"Down Goes Frazier"

I needed to get my RV to Jacksonville for some much-needed warranty repairs. My brother and brother n law both agreed to assist me in getting it there. My brother drove with his Jeep in tow for our return transportation. I enjoyed being in the passenger seat with heavy eyelids due to all the medication I was required to take. Two long blinks later and the next thing I know, we were arriving in Jacksonville to drop off the RV at camping world.

We then went to stay the night with my sister. It was a calm and quiet evening with the family when a walk to the bathroom turned once again into a nightmare. As I walked I felt myself weakening, as the ground began to shake, I lowered myself down to my knees and hands and that’s about all I remember. I woke soiled in my own urine feeling confused, angry, and embarrassed but what was I to do? After getting myself all cleaned up This would end my night but the nightmare was long from over.

The following morning was our planned return from Jacksonville back to Atlanta. Before our departure, my brother decided to stop by Wet Wheels Car Wash, owned by my brother n law, to have his Jeep detailed. All was going well as we sat down, talked, laughed, and waited. Sometime later the Jeep was all cleaned up and it was time to hit the road, I headed to the porta-john. I stepped inside the porta-john and noticed that it was not in the cleanest conditions, therefore, I started to limit my touching. I didn't even lock the door behind me. As I unzipped, once again to my surprise, the unexpected happened. I passed out falling flat back through the porta-john door. I landed flat on my back eyes dazed toward the sky with private body parts exposed.

I was out but I still was aware of what was going on. It was a mind-out-of-body experience. One of the car wash workers came to my aid to help me to my feet. I can only imagine not knowing my medical condition the worker probably assumed I was intoxicated or high as a kit of something other than over-the-counter pain pills. Nevertheless, my mission was incomplete, I stepped back into the porta-john only to pass back out the same way again. Through the door, Flat on my back eyes dazed towards the sky with private body parts exposed. I am not sure how I got up at that time. It must have been muscle memory or maybe just the urge to finish my incompleted business.

This time I recall actually attempting to urinate but began to fall back again. I felt the arms of

my brother telling me I got you as he held me up to finish. In this case, my brother literally had my back as he has had throughout my life.

After a long quiet ride back to Atlanta, I knew after the last incident it was time to seek further medical attention, so I immediately contacted my care team. I was advised to go through the emergency room. There, I would get IV after IV which eventually inflamed my bladder to the point, I was going every 10 minutes nonstop. They did more labs and somehow, we found out the cause of my passing out was due to sudden drops in my blood pressure. This was enough to be re-admitted to the stem cell transplant ward where I would spend another two weeks.

During this stay, there would be another major finding. A blood clot. Yes, in fact, two blood clots in my right leg. This would help to explain some of the pain I had been experiencing. It was also a relief to know that the medical staff now knows I was not drug-seeking after all. The neuropathy and the blood clot combination would be enough to drive anyone's pain level through the roof.

Over the next two weeks, Doctors struggled to find answers as to why my blood pressure was dropping and how to control it. Meanwhile, I would have two more passing-out incidents with the final one being the scariest of all. During this time my mother was in the hospital room staying as my caretaker. I got up to use the restroom as I stood to urinate, I dropped instantly over the toilet. My 82-year-old mother instantly reacted after hearing a loud thump as she slid and fell across the slippery hospital floor. She would then crawl her way toward my limp body. I could hear her screaming my name but at the moment I could not respond.

She screamed for medical assistance as she pulled the emergency alert string in the bathroom. In a matter of seconds, we were surrounded by a room full of hospital staff. "Mr. Styles! Mr. Styles!" is what I heard as my senses returned. “I am okay,” I said. My mother thanked God for that moment for she had feared she had lost her son.

The hospital staff now would take every precaution which in some instances was extremely annoying, but I realized the liability factor and accepted they were doing their jobs. I was confined to the bed with a bed alarm that would go off if I got up without the staff present. They demanded I have assistance when moving around. The possibility of me falling while taking the blood thinner, that was prescribed for my blood clots, combined with my low platelet count was life-threatening. The risk of internal or external bleeding was too high to take any chances.

Fortunately, the doctors found an answer by placing me on medication to keep my blood pressure up. What I would later find out is that after a person urinates, their blood pressure and heart rate can drop. In my case, my blood pressure was dropping extremely low.

So, I stayed in the hospital to be observed. Days later I would be released to go home to continue my fight with a serial killer.

Sincerely,

Rick

Glad to see you come, Glad to see you go!