On the road to recovery
PLAINS - Since Plains police officer, Frank Ceely, retired in January of 2015, he has gone through a gambit of life changing events that has changed his outlook and his approach to life. The most major one, which occurred April 8th, had perhaps the most profound effect on him.
“I was at home watching television with my wife. I was having difficulty pronouncing words, I could think it, but I couldn’t say it,” Ceely said. “I had problems texting, my memory was kind of bad, as far as when my wife asked me her birthday, I couldn’t tell her when it was,” he added.
Ceely’s wife, Michelle, urged him to go to the hospital and together the two of them rushed to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital. There, after a CT scan, it was discovered Ceely had bleeding on his brain and the blood was causing pressure, which was causing his symptoms along with debilitating migraines and impaired movement.
The hospital in Kalispell was contacted and Ceely was flown there via Life Line. He was monitored for a day and more tests were done and the morning of April 9th, Ceely went into surgery to have the blood removed from his brain.
“I’m doing fine. I was doing fine probably the day after... I feel like I am back to normal,” Ceely said. The operation was a complete success and today Ceely is on different medications for blood pressure and hypertension and has been going to regular checkups with his doctor.
Ceely explained that he was eternally grateful for his wife and all that she has done for him through his ordeal.
“She has been there for me everyday, she has always been here. She was the one that told me to go to the hospital. She was the one who stayed with me every day in the hospital and took care of me when I was home,” he said.
For Ceely, who was a police officer in Plains for nine years, eight years in Hot Springs and 16 years in New York, it was an experience he explained as, “It was really weird where I was the one that was being taken care of, not the one doing it.”
After the experience Ceely said he now takes better care of himself and relaxes a lot more. When he was a police officer he said he was always stressed out, which he attributes to his high blood pressure, hypertension and eventual brain bleed.
“I just stay calm,” he said.
With Ceely’s speedy recovery comes one problem for him and his wife. After Ceely’s retirement from the force he traveled to the oil fields to work as a trucker. Within two months he was laid off and was not eligible for health insurance. Ceely is working on getting back on the work force and is attending classes in Missoula to get his Class A driving license, but without a steady job and health insurance, the medical bills from the trip to the two hospitals and post doctors visits are really high.
His wife and friends have been planning a dinner and auction to help raise funds to help supplement his payments on his medical bills. It will be May 30, 2015 in the Plains VFW at 6:00pm.
“I’m very grateful... I appreciate everything people have done for me,” Ceely said, explaining his love for his wife and friends work. “It means a lot to me.”