Yes, far be it from me to have a quiet week... any week! There's always some drama going on! Well, after the surgery, which should be enough drama in anyone's life, I come back home which has got to be better than suffering in agony at the hospital. I still can't get over the fact I couldn't get anyone to hear me, when I say I'm in pain... then listen people, I'm in pain!! I think the medical profession, no matter what position, has gotten so used to hearing people complain about pain that they no longer listen... and that is a sad state of affairs. Ok, granted, I realize that there are people who will complain over a hangnail or a paper cut... and they will whimper and complain as if this is a life-threatening situation... so I can understand where the doctors and nursing staff tend to turn a blind eye... but to the point that everyone who complains is obviously guilty of whining and sniveling over "nothing"??
Ok... so what was my next drama?? It happened yesterday, Tuesday afternoon. I had called my doctor on Monday to tell him that I had about 10 or more staples in my 4 small laproscopic incisions and they were suppose to come out a week after the surgery... which would have made them due to come out on Monday.. the day I was calling. The only catch, contrary to popular belief and the fact a whole week had passed, I was still in intense pain and there was no way I could get up to his office to see him and have him take out the staples. No problem... he will come over to my apartment on Tuesday, around noon. Problem solved.
So, sure enough, he came over but it was closer to 12:45pm... which now has put him behind schedule since he has an appt. at 1:00pm back in the office. Anywho... he did take the staples out and I was trying to explain to him my trials and tribulations of the last week... meanwhile, each staple he plucked out really hurt! Especially from the larger of the four incisions. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!! And I don't think he was really listening to my complaints of the past week because he was in a hurry to get back to the office.
So, he left and I ended up falling asleep because I do get tired pretty easily. I woke up about 2 hours later, and with a little difficulty (because of the pain factor), I got out of bed and went over to the mirror. I thought I should check the incisions to see if I should put on a light dressing or if they were all looking fairly dry and having them uncovered would be best. Well, I'm not sure if any of you can imagine this... imagine as you touch the area, before your very eyes the longest incision just up and opens up... so now you are looking at a gaping hole. HELLO??? 8 days of staples and it's as if not a bit of healing had happened!
Well, you will be proud to know I did not panic :) It was more like, "Well, sheeeeeit! What more can happen???" I figured that this isn't something I should now just slap a dressing on... I better go to Emergency and have them deal with it. So, I called Mimi upstairs and asked her if Nathan took their vehicle to work or not... turns out he hadn't. So I asked her if she would take me to St. Paul's Emergency just up the street? Of course she would! I told her to give me a few minutes... that I wanted to change into more suitable PJs for going to the hospital. Also, Toby and Bridget were out for their afternoon hiking adventure so I had to make Bridget's dinner and leave a note for Toby to explain where I was and for her to feed Bridget when she got home :)
Of course, now it meant having to go down the 9 stairs and then into Mimi's vehicle. It is a small van, so we took a Rubbermaid step stool that I have. Considering the pain I was in (nothing to do with the incision), I was very pleased with how I managed to get down the flight of stairs... and then into the van. Once in the van, I changed our plans... let's go to Emergency at VGH rather than St. Paul's since VGH is obviously going to have the latest medical reports on moi since I was there last week for the surgery that caused this incision.
Well, as is known in Emergency units across the continent... the US and Canada, there is nothing "emergency" about them. You KNOW you are going to have to sit and wait! So, I am glad I brought my book (still reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett). There was a LOT of waiting around before I was actually seen by anyone.
4 hours later, the end result was they agreed that the incision was now open and that there was nothing that could be done about it. Apparently, once an incision is open after having been stapled or stitched... they can't re-do the staples or stitches. The doctor had a nurse put teri-tape strips across the wound/incision and apply a light dressing. I can change the dressing as needed (IE: after a shower should it get wet). Obviously, I won't be allowing the shower water to hit directly on the area, but should it get damp, then I would change it to keep the area dry.
So, I then called Mimi and told her I was ready to be picked up... and she hopped in her van and came back to pick me up. By the time I got home, I was tired... but more so, I think I was tired from the pain, not anything else!
This morning, I woke up and felt a lot better. We shall see if this lasts through the day. But the pain this morning appears to be in just one area. Does this mean the worst is over??? Keep your fingers crossed and those positive thoughts coming in that we are seeing the end of the pain!!
Dad is coming over this morning to check up on me. I'm not sure if I have time to have a nap before he gets here or not
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
2 comments:
This is just a crime. How is your temperature? Is the area looking more red/swollen. Any icky stuff coming out? I agree, health care is health care no matter if it's Canada or US. It all sucks! Are you still on antibiotics? I think you should call the surgeon tomorrow and tell him of the latest in this shameful series of events. Until he signs off you are still his patient. Yell long and loud! Love, Susan S. Issaquah
I hate you being in all this pain. What the blazes is wrong with these nitwits, good grief.
Why don't you call your angel of a doctor and let her know what you are going through. Then kick your surgeon to the curb, geez. I know, I know, you can't do that, but good grief, you should be treated better than you are. I think I would still call your other doctor. Dang it all, I can't remember her name.
Hang in there lady!
Hugs, Maryann
Post a Comment