pacificgal
Rest in Peace...
Hi everyone,
This is my first post here, but some of you may have already heard about me.
10/09/04 I was involved in a diving accident at Monastery Beach in Monterey, CA.
I know that some of you were praying for me, and I wanted to first thank you all for your support.
I really don't know what happened that day, the last thing I remembered was driving to Monterey that morning to dive at Monastery with a couple buddies that I had been diving with before, and the next thing I knew it was 2 months later and I was in ICU on a ventilator in a hospital in Monterey.
Apparently my heart stopped while I was in the water, and as a result I nearly drowned, and would have if it hadn't been for my very experienced dive buddies.
I may not have been brilliant to try and dive Monastery, but at least I was doing it with experienced guys who could save my life, and did that day.
I had to have a chest tube put in to get the sand and water from my lungs, all my organ systems shut down, liver was damaged, I got infections on just about every organ you can name, and was put into a drug induced coma for a couple months.
I had Last Rites 3 times during this period, and my husband and my son were called in to say their goodbyes. My parents came, my sister came, they sat at my bedside and prayed, and somehow I made it through. Medicine can't explain my recovery, I attribute it to God. I became aware of my surroundings in December, and was transferred to a hospital in San Jose for rehabilation. I was so weak I couldn't do a thing for myself, couldn't lift my hands or my legs, couldn't roll over, and was still on the ventilator. My recovery was incredible, I started working out with rubber bands the same week I woke from the coma, I knew that physical therapy was the only way I was going to be able to get home. I worked and worked and worked, had physical therapy and occupational therapy about 6 times a day, and was released from the hospital on February 8, 2005, 4 months after this whole thing started.
I still suffer from kidney failure and am on the transplant list at Stanford. My liver has totally recovered and I can walk without a wheelchair or a walker. I still undergo dialysis twice a week and will have to continue that until I get a new kidney.
My life has totally changed as a result of this, for the better. What I learned is that life is so short, and so precious, and you really have to LIVE your life. Appreciate the things you have around you, appreciate your family and friends, the ability to feel sunlight on your face or enjoy the ocean air.
Some may think I am crazy but I think you all probably understand...I LOVE diving, and chose to continue to dive. Since my accident I have done 8 dives, 4 in Monterey (Breakwater, MacAbee and off the Monterey Express) last September and I did 4 dives in Cabo San Lucas last October. For Christmas I got a new dive computer and a really cool dive light, so I will be ready to dive again this spring. I had to buy all new gear, of course, as most of mine was lost at sea.
You have to do what you love else you aren't living your life. Thank you for all your prayers.
-Kristina
This is my first post here, but some of you may have already heard about me.
10/09/04 I was involved in a diving accident at Monastery Beach in Monterey, CA.
I know that some of you were praying for me, and I wanted to first thank you all for your support.
I really don't know what happened that day, the last thing I remembered was driving to Monterey that morning to dive at Monastery with a couple buddies that I had been diving with before, and the next thing I knew it was 2 months later and I was in ICU on a ventilator in a hospital in Monterey.
Apparently my heart stopped while I was in the water, and as a result I nearly drowned, and would have if it hadn't been for my very experienced dive buddies.
I may not have been brilliant to try and dive Monastery, but at least I was doing it with experienced guys who could save my life, and did that day.
I had to have a chest tube put in to get the sand and water from my lungs, all my organ systems shut down, liver was damaged, I got infections on just about every organ you can name, and was put into a drug induced coma for a couple months.
I had Last Rites 3 times during this period, and my husband and my son were called in to say their goodbyes. My parents came, my sister came, they sat at my bedside and prayed, and somehow I made it through. Medicine can't explain my recovery, I attribute it to God. I became aware of my surroundings in December, and was transferred to a hospital in San Jose for rehabilation. I was so weak I couldn't do a thing for myself, couldn't lift my hands or my legs, couldn't roll over, and was still on the ventilator. My recovery was incredible, I started working out with rubber bands the same week I woke from the coma, I knew that physical therapy was the only way I was going to be able to get home. I worked and worked and worked, had physical therapy and occupational therapy about 6 times a day, and was released from the hospital on February 8, 2005, 4 months after this whole thing started.
I still suffer from kidney failure and am on the transplant list at Stanford. My liver has totally recovered and I can walk without a wheelchair or a walker. I still undergo dialysis twice a week and will have to continue that until I get a new kidney.
My life has totally changed as a result of this, for the better. What I learned is that life is so short, and so precious, and you really have to LIVE your life. Appreciate the things you have around you, appreciate your family and friends, the ability to feel sunlight on your face or enjoy the ocean air.
Some may think I am crazy but I think you all probably understand...I LOVE diving, and chose to continue to dive. Since my accident I have done 8 dives, 4 in Monterey (Breakwater, MacAbee and off the Monterey Express) last September and I did 4 dives in Cabo San Lucas last October. For Christmas I got a new dive computer and a really cool dive light, so I will be ready to dive again this spring. I had to buy all new gear, of course, as most of mine was lost at sea.
You have to do what you love else you aren't living your life. Thank you for all your prayers.
-Kristina
). 
