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Life in the ER - The Continuing Simcoe Saga (April 23, 2002)Hello All, Sally here. Kent will be off-line for a while, so he left this missive for me to write. I have big shoes to fill, so here goes. When we left off yesterday, we left you looking for flying pigs, high hopes for the effectiveness of pain killers and us severely sleep deprived. Things didn't go as we hoped. Kent had relief from the pain meds until around 8:00 p.m. Monday night. Then things went from bad to worse. Not only did the pain return, but with it, a serious weakening of the right leg, so much so that he can no longer trust it to stand. Transferring is downright dangerous. This morning he told me that he would not be able to transfer into the van to get to the doctor's office. He wrote a letter to his primary doctor letting him know about this and that he thought he was having a reaction to some of the medication making him extra swollen and itchy. He asked to be hospitalized to get resolution to the problems since he could no longer care for himself. Across the top of the letter in BIG BOLD TYPE -- "URGENT - RESPONSE REQUESTED" which we hoped would get some attention. He faxed it a 6:45 a.m. When we called at 9:30 (they don't take calls before then) we mentioned that we hadn't heard back from the doctor. Oh, he hasn't seen any fax, and by the way, the doctor will be leaving at noon due to a bad back. In the meantime, we still had not heard from the neurosurgeon about all the tests he requested. Another call. Oh, the receptionist has 23 other procedures to schedule, she'll call when she has information. 11:55 a.m. - Call to the doctor's office. Answering service picks up. No we can't put your call through. Call back at 2:30 when they are back on-line. At that point, I was really steamed. No, we're not going to wait until 2:30. I called back, "This is an emergency for the doctor." Reply, "What organization are you with?" "I'm calling on behalf of my husband." Reply, "Where is he?" "At home," I said, "since he's paralyzed and I can't get him anywhere else. We really need to talk to the doctor." "If it's really an emergency, go to the emergency room and they will page the doctor." We call Roseville Transit and ask for a pick up by the lift bus. Really bad idea. Never ride in the back of the bus if you are in severe pain. I drove my van so I would have a way home and was going to follow them over. The driver was new and when she pulled into the fast lane, I moved with her. Suddenly, she changed lanes. There was a car coming up too fast behind me and I couldn't get over. I went on ahead figuring they would catch up and I would have a chance to find a parking place. Another bad idea. The bus was "hijacked" to pick up another rider, driver got lost, Kent was frantic. Finally arrived at the hospital after an hour. In the meantime, while waiting for the bus, the neurosurgeon's office left a message. MRI scheduled for May 21, neurologist scheduled for May 15, follow-up with neurosurgeon, middle of June. We think it's great that folks can afford to schedule their medical tests over a month in advance. We wondered how many of them either clear up on their own, or don't survive until the appointment.
2:30 we check into the emergency room. 3:30 we got to see a doctor. By 4:00 he was on an IV with antibiotics for the lump, now being called mastitis. By 5:00 the doctor said he was going to admit Kent to the hospital to try to get to the bottom of things. Yeah!!! They are finally listening. At 5:30 they ordered an ultrasound on the lump. At 7:30 the nurses changed shifts, still waiting on the ultrasound. "We won't move him upstairs until we have the ultrasound." Good thing the gurney was adjustable. I was able to keep him comfortable while waiting for tests. 8:00, finally ready for him. "You have to lay down flat so we get a good image." Oops, spaz attack. severe pain. Can't lay flat, find another way. So to make a long story shorter, he was finally admitted to Sutter Roseville Memorial Hospital at 9:00 p.m. I left at 10:00 after I was sure he was settled and in good hands. He was still in great pain from the ultrasound incident but at least he can adjust himself in bed and won't have to worry about transfers during the night. When he called to make sure I got home safely, he was finally feeling no pain. Whatever magic white pill they gave him kicked in really quick. So here's to a good night's sleep for all of us. Thanks to all of you who are praying for us. Keep it up. We still need to find out what is causing all the problems and what can be done about them. But at least we seem to be making progress. Words of cheer and encouragement are welcome. Love from some very tired Simcoes.
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1:50 p.m. primary physician's office leaves voicemail. The
doctor is referring you to a neurologist. You can see him on May 8th. If he
comes up with any cancellations before that, he'll try to squeeze you in. Right.