Jake Haendel

I would say from November-ish 2017 to February 2019, I stormed every day. The rapid change in body temperature was wild. I remember they were bringing in a team of like eight people. They're like, oh my God, we got to get this. Tim down, his brain is going to melt. They get me in a Hoyer lift. You know what a Hoyer lift is?

I would say from November-ish 2017 to February 2019, I stormed every day. The rapid change in body temperature was wild. I remember they were bringing in a team of like eight people. They're like, oh my God, we got to get this. Tim down, his brain is going to melt. They get me in a Hoyer lift. You know what a Hoyer lift is?

A Hoyer lift. If you're bed bound and can't be moved, it's like a pad that goes under you that has all these like tethers. And they bring this machine. It's almost like a human forklift.

A Hoyer lift. If you're bed bound and can't be moved, it's like a pad that goes under you that has all these like tethers. And they bring this machine. It's almost like a human forklift.

I'm like, save Willie. Free Willie.

I'm like, save Willie. Free Willie.

Free Jakey. They put me in a heating blanket. It was like ridiculous. And then I start to notice no one's really talking to me. Nurses, doctors would come in. Hi, I'm Dr. Harrell. I'm here to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Hi, I'm your nurse, Jan. How you doing today? I'm here to change your IV. All that stopped. And people would come in and work and they wouldn't say anything.

Free Jakey. They put me in a heating blanket. It was like ridiculous. And then I start to notice no one's really talking to me. Nurses, doctors would come in. Hi, I'm Dr. Harrell. I'm here to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Hi, I'm your nurse, Jan. How you doing today? I'm here to change your IV. All that stopped. And people would come in and work and they wouldn't say anything.

There are two nurses that are coming in to clean me up because obviously when you're paralyzed and bed bound, you just kinda go to the bathroom whenever. And they're coming in to like clean up this situation that I'm sure wasn't pretty. One's on either side of my hospital bed. I can only see them when they like lean in. So I kinda have a sense of who's there.

There are two nurses that are coming in to clean me up because obviously when you're paralyzed and bed bound, you just kinda go to the bathroom whenever. And they're coming in to like clean up this situation that I'm sure wasn't pretty. One's on either side of my hospital bed. I can only see them when they like lean in. So I kinda have a sense of who's there.

And they're talking to each other, not to me, and one of them goes, oh my god, I gotta tell you about this really awkward hookup I had last night. And the other one gets giggly and is like, alright, alright, maybe we shouldn't talk in front of the patient, though. She goes, oh, don't worry, he can't hear you, he's brain dead anyway. And I'm like, what? They think I'm brain dead.

And they're talking to each other, not to me, and one of them goes, oh my god, I gotta tell you about this really awkward hookup I had last night. And the other one gets giggly and is like, alright, alright, maybe we shouldn't talk in front of the patient, though. She goes, oh, don't worry, he can't hear you, he's brain dead anyway. And I'm like, what? They think I'm brain dead.

I mean, I'm sitting there. I'm like, this is the best cross talk I've heard all month. This is great. I was like, totally entertained. Yeah. I just start to like kind of panic and freak out. Like, wait, am I brain dead? Could it be? Is that possible? How can I interpret what they're saying? How do I remember my childhood? How am I thinking about my mom? How do I remember my phone number?

I mean, I'm sitting there. I'm like, this is the best cross talk I've heard all month. This is great. I was like, totally entertained. Yeah. I just start to like kind of panic and freak out. Like, wait, am I brain dead? Could it be? Is that possible? How can I interpret what they're saying? How do I remember my childhood? How am I thinking about my mom? How do I remember my phone number?

I'm like kind of mind blown, scared, freaking out. And immediately I'm on a mission. I got to let them know I'm not brain dead.

I'm like kind of mind blown, scared, freaking out. And immediately I'm on a mission. I got to let them know I'm not brain dead.

They did a bunch of EEGs and stuff to kind of figure out how much brain function and activity was. My MRI showed this catastrophic brain injury. The white matter was gone. There was no possible way any neurologist thought I was with it at all. Vegetative at best. Disconnected from all reality then. I knew that I lost everything, and, like, my brain's a muscle. I should exercise my muscle.

They did a bunch of EEGs and stuff to kind of figure out how much brain function and activity was. My MRI showed this catastrophic brain injury. The white matter was gone. There was no possible way any neurologist thought I was with it at all. Vegetative at best. Disconnected from all reality then. I knew that I lost everything, and, like, my brain's a muscle. I should exercise my muscle.

So I started talking to myself about everything, doing, like, geography, thinking about places I visited in the past. What's the capital of that? What's the capital of Hungary? What was that? You know, I'm thinking about all kinds of random crap when I wasn't storming or... nearly dying to exercise the brain to keep it sharp. And that, my friends, is the beginning of Locked In Syndrome.

So I started talking to myself about everything, doing, like, geography, thinking about places I visited in the past. What's the capital of that? What's the capital of Hungary? What was that? You know, I'm thinking about all kinds of random crap when I wasn't storming or... nearly dying to exercise the brain to keep it sharp. And that, my friends, is the beginning of Locked In Syndrome.