In a Manx Sound Exchange special, we recall events in April, when the musical community banded together to raise money for popular Port Erin guitarist Dave Lang, who had fallen seriously ill in Croatia. Dave tells his story in his own words
---------------
The gist of the story was that I had fallen seriously ill in Zadar, Croatia, and had to undergo emergency surgery. My family faced mounting medical bills so Lenny Conroy of Triskel Promotions organised a fundraising gig at Port Erin’s The Bay, featuring many of the island’s musicians. The gig raised over £1,000 to support my family and me.
During my recovery my younger daughter, who had made an announcement about me at that gig, brought a copy of the April 29 Isle of Man Examiner with her when she next visited me, and I was immensely moved by the level of support I’d been given by Manx people. The story of the fundraising gig was even covered in the Croatian press, which I discovered later.
This is an outline of what happened at the time of my surgery and since.
I was suddenly taken ill at the home of my Croatian partner, Marinela Djakovic in the evening of April 17 and taken by ambulance to Zadar Hospital. By sheer good fortune the admitting doctor recognised the symptoms as Type A Aortic Dissection; the rupture of the abdominal aorta. This is relatively rare, extremely dangerous, and potentially life-threatening, requiring immediate surgery. Mortality is very high – many patients don’t even survive the journey to a hospital!
The nearest hospital with the necessary skills is Firule in Split, a three-hour ambulance journey. I was immediately transferred there and by the early hours of April 18 I was in surgery. The surgeons in Split told Marinela I had only a one per cent chance of survival! I was clinically dead three times during surgery but recovered each time, to the amazement of the surgeons and nurses. The operation lasted 17 hours; my aorta and the aortic valve at the top of my chest were completely reconstructed.
After the surgery I spent several days hooked up to a respirator and dialysis, and the surgeons didn’t know whether or not my brain had been affected by the loss of oxygen. Marinela stayed nearby throughout, and my two daughters travelled to Split so they would be with me when I came round. My elder daughter, Amelia, is a student at Salford University and my younger daughter, Elise, lives and works in the Isle of Man. They were the first people I saw when I regained consciousness – and thank God I hadn’t suffered brain damage! I recognised them, I could talk, and I was in one piece – although at that stage I had no idea where I was or what had happened to me.
The rest of the story is just as dramatic. The surgeons described my survival as miraculous, I was known as ‘the miracle man’. However, I had a huge shock two weeks after surgery when my physiotherapist tried to get me to stand up for the first time, and I realised I couldn’t. I was so weak and I was also having problems with many of my motor functions – I couldn’t co-ordinate. This was normal because of the length and type of surgery, as well as having had many blood transfusions during the operation.
I was transferred from Firule in Split to Zadar Hospital at the beginning of May to continue rehabilitation. I was finally discharged from Zadar Hospital at the end of May. I could still barely walk and I’d had to re-learn a lot of motor skills, e.g. brushing my teeth while standing up without falling over!
Gradually, thanks to great Croatian food and care from Marinela, regular visits to Zadar by my daughters and sister, and wonderful support from the many friends I’ve made in Zadar, I started to make good progress. I exercised regularly inside and outside our apartment, pushing myself to walk further every day. By the end of June I was able to walk reasonable distances, up to 3km (against medical advice, but I was pushing the limits). Every day I got stronger and by the beginning of August I was even able to ride my bicycle again – something I didn’t think I’d be able to do for many months. That enabled me to go back to parts of the Zadar coastline which I love but hadn’t seen since before my surgery.
I’m acutely aware that in spite of the great progress, I’m still at high risk. There is a danger the aortic dissection could recur at any time over the next two years, without warning, but since the surgery my whole philosophy has changed. Before, it was very easy to say ‘live for the moment’ without really appreciating its true meaning. Now, I am so grateful when I wake up every morning for having the chance to live another day; I know I’m living on borrowed time and I never take anything for granted. More than ever before, I always look on the good side of things now, not the bad. I hope that makes sense.
One more thing; I’m a musician and one of the things which really distressed me when I finally came out of hospital was that I was too weak to play guitar. However, some of my closest friends in Zadar are writers and musicians and two of them put gentle pressure on me to gradually start playing again. The crowning achievement of my recovery so far was when, on August 26, I played with these musicians in a nine-piece band in a short concert in the ninth century church of St Donatus. This church is the ‘symbol’ of Zadar so playing there meant so much to them and to me – a very special occasion, and a sign that I was well on the way to recovery.
The regular visits by my daughters played a key role and were only possible because of the fundraising gig at The Bay and financial support from friends in the Isle of Man, the UK and abroad.
Also, although insurance paid for the bulk of my medical fees I still had to find a percentage of the cost myself as well as paying for prescriptions. The surgery alone cost £10,000! I couldn’t have met those costs without help from the fund set up after the Bay gig as well as individual contributions. That support also helped me travel back to the island last week. I’d been told that I would never be able to fly on a commercial airline again because the change in pressure could damage the repaired aorta. However, a cardiologist I saw privately told me my heart was strong and healthy – which had undoubtedly been the reason I’d survived surgery which would have killed many people – so there was no reason why I could not fly. So last week I did. My elder daughter Amelia flew to Zadar to ‘collect’ me and bring me home as I’m not allowed to carry heavy bags! Again, the fund was absolutely invaluable in covering our travel expenses back to the island.
I would just like to say thank you to everyone who cared and helped us. Thank you to everyone who supported me and whose kindness helped me to recover against all the odds.