Another Trip to the E.R.

So, the weekend was pretty good overall, but my left calf muscle was still really tight. It felt like a constant charlie horse. The doctor's offices are closed because it was Memorial Day weekend, so I had to wait until today to call and make an appointment. I call my new PCP's office and they can get me in at 1:30. I come in and explain the systems and she tells me she can see 2 possible things it could be. 1 - it could be that I have a blood clot, which would be weird because I have been up and walking around and moving my legs, 2 - it could be that the nerves in my calf are dying because the ones they are linked to in my spine were compressed for too long, and they just can't recover. She sends me for an ultra sound at a place right behind the E.R., she said if they say it is blood clots, I have to go to the E.R. to get the first dose of blood thinner, and they'll send me home. I get in right away, and sure enough, I have 2 blood clots in my left calf that are not completely obstructing blood flow (otherwise they would have been way more painful)! Cody and I head over to the E.R., Cody has to work tonight, so he's going to have to leave me at the ER and Donna will come and wait with me. Cody comes and gets me checked in, and there are A LOT of people, way more than the previous 2 times I was here. I get checked in and he has to leave. I put in a call to the neurosurgeon, because he is at this hospital today today, and maybe he can get me in earlier, but I have to leave a message. Donna arrives a little while later, she tells the check in lady that my neurosurgeon is at the hospital today, but there isn't much they can do at check in. We get to triage, I'm not sure if the lady was new or what, but I was like, my neurosurgeon is here today, can you please let him know. She's like, uh I'll check on that. I explain that my ultrasound results should have been sent right over, she can't find them, I tell her that I have 2 confirmed blood clots. I call my PCP's office, who said they have them and will fax them right over. Donna insists that I get a wheelchair and as soon as we get out of triage they are calling me to be seen by a doctor. My PCP's office calls back to see if they have been received, I say they must because I'm getting ready to be examined again. A nurse comes back and says that I will be admitted, which really upsets me because I don't like spending time in the hospital, and that they will have to put in an i.v. I do NOT like needles... I talked them out of the i.v. the day after my surgery was complete because they are so very uncomfortable, but they insist I have to have one. Donna calls my mom to let her know that I am back in the hospital for blood clots. An EMT (or so I thought until she turned around and I read her t-shirt that says Pima EMT Trainee) comes and puts in an i.v. then another nurse comes and gives me my first blood thinning injection in my stomach. I'm not having a good time at all. I'm not sure if I've had a bowel accident, and they won't let me walk to the bathroom to check (they'll bring me a bedside toilet, uh no thank you), they tell me they are working on getting me a room. Finally about, 45 minutes later someone comes to take me to my room. They're wheeling the bed and we get to the room, but it isn't big enough for them to roll the bed I'm on into so they can transfer. The orderly asks if I can walk, and I say that I walked into the hospital, Donna doesn't want me to walk. But, I do and while I'm up, my first stop is the bathroom!! Luckily, no accident, but my bladder sure was full!! I'd gone about 6 hours without peeing which is like, a post-surgery all time best while awake! I get into bed and then there is just waiting. The day nurse comes through, but she'll be leaving in just a bit because of the change in shifts. She informs me that I've missed the dinner cut off, so Donna agrees to go get me something to eat, she doesn't want to leave me alone, but she hasn't eaten either. She brings us back some dinner and we eat. It's about 8 o’clock and Cody should be getting off of work soon, so he should be here about 9, I tell her to go home and see Gordon and Tiffany, I'll try and get some sleep, she reluctantly agrees. I let Cody know what I'd like from home since he has to go there first and give Castro his insulin and food (more Depends, some wipes, iPad, library book, fuzzy socks, birth control) and he brings everything except the birth control (I forgot to include it, even though I was thinking of it). We visit for a bit, he eats some dinner. We talk, I don't want to leave the cat alone, and I should be getting out tomorrow, so I think he should sleep at home. He doesn't want to leave me, but knows he won't get much sleep in the chair. He leaves around midnight. I do manage to get some sleep between poking and prodding.

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me (Part 2)

Cody drives me back to our side of town so that we can go to the E.R. for the MRI. I call my mother in law and let her know where we are headed, she says she can leave work, but I tell her not to worry and we'll keep her updated. Thank goodness the P.A. gave me the shot of Toradol, or the pain in the car ride back would have been unbearable. When we get to the ER, we get another wheelchair, because the left leg is giving me problems still. I let them know every step of the way that I was just here a week ago. We have to wait for about 90 minutes before we get to the back. The pain is escalating, the Toradol must be wearing off. They ask for me to get into a gown, I do. The insurance lady comes to get my card and info. I have to give a urine sample. So I wobble over to the bathroom (I'm almost as far away from it as you can get) wait for the person who is currently in there (because of course there is only one) and then finally work on the urine sample. When I take it back, they kind of freak out. But, because if all of this back stuff isn't bad enough, I'm also menstruating, isn't it just great to be a woman? They nurses come back and ask about the symptoms again. I let them know that I'm experiencing numbness in the pelvic area and left leg. They ask about the urine, I tell them. What is my pain level, I'm at about a 5. They ask me to turn over, they're going to perform a rectal exam. I do, they put on the gloves and I know they're getting ready to stick their finger in my bottom... but I don't feel anything. They ask me to squeeze, I tell them I can't, I can't even feel their finger. Now they're worried. They give me a shot of Valium and Demerol to prepare me for the MRI. They leave... I start to get a little sleepy, Cody is still there, then all of a sudden I'm on fire. I feel like every nerve ending in my legs are on fire and as if someone has scooped out my uterus and its hollow. I'm now at like a 20 on the pain scale that goes to 10. Cody is very concerned that I'm going to pass out from pain. As I'm writhing around in pain the insurance lady comes back in and wants us to put down some money (we just gave them $500 last week when we were here). Finally a nurse comes in and gives me a shot of Dilaudid and things start to come back under control pain wise. They wheel me for the MRI, and the Dilaudid is starting to wear off and my left leg feels like it is on fire, but I have to stay perfectly still during the MRI or they will have to do it again. I somehow manage it. I get back to a room, and Donna is there talking on the phone to my mom, Kathy, because Cody had to go home and give Castro his insulin (for the first time by himself). I want a glass of water so badly (those of you who know me, know I'm not a water girl), but they say that I have to wait for a neurologist to review the MRI before I can do anything. A nurse comes back in and tells me that I will be having back surgery in the morning. I can have some dinner or something to drink, but nothing after midnight. I call my mom, and try and reassure her that its going to be okay, I'm going to be okay. Cody comes back, then leaves to get me a salad for dinner. I'm put in a bigger room for pre-surgery. I'm allowed to have Dilaudid to help control the pain, and the goal is to make it through the night.

Another Long Day... This Time in the E.R.

I woke up at 6am while Cody was still asleep to use the bathroom. When I stood up from the toilet I screamed and nearly passed out! The pain was horrible. When I feel like I’m about to pass out, something in me tells me to lie down on the floor. I don’t know why, that’s just my go to reaction. I lowered myself to the ground. I was hot and clammy, and in pain. Going to the ground was the dumbest decision I could have made. I spent an hour trying to get up from the bathroom floor. Even with Cody trying to help, the pain was overwhelming. I was on my stomach and tried going onto my knees, I tried rolling over, and I tried pushing up. Every little movement of my back was horrible. The only thing that got me up off of that floor without just calling for an ambulance was Castro and the fact that I had to give him his insulin. Once I was up and Castro was taken care of, I got dressed and we decided instead of the appointment that was scheduled for chiropractor's office, it was time to go to the E.R. Cody drove us over to the nearby hospital, and the wait wasn’t that bad. They got me back and I saw a PA who said that it was something called sacroiliitis. She said that she didn’t believe that any imaging was necessary at this point because of my age (34). She gave me a shot of something in the E.R. (I think it was Toradol) and prescriptions for Valium and Percocet. She was using the Valium as a muscle relaxant; even though that’s not really its function (I worked in pharmacies for 9 years before I became a teacher). I was feeling pretty good when I was at home that night, thankful though that we didn’t have school the next day because it would give me extra time to relax and let my muscles loosen. I even felt well enough to take a shower and watch some t.v. (Thursday night is Vampire Diaries night!)