Who am I?
Who am I?
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My name is Thomas Magnuson, I am 34 years old and live in Portland Oregon. I enjoy watching all kinds of sports. My favorite is basketball and I am a huge Portland Trail Blazers fan.
In my spare time I enjoy movies, TV shows, learning anything new, making connections, meeting new people and hanging out with friends.
Currently I'm a student at the PDX Code guild. I also have a Brachial Plexus Injury (BPI) and made this site to bring awareness to these injuries!
What Happened?
What Happened?
On September 19th 2017, I was riding my bicycle at night to visit a friend. I remember that traffic seemed pretty busy. After moving past a car, I recall letting go of my brakes to coast downhill. It was smooth sailing when all of the sudden everything went dark. At this time that my memories stop and I recall a very long trance-like state.
When I awoke I was asked if I knew where I was.
I did not.
Then they asked if I knew what day it was.
I did not.
Next my Mom came by and blurted excitedly, "Tom! Tom!! Who's the President of the United States?!"
I murmured, "Donald Trump."
To which she responded, "Oh, he's fine."
Unfortunately I wasn't.
I had a broken clavicle, broken ribs, lacerated organs, a zygomatic bone (cheekbone) fracture, an orbital fracture, my knee had been stitched and I was having trouble focusing my eyesight.
Sometimes life has these moments that seem scripted like a movie. In this scene the hospital staff informs me that I hit a dumpster while I was traveling downhill likely at around 35 mph. I glanced at the paperwork and saw they coined the ordeal "Man Vs. Dumpster". My heart sunk pretty deep. Even more terrifying I couldn't move or feel my fingers at all. The doctors and nurses tried to explain that I possibly stretched my brachial plexus and had me believing it would only be temporary. The truth was that I had a traumatic brachial plexus injury and a traumatic brain injury. I was very scared and confused.
The staff at OHSU was amazing however and did everything they could to treat me and help me π€
Still at Large
Those first few days were terrifying. I even pulled the chest tube out of my side once and tried running off! Fortunately the staff was able to corral me back since I had no idea where I was going and how I would get there.
Now, I'm a big guy.... (6'8" 250 lbs.) I could have easily fallen and hurt myself...again! Or even someone else! I had on a hospital gown along with an eye patch! With that disguise I wasn't getting very far. Meanwhile, I'm walking around with brain damage and a limp arm asking everyone where the exit was. Restraints to my bed and staples in my side were the prognosis for the safety of everyone. I tried my best to be good the rest of the stay π
When I left the hospital two weeks later, to my surprise, the doctors were lined up across the hallway. They were all smilesπ¨πΌββοΈπ©π½ββοΈπ¨π»ββοΈπ©πΎββοΈ
"We are so pleased with your outcome!" Was their message. It was early in my journey and I already felt that I'd be left to figure this out on my own.
When I got home from the hospital I really struggled to do basic life without the use of my dominant arm. I had also been removed from the computer programming school I was enrolled in. Deep down I wanted to keep coding but I was a wreck. The abnormal pain started to get worse; I had also been given a bunch of oxycodone and a ton of gabapentin. I had some dark times. With my traumatic brain injury and all the confusion I had, it's a miracle I kept it together. The experts were continuing to tell me to wait longer for my nerves to heal. Setting up appointments and making any decisions during this time was very difficult. Just being on the phone was very hard. I would spend hours trying to get answers with little to no help. Doctor's appointments caused more anxiety than anything else. I started to think maybe I should just cut off my arm. I was being encouraged to be my own advocate and I had no idea what to do.
Four months went by and I knew I needed to get help. While scrolling through Facebook, reading about my friends New Year's resolutions and various life changes, I decided to post just how I was feeling. Thankfully many friends responded.
One answer was from a friend who had married a naturopath some years prior and was feeling compassionate towards my situation. They blessed me with prolozone therapy and I decided to start a GoFundMe to finance my prolozone treatments, this was my best shot at saving my arm.
For the next couple months I studied regenerative injection therapies and research studies. I had also considered stem cells at this time but, it seemed almost like science fiction. I decided the right thing to do was to try and repair the problem through surgery. In hindsight maybe I rushed this decision and was only listening to what I wanted to hear.
In February I chose to have an operation to do a nerve transfer. My surgeon said I was looking at "poor results at best." When the team was prepping me they marked one of my legs since they were planning to take from there to repair my avulsed nerves. Upon awakening, I had two black x's on my ankles and neither had been operated on. I asked why and they informed me they decided to take nerve tissue from behind my shoulder as opposed to the leg. The idea was not to negatively effect another part of the body if possible.
After surgery I was required to keep my sling on all day, every day for the next three weeks. Whether I was sleeping or showering I had to wear it.
For the nine months following the accident I had very minimal contact with people even my own family felt distant. I required help with meals; And so I would see them then. I wasn't doing much with my time since I could barely walk with the constant pain. I would watch movies or tv shows and visit an occasional friend on the weekend. By mid-June I needed something to change. Thankfully I was able to re-enroll in school and continue my pursuit of breaking into tech.
After more prolozone treatments, I was recommended to talk to a different regenerative medicine doctor. It was then that I began researching stem cells and found people within medicine speaking about them confidently. I started asking more questions with my naturopath. He informed me that he could perform a stem cell procedure. When he explained mesenchymal stem cells and how they can become any type of cell they come in contact with, I got excited. After much convincing, my family decided to finance the venture.
The procedure was similar to prolozone therapy. When the stem cells were administered I could actually taste them as weird as that sounds!
The amazing thing though is that after a short time my head has felt clearer. I know some patients can experience placebo effect after stem cells so I have tried to keep realistic expectations. This past week though I have started flexing the muscle in my upper arm!!! πͺπΌ
It is very weak and fatigues easily. I really feel things are getting better! I want to do another procedure in 3 to 6 months. Unfortunately, my family doesn't feel the same way and things have come between us. Now, I am fighting harder than ever. If I am going to be able to give others going through this any kind of hope I have to find a successful solution. I have faith in stem cells, they have come a long way!
I have GoFundMe where I hope to raise enough money to fund my second stem cell treatment and then God willing, to help others afford these treatments as well. I have hope and a persevering attitude that God will provide a miracle!
Here is an edited video of my friends and I having a sit-down dinner conversation about my current situation. The plan is that I can overcome the BPI and bring awareness to this terrible condition. I would also like to utilize my programming education to create a better resource for others that fall victim to this injury.
Thank you for stopping by, I worked hard on this and hope it provides awareness and a better understanding for victims and their friends and family members! If you feel led to donate Click Here! ππ½β€οΈππ½β€οΈππ½ God Bless you!!!
Any feedback? Want to send a note? Email me!
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