I'll CCU in my dreams.

On Saturday morning, I woke up with a headache that reminded me of the one that announced the hemorrhagic stroke I'd had 17 years ago. I called my brother, and he came and took me to U of L emergency room, where I'd requested to go, because they have all my records, and I like the staff there. From Saturday at 10:00 AM until Monday morning at 1:30 AM, I was in the emergency room with every sick, hurt, loony or druggy person within a 100 mile radius of the building. I did not get a room in the ER, because they were full, so I was in a corner with two other beds with curtains between us. It could have been worse, because there were others on beds in the aisles of the ER. 

In my little corner, during my 2 day stay, there was a woman who thought she'd had a heart attack but didn't, a man who threw gasoline on his gas grill and burned his face, a man who fell asleep on his motorcycle and apparently had no injuries because of the helmet and leather clothing, another man who came from Cincinnati to Louisville to "find himself" but apparently didn't, a man who fell off a roof and broke his ankles a few months ago and was concerned that he might have an infection under one of the casts, a man who thought he was having a heart attack but it was pancreatitis, a man who was camping in Mississippi and got bitten by fire ants, and more roommates whose issues I can't recall. The curtains between us didn't quite keep their voices from carrying. The guy with two broken ankles did not stop talking the entire time. He talked to his friend, and when the friend left, anyone who walked into his space was fair game for his electrifying monologues. I think he was either talking on the phone or to himself the rest of the time. I was more happy than he was, when he was released.

When my family and friends left to get some rest, I had to take my 80 pound purse with me to the restroom which was at the end of the hallway. I looked so fashionable with my big, expensive, leather purse (the one I got to carry my colostomy equipment in) hung over my hospital gown, my loose, black, workout pants, and the yellow no slip hospital slippers. The restroom smelled strongly of urine and had used band-aids, paper towels, and blood on the floor. After a few visits, I started wearing non latex gloves when I went in there. By doing that, I didn't have to wash my hands afterwards or worry about the door knob when I left. A few times when I went in there, the seat was up, too. That never happens at my house! 

They didn't give me anything to eat until Sunday morning around 9:00 AM, but no one woke me until a few hours later, so the food was cold, and bad, as usual. It consisted of two cold pancakes, some horrible cold coffee, and some warm orange juice. Even starving, I couldn't put those pancakes down. When my brother and sister-in-law came by that morning, they brought me Ghyslain coffee and croissants, a much, much better breakfast.

While in the ER, they did a CT and an MRI. Neither showed evidence of a stroke (yay!), but my troponin (enzyme) levels were raised, so there was a concern about a heart problem. They wanted to do a heart cath, which I was not excited about. The nurses came by and said I was going to get a heart cath, and then the resident doctor came by and said he didn't think I needed one. At 1:30 AM on Monday, a nurse woke me and said "I've got some great news!" and I expected him to say "You don't need the heart cath", but instead the news was that they had a bed upstairs for me, which was still pretty good news.  

Meanwhile, in the ER at different times during my stay, I listened to screamers, very dramatic and loud vomiting sounds all made by men, my neighbors talking on the phone or to their visitors or themselves, my roomies' TVs, and sirens. I saw a man being held down by two EMT guys, so the nurse could get his vitals. I saw a man with a really beat up face in a bed in the aisle. I saw young girls walk in with shorts, which was a big mistake, since the temperature in the ER is about 40 degrees. I had 4 blankets over me. At one point, the ER finally went into "diversion" mode, meaning no more ambulances could come to U of L hospital.

They monitored my troponin and blood pressure watching to see if the troponin would go down after they gave me some blood pressure meds. They also gave me a heparin drip which decreases the body's ability to clot. They said it can also cause an increase in troponin levels. So they continued to monitor my troponin, and it finally went down. They decided that it hadn't gone down quickly, because I may have been on the drip too long. They also wanted me to do a stress test, which I did. For a stress test, they lubed up some places on my chest, and took some images of it, by pressing a wand around my chest. Then I had to get on the tread mill and walk for at least 9 minutes or until I reached some magic number pertaining to my heart beat level. I didn't make it to 9 minutes, but I reached my magic number. I passed the stress test, too, which meant I didn't need the heart cath. They also could tell by how quickly the heart beat level rose when I got off the bed and stepped on the treadmill that I was dehydrated and needed water after the test. 

When the cardiology team finally appeared, after I got a room in the CCU, they said there was one last thing they wanted to check, and that was whether I had a blood clot in my lungs. If I had one, I would need to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I had a terrifying moment, when I thought they were going to give me an IV instead of using my port, but it turned out that the power port was good to use for the contrast needed for the lung CT scan. When the CT scan came back negative, I was finally told I could go home, which ended up being around 6:15 PM Monday.

I have to mention that all the nurses and doctors I had interactions with were great. Nurses need to know a lot about many different conditions, and most seemed very knowledgeable. I was especially impressed by my nurse in the CCU. Her knowledge, attitude, humor, patience, and empathy were all fantastic. She had been a nurse for many years and was still doing it right. I also saw my nurse friend, George, while in the CCU. He just happened to be coming to my floor to do a procedure on the person in the room next to mine. He was quite surprised to find me there. One of the cardiac doctors that I met there was also top notch. Being a doctor is about his 5 career move. One career was at the health insurance company where I work. He is doing his cardiac rotation now, but wants to be an anesthesiologist. He came back several times while I was in the ER and also when I was in CCU and told me what was going on and explained things to me. If he didn't know the answer, he told me he'd find out and he did. He was very kind and upbeat and had a great smile. It's too bad he wants to be an anesthesiologist, because they have limited contact with their patients, although his bedside manner will help put people at ease before he puts them to sleep.

When I was preparing to leave, I got on the potty chair. There was a knock at the door, quickly followed by a head poking in the door, and when the head saw me sitting there, he (the doctor who was discharging me) apologized and left. Next, I was sitting on the bed facing the door, getting dressed with only my pants on, when there was a knock, followed by another doctor opening the door, and suddenly sticking his head in. He, too, quickly apologized and left. He went back to the group and said he'd walked in on me while I was dressing, and the other doctor said he'd walked in on me sitting on the potty chair. Another example of how guys are always in competition and have to one up each other for everything. 

Finally, I got dressed and got home and went to bed where the only crazy person in the room was me. My three dogs and one cat were all there, too. I slept for 12 hours. Today, I rested at home and worked on eating more and getting my strength back.

I can only imagine what the bill for three days in the hospital will be. After multiple tests for a stroke, heart problem, and blood clot in the lungs, the final diagnosis was that I have high blood pressure. In all my recent visits to various doctors, my blood pressure was great, so why it's suddenly jumped, causing the horrendous headache, will remain an expensive mystery.