2011 is only one week old and the bodybuilding news stories are already rolling into the Rx Muscle media studios. My first report of the New Year is chock filled with medical drama ranging from the life-threatening to the life-saving. I'm happy to say, despite some drama, both stories have a very happy ending.
Todd Jewell's Brush with Death
I was on Facebook recently when a concerning status popped up:
Todd Jewell: Bad start to a new year....
Sunday at 4:09am via Mobile Web
Todd Jewell is not only a top national-level NPC bodybuilder; he's also a friend. So, when I noted his negatively tinged "status update" from Sunday morning, I quietly prayed that Todd's bad luck would somehow turn to good fortune.
One day later I saw this:
Todd Jewell: I developed a blood clot in a vein 15cm long at an IV site after a CT scan a week before having my gallbladder and appendix removed. Three days before surgery some of the clot broke loose and I had multiple pulmonary embolisms in both lungs. I didn't realize it until two days after surgery. Recovering in the hospital for a while.
Monday at 2:46pm
I got concerned and texted Todd to find out what had happened. When I asked him why he was in a hospital having surgery to begin with, his reply was succinct and comprehensive:
"My gallbladder stopped functioning 2 weeks before nationals. Because of multipl
e screw-ups, it took over 2 months to diagnose. While inside [my body], the surgeon found that my appendix was extremely inflamed and needed to come out as well. Those two issues explain all the abdominal distention, pain, blood sugar problems, and difficulty with carb loading that I had at nationals. This whole problem started over 3 months ago."
I told Todd that it was inevitable that people would somehow try to connect his current health problem with anabolic steroid use.
"Yeah, I already saw a few people jumping to that conclusion. The doc said there is no explanation as to why a gallbladder stops functioning. There were no stones present or anything. The blood clot and resulting embolisms were the result of a simple trauma to a vein at the site where my IV was placed. Gear had nothing to do it. It's just a string of bad luck."
The day Todd was released from the hospital, he sent this update:
"Just got discharged today. At home resting. Will be on blood thinners for 3-6 months depending how fast clot in arm dissolves. Blood work was done prior to surgery and there were no clotting disorders. Cholesterol and blood pressure are good. Doc said today that this was a very strange case. It's not often that a pulmonary embolism results from a blood clot in the arm. It usually happens when there is a clot in the legs. When the clot in my arm was detected by ultrasound it was 15 cm long and had been increasing in length significantly each day but it had not yet reached the deep veins. 3 days later is when I started having the first symptoms of a PE. The doc says the clot must've reached the deep veins by the time I started having symptoms last Monday. When the second ultra sound was done last Saturday the clot was much smaller. The doc reiterated today when she discharged me that this was just a freak accident caused by the trauma to the vein when I bent my arm with the IV in. When the existing clot fully dissolves, I will no longer need the blood thinners and will be back to 100%. The blood thinners are just a precaution at this point since there is no more clot left in the deep veins."
The entire Rx Muscle community wishes Todd the best with his recover. We know he'll bounce back better than he was before! Todd Jewell is one of the truly good guys in this industry; "A real mensch" (good person), my grandmother would say.
By a Long Shot!
Don Long is bodybuilding's Lance Armstrong. He has overcome massive kidney failure, a failed kidney 
transplant, and lived on dialysis for the last eight years of his life. The incredible thing is that he's managed to maintain a total bodybuilding lifestyle complete with training, competing, and even helping young up-and-coming bodybuilders like Brandon Ray reach their goals. This holiday season, Don's wife, Sarah, gave him the best present he could ever hope for; one of her kidneys. This may sound sweet and romantic, but it's more than that; it was an incredible long shot!
Don explains, "Only 3% of the population could possibly be a match with me. Amazingly, my wife turned out to be a perfect match!" Yes, Sarah is Don's perfect match; in more ways than the couple could possibly have imagined.
Don is still in the hospital, recovering, but he experienced something for the first time in in a long time that he just had to share with me. "I peed. . . I haven't done that in 8 years"... Apparently, when you're on dialysis and your kidneys have completely stopped working, you no longer urinate the toxic waste products and fluids out of your body; the dialysis machine does that for you. Don has been on nightly dialysis since 2003, so he hasn't pissed for YEARS! You can expect to hear from Don himself on Monday night's ACCESS BODYBUILDING!
I know I can speak for all of Rx Muscle when I wish both Todd and Don the best with their recoveries and a better 2011! Both Todd Jewell and Don Long are two of the truly good guys in this industry... I wish Don and Todd only the best from here on out!
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