable.



Finally, the neck brace was removed.



I had to lie very still, waiting for the epoxy to dry.





First step on the road to recovery, Dr. Dan had to mix up a batch of flesh-colored superglue to heal my wounds.







Applying the superglue to my back.



Filing down the extra bits of glue.



Finally, I was starting to feel like myself again. I got to take a little rest before moving on with more procedures.



Once I was released from the intensive care unit, word hit the streets and the phone started ringing off the HOOK! All my friends wanted to know how I was doing. I couldn't talk for long, though. There were lots more procedures to endure.



First I had to give them a urine sample.



Next, I was adminstered vitamins and fluids intravenously.



Then I got shot after shot after shot.



Um, I don't want to talk about this one.



My scars were pretty horrendous, so I went to the scar treament center.



I underwent several rounds of laser surgery to reduce the appearance of my scars.




Finally I was done with all the required procedures! They bandaged me up and let me make one more round of phone calls.



And then I was free! They wheeled me out of the hospital in a wheelchair, and I was free to go!

Update

Update

Hey folks, this is Brad comin' at ya. Mr. Studlyhunk gave me his login/password information since they won't let him have his laptop at the hospital, and he knows you all are worried about him.

SO. The first round of surgery went really smoothly. Mr. Studlyhunk is doing well, and healing fast. He has one more less serious operation scheduled for this Sunday, and if that goes as well as we're hoping, he'll be home next week!

I have some pictures from the hospital that I'll try to put on here, if I can figure out how to do it. I'm not as tech-savvy as Mr. S, that's for sure!

Peace out,

Brad Schweiber

Bad News

You've probably been wondering where I've been lately. Apparently, when I was in Erie for Campstravaganza, I reinjured my shoulder. I really wasn't even DOING anything, it just happened. I figured I would just have to do some minor physical therapy exercises to heal it, and that would be that.

Well, I went to the doctor, and it turns out that things inside my arm are completely messed up. In order to fix it so that I can use it to live the active lifestyle I'm accustomed to, I am going to have to undergo major surgery.

They are thinking that they are going to have to AMPUTATE my arm and do a bunch of major reconstructive surgery inside. Then they'll stitch me back up, and I will have to wait for it to heal.

Now, I'm a brave man. And a strong man. But I'm not going to lie. I'm scared to death. This is MAJOR surgery. There is a chance I might not even make it out alive. I've been pretty depressed the past couple of weeks, and haven't been able to bring myself to blog about this until now.

So, there you have it. I go under the knife this weekend. Please send good vibes. I HAVE to be okay. I have to.

Campstravaganza Birthday Weekend

This weekend was my birthday! A bunch of my buddies were getting together for a camping weekend in Erie, PA. What a perfect way to celebrate my b-day! I drove up with Carl and Brad.

Here we are with Kate, Julie and Beth. Julie and I share the same birthday!



Brad with Anne and Beth!



Brad with Beth! He totally has a crush on her:



Me and Kate:



Me and Moss:



We played birthday games, including Pin the Tail on the Unicorn. Beth won, and I did pretty well myself!



Jenny hand-sewed this birthday card for me out of felt!



Look. Thirty-two candles!



On Saturday, we went to the beach. My favorite place of ALL.



Carl, Brad and I practiced some body building poses:



Goofing off in the sand:



We helped bury Moss in the sand, too:



Brad loves to bury his buddies:



I'm so glad everyone could make it out to help me celebrate my birthday!

Darts

Tonight I headed out for awhile to play some darts. I didn't take very many pictures, but I did get this great shot of me in front of the board:

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

This weekend I cruised through Detroit to wish Ryan a happy birthday. It was a pretty wild afternoon party, with softball and volleyball! Also lots of great grilled food.

Here I am cracking Summer up on the hammock:



And here I am with Ryan! Happy birthday, dude!