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Source: http://www.kare11.com/news/news_arti...6692&catid=391
Elk River man fights severe case of H1N1 flu
By John Croman
Minneapolis, MN -- It started as a fever Labor Day weekend. Denny Sack told his wife Janice he thought he was getting better and could ride it out like most bugs.
Before he knew it, the 62-year-old Elk River man was on life support, battling severe complications of the H1N1 flu virus.
"All I remember is I went into urgent care with this fever," Sack told KARE Friday from his room at Fairview Acute Rehabilitation Center in Minneapolis.
On September 6th urgent care physicians diagnosed Sack with pneumonia, and sent him by ambulance to Fairview Northland Medical Center in Princeton. After two days of being treated for H1N1 and a lung infection, Sack's condition worsened.
Doctors transferred him to Fairview University Medical Center by helicopter, but shortly after he arrived there life threatening blood clots formed in his lungs and legs.
"They gave him a 10 percent chance of survival, which we didn't know at the time," Sack's daughter Stephanie Roper told KARE, "They just said he was really, really sick and that the next 24 hours were going to be critical."
Denny Sack survived, but the blood clots and days on a respirator took their toll on his ability to walk on his own power. The H1N1 odyssey that began in early September continued this week with intense inpatient therapy.
"It's tough," Sack said, "You go from being healthy one day right into a long-term illness like this. It's tough."
Sack's online Caring Bridge site is loaded with photos of him living an active life, including trail riding the weekend immediately prior to the onset of his fever. It will be some time before Sack will be able to ride a horse again, let alone run his Northland Collision auto body shop in Rogers.
"Nobody expects something like this to happen from the flu," Roper remarked, "It's so hard to see him the way he is right now, struggling so hard just to walk and to do everyday activities. It's going to be a long road. The doctors say it will take two years to get back to normal."
Fundraiser to help with bills
While the family celebrates Sack's recovery from H1N1, and can't say enough about the medical professionals who helped pull him away from death's door, the medical meter continues to run. They worry about how they'll pay the tab.
"My mom was joking in the I.C.U. that he's her 'Million Dollar Cowboy' and one of the nurses said, 'It'll be way more than that'," Roper recalled.
Before Denny Sack ever contracted the flu, his wife Janice was laid off and lost the family's regular medical coverage. They subscribed to a C.O.B.R.A. plan, but haven't heard yet what their co-pays and deductibles will be.
"We think the insurance bill is going to be crazy," Roper said, "Even if it's only 20 percent, 20 percent of a million is a lot of money."
Friends will hold a fundraiser for Denny Sack from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 24th. It will be held at an indoor arena at 18150 N. Diamond Lake Rd. in Dayton, and will feature a pig roast, bands, hay rides and a silent auction.
Admission is $10, $5 for children age 8 and under and is free to those 2 and under.
In the meantime, donations are being accepted on behalf of Sack at the Pine River State Bank, PO Box 350, Nowthen, MN 55330.
"People have been so good," Sack told KARE, "We sure got a lot of friends we didn't know we had."
Elk River man fights severe case of H1N1 flu
By John Croman
Minneapolis, MN -- It started as a fever Labor Day weekend. Denny Sack told his wife Janice he thought he was getting better and could ride it out like most bugs.
Before he knew it, the 62-year-old Elk River man was on life support, battling severe complications of the H1N1 flu virus.
"All I remember is I went into urgent care with this fever," Sack told KARE Friday from his room at Fairview Acute Rehabilitation Center in Minneapolis.
On September 6th urgent care physicians diagnosed Sack with pneumonia, and sent him by ambulance to Fairview Northland Medical Center in Princeton. After two days of being treated for H1N1 and a lung infection, Sack's condition worsened.
Doctors transferred him to Fairview University Medical Center by helicopter, but shortly after he arrived there life threatening blood clots formed in his lungs and legs.
"They gave him a 10 percent chance of survival, which we didn't know at the time," Sack's daughter Stephanie Roper told KARE, "They just said he was really, really sick and that the next 24 hours were going to be critical."
Denny Sack survived, but the blood clots and days on a respirator took their toll on his ability to walk on his own power. The H1N1 odyssey that began in early September continued this week with intense inpatient therapy.
"It's tough," Sack said, "You go from being healthy one day right into a long-term illness like this. It's tough."
Sack's online Caring Bridge site is loaded with photos of him living an active life, including trail riding the weekend immediately prior to the onset of his fever. It will be some time before Sack will be able to ride a horse again, let alone run his Northland Collision auto body shop in Rogers.
"Nobody expects something like this to happen from the flu," Roper remarked, "It's so hard to see him the way he is right now, struggling so hard just to walk and to do everyday activities. It's going to be a long road. The doctors say it will take two years to get back to normal."
Fundraiser to help with bills
While the family celebrates Sack's recovery from H1N1, and can't say enough about the medical professionals who helped pull him away from death's door, the medical meter continues to run. They worry about how they'll pay the tab.
"My mom was joking in the I.C.U. that he's her 'Million Dollar Cowboy' and one of the nurses said, 'It'll be way more than that'," Roper recalled.
Before Denny Sack ever contracted the flu, his wife Janice was laid off and lost the family's regular medical coverage. They subscribed to a C.O.B.R.A. plan, but haven't heard yet what their co-pays and deductibles will be.
"We think the insurance bill is going to be crazy," Roper said, "Even if it's only 20 percent, 20 percent of a million is a lot of money."
Friends will hold a fundraiser for Denny Sack from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 24th. It will be held at an indoor arena at 18150 N. Diamond Lake Rd. in Dayton, and will feature a pig roast, bands, hay rides and a silent auction.
Admission is $10, $5 for children age 8 and under and is free to those 2 and under.
In the meantime, donations are being accepted on behalf of Sack at the Pine River State Bank, PO Box 350, Nowthen, MN 55330.
"People have been so good," Sack told KARE, "We sure got a lot of friends we didn't know we had."