My Turning Point

By Jim Muzynoski

Introduction by Colleen Wood

It’s been a hot second since I sat down to write. Honestly, I just needed a break…and today I am actually posting a “guest column” written by my brother a few years ago. Please enjoy. And also…love your family, be with them, and be PRESENT with them. It is hard to remember but is really the richest part of life. Happy Thanksgiving, all…

My Turning Point

Jim Muzynoski

For me, as a kid growing up in Montana, it was sometimes hard to comprehend what dreams were
possible in life. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to be when I grew up until I was already
grown up and working in the DAS industry.

My sister on the other hand, knew exactly what she wanted to be from such an early age, that I don’t
remember her without the goal of becoming a doctor. Colleen, and her dream, were together in
every sense of the word. She was uniquely focused on her career to such a degree that my parents
were more worried about her spending time having fun and trying to tear her away from books and
studying.

As she worked her way into high school at Bozeman High and eventually to medical school at
University of Washington, she literally aced every test she ever took with a singular focus that I was
envious of. While extremely smart, things weren’t easy. It was done with hard work, long hours, and
intense dedication. She had prepared all her life to save lives.

While that was going on, I was going to college at Montana State University, studying to become a
teacher and working as an assistant coach for the basketball team. While focused on school, I was
admittedly more focused on playing and coaching basketball than school.

One afternoon, after an awkward jump stop in the lane, I ended up tearing my ACL in my right knee.
It was painful and I was extremely disappointed that the recovery would take a year of my life. I knew
that I couldn’t do all of the outdoor activities that I loved to do. We quickly scheduled the surgery to
get the clock started on recovery.

The day I got home from surgery, my sister ended up being in town for one day on a break from
college. I had convinced my best friend to stay at my house and watch movies with me before he
moved to Helena the next morning. My mom was there to help as well.

As the night wore on, the drugs they were giving me made me feel extremely groggy, and as I tried to sleep, I kept waking up from being extremely itchy. My entire body felt uncomfortable and I couldn’t
figure out what was going on. The pain was bad, but the effect of the drugs was actually worse.
Early the next morning, my best friend (who was sleeping on the couch next to me), woke to me, blue,
not breathing and making choking sounds on the couch next to him. He screamed for my mom and
sister and they came running. My mom called 911, but they would not get to us for about ten
minutes, as we lived a bit out of town.

My sister, who had been training her whole life to save lives, was now confronted with her first
patient. She reacted quickly, and began rescue breathing for me, as I remained unresponsive. Her
only option was to try to breathe for me until the cavalry arrived. Thankfully, her training had paid
off, and the paramedics did eventually arrive. I had experienced an allergic reaction to the drugs that
I was given to help with the pain and it should’ve killed me. The paramedics quickly gave me a dose of
Narcan, and reversed the effects of the drugs. I woke up to twenty people standing over me, all
breathing a sigh of relief.

For my sister and I, that day bonded us in a way that few siblings can relate to. I literally wouldn’t be
alive today if not for her. She had saved her brother and faced her most difficult and high stakes
challenge as a doctor.

It confirmed my faith, helped me to focus my life on striving to be the best and not to make sure that I
didn’t waste the opportunity she gave me. It gave me a drive to succeed that I never would’ve had
otherwise.

It also reaffirmed what she had known for years….. that she was meant to be a doctor and save lives.
For me, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of the many blessings that I have in my life, but
Colleen is always at the top of that list.