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.
Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin:
Still no MRI .still haven't talked to a doctor today. Pathetic!
Make sure you talk to a nurse or the nurses station to know when the doctor makes rounds. Then you can be sure to be there and awake. Nothing worse than missing the fool because you were getting a coke. [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
I told the doctor that after giving thought she came out of surgery and said she had no desire or craving for a cig. She's had other surgerys (2) and felt the need for a cig immediately afterward.
Is she still not having any craving for a cig? You said she smoked ~40 yrs, that's 40 yrs of chronic brain dopamine stimulation, then she quit all the sudden, and also took anesthetic meds, which all have a sedative effect (antagonizing effect on brain dopamine). [Reply]
Originally Posted by B_Ambuehl:
Is she still not having any craving for a cig? You said she smoked ~40 yrs, that's 40 yrs of chronic brain dopamine stimulation, then she quit all the sudden, and also took anesthetic meds, which all have a sedative effect (antagonizing effect on brain dopamine).
It’s amazing how bad the support systems in the hospital is.
I had a surgery a couple years ago and a medical friend of mine said you can’t rely on the doctors and nurses and if you think something is off you must stand your ground.
I had nurses trying to inject things directly into my IV instead of diluting into the bag. Doctor assistants removing sutures that weren’t supposed to be taken out for a week, not putting the inflating leg things that prevent clots back on after I’d use the restroom. The older nurses seemed to be less careful than the younger ones.
It was nothing like your situation, but was a terrible experience. [Reply]
Had a good day today! Her seizures have stopped. We visited for about three hours with no hiccups, then she seemed worn down so Me and my daughter left
She's still not herself but much closer. I guess the med's are doing their job. Still get the same answer from the nurse, she can give me basics and no details as to what the diagnosis or thinking is and doesn't know when the doctor will come by.
MRI is scheduled to be done shortly. maybe answers afterward.
I guess the only way to see the doctor is to just stay in the room 24 hours.
Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin:
Had a good day today! Her seizures have stopped. We visited for about three hours with no hiccups, then she seemed worn down so Me and my daughter left
She's still not herself but much closer. I guess the med's are doing their job. Still get the same answer from the nurse, she can give me basics and no details as to what the diagnosis or thinking is and doesn't know when the doctor will come by.
MRI is scheduled to be done shortly. maybe answers afterward.
I guess the only way to see the doctor is to just stay in the room 24 hours.
I'm feeling better though.
Glad things are going a little better, man. Hang in there. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin:
Had a good day today! Her seizures have stopped. We visited for about three hours with no hiccups, then she seemed worn down so Me and my daughter left
She's still not herself but much closer. I guess the med's are doing their job. Still get the same answer from the nurse, she can give me basics and no details as to what the diagnosis or thinking is and doesn't know when the doctor will come by.
MRI is scheduled to be done shortly. maybe answers afterward.
I guess the only way to see the doctor is to just stay in the room 24 hours.
I'm feeling better though.
Doctors often make their rounds really early in the morning (and usually again later in the day, but early morning is really common and more predictable). Try to get there really early to catch them. [Reply]
Originally Posted by patteeu:
Doctors often make their rounds really early in the morning (and usually again later in the day, but early morning is really common and more predictable). Try to get there really early to catch them.
True. I spent 9 days in the hospital with the toes, and I’d either see the doc or surgeon at 6 am or 8 pm. [Reply]