She is doing great if she does not Throw an Embolism........ John Lanham to Mary Lanham on Day 2.

Wednesday December 19th

So...... See, Dad was in town. He was spending time at the hospital and was watching the whole event unfold. He went with me until they wheeled me into surgery and returned on several occasions. He was very pleased with all the progress that was being made but did mention the "E" word on Tuesday to Mom. In his experience, he knew the danger of a blood clot or a bit of bone marrow floating around the blood system. (No one mentioned that one to me.) So here is the rest of the story.



Wednesday morning came as usual. I was up and out the door. I was upset when I saw someone walking without supervision with their drain hanging out. It was a sure sign that he was not supposed to be alone. I began to comment on it and the world started to go dark. I did not faint but almost. They managed to get me back into the room without falling. Things became dark at the edges and sound seemed to be coming from an echo chamber. My oxygen saturation had fallen from 97 to 78 and my heart rate was over 130. I felt nothing but was very aware of my labored breathing and the sound coming in and out.



Back to bed........ Do not pass go, do not get out of bed, do not get off the oxygen, call the doctors.......



Bit of confusion but the long and the short of it was I was finally seen by a "real" doctor. Not to be confused with an orthopedic surgeon. Different types of people. Sort of like Lawyers and Accountants....


No one would let me out of bed for the rest of the day. I did manage to sneak into the bathroom a couple of times because of course the catheter was gone. It was not my favorite day. I was not even allowed to play with Valerie the vicious OT maven. Oh, well. No more PT. No more hall strolls. Just waiting. I was sort of wondering so I called my own Doc. Maybe he could help get something done.



10:00 p.m. I was seen by a real doctor that ordered an X-ray and then a CT scan. The IV nurse came at me again. The IV I had from surgery was not up to the CT standards. When two attempts with the 18 gauge needle failed, I suggested, in only the kindest of ways, to figure out another way.

2:00 a.m they arrived to transport me for a scan after deciding the IV's I had were enough and they would work with what I had.

Short story, scan completed. Bed plug broken while trying to cram a very big stretcher into the room to take me for the scan.( I refused to be put on another stretcher and insisted Mr. Transportation guy go find a wheel chair, even if it was upstairs!) Bed was fixed by maintenance and all was good with the world