Sorry for the delay – once again I had another immediate family health situation involving hospice and ultimately the passing of my last remaining grandparent! Please forgive me for the delay.

CPOV

I sat in the waiting room in agony! I was being pulled in two directions! I wanted to be here with my wife at the same time as be with our son. The last few hours have been painful, stressful, and fearful. To know my wife was struggling to even live makes my entire being on edge. I love my wife with my entire being! I can honestly say that she is my life! I was never a believer of soul mates, the "one" nor love being so all consuming. I had grown up seeing this with my parents and later my siblings. When Grey men fall, they fall deep, hard, and fast. I had an appreciation of women and the beauty they possess but nothing compared to my Ana. She immediately drew me in with her beautiful eyes, honest smile, and unique personality. She was definitely not like the other women. Never had Ana thought of my wealth, status, or name. Actually, she had not wanted anything to do with me in the beginning. She was secure in her own professional life and had a steady income. She did not want the fancy dinners, gifts, nor clothing. Many would look at her and think she didn't fit in my world which was an utter lie. She didn't spend her time picking at her sparse salad, obsessed with the gym, or focused on designer anything. Yes, she has style and sophistication but it was all Ana. Don't get me wrong, she loves a nice Coach bag or designer dress, but she was set on making sure to find deals. She is a healthy woman with a nice curve to her body. AS a man, we appreciate attractive women but my heart and desires fall on my wife.

One of the things my father brought us up to respect was our women and our marriages. I know that Ana struggled at first with the women throwing themselves in my face but that type of woman was off putting to me. Someone that desperate for my attention was not worth my attention.

So to say my life was in a tail spin right now was an understatement. I could not help the tears that fell from my eyes as I thought about what people has shared about the last several hours. From my family jumping in the frigid water to save my family to making sure someone one was with my son across town at the Children's Hospital. Knowing mom is with him makes it much easier to know when he wakes up he will see someone familiar. I was pulled from my thoughts as a hand gently applying pressure on my shoulder. I looked up into the eyes of my family who were in just as much pain as I was in.

"Chrisitan, the doctor is ready to talk to us now." Jasper said quietly. I looked up and saw the doctor and immediately became fearful. Dad would have come out right? Where is dad? On no…

We walked through the door and to a room immediately on the right. " How is she, where is dad.." I began rapid fire questions. My mind was running all over the place.

"Mr. Grey, Dr. Grey is with her right now as they are still working to warm her body and monitor. She is doing well considering the condition she came in. I am assuming you know the nature of her accident. She did go into cardiac arrest upon loading her into the copter. Her body temperature was dangerously low and very weak. However, she is a fighter, we are currently working with a state of the art system used frequently on hypothermia patients. As you know we see quite a few cases, her upper extremities are fine with minimal levels unlike her lower extremities.

Rewarming was started immediately by applying warm compresses after the removal of her wet clothing and warming blankets were applied. More aggressive core rewarming began including infusing warm fluids. She presented the typical symptoms cconfusion, memory loss, slurred speech, Drop in body temperature below 95 Fahrenheit, exhaustion or drowsiness. She did experience loss of consciousness and numb feet, shallow breathing and shivering. Now there are three stages.

Stage 1
Body temperature drops by 1-2°C (1.8-3.6°F) below normal temperature (35-37°C or 95-98.6°F). Mild to strong shivering occurs. The victim is unable to perform complex tasks with the hands; the hands become numb. Blood vessels in the outer extremities constrict, lessening heat loss to the outside air. Breathing becomes quick and shallow. Goose bumps form, raising body hair on end in an attempt to create an insulating layer of air around the body (which is of limited use in humans due to lack of sufficient hair, but useful in other species). Victim may feel sick to their stomach, and very tired. Often, a person will experience a sensation, as if they have recovered, but they are in fact heading into Stage 2. Another test to see if the person is entering stage 2 is if they are unable to touch their thumb with their little finger; this is the first stage of muscles not working. They might start to have trouble seeing.

Your wife did enter with many of these symptoms as well as several more. Stage 2 is where the body temperature drops by 2-4°C (3.8-7.6°F) below normal temperature (33-35°C or 91-94.8°F). Shivering becomes more violent. Muscle mis-coordination becomes apparent. Movements are slow and labored, accompanied by a stumbling pace and mild confusion, although the victim may appear alert. Surface blood vessels contract further as the body focuses its remaining resources on keeping the vital organs warm. The victim becomes pale. Lips, ears, fingers and toes may become blue.

We believe your wife had a number of these symptoms present and her body temperature had dropped to near 91. We do not feel she presented with stage 3 as this is noted with body temperature drops below approximately 32 °C (89.6 °F). Shivering usually stops. Difficulty speaking, sluggish thinking, and amnesia start to appear; inability to use hands and stumbling is also usually present. Cellular metabolic processes shut down. Below 30 °C (86.0 °F), the exposed skin becomes blue and puffy, muscle coordination becomes very poor, walking becomes almost impossible, and the victim exhibits incoherent/irrational behavior including terminal burrowing or even a stupor. Pulse and respiration rates decrease significantly, but fast heart rates (ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation occur.

We believe your wife was in between stage 1 and 2 which is remarkable based on the report given. We believe in a normal vehicle, the water would have immediately began flooding into the car. Apparently your vehicle slowed down the water intake rate which actually probably prevented her from presenting stage 3 signs. She did lose consciousness but we feel it was from the shock and stress of keeping your son safe which fatigued her.

"I saw them doing chest compressions when they loaded her." I said as I was trying to process all the information. I was not a medical professional but I understand some of this. "Yes, well it appears that she was submerged under water and the breathing device your brother used saved her but she did ingest water which is what actually happened. Her lungs are now clear of fluid and we do not see any damage or long term consequences at this time. We will be monitoring her for several days." the doctor said which caused relief to flood my system.

"When can I see her?" I asked quickly as I began to pace the small room. I was a nervous wreck and needed to see her with my own eyes. "I will go check and let you know." He said as he stood and walked out. He paused at the door and turned around. "Mr. Grey, she is a very lucky woman." He said as he walked out the door.

I just sat there in shock … she was going to be ok…she had to!

Mia's phone ringing pulled me from my thoughts as did her conversation. "Ok, thanks Rose, I will let him know." She said as she looked at me with a watery smile. "That was Rose, mom said Carter is fine and just needed to be warmed up. He is doing well and they will keep him overnight for observation." I just nodded as a tear escaped. A bit of the stress pressing on my chest was lifted. He was ok, he was fine. Thank heavens! I could not handle losing the two most important people in my life!

Thanks for reading – I am not a medical professional and tried to find the details online.

Now she did have a cardiac episode which can be common with stress, hypothermia, and the stress on her body. We she will not have any lasting effects but will proceed with scans. Her blood results came back with no signs of having a heart attack which is good.