My alarm went off at 5:00am as usual. At 5:10, I received a call from one of my colleagues who lives in my building. She was in tears, in excruciating pain. I raced up to her place, found her in the fetal position, and knew we needed to get to the hospital . . . fast.
She didn't want me to call an ambulance. Truthfully, I'm not sure about the emergency services in the city or how long the response time would be. The hospital is only a couple of miles away, so we quickly got it together and hightailed it there.
Thankfully, we discovered the clinic that we're used to going to is open 24 hours, so we knew what to do when we got there. Navigating the systems here can be colorful. She was seen very quickly and tests were run to go through the process of elimination to figure out what was wrong.
After injections to ease the pain, she slept, and I read the paper and emails. Nurses and doctors came in and out. There was a shift change, so her primary care doctor changed to someone else, but it was comforting that everyone gave due diligence to her concerns. I think being with her to testify, if you will, to the intensity of the pain, was helpful.
At about 1:30pm, with medicine in hand, and an appointment for further testing in a couple of days, we headed home.
As my post revealed yesterday, I'm used to hospitals and have experience navigating health care systems. I'm glad I was able to help her today.
Now to a clarification and addition to yesterday's post about Ben.
First, thanks for your kind and thoughtful comments. I appreciate them.
The dear friend I referred to who found us the apartment, not only found it, but paid in advance for our entire stay in Fort Worth. It was an amazing gesture on so many levels, and one that we'll never forget.
There was also another life-long friend who is the reason Ben is a PhD Candidate today. This dear friend is a psychologist who was kind enough to not only see Ben during this difficult time, but he was the source of encouragement Ben needed that he was not getting from me. I had witnessed him a sneeze away from death, and I couldn't understand why he was wallowing in self pity. Thank God, this gifted health professional did understand and helped in a way I couldn't. He told Ben that his mind was sharp, even as his body was healing, and suggested he pursue a PhD. Ben has always been an awesome student, who enjoyed school and the challenges and excitement of learning new things, so this was just what he needed to look past the day-to-day routine of physical therapy and surgeries every few months. What this man did for Ben in addressing his mental state, was just as critical as the other doctors who worked on his body.
Finally, there are two visuals that are reminders of this time -
First, Ben was wearing a Lance Armstrong LIVE STRONG bracelet when the accident occurred, and interestingly, the hospital staff left it on him during his many surgeries.
Secondly, he underwent seven surgeries in the first fourteen days and because they knew they would have to keep going back in to make repairs to his body, he was not stitched up after these surgeries, but was saran-wrapped instead. Layer and layers of a saran-wrap like plastic was tightly wrapped around him keeping his internal organs in place.
Sometimes, when I'm watching a medical drama on TV, I find it too tough to watch if it's too graphic. It takes me to a place I never want to be again.
Some things you don't want to forget, and yet there are other things that are too painful to remember. Finding that balance is the key, isn't it?
She didn't want me to call an ambulance. Truthfully, I'm not sure about the emergency services in the city or how long the response time would be. The hospital is only a couple of miles away, so we quickly got it together and hightailed it there.
Thankfully, we discovered the clinic that we're used to going to is open 24 hours, so we knew what to do when we got there. Navigating the systems here can be colorful. She was seen very quickly and tests were run to go through the process of elimination to figure out what was wrong.
After injections to ease the pain, she slept, and I read the paper and emails. Nurses and doctors came in and out. There was a shift change, so her primary care doctor changed to someone else, but it was comforting that everyone gave due diligence to her concerns. I think being with her to testify, if you will, to the intensity of the pain, was helpful.
At about 1:30pm, with medicine in hand, and an appointment for further testing in a couple of days, we headed home.
As my post revealed yesterday, I'm used to hospitals and have experience navigating health care systems. I'm glad I was able to help her today.
Now to a clarification and addition to yesterday's post about Ben.
First, thanks for your kind and thoughtful comments. I appreciate them.
The dear friend I referred to who found us the apartment, not only found it, but paid in advance for our entire stay in Fort Worth. It was an amazing gesture on so many levels, and one that we'll never forget.
There was also another life-long friend who is the reason Ben is a PhD Candidate today. This dear friend is a psychologist who was kind enough to not only see Ben during this difficult time, but he was the source of encouragement Ben needed that he was not getting from me. I had witnessed him a sneeze away from death, and I couldn't understand why he was wallowing in self pity. Thank God, this gifted health professional did understand and helped in a way I couldn't. He told Ben that his mind was sharp, even as his body was healing, and suggested he pursue a PhD. Ben has always been an awesome student, who enjoyed school and the challenges and excitement of learning new things, so this was just what he needed to look past the day-to-day routine of physical therapy and surgeries every few months. What this man did for Ben in addressing his mental state, was just as critical as the other doctors who worked on his body.
Finally, there are two visuals that are reminders of this time -
First, Ben was wearing a Lance Armstrong LIVE STRONG bracelet when the accident occurred, and interestingly, the hospital staff left it on him during his many surgeries.
Secondly, he underwent seven surgeries in the first fourteen days and because they knew they would have to keep going back in to make repairs to his body, he was not stitched up after these surgeries, but was saran-wrapped instead. Layer and layers of a saran-wrap like plastic was tightly wrapped around him keeping his internal organs in place.
Sometimes, when I'm watching a medical drama on TV, I find it too tough to watch if it's too graphic. It takes me to a place I never want to be again.
Some things you don't want to forget, and yet there are other things that are too painful to remember. Finding that balance is the key, isn't it?
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