Friday, May 27, 2011

Hospital horrors

On Saturday night I had terrible abdominal pain. It didn't subside so I drove myself to the hospital around 11 pm. I was seen by the doctor immediately.
The Dr ran some tests and gave me medication. The Dr was concerned about a twisted ovary but the ultrasound didn't show any abnormalities.
The Dr conferred with the surgeon, the same surgeon who took my appendix out in September. I was admitted so I could continue the iv meds and be observed. I also needed an ultrasound that used radioactive dye.
I was surprised to see a roommate in my room when I arrived. Her snoring continued while I settled into my room. The loud snoring kept me awake through the night. I realized that I couldn't nudge her like I do Andrew at night so I laid there silently.
Within a couple hours I wandered into the hallway to the nurses station. The nurse had forgotten to give me the call button to reach them for more pain medication. Little did I know that this would be the smallest inconvenience
I would deal with during this hospital stay.
My roommate had her surgery on Sunday but I had to wait until Monday for my test. Apparently something or someone had to come from Omaha for it. While my roommate was in surgery, three of her family members waited for her in our small room.
This would have been fine if they hadn't argued and complained loudly for over an hour. They also choose the tv channel, which must have been a family problem because my roommate did the same thing during her stay. I was on a liquid diet and they loudly ate snacks as I laid there in pain. I don't know if I've dealt with a more rude bunch of people! I asked the nurse to escort them outmoded the room but she merely raised her shoulders in exasperation.
My roommate came back and elected to stay in the hospital another night. I had looked forward to seeing her leave but had he pleasure of a second night with her! The fun continued as she used the bathroom, on my side of the room, several times an hour. She needed her urine strained so I was confronted with a toilet full of urine and blood every time I went into the bathroom
This accompanied by the preteen television shows she chose and her loud chipmunks ring tone almost drove me over the edge. I would have never guessed her to be 34 but she had to say her birth date out loud to the nurses. Thank you morphine for taking the edge off.
The test I had to do wasn't too bad I had to spend over 90 minutes under large machines on a hard, flat board. There are definitely worse medical tests out there but my back ached after that test.
Good bye room mate 1. On to roommate 2 - arrival on Monday evening. She was pleasant but far too talkative in the beginning. It didn't take long for her to yell at the boyfriend and her sister. Great, another awkward moment in room 429.
Roommate 2 was angry because her boyfriend wasn't allowed to stay in the bed with her through the night. She weighed 280 and he wasn't tiny either. I'm unsure how that would have worked, even if it was allowed. The nurse asked that her sister leave as well for privacy sake.
I asked if a private room was available at that point. I was sick of listening to everyone complain. I was moved to a private room where a tech came in and told me that he felt bad for my roommate situation. Ok there was the comment I needed to know I wasn't exaggerating! (or making things up in my head)
Surgery was scheduled for Tuesday at 11. Then it was moved to 10. I was looking forward to Andrew arriving prior to surgery so I wouldn't be alone. I was getting ready to take a shower when someone came in to take me down for surgery at 7:30. So much for having company and a shower after all.
I entered another Operating room without anyone I knew in the hospital. What a crappy feeling to be alone. When I awoke, the nurse mentioned that something went wrong with my breathing during the surgery. I kept falling asleep and still don't know what she was referring to.
I had a very difficult time staying awake and asked to stay another night at the hospital. The thought of coming home to three young children was daunting. I had been told by the over nurse and tech that I would have a morphine pump and could plan on staying another night. I didn't have a pump and the nurse told me that discharge papers had been signed. I was not ready to go home but I didn't have a choice.
It's day three post surgery and I'm in pain. I think it's being managed but thankfully I'm not stuck in a small room with an unreasonable roommate.

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