My adventures in the hospital
On the 08/12/2010 I went to hospital in an ambulance because I was getting chest pains and I had a fever. I started getting chest pains 4 days earlier for about 5 minutes. We phoned up the GP, he said I should go to A&E, but I didn’t as I thought the pains would go away, but I was starting to get pains in my legs, neck, arms too for about 5 minutes, the pains were each separate. For instance I would get a 5 minutes pain in my leg then I wouldn’t get any pain for a few hours then the next pain could be in my chest or neck or arm or even in the leg again. I also had a lot of headaches and a bit of dizziness.
I was taking aspirins everyday just in case I had a heart attack, well, I googled my symptoms and the results was I had high cholesterol and I could die at anytime! Oh shit, Mam, I need another aspirin but give me two this time to make sure my blood is thin enough to prevent a heart attack.
A few days later, I had a pain in my chest with a fever and sweaty hands so I took 2 aspirins but the pain would not go away and I was burning up, like a vampire in the sunlight. I said we better call for an ambulance, 13 minutes later they arrived and put me on the heart machine but couldn’t do very good reading as I move around too much due to my cerebral palsy. They said you are not having a heart attack because you don’t have heart attacks with high fevers but we need to take you in hospital to do more tests. The nice ambulance man dug out my manual wheelchair from the garage as we couldn’t get in there because of the snow, but he did. I was more than happy to go in my manual wheelchair rather than sitting in those uncomfortable ambulance chairs and I would feel much safer.
On the way to hospital the man tried testing my sugar levels but he couldn’t do it as I was moving around too much as it is two man job, one to hold my finger still and the other one to prick it and obtain the blood. We stopped at the traffic lights another ambulance came behind us with flashing lights and the ambulance was beeping the horn at us to tell us to get out of the way, I could hear the driver saying I can’t move as I'm at the lights. Finally the ambulance went passed us with sirens and flashing lights unlike my ambulance I thought I couldn’t be dying yet.
We got to the A&E section, they put a bed next to my bed so the ambulance men can transfer me over and they were discussing about the ways to transfer me, with that I did one massive back leap on to the bed both men look shocked and one of them said, I haven’t seen a transfer like that in my life.
A nurse came to take my blood pressure but the machine wouldn’t work on me because of my involuntary movements, then she tried putting a clip on my finger end but she couldn’t so the clip ended up on my ear to take my pulse. Last task was to take my temperature, easy task, she put a device in my ear to take it, and my temperature was very high. We said, “give me some diazepam tablets and I will keep still so you can take my blood pressure. She said ok, I will get some but she didn’t come back! Did I smell?
We were waiting about 45 minutes before a porter came and moved me into acute assessment section but before he moved me he noticed my mattress was sliding down and he pulled it back up as he said it is very dangerous like that and he said the bed is broken and this is why the mattress was sliding down but he didn’t change the bed so every hour my mam or the nurse pulled up the mattress! Even one nurse said, it is not a good idea to put you on a broken bed. Well, I am like a wiggly worm.
Two nurses came with a heart machine, they saw me, and one of them said to the other one, they are having a laugh. I knew what they meant as you have to keep still on these machines. Have you seen a wiggling worm still? Anyway, they put the pads all over my body but they didn’t know how to start the machine, they were pressing all the keys. They said, all heart machines are different and we don’t know how to operate this one, I don’t know why but I was thinking about those “Carry On” films in the hospital. One of the nurses went off searching for a different machine and when she came back the other nurse got the machine to work by pressing the escape key! By now some of the pads were falling off, so they stick some back on and start the machine, and it gave out a print out. The machine said, “ the wiggly worm is still alive”
We have been in hospital for over 2 hrs and we haven’t seen a doctor, another nurse came to take my blood pressure and guess what? Yes, it didn’t work on me. Took my temperature and guess what it was? Yes, very high!! Ten minutes later I finally saw a doctor, she thought I had a bad cough as the ambulance man written I had a bad cough as I was coughing in the ambulance, I was only coughing because I was laid on my back. This is normal as sometimes I do cough when I am laid down. We explained this to her, and told her about my symptoms, she was really nice and she listened and talked to me. She said my symptoms are very odd but maybe you have a blood clot! Oh no I thought, that’s another symptom from Google and I will be brown bread soon. Anyway, back to the nice doctor, she said, would it be ok if we perform an x-ray on your chest, yes but can you give me some diazepam tablets to stop me shaking around. “Of course Karl” was the reply. I did the x-ray without any problems. Yes I was not a wiggly worm!
Back from the X-ray but in a different cubical as some bugger nicked my cubical then the nice doctor came to take some blood. My arm was twisting around, oh no, the wiggly worm is coming back. I decided to hold on to the bed rail to keep the arm from moving around, and my mam was holding me down too, the doctor got the needle in and started obtaining the blood then I let go of the bed rail and the doctor had to abandon the mission and she pulled out the needle. She decided to get a big strong man to hold my arm down, she came back with a male nurse, not big or strong though, maybe I was stronger then him! Picture the scene, the male nurse and my mam was holding me down while the doctor was taking the blood. Even the nice doctor said I am sweating now after completing the mission.
The nice doctor wanted a sample of my pee but I couldn’t go, every 5minutes a nurse was checking to see if I have been yet. I had to drink 4 glasses of water, before I could go!
We were waiting and waiting for the results to come back, at one point I was crawling on the broken bed as I was getting stiff by laying down all the time. We got to hospital at 3.30pm, all my results came back at 9.45pm, all the tests were fine but they wanted me to stay in because of the chest pains and do more tests on me. So I agreed. They moved me to another section, at midnight, another nurse came to take my blood pressure and guess what? Yes, it didn’t work on me. I saw another doctor, he was awful, he thought I was stupid and deaf so I was getting angry with him, if I wasn’t having a heart attack earlier, I would be having one soon. Where are the aspirins! My mam told him off, then he said sorry to me and grab my leg at the same time. Weirdo. I said if you give me two 5 mg diazepam tablets now and 2 more in the morning, I would be still enough to do the blood pressure and the heart machine. He said ok, I will give you 2 tablets now and I’ll do more tests on your blood. My mam left me at 1.15am I didn’t see the doctor anymore, at 4am they were moving me but they didn’t tell me where I was going. I went along a cold corridor with the lights coming on and then into a lift but no one said a word. The lift stopped on the 1st floor, they pushed me out of the lift, I saw a sign saying infections. I was thinking maybe they found an infection in my blood. If it was highly contagious infection, the staff would be in space suits; Oh I have been watching too many sci-fi films. When we got to the room, 3 old men were in there sleeping. Two male nurses came to take my pulse and my blood pressure. I was shaking more as I was cold so no way the blood pressure machine would work. Few hours later, they came around again but they just put unable to do it without trying! At 7am two female nurses got me up and sat me on those hospital chairs. Breakfast came they put it on the table, she said, I will be back to help you soon, in the meantime, the lovely nurse who got me up came to feed me. She went after feeding me, and then a man came with a pile of toast he asked all the 3 men do you want some? But he didn’t ask me or came to me! 5 minutes later he came around again but he didn’t ask me! Discrimination or what! I should sue him for giving me no toast!
The tea lady came round, coffee or tea?
Coffee please ( with a smile)
Cup or beaker
Cup please ( with a smile)
Then she put the cup on the table without a straw! No smile from me now, then she left the room, maybe she will come back with a straw, waited and waited, maybe the lovely nurse might come to my rescue, but no! 30 minutes later, the same tea lady took away my coffee. I did try telling her but she couldn’t understand me. Bugger, angry smile now, oh no, give me an aspirin!
A different nurse came to wash me, and brush my teeth, but I was drinking the water, as I was so thirsty, she was laughing, probably thinking what a weird man. 10 minutes later the lovely nurse came to give me a wash. But I was saying no, no, no I have been washed. She understood me then the old man said yes, he has been wash.
I was sitting on a chair in a corner wearing a white gown with blue spots and a blanket over my lap for bloody hours. I was getting bored; the tea lady came around again;
Coffee?
Yes (with a semi smile)
She just put it in a beaker without asking me, but I did get a straw (yippie) but the table was too far away. I waited for 10 minutes as the lovely nurse might come and help me. The table was on wheels, so I could pull the table towards me with my foot but I might pull the table on top of me, as I don’t have much control over my legs. 10 minutes later, I decided I am going to get this cup of coffee. I carefully pulled the table towards me with my foot! Success! But the straw was wrong way round and I couldn’t blow the straw round as the straw was in a beaker lid hole. So I had to turn around the beaker with my chin, my god I nearly did it then a nurse saw me struggling so she turned it around. I needed that drink as I was sweating cobs. Finally the doctor came, he said when did you have your last chest pain, I said last night, he listened to my heart, then he said you are free to go. Yes with a big smile on my face!!!!!!!
Now all the pains have all gone away.
They have problems taking my blood as the majority of my veins have closed up! It can take upto 6 doctors to get a sample!:sick: I've got to the point of when doctors or nurses mention I will have to have a blood test I pre-warn them they will have a major problem!:pinch: And 1/2 of them never believe me! I just sit back and watch them stuggle!:whistle: Even getting an canullar in is a nightmare, I just sit or lie and try and think of something else while a million doctors just stab at my arm trying to get this stupid thing in my arm, I do refuse when they say we will have to put it in your foot! Had it once and it was so painful.
I have many a story I can tell you about my adventures in hospital, I will save them for another day!