Back to the order... I had ordered up a chicken fruit salad, which had romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, and many types of fruit -- Honeydew, cantaloupe, oranges, and bananas. Now, in retrospect, I can recognize the commonality between these fruits -- All have HIGH POTASSIUM levels. But at the time, I wasn't really with it enough to think about it.
So, I began to eat the salad... And within about 15 minutes, I became dizzy, and started to get extremely nauseous. Turns out, your body's protection against more potassium when it has too much already, can be sending it back out the way it came in! And that, my friends, was what was about to happen here.
I stood up to try to reach the bathroom, but was too dizzy, and knew I couldn't make it. I grabbed a small basin from the table next to the bed (knowing full well that it wasn't going to be big enough, but beggars can't be choosers)! As I started to return my dinner, the Nurse's assistant that I had given such problems to was walking by the room. Like a true professional, she ran for the room, grabbed a larger basin, swapped the two with me, and make sure that I didn't fall off of the side of the bed -- All in one quick move. Truly impressive, especially given the problems that I had inadvertently given to her earlier.
When all was said and done, I gave her my most sincere thanks, but she assured me that it was just her job -- Imagine that? I then knew immediately that this young person would become one of the great ones -- After feeling startled and upset about my reaction (although not a bit angry or upset with me, only for me), she then did not hesitate to help me at a time when most of us would have turned and walked the other way. Kudos to you, my friend, and know that your hard work that night was appreciated!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Quiet at last... But was that good or bad?
With my wife and sister gone, and the nurse having stepped out of the room, it became eerily quiet. My mind wandered over all of the things that I was thinking in the ER -- How did I end up here? Why me? Would my heart or kidneys end up damaged, and what could I do if they did? And, even though I knew it wasn't in everyone's best interest, I really wanted my wife back to go through this with me.
The ER Staff had started an IV, but were not giving me a tremendous amount of fluids. Therefore, I was just as dehydrated, if not more, than when I came in... And since hospital rules require 2 lines already set up and in place for each patient, I knew what was coming next. And although I'm not a big fan of being poked, I usually don't mind it too much.
However, when I get dehydrated as badly as that, my veins tend to roll and it becomes almost impossible to stick me without considerable pain. Therefore, when the ER gave it a few tries and failed, they sent me up with only one. Hence, the new nursing assistant now stood at my door, carrying all of the necessary needles and tubing to get the line in.
"Ready to give this another try?" she asked? "Sure. Why not?" I answered, but first confirmed with her that she knew about the dehydration and the veins. She had also clearly taken the time to read my chart, so she was well aware and I could tell that she was trying to be as gentle as possible.
"Little poke here...", followed by "Hmmmm". A sure-fire indication that the vein had rolled on her. Words that I have heard many times before by this point. We laughed, and she admitted that I called it right! She soon tried again, and again was being very gentle.
And then, it hit me like a ton of bricks... I know that my arms get very sensitive when they are dehydrated, and I'm not sure if she just missed, if the stress of the whole situation just got to me, or if she hit a nerve, but whatever it was the pain was excruciating. It startled me, and I jumped and shouted out in pain. The nurse, being very young, was also startled, but managed to quickly calm herself and pull the needle out. She apologized over and over -- and knowing that it probably wasn't her fault, I told her not to worry about it at all. However, I could tell that she was a bit shaken by my sudden outburst, and I felt pretty bad about it... Soon after, the nurse came in, and after a bit of prodding (painful, but nothing like I had just felt), she was able to get a line in, but just barely.. And so that task was given up on for the night.
I hadn't eaten in hours and hours, and the doctor had OK'd me to get some food. The Henry Ford Hospital near my home is a beautiful new facility, with all new large private rooms, and many innovative features. One of the features is that the kitchen is open 24 hours -- and the patient can call any time to order a meal from right off of their menu.
I opened the menu looking for something light. I ordered it up to the room, and they told me it would be there within 30 minutes. About 20 minutes later, a cart came up to the room with the meal that I had ordered. Certainly not the only reason to choose a hospital, but a very, very nice feature nonetheless.
And then I started eating the food... But perhaps I should have considered my options a bit better...
The ER Staff had started an IV, but were not giving me a tremendous amount of fluids. Therefore, I was just as dehydrated, if not more, than when I came in... And since hospital rules require 2 lines already set up and in place for each patient, I knew what was coming next. And although I'm not a big fan of being poked, I usually don't mind it too much.
However, when I get dehydrated as badly as that, my veins tend to roll and it becomes almost impossible to stick me without considerable pain. Therefore, when the ER gave it a few tries and failed, they sent me up with only one. Hence, the new nursing assistant now stood at my door, carrying all of the necessary needles and tubing to get the line in.
"Ready to give this another try?" she asked? "Sure. Why not?" I answered, but first confirmed with her that she knew about the dehydration and the veins. She had also clearly taken the time to read my chart, so she was well aware and I could tell that she was trying to be as gentle as possible.
"Little poke here...", followed by "Hmmmm". A sure-fire indication that the vein had rolled on her. Words that I have heard many times before by this point. We laughed, and she admitted that I called it right! She soon tried again, and again was being very gentle.
And then, it hit me like a ton of bricks... I know that my arms get very sensitive when they are dehydrated, and I'm not sure if she just missed, if the stress of the whole situation just got to me, or if she hit a nerve, but whatever it was the pain was excruciating. It startled me, and I jumped and shouted out in pain. The nurse, being very young, was also startled, but managed to quickly calm herself and pull the needle out. She apologized over and over -- and knowing that it probably wasn't her fault, I told her not to worry about it at all. However, I could tell that she was a bit shaken by my sudden outburst, and I felt pretty bad about it... Soon after, the nurse came in, and after a bit of prodding (painful, but nothing like I had just felt), she was able to get a line in, but just barely.. And so that task was given up on for the night.
I hadn't eaten in hours and hours, and the doctor had OK'd me to get some food. The Henry Ford Hospital near my home is a beautiful new facility, with all new large private rooms, and many innovative features. One of the features is that the kitchen is open 24 hours -- and the patient can call any time to order a meal from right off of their menu.
I opened the menu looking for something light. I ordered it up to the room, and they told me it would be there within 30 minutes. About 20 minutes later, a cart came up to the room with the meal that I had ordered. Certainly not the only reason to choose a hospital, but a very, very nice feature nonetheless.
And then I started eating the food... But perhaps I should have considered my options a bit better...
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