{"id":77961,"date":"2023-07-04T15:32:29","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T19:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/?p=77961"},"modified":"2023-07-17T16:21:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T20:21:42","slug":"second-chance-dons-song-for-the-people-who-saved-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/healthy-tomorrows\/second-chance-dons-song-for-the-people-who-saved-his-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Chance: Don\u2019s song for the people who saved his life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Keith Richards said, \u201cMusic is a language that doesn\u2019t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it\u2019s in the bones, it\u2019s in the bones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And sometimes music is the only way to express your gratitude for a second chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don Wismer and his wife of nearly 40 years, Bernice Wright, composed the song <em>Second Chance <\/em>to thank the staff and physicians at The Ottawa Hospital for saving his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Second Chance: Don\u2019s song for the people who saved his life\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rIJP5l0GCBo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Watch as Don performs his original song S<em>econd Chance, <\/em>a song he and his wife, Bernice, wrote to thank the staff and doctors at The Ottawa Hospital for saving his life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Don was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CCL) in 2018.&nbsp; This type of cancer causes the body\u2019s bone marrow to make too many lymphocytes (a kind of white blood cell) and severely weakens the immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Don got pneumonia in May 2022, he and Bernice were expecting to spend a few days at the Civic Campus of The Ottawa Hospital.&nbsp; But the day after he was admitted, his condition got worse\u2014fast.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don was taken to the ICU where he was sedated and put on a ventilator. &nbsp;After several days, he was transferred to the General Campus, where doctors described his condition as \u201ctenuous.\u201d &nbsp;He contracted sepsis, an infection of the bloodstream, and his entire body swelled up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDon was virtually unrecognizable at that point; he looked like the Michelin Man,\u201d says Bernice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He spent the next few weeks in the ICU, unconscious most of the time. It was a dark time for both of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-and-Bernice-cropped-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Don Wismer [left] and Bernice Wright [right] sitting on some steps\" class=\"wp-image-77962\" width=\"838\" height=\"559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-and-Bernice-cropped-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-and-Bernice-cropped-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-and-Bernice-cropped-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-and-Bernice-cropped-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-and-Bernice-cropped-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-and-Bernice-cropped-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Don and Bernie have been married for almost 40 years.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to the excellent care and expertise of his health-care team, after 45 days, Don opened his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I first woke up, I was like a newborn infant,\u201d recalls Don.&nbsp; \u201cI couldn\u2019t feed myself.&nbsp; I was in diapers.&nbsp; I couldn\u2019t even sit up.&nbsp; I had to learn everything from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the uncertainty of whether Don would pull through, they both remember special moments with hospital staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the ICU, a nurse sang Bernice\u2019s favourite karaoke song, <em>Sometimes When We Touch <\/em>by Dan Hill, someone Don knew from high school,\u201d she says.&nbsp; The nurse also made every attempt to get Don outside on the balcony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later on, while Don was receiving care in Internal Medicine, one of the people on the Environmental Services team brought him treats from the vending machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe also brought me a newspaper every day because he knew there wasn\u2019t much I could do from my hospital bed,\u201d says Don.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don had an especially tough time with having to stay indoors for so long.&nbsp; A lifelong outdoorsman, the 68-year-old and his wife enjoy biking, hiking, golfing, kayaking, and cross-country and downhill skiing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-on-a-bike-cropped-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Don stands behind his bicycle in a forest\" class=\"wp-image-77964\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-on-a-bike-cropped-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-on-a-bike-cropped-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-on-a-bike-cropped-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-on-a-bike-cropped-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-on-a-bike-cropped-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-on-a-bike-cropped-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Before he got pneumonia and spent more than 45 days in the ICU at The Ottawa Hospital, Don enjoyed many outdoor activities.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In August 2022, Don was transferred to The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre to continue his recovery, and music was a big part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThanks to the terrific efforts of the occupational therapists and physiotherapists, Don was eventually able to stand up and play the harmonica and sing,\u201d says Bernice with a smile.&nbsp; As part of his farewell to doctors, staff and patients, he played a sing-along in the recreation room.&nbsp; His set included <em>Handle with Care<\/em> and <em>Heart of Gold<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019s recovery at home has been slow but steady.&nbsp; He beams as he explains that he was out skiing 20 times last winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-Skiing-cropped-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Don Wismer cross-country skiing\" class=\"wp-image-77966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-Skiing-cropped-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-Skiing-cropped-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-Skiing-cropped-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-Skiing-cropped-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-Skiing-cropped-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Don-Skiing-cropped-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Don\u2019s recovery has been remarkable.&nbsp; Just a few months after leaving The Ottawa Hospital, he is back to doing many of the things he loves.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to find words for people who saved your life,\u201d says Don. \u201cTo the people who helped me recover to where I am now, thank you. &nbsp;I\u2019m just so impressed by the kindness of people.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Making music has always been a big part of Don\u2019s life, so when the staff and doctors at The Ottawa Hospital saved him from the brink of death, he could think of no better way to thank them. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":77968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[433,381],"class_list":["post-77961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-tomorrows","tag-celebrate-our-staff","tag-patient-experience"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}