Been married 33 years. My wife has had stomach issues for the last 12 years, constant bouts with throwing up and IBS . Last Monday and Tuesday a week ago her stomach pain got really severe.
Wednesday morning took her to a doctor to get checked out. White blood cell count was 22k where it should be 10k or less. They sent her straight to the emergency room for more testing and Cat scan.
Turns out she had a strangulated hernia which caused a blocked colon.
So emergency surgery commenced within about 3 hours last Wednesday the 16th. Surgery went better than expected, perfect in fact. After surgery she felt better than shes felt in 12 years. no more cigs ,she said she's done smoking (45) years and to throw her stash out.
Monday the 21st she was to be discharged around 9:30 am and I'm there waithing for the paperwork and we're in her room visiting with a friend that stopped in.
All of the sudden she stopped talking and her jaw was just quivering and she had this blank stare. I got the nurse in to look at her and everything seemed fine except she couldn't speak. After about 8 minutes she was able to speak again and everything seemed normal. This event happened 9 more times from then until 2:00 that afternoon as they kept her at the hospit for observation.
I had stayed with her all the time as I was worried, at 2:38 she started having another spell and then it turned into a full blown seizure. Now if you've never witnessed one, i'll tell you now ,you really dont want to.
her arm came out and made a tight fist and she just locked up and quit breathing .I was telling the nurse to get somebody now, right now. My wife, you could see every vein in her face and arms and she turned the darkest shade of purple you could imagine. Then she went limp . I yelled to the nurse, you need to call a code RIGHT NOW! She fell back ,as she had raised up during the seizure and was laying there blue. Like a corpse. Not breathing. I've got tears now as I type this.
About ten people rushed in at once. That damn code thingy gets you help fast. They told me to leave and I refused. They all did what they were trained to do and got her breathing again. probably within about 3 minutes.
another doctor came in and asked me to leave and I willingly did so as I was spent. I knelt in the hallway outside the room and cried. I had just witnessed my wife die.
but she wasn't dead.
They got her stabilized over the next couple hours ,awake and alert and ambulanced her to amarillo to a major trauma center.
So she's been there since Monday evening and has these episodes where she can't speak and lose function of her hands ,arms for 5-20 minutes out of every hour , sometimes three events per hour.
They don't have a diagnosis that they've shared with me. you can't get a straight answer from anybody ther, nurse can't tell you which doctor is due to come in or what time. the hospital is like the twilight zone and a bad nightmare combined.
Our only daughter is going through high school graduation ths week and it's been the big event on my wifes calendar for the last 6 months. She won't get to see it.
I have no idea if the doctors can fix this or if i'm bringing home a vegetable.
Our health care system SUCKS!
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My wife got diagnosed with diverticulitis a couple years ago, and went from thinking she was fine, to being rushed into the hospital, then they waited, then surgery, everything was good and then she crashed. Ended up having another, her lung collapsed, she spent a few days in ICU and tried to die.
She was 34, supposed to be something you get when you’re old. She’s fine today but the month we spent in the hospital was the most bass ackwards never ending nightmare I’d ever experienced. And a year before my brother’s brain tumor finally killed him after a 6 year run.
All that being said, the communication sucked, and living there was hell. But every one of those people helping her had spent years, and even decades preparing to do that exact work. All is well today, and I’m thankful she got the care she did. It just took awhile to get over how confusing it had been at the time.
Prayers for you and your family. What you’re going through now is awful, and I know there are a lot of folks here who sit in solidarity with you and want nothing more to see everything return to normal for you and for your wife to experience healing and recovery quickly.
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