Yesterday was a full day! And me still tired from the vacation...not yet back into the swing of real life! Michael had his CT and PET scans yesterday...a 3 hour procedure at the imaging lab...
The rain stopped and the sun came out and I was starting to relax...and then the call came...
GOOD NEWS....BAD NEWS....
The scans looked pretty good.....HOWEVER....Michael needed to go to the emergency room because several blood clots were seen on the scan in his lower lobes of his pulmonary artery...Do we eat the supper that was in the oven?????? The Doctor said to go ahead and eat...she would call the emergency room and let them know we were coming and what she wanted to do....which was to get him admitted to the hospital...and start him with a shot and then a series of shots for the next couple days (some sort of blood thinner to dissolve the blood clots) before he could be given pills to do that.....OK...sounded easy .....RIGHT!
We arrived at the Emergency room and we were given a buzzer (like the type you get when you order a pizza!) We gave all his data...this was 6:30....and actually thinking we were fairly lucky because we got into a room within an hour.....FAST FORWARD.....
gave the data again to nurse #1....to nurse #2.....to nurse #3...(Even went through shift changes and gave the data once again along with the 6 series of blood pressure..temperature...oxygen level...) FINALLY being seen by a Doctor at 1:00 in the morning!!! And finally being admitted at 1:30 in the morning....Still no shot...
Am I complaining???????????
I would not have complained...accept that a nurse somewhere around nurse #4...told us, after sitting there in the room for 2 1/2 hours, that the Emergency Room was not like the ones you see on TV where you get taken care of as soon as you walk in the door (did she think she needed to tell us that because Grey's Anatomy was on the TV?!?) that it is first come first serve and that we couldn't have that much of an emergency if the Doctor did NOT meet us at the Emergency Room...And that someone would be with us probably within the hour (to which I promptly looked at her and said... We are very well aware of the fact that this is a REAL Emergency Room, not a sitcom and that perhaps it was best that we did not go any farther with this conversation!)...Well...FAST FORWARD again.....2 hours later someone did see us....
What seemed to be so simple ended up being a long ordeal...BUT he is in the hospital now...and being taken care of....I just had a power nap from 2 AM to 6 AM....feeling drained....feeling tired...I will get ready soon to go back to the hospital to see how much more we might know now...
Just a little venting!!
rambles from the shadow side of life...About living...about living with dying....This is where my heart will pour forth...this is where my shadow will be exposed...this is where I will cry...where I will laugh...where I will become one with that shadow of life...
3 comments:
Dear Patti:
You did it, you made one of Michael's wishes come true, you are awesome.
My husband had to give Dan his Lovenox shots in his midsection every night for blood clots. Dan said they are painful shots...I'm sorry that Michael has this to endure too.
The quote that Dan keeps taped to his forhead is: "Get busy living or get busy dying" (Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption) Dan says he chooses getting busy living. Living with what the doctors will say in his weekly visits, you're right about "u" turns. So he's making the best of each day.
I will be holding both you and Michael in the Light each and everyday.
There's no time like the present!
Love,
Pat Dalke
First of all, I am so glad that you had a great vacation with a lot of quality time for you and Michael with your grandson. Vacations can be tiring under the best circumstances, but so invigorating.
Secondly, I still can't believe the hurry-up-an-wait of ERs, and the flippant attitude of the staff, especially the one who said this wasn't a TV ER. Duh! Go ahead and vent, girl, you have every reason to do so. What an ordeal, but like you said, Michael is now in the hospital getting the care.
When it comes to our veterans I have a real soft spot in my heart, especially for the Viet Nam era. Lord only knows what they went through. My husband did 2 tours there. My son is a Navy Veteran-in-the-making, with almost 13 years in, including Iraq. We owe these men and women every right we have and intend to protect for generations to come. So when I read about what Michael is going through, and you, too, my heart goes out to you both. I guess I really want Michael to know that he has my respect, gratitude and love for the man he is and the sacrifices he's made.
God bless!
Barb
I am glad you stood up for yourselves! People can be SO insensitive! Unbelievable. Feel the love reaching allllllll the way across allllll of the States, from me allllll the way to you.
Much Love and Much Healing to both of you speedily.
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