Limbs or your life? The hardest decision Mick O’Dowd ever faced | Australian Story (update)

foreign [Music] it's hard to describe quickly really the last few years so mind-blowing really that this only happened over a couple of days come on in Catherine hi when Mick got sick we were all so shocked yeah they do know everybody knows now that you could be a robust healthy guy one minute and something can knock you down so quickly everyone's slowly knocking their head around it your mum's pretty confused but I guess it will become pretty clear after the surgery I hadn't really understood how sick he was and that he was getting sick off the doctors said he's got a very slim chance of making it through this we had to make a decision that would change our lives forever the other option is not to go through with it and not stay with us I really thought to myself if there's any chance at all Mick is the one who'll take that chance and fight and he really did I love you Catherine she's a special person the doctors aren't here right now but I'm going to write down your questions I don't think anybody else would have had the love for somebody that she had for him it's going to be pretty different but we'll get that we'll get through it I couldn't think of anything that compares to this any other illness I'd ever heard of a few minutes can be the difference between life and death and the frightening thing is it can happen without anyone realizing there's a big problem at all [Music] [Applause] one of the biggest things I think when I got out of hospital I didn't really know what life was going to be like what would I be able to do this big thing to learn that I'm still the same person just I can't do the things I used to do but a lot of still enjoyable like I still have my friends got my family we still do things together we've adjusted to the way life is and it's just our life now it's just a normal life Mick and I met 11 years ago we met through internet dating actually and Mick was the first person they matched me up with I just felt really comfortable around her she didn't mind me having a few beers which was good go to watch the rugby or watch sport together which is Cricket she's really into a cricket says her father so that was good we pretty much hit it off I thought it was a really interesting guy very active very fit he was into scuba diving cycling and tinkering with cars Mick's background is as a fitter and Turner he went on to do mechanical engineering and I'm an architect and urban designer Catherine and Mick had a fairly short courtship and in short order they were living together and Amelia came along very soon after [Music] I'd describe them as a I guess in lots of ways a typical family they had two kids Mick was busy working Catherine was busy working they were doing the juggle getting on with things getting on with life [Music] in December 2018 we were coming to the end of a busy year leading up to Christmas that that 2018 Christmas I had a lot of pain in my right glute and I put it down to cycling because I used to do a lot of cycling and the pain felt like I'm deep muscle pain like I'd pulled a muscle Mick had a bit of a cartwrights we didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary at that stage it was David the family over and I remember being outside in the barbecue and I just really hot and uncomfortable it was a super busy day because we had the whole family here [Music] none of the things that you normally do for muscle pain were really helping so we didn't really know what to do about it you know it just seemed to be getting worse and worse and then that night the pain just became excruciating and I had to go to the emergency department I couldn't see any other way of getting out of the pain there weren't many staff on being Christmas night was pretty slow a nurse came out to see him while while he was waiting because he was in so much pain he was actually moaning with pain and the doctor after examining Mick said that he thought it was sciatica they gave me some endone for the pain which didn't really do anything for the pain it was still pretty intense and then I got discharged at about 7am on boxing day [Music] walk properly so it was surprising um to me that that he was sent home like that [Music] the children had been given karaoke microphones as one of their Christmas presents and they made a dreadful noise remember Mick walking in the front door and saying tap please take those things out in the backyard I have to go and lie down I have to go back to bed and at that time I thought he's not okay and then I just went downhill from there and that's pretty much I don't have many memories of that point on finally I said we've just got to go back to the hospital [Music] on the drive back from the medical center to the hospital Mick said I feel like I'm dying the triage nurse saw him straight away his blood pressure was low his heart rate was high and his breathing was starting to be shallow the point that I realized things were getting really serious was when Mick was moved around from the emergency area into the resuscitation Ward and all of a sudden there was an influx of people buzzing around him they eventually made the decision that he needed to be transferred to a bigger hospital with an intensive care I was totally stunned the day before Mick had been at home cooking a roast for Christmas Mick was transferred from Canterbury hospital to Concord Hospital here in Sydney with a critical illness known as sepsis sepsis can happen from food poisoning it can happen from viral infections it can happen from anything at all sepsis is just the condition of the infection spreading throughout the body and affecting multiple organs a mixed infection was taken hold very quickly so we had to work fast because the infection was racing his body was shutting down so the Intensive Care Unit had medications at doses which are virtually unheard of an extraordinary concentrations of those basically pouring into him to provide him life support foreign at that stage I was in the waiting room with my mum and Mick's dad and we didn't know what was happening [Music] and the next thing the two people that took him in the ambulance they came into the room and the first words they said was he's still hanging in there it freaked me out I was absolutely shattered when I seen him you know it was tubes out of everywhere there was Banks and machines around them the doctors explained that the initial infection in mixed muscles was strep a myositis so strep a is just a very common bug it would have started most likely with a throat infection somehow that had made it into mixed bloodstream and had attacked his muscles which was myositis that in turn led to septic shock and multiple organ failure he was fighting for his life at that stage your body starts to react to that infection it actually starts to overreact you start losing blood flow to your extremities and then that actual part of your body starts to die off Mick survive the first night he beat the odds but he was still unconscious and each day was a bit of a lottery [Music] the doctors had said it's only going to be something like 50 percent what we can do the other 50 is going to be Mick and a large part of that is going to be the Family Support especially you Catherine she was there egging him on with every fiber of her being I knew how much she loved him and how important it was to her that he live you know and here he was he was still unconscious at this stage I remember driving home framing in my mind how I'd have the conversations with the kids about what was happening big changes were happening and they needed to be part of that and they needed to understand really um why I couldn't answer the question is daddy going to be all right I I just couldn't no point in time did we think it was hopeless he kept on responding in small incremental amounts and he is such an incredibly fit and resilient person that his body wanted to fight so using that fighting Spirit we never gave up by New Year's Day Mick had already had several surgeries to remove dead muscle and the positive side was that on New Year's Day he came out of his coma son it felt like a miracle that is really really tired all right and so we'll say night night Daddy I remember waking up thinking where am I Catherine want to say oh I had no idea Catherine's psycho you're awake I had absolutely no idea what was happening at all I was just thinking survival yeah that's it yeah I just remember thinking all I've got to do is breathe at one stage he had a tear down his cheek but yeah he had a fair idea of what was going on that's good very good Michael I just remember looking at my hands and just thinking I can't see how this is going to work out like they were completely black and withered and then the rest yeah the medical team started having conversations with us about the possibility of amputations mixed limbs were dying and he was using masses of energy to keep the limbs alive we don't want to imputate it's not what we're there for especially of a young Faith healthy father with the family and a career behind it but if he wants to survive then we need to do very aggressive things [Music] that Mick would need to have both his arms and legs amputated I was struggling to understand what that would mean and what kind of life he would have I had a little bit of time of being really angry and resentful I can still remember being at the park with the kids and looking at the other dads carrying their kids and playing and I thought deserves that it's not fair and it isn't but you know there's there's really nothing to be gained from hanging on to that and um not going to be angry at every person that's got two legs and as luck would have it I came across a Blog by Matthew Ames when I was 39 my life changed starting as a sore throat I had contracted a streptococcal infection that resulted in septic shock and the loss of all four of my limbs they gave me about a one percent chance of getting through the surgery but luckily I made it I'm here today and you know it's been quite a long process but here I am he lost all four Limbs and he had a young family he's also an engineer and the parallels Were Striking and on his blog he has pictures of himself with his children post amputations and he's smiling it was so important to me to see [Music] just that having been through that um he was happy thank you every once in a while we get this you know out of the blue contact from somebody who is in a similar situation to me and basically I reached out to Catherine and ended up having a chat to her on the phone while Mick was still in intensive care it sounds like it's going to be a lot of hard work but I know you can do it the amputations had to be done and so they said let's get it done and get on with it and stop this sickness that's in Nick's body you know so you understand about the different amputations and what has to happen okay she was very much determined that her husband will survive this and it doesn't matter what the outcome is it will be positive he's got these kids and they love him and I was impressed but also scared because I have seen it many times before and sometimes it goes well but sometimes it doesn't [Music] Mick had all four amputations done in one surgery [Music] but the amputations turned out to be the easiest bit are you ready go Meek that's it good job they had to use mixed remaining healthy skin as donor sites for harvesting new skin that period was just difficult so painful all right Thomas and Amelia let's go to looking forward to seeing you again on the weekend have a good day bye-bye I didn't leave ICU for probably five and a half six months didn't move from that room unless I was going for a scan a test or a surgery [Music] he said it felt good he said you can draw on his leg we were just waiting for Mick to turn the corner oh you can felt like months I love Dad oh there'd be one step forward sometimes two steps back a bit more recovery to a heady Mick [Music] you're doing this like a prize well I feel much better I've just had a big surgery on my back brisking where I feel the pain is much better so everything's all cleaned up for me [Music] once the back grafting got done that's when I started to feel much much like infinitely better like day on day I just felt myself getting stronger [Music] thank you very much is a very emotional day leaving Concord because I've been given such great care there I wanted to make sure that they're all aware of how well they looked after me thanks thanks really appreciate it it's a social media I think it's fantastic without your help so it's an exciting day it's the first step of the next phase now Mick was just saying a moment ago he feels like he's just reached base camp so now he's got to climb the mountain well done after eight months in hospital it was a huge moment going through those doors but of course Mick then had to go straight on to a rehab hospital okay Mick I'm gonna get you to go down onto your left elbow and then we'll move on to rolls okay rehab's pretty intensive Place enough you have a choice you can either Focus over on those things that you can't do or you can focus on the things that you can do [Music] the entire purpose is just to get a little bit better every day so in the morning I'd wake up then into the wheelchair and then off to Physio it's about the control sort of passing out from one hand to another yeah well done that's good while still staying positive and then by the time December came around I was fit enough physically fit enough that I could come home I've been trialing various Prosthetics I don't know what I'll end up using but I'm sure I'll get the right one for me yeah good to see you and look what I've got I have regular conversations with Matthew yeah it's pretty funny when I take it up to school because I'm like a rock star it's in a physical and emotional challenge for me and my family and just knowing that Matthew's got through it and his family just gives us a lot of hope that we'll be the same I took your lead on that one I mean they say for an average amputation it takes about two years for people to go through the whole process and find a new normal so given that we've got four limbs it should take us eight years I reckon but I think it probably took me about five I'll just keep progressing until I get to those other things and that's what I'm taking it at the moment have you done much with the sepsis Foundation this year uh it's been interesting it's been really busy Matthew's been talking to us about the awareness raising work he's been doing with the sepsis Network which is a group of doctors who really want to get the message out to the community and medical workers that sepsis can be prevented you know particularly with covert you know a lot of people who actually pass away from sepsis oh yeah there's more than 55 000 cases in Australia every year resulting in well over 7 000 deaths actually causes more deaths than some of the common cancers that people have heard about breast cancer prostate cancer and heart attack so it's absolutely critical that we recognize sepsis we diagnose it and we start treatment within the first hour problem with sepsis is there is no definitive diagnostic test the signs are things like rapid breathing rapid heart rate muscle aches and pains shivering and shaking mental confusion with hindsight knowing how quickly mixed deteriorated um those hours that he could have been in hospital from the time when he first went on Christmas night I think would have been critical and understanding how sepsis works and the treatment is simple with affluids and antibiotics um if he'd have received that treatment straight away the first time he went to hospital things could have been different what is needed is training and changing the mindset of people in the same way that we have changed our approach to heart attack and stroke that is what will make a difference the recognition and Rapid treatment of sepsis has to be rolled out across the entire Health Care system it's a very big problem in Australia and I wasn't aware of it until it happened to me if you're not feeling well you have to go and see a doctor because I was feeling unwell and it was a different type of unwell and I've never felt like that before go to emergency department or go see a doctor straight away because the sooner you can get to it the better off you'll be mix come so far in a relatively short time you know we still have quite a few challenges but we have a way of working through them and I'm I feel really positive about that [Music] it's been four years since I've got sick and I I can't believe it that I'm actually going sailing today and I sail the boat solo it's a beautiful spot in Sydney right near the harbor and it's absolutely incredible I can go out and sell this boat all by myself in the early days when Mick first came home from hospital and was adjusting to this new life he was really missing the ability to get out on the water and take part in those kind of activities and then through a family friend I discovered solubility that's a volunteer group who take people with any disability sailing I need assistance to get into the boat but once I'm in the boat I'm independent and I'm sailing the boat which I never thought I'd be able to do it's such an amazing feeling out here because I've got total independence of what I'm doing and it's just so enjoyable [Music] I always got pretty confident that he would find his way to a level of Independence Mick has a lot of jobs in our family routine he's usually the one to pick the kids up from school well I know there were eight sorry so we got to sit wherever we were oh really that's great making the carer go together usually care is the one who drives mixed learning but we haven't yet got a vehicle that Mick can drive himself he's the one who takes them to taekwondo and to music and all of the things that they do in the afternoon it really frees up Catherine to have a normal life go to work and do things and with the kids they've just adjusted to this is the way I am I'm in the wheelchair I just see our family now as a normal family there's a lot of parents out there with disabilities I guess I can tell when Rick's having a down day when he's you know a bit more quiet than usual and maybe seems to be giving up on things a little more easily than usual but those down days aren't very common so does the whole school go to go to they might be able to make it but I doubt it I don't think fully adjusted I don't know if we ever will to this new Norm he's not independent and he needs someone with him pretty much all the time I know he feels incredibly frustrated and sometimes overwhelmingly sad about what's happened anyone's been through major trauma would have this and then it's just learning to accept these things and I've been given quite a few tools with psychologists of how to work through days state of mind has been something that's been a learning curve for all of us really for Mick but also for me in our relationship and I'm getting better at reading where he's at and knowing um the signs of you know when he might be having a hard time and and how to help with that [Music] it's definitely been a relief to Mick to find that he can still have fun doing things on the water or in the water he had quite a long time of feeling really bored first time I got in the pool and I was a bit nervous because you just don't know once you lose your arms and legs because you don't know how you're going to float and you don't realize when you float how many muscles you use in your body to keep yourself upright or aligned back to flat on your back once I've got the hang of swimming it's yeah it's fantastic yeah I started swimming so hopefully one day I can get back into scuba dive you know I'm working towards that goal and hopefully the next couple of months I'll be able to do it in a pool it's the enjoyment of doing some exercise also too a bit of Independence actually doing something independently can you show me a happy dance like you're having a Bowl come on Mick found us I had no idea he was a quadruple amputee he had just messaged me to say he was interested in coming to the scuba gym to get back into diving and and then said oh by the way I'm a quadruple amputee [Music] come let's do it one here we go scuba diving to me five years ago it was a big part of my life I didn't think I'd actually get to do it again I think the way it's turned out in some ways is better than I feared but there's still progress to make for me sometimes I feel I've made no progress because I still require a lot of help but then when I reflect on it and look at the things I can do now I think I've come a long way so yeah Life's good right spending there's a bit more depth in this pool that's all [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: ABC News In-depth

Views: 28,988

Keywords: abc news, australian news, abc news indepth, documentaries, long-form journalism, Australian Story, Mick ODowd, Australian story Full episodes, sepsis, sepsis shock, sepsis symptoms, blood poisoning, concord hospital sydney, sepsis (disease or medical condition), systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Id: SCyTqL3jPZU

Length: 29min 52sec (1792 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 10 2023