Last night Dennis and I took another trip to the ER. I sent him by ambulance and followed in the car. When I arrived, and walked up to the window, the nurse handed me a visitor pass with the room number already written on it. She greeted me by name. This isn't a place where I would ever have expected to become well known. Sigh...
When we came home, we both laughed about wishing we could get frequent flyer miles.
I knew this new cath was going to be an on-going story.
Until later,
Ann and Dennis
A journal of living with Multiple System Atrophy. How we, a 58 year old woman and a 62 year old man, laugh, cry and love our way through Dennis' latest symptoms and newest diagnosis of MSA.
Showing posts with label emergency room visits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emergency room visits. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Another Emergency Room Visit
In my last post, I mentioned that I had lost Dennis' sleeping pills. Well, as it turns out, it was a good thing they were misplaced that night. (Yes, they have been found). We ended up calling 911 and sending him off to emergency because his catheter had fallen out. After 6 hours, we were back home, sleeping, but not until I had learned a few new lessons.
1. Don't cut the stitch, even if it is tearing the skin around the insertion site. I did this a few days ago, and the added protection of the stitch was gone when the balloon failed.
2. Balloon's fail. When they fail, they look the same as a shriveled penis; nothing like the blown up version.
3. Pay your insurance premium, no matter how over priced it may be. I have been complaining about how much we are paying, since COBRA ran out and Medicare isn't available, yet. But, in one short night, we covered the monthly payment of the premium.
4. Not all irritating occurrences happen during a full moon.
All was well after the change of the catheter. Actually, Dennis seems to be feeling better than he has in a while. Maybe it was a bad insert. Maybe it was simply, that Dennis wanted to see a really HOT doc (and, oh, she was hot!), instead of the milquetoast that didn't seem to care after the surgery. Or maybe, it was just a sign that missing a doctor prescribed drug isn't always a bad thing.
1. Don't cut the stitch, even if it is tearing the skin around the insertion site. I did this a few days ago, and the added protection of the stitch was gone when the balloon failed.
2. Balloon's fail. When they fail, they look the same as a shriveled penis; nothing like the blown up version.
3. Pay your insurance premium, no matter how over priced it may be. I have been complaining about how much we are paying, since COBRA ran out and Medicare isn't available, yet. But, in one short night, we covered the monthly payment of the premium.
4. Not all irritating occurrences happen during a full moon.
All was well after the change of the catheter. Actually, Dennis seems to be feeling better than he has in a while. Maybe it was a bad insert. Maybe it was simply, that Dennis wanted to see a really HOT doc (and, oh, she was hot!), instead of the milquetoast that didn't seem to care after the surgery. Or maybe, it was just a sign that missing a doctor prescribed drug isn't always a bad thing.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Returning Home
I heard that itty bitty voice talk to me again this morning, the one I always listen to carefully. It said, "come home from the lake earlier that mid afternoon." So after our morning coffee and gaze at the lake, I packed up the car and drove the hour and 15 minutes to return home.
As I came in the house, Raquel said to Dennis, "you got some 'splainin' to do, man!" With a curious look on my face, I put down my bag and strolled over to the table where she and Dennis were sitting. I asked, " What's up?" and Dennis told me he had fallen down once again. I gave his body the once over, and all I saw was the usual ketchup stain on his face.
After the story came out, I found out it wasn't a ketchup stain, but rather a gash and seven stiches.
He has an office chair that isn't sturdy or strong. He insists in keeping it, even though he has tipped over before, while sitting in it. This time when he had tipped over, he hit his face on the metal plant stand holding his new pot of succulents. He had cut his face on the edge of the stand. As if that wasn't humiliating enough,the pot of cactus then fell on top of his head and gave him a small bump on the noggin'.
All this had happened just hours after I left our flat on Friday, to cash in on the weekend away that Dennis had given to me for my birthday. After Dennis and Raquel ate dinner, Dennis fell. They took a taxi to the emergency center at his regular hospital a mile away. Because it was both a Friday and a full moon, they ended up waiting until the wee hours of the morning to have the large gash stitched together.
Bless him, once again. Raquel wanted to call me and Dennis said no, he did not want to spoil my weekend. Neither one of them said a word when I called home to check on them.
The chair is in the garbage, the carpet now has blood and dirt stains, in addition cola, food and wine stains. I imagine replacing it now would just be fool worthy. Soon, we will probably be able to pass it off as a pop art carpet. It may turn out to be worth some big bucks, one of these days.
As I came in the house, Raquel said to Dennis, "you got some 'splainin' to do, man!" With a curious look on my face, I put down my bag and strolled over to the table where she and Dennis were sitting. I asked, " What's up?" and Dennis told me he had fallen down once again. I gave his body the once over, and all I saw was the usual ketchup stain on his face.
After the story came out, I found out it wasn't a ketchup stain, but rather a gash and seven stiches.
He has an office chair that isn't sturdy or strong. He insists in keeping it, even though he has tipped over before, while sitting in it. This time when he had tipped over, he hit his face on the metal plant stand holding his new pot of succulents. He had cut his face on the edge of the stand. As if that wasn't humiliating enough,the pot of cactus then fell on top of his head and gave him a small bump on the noggin'.
All this had happened just hours after I left our flat on Friday, to cash in on the weekend away that Dennis had given to me for my birthday. After Dennis and Raquel ate dinner, Dennis fell. They took a taxi to the emergency center at his regular hospital a mile away. Because it was both a Friday and a full moon, they ended up waiting until the wee hours of the morning to have the large gash stitched together.
Bless him, once again. Raquel wanted to call me and Dennis said no, he did not want to spoil my weekend. Neither one of them said a word when I called home to check on them.
The chair is in the garbage, the carpet now has blood and dirt stains, in addition cola, food and wine stains. I imagine replacing it now would just be fool worthy. Soon, we will probably be able to pass it off as a pop art carpet. It may turn out to be worth some big bucks, one of these days.
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