My name is Ty Kiser, I am a 20 year old college student at Murray State University in Tishomingo Ok. I am obtaining my associate degree in Agricultural Leadership. I have tried to add pictures to this story but i have no idea how. However if there are any questions to the truth to my story please feel free to google my name because i have done several news stories about what happened to me including several for the OBI to encourage people to donate blood.
My dealing with hospitals all began when i was in fifth grade, I remember sitting down in the doctors waiting room with my little brother while my mom and dad when back to meet with the doctor. My dads father passed away in 2009 from colon cancer. My dad was diagnosed in 2005 with stage 4 colon cancer. He went to M.D. Anderson in Houston Tx and had 60 percent of his colon removed he underwent chemo and the cancer sadly metastasized to his lungs in 2010 and he was at home until he passed away in April from the cancer but he never gave up on life and never let his disease keep him down.
Exactly one year and two months after my dad passed away two of my friends and myself decided to go hunting raccoons around 11 p.m. at night in the woods behind my house. We were headed back to my house and my friend had a 22 rifle over his shoulder and he bumped it and it just went off and shot me in the chest. One friend stayed with me and kept me awake while my other friend sprinted to my house about half a mile away to let my mom know what had happened. My mom called 911 and they sent an ambulance to pick me up but we live 5 miles from town in the country and she decided not to even wait on the ambulance so they put me in the backseat of a truck and drove my straight to the hospital. Once I arrived at the ER in sulphur they called for Med Flight to rush me to OU medical center in Oklahoma City since it has the only Level One trauma care in the state. The helicopter that was assigned for our area was actually working a car wreck at the time so they had to send a different unit and it took over two hours……way longer than i was supposed i be there. My mom actually met the people that were in that wreck later on at the hospital and sadly the man had passed away but she was able to meet his wife.
The Dr. that started care for me while i was waiting on the helicopter to arrive was a trauma doctor in dallas and she moonlights in sulphur occasionally once a month and it was no coincidence she was there to care for me that night. If she hadn’t started a chest tube on me and given me 6 units of blood i wouldn’t of survived the helicopter ride. Once i arrived at OU Medical center i was taken into surgery immediately and was in surgery for 12 hours while the doctors attempted to save my lung, however it was too torn up from the bullet to save it. I was given over 60 units of blood while in surgery because they could not stop the bleeding. Finally they took my lung to save my life. I only had a one percent chance of surviving my injury and was under critical care for the first three weeks before doctors gave my mom any hope. I was in a coma for 30 days and spent a total of 59 days in the ICU receiving around 100 units of blood total.
I also received a blood transfusion, kidney dialysis, and had pneumonia. I recovered from my accident which happened my freshman year of high school and my senior year the doctors actually released me to play football again. I had played since the fourth grade and even though i had to sit out for two years with my injury it felt so good to be able to play again. I have went and met with some people at the Oklahoma Blood Institute and helped get the word out about the importance of blood donation when they got critically low on supplies and i know without it i wouldn’t be here today. My family also set up several blood drives while i was in the hospital and at a blood banquet i even got to meet 3 of the people that donated blood to me. Blood helped save my life and ill always be thankful for it and the people that took time out of their day to donate blood to save lives. I hope you enjoyed reading my story and i really enjoy sharing it.