This was the week that almost wasn’t

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 Being in the hospital slows you down

I have been in the hospital as a patient twice in my life.

(The picture attached is NOT me!)

The first time was in 1985 when I went into a little clinic/hospital in Madison Heights, Michigan to have a partially torn ligament in my right ankle repaired.   It was an overnight stay.  My clearest memories are of a surly orderly doing a physical exam, and of my surgeon talking about his failed attempt to make bouillabaisse as I went to sleep from the anesthetic I had been given.     I remember thinking my last thought would be ….. “Shit, I may be killed by a guy who can’t even cook fish stew.”

Somehow, I survived, and went more than 25 years before becoming a hospital patient again.   The odds finally caught up with me last week.   I went into the hospital on Tuesday, July 5th, and I am still there, writing this from my hospital bed.   It has been a weird experience to say the least.

I am here because I had a blood clot form in my leg.  I woke up on Tuesday morning after having worked all weekend on my Facebook launch project, only to discover that my left leg was badly swollen and nearly twice the size of my right leg.   This was kind of alarming..  So of course, I went to work to take of a post weekend social media launch recap meeting with my team.    I couldn’t get into the doctor until 11:30 am anyway, right?

When I got to the doctor’s office, they immediately sent to get a radiologic ultrasound on my leg, focusing on the veins.  Turns out I had extensive clotting, and a diagnosis of Deep Vein Thrombosis, a very serious condition.    Blood clots form in your legs, and if they break loose, can go to your lungs and heart resulting in strokes or even death.  I am going to have to make some lifestyle choices as a result of this.  I will probably be using social media and the #TR30 challenge approach to help with this.

My doctor sent me directly to the emergency room, and I have been here since Lakeland Regional Medical Center ever since.  My sentence is now going on day 6.

They treat this illness by giving you controlled doses of rat poison via IV, and by installing filters in your veins to prevent the killer clots from getting to your brain to carry out their mission of death.   I have sat here in a hospital bed, watching television, clinging like death to my cell phone, and praying for anything that might distract me.    Most of my care has been by the  nursing staff, or from the staffers who come around to take my food order which is then delivered bedside like room service when you requested.  To further ease my boredom, I have talked to the nurses about their work life.   Here is what I have learned:

• This staff is very committed to providing good care to their patients.
• Nurses generally appreciate it when you say thanks, and will make an extra effort to aid you if you treat them like human beings.
• Many of the nurses here had left hospital care to work in private offices, and are now returning to work in hospitals in order to be closer to their patients.
• They love the lifestyle flexibility offered by working 12 hour shifts.
• Some medical people think that patients are being driven into the hospital due to the side effects of new prescription drugs that hit the market quicker today than in the past.

Random closing thoughts, best things on the room service menu are the meatloaf and tuna salad platter, but the wine selection sucks.

I thought red wine was good for you?

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Tagged as: Deep Vein Thrombosis, Facebook, Health, Hospital, Medicine, Nurse, Thrombus, Wikipedia