Off To The Emergency Room

 I see I have been gone again for several months. After reviewing my previous post I was in an ambulance on my way to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital I was unloaded and wheeled to the ER. I have always wondered why they call it the Emergency Room since it is not one room, but many small rooms within an area of the hospital. As I was wheeled into one of the small rooms in the ER I noticed several homeless people sleeping in chairs or on the floor in the hallways of the ER. Once tucked away in my room I was greeted by a nurse who gathered more information from me and my reason for coming to the ER. I was hooked up to the monitoring equipment and an IV was placed for any needed medication. X-rays were taken of my abdomen and blood drawn for tests to help determine why I was sick.

After awhile a doctor came in to let me know some of the results from the blood tests informing me my white cell count was through the roof and my body was fiercely fighting something. My blood glucose level was also through the roof along with my liver enzymes far from normal. The ER was quite different on this visit compared to my visit five months earlier in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had not begun back then and very few doctors and nurses wore masks at that time. This visit the doctor was wearing a mask similar to this one, but I don’t think he had the face shield.

About 15 minutes after my conversation with the doctor, the results from my X-rays came in. A nurse entered my room and asked one simple question without telling me what the X-rays showed. She point blank asked, “Are you a heavy drinker?”

To be continued…

Where Have I Been?

 It has been a long long time since I have posted anything to this blog. I unpublished the contents of the blog not long after I finished therapy. Perhaps someday I will republish the contents since all of the text still remains intact on blogger’s server. I still live with the memories tucked away deep within the recesses of my mind so not much time stretches between the early 1970’s up to the present.

Fifteen years goes by quickly! A lot changes in that span of time. Up until 2020 I had been in almost excellent health to some degree. The beginning of 2020 had me blowing a disk out in my lower back requiring surgery so I could walk again. While in the hospital my bladder decided to stop working so I was introduced to my first catheter. Fortunately, after surgery and a couple of drugs my bladder was encouraged to get back to work and the catheter was no longer needed (or wanted.) Once out of the hospital it was off to the convalescence/rehabilitation facility for 30 days to strengthen my back and right leg.

After a little over 3 months I was able to finally return to work for about a month before getting really sick. Not being able to get a call back from my nephew to see if he could take me to the ER, I called 911 for an ambulance. That is when I learned an ambulance ride is an uncomfortable ride! Perhaps it was because I was sick, but it seemed the ambulance didn’t have any shock absorbers and every imperfection in the road was transferred through the body of the ambulance to my gurney and increased in force to make me sit up and take notice even though I was strapped down.

To be continued…