Gazillion Days - Single Day In History (by Jacqui)

MORNING

I couldn't have gotten more than an hour of sleep the night before. If I lied down flat, I couldn't breath. Even sitting up I had bad pain in my shoulder and lower back. I'd been in pain for two days and it kept getting worse. I didn't have a regular doctor, but I did have a high deductible health insurance plan. But this was the last straw. My right hand had begun to tingle and swell. I had to go to the ER, concerned I'd had a stroke.

I called my fiance and he came home from work. I was ushered out of the ER waiting room surprisingly quickly. By this point, my hand had begun to swell, form a rash, and itch like crazy. I certainly hadn't had a stroke. But they were sure I had a pulmonary embolism.

First up - Chest and hand X-rays. Nothing found.

AFTERNOON

I was in pain and by now the itching was unbearable. Why was everyone talking about my lungs and totally ignoring my hand - the entire reason I'd gone to the hospital in the first place!

Second try - Ultrasound. Inconclusive.
Third try - A special kind of X-ray. With a weird radioactive dye that you have to breath in. Very weird. Inconclusive.

They were sure I had a PE, but they couldn't prove it. I wouldn't believe them without proof. Would someone please do something about my hand already?! The doctor on duty finally gave up on the PE around 10PM. My hand infection was diagnosed and treated. I was sent home. I'd been there about 12 hours an no one knew what the problem was. But they didn't think it was serious enough to admit me.

I slept in the recliner that night. I still couldn't lie flat. In the morning I got a call requesting me to come back. No problem, I already had an appointment for them to recheck my hand. This time I drove myself.

EVENING

I'm lucky I didn't die that night in the recliner.

Turns out the morning docs had gotten a hold of my chart and freaked out that I'd been released. When I showed up, they insisted I had a PE and needed to be admitted. A nasty doc joked about how I'd better comply 'so I don't go dying before my upcoming wedding' - I'd never refused treatment, so that was totally uncalled for.

My parents drove up to Ann Arbor from KY. I was put on treatment. Late my first night as an in-patient they found the PE on a CAT scan. The nurses drugged me up with morphine and I got nearly a full night's sleep. The next day they agreed to release me as long as I'd give myself shots of blood thinners until the pills could kick in. Sure, anything to get out of the hospital. I was on blood thinning pills for 6 months - ending shortly before the wedding.

But I can never take hormonal birth control again. The PE had been caused by the Ortho Evra Patch in an otherwise health 22 year old non-smoker.

THE END

Worst Day

of a Stock Broker
from La Verne

Worst Day

of a Freelance Writer
from Manila

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