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What
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The 5th of December 2004 was the day everything changed for Ben (aka Pez). The day started like every other day. It was a sunny Sunday just before lunch. Ben was playing with his son when he got a tremendous headache and double vision out of nowhere. He went upstairs to lie down and told his partner (Jess). She went down stairs to tell his mother and when they came up, Ben was unconscious and purple. They both performed CPR and called the ambulance.
Upon arrival at Sutherland hospital, Ben had another massive attack and was moved to ICU at St. George hospital where he remained for 21 days. In that time he wore an ice jacket because of the extreme temperature rise and his inability to control his body temperature. The doctors had to drill two holes in his head to release the pressure build up around his brain. A trachy was inserted to aid his breathing which made communication extremely difficult.
A blood vessel in his brain stem had not formed properly at birth, causing it to burst. Its technical name is Arterial Venus Malfunction or AVM. Survival rate for this is very low.
After 21 days he was moved to the High Dependency Unit for a week then on to the neuro ward where he woke up and was told the extent of his condition. He was paralysed and numb on the right side of his body and left side of his face. His left eye has very poor vision; he is deaf in his left ear and has no balance at all.
He was in the neuro ward for a further 12 days and in that time he got his speech back and some limited movement in his arms and legs. He was then moved to the rehab ward where he stayed for the next 2 and half months. He had to learn everything again from scratch like talking, walking, eating, using cutlery, the list goes on.
Half way through his stay the doctors discovered that fluid was building up around his brain and was moved to Prince of Wales hospital where they inserted a shunt (a valve from the brain to the stomach). He was there for a week, then back to St. George to finish rehab. On release from St. George he had some movement back in his right side. The numbness still continues and he still has no balance causing him to use a wheel chair or walking frame for mobility.
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