Something Creative
On the last episode of “When Gallbladders Attack” I was just getting back to my room from the hida scan. We shall pick up when I arrived back in my room.
Once back in my room I was given more water (so delicious & soothing when your mouth feels like you’ve licked pavement) and promised ginger ale. I was without my IV at the time since the one that I’d had put in on Monday was very painful & my hand and arm had gotten quite swollen. After a few minutes a member of the IV team came in to start a new IV for me. She did a great job & got it in on the first jab.
I don’t really remember much else except that I got a visit from my brother-in-law Pete & his family. As always it was great to see them & so kind that they came to check on me. I got a lovely bouquet of roses from them which brightened up the institutional feeling of the place.
After my visitors left (I so enjoyed seeing them but having that many people in the room was a lot of work. It’s hard to keep to small boys (one age 4 and the other age 10 months) entertained at the best of times…it’s even more difficult in a hospital.) I think I slept a little. My memory starts to get a little fuzzy about details from this point on. I do know that Abe leaving was just as difficult for me (as it was every night that week). I also know that I spent time on Twitter keeping those wonderful friends updated on how I was doing.
After my visitors left (I so enjoyed seeing them but having that many people in the room was a lot of work. It’s hard to keep to small boys (one age 4 and the other age 10 months) entertained at the best of times…it’s even more difficult in a hospital.) I think I slept a little. My memory starts to get a little fuzzy about details from this point on. I do know that Abe leaving was just as difficult for me (as it was every night that week). I also know that I spent time on Twitter keeping those wonderful friends updated on how I was doing.
I have to point out that I am so thankful & appreciative of all those who did their best to cheer me up & keep tabs on me thru Twitter. What a blessing in a time where I felt terribly isolated. Not knowing what was/is wrong (although I’m sure it’s my gallbladder I haven’t been “officially” diagnosed) and lying in that room alone was terrifying. There really aren’t words to let all those people (some who I met for the first time while in hospital) know how much that meant to me. Thank you again to everybody on Twitter who chatted with me. You were good medicine for my soul. Some of them went above & beyond…they know who they are & how I feel about them.
Wednesday I was off food & liquids again for some more fun tests. I got the fun of a pelvic ultrasound (I’m not going into details on this one…if you know what I’m talking about then I’m sorry ‘cuz they are more awkward than a traditional gyn exam. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then count yourself lucky.) plus a second gyn exam & and EGD. The EGD is worth telling about…I was quite amusing from what I’ve gathered from other sources.
For the EGD (it’s a scope stuck down your throat into your stomach) I was taken down to the surgery section of 4West. The got me settled on the table in the room & got me hooked to the blood pressure monitor and heart monitor. I also got a toasty warm blanket tucked around me as I was freezing (I was cold all the time while I was there). By this time I had such a cocktail of meds that I drifted in & out of sleep at random. I think I have a pretty good idea what being narcoleptic must be like. Anyway, I fell asleep on the table & the nurses had to wake me up to get me prepped. I was not an easy patient although it wasn’t on purpose. I simply could not stay awake. Finally the did get me rolled onto my right side, the oxygen in my nose (which I wouldn’t stop touching ‘cuz it felt so weird so they finally pinned my arms down with the blanket) & the mouth guard (so I wouldn’t accidently bite the scope) in. I very vaguely remember some lady telling me they were going to sedate me. The next thing I remember is asking if we were done. I asked this question at least 10 times…I’d fall asleep again & couldn’t remember what was going on. Then as I was headed back to my room someone decided to take me to 6West. Fortunately one of my nurses saw me before I could get carted up to floors…I would have really freaked out had I woken up there. I made it back to my room with a team of 4 people. These were the lucky ones that got to help transfer me from the bed I was in to the bed in my room. The two beds were put as close together as possible with a plastic body board slanted between them. I then got the option to slide down myself or have them help. Feeling adventurous I quite giddily decided to slide….much to the amusement of all present. Apparently I felt the need to “Wheeeee!” as I slid down into my bed. I also managed to get quite tangled in my length of IV hose.
Not long after that little bit of comedy my brother-in-law Pete popped in to check on me. He was working & had a transfer from Cloquet to Duluth (he’s a firefighter & paramedic) so he took a couple minutes to see me. I don’t remember much of that except for him hugging me good-bye…I patted his face several times with both hands….ah well what can I say I was pretty drugged up. Abe has also informed me (I have NO recollection of the following events) that I hollered at Abe for not using the television remote properly & demanding that it be handed to me. I also got quite animated & very angry about all the snowmen that were populating the room. {Abe says I was creeped out by snowmen in August.} In the imperious manner that only I can have when impaired by drugs (or alcohol) I announced that the snowmen were bothering me & that flicking them was the only way to make them disappear. I then proceeded to demonstrate & apparently had some success in disbanding the little creatures as I did calm down. (Every time I mention the snowmen Abe’s gets a very funny look on his face & he laughs.)
I have so much more to tell but it’ll keep a bit longer…I’ll fill you all in on the rest of my stay & what I think of the whole crazy business in another post. (That is of course if you still want to read it…I promise to write about something else very soon.)
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