My Romantic Weekend In Emergency

So for our second anniversary, Garrett and I planned a trip away for the weekend. Instead, we ended up spending the weekend in emergency. Very romantic. I was tied up to bags of IVs and could barely move, people were screaming and shouting in the hallways and someone would show up to poke me for blood every so often. Yes, very romantic indeed.  

How did this craziness come about, you might ask? Well I had a fever the night before of 40.1 and apparently when I went to the clinic Friday morning for my usual treatments, my pulse was too high so the girls suggested I go to my family doctor. I quickly was able to see my family doctor who was also frightened by my pulse. He suggested I go to emergency. There I was thinking, okay people but we really have to speed things up here because I have to get ready to go away tonight. Have some last minute things to throw into my suitcase. I was in for quite the shocker.

I gave up on the weekend when I was admitted to the hospital that day. They set me up on their stretcher bed which was crazy uncomfortable to sleep in. But who am I kidding, who can sleep in emergency anyway without narcotics and being knocked out. I spent two nights in emergency before I was transferred to another floor. I ended up spending ten days in the hospital.

They ran all sorts of tests to determine where the fever and high pulse were coming from. They even shoved something way up my nose to ensure I didn’t have the flu. No flu for me. Seems pretty barbaric though. What was bewildering was that my hemoglobin which had dropped to 76 ended up further dropping to 42 overnight. This is where they figured I was bleeding internally somewhere. But I really didn’t have any symptoms of bleeding or so I thought. When I went to the bathroom my stool was black. And I mean black like tar. For those that are squeamish, sorry. It was one of the most disturbing things I have seen. Anyway, at that point they were considering a gastrointestinal bleed. 

One test I absolutely detest is the endoscopy. Well lucky for me I ended up having 4 of these in 5 days. Apparently the doctor said that was a record for him. He had never scoped the same person 4 times in 5 days. Leave it to me to set the record. They found a blood clot with something at the back of it. The reason to keep shoving this tube down my throat was to determine what was hiding behind the blood clot. Finally, on the fourth time it was determined to be a 4cm polyp hiding out. They thankfully were able to remove the polyp. Just waiting for the results now. The team was great, I must say. Aside from the final scope, they kept me very comfortable. I was essentially knocked out for the first three scopes. I handled the conscious sedation very well. Oh and I also had a colonoscopy while we were at it, go big or go home, right?  My colon was okay. They removed a polyp which was benign. 

The biggest issue with all the scopes was I couldn’t eat. I was on fluids for practically a week. I was starving. When I finally could eat, my throat was killing. Honestly the hospital food was looking very appetizing by that point. And when Garrett bought me a Tim Horton’s croissant, I was in heaven. Although we didn’t enjoy a weekend away, my wonderful mom made cannelloni and brought them to the hospital so Garrett and I could enjoy. 

Now just when I thought things were settled and the issue was dealt with, we had to deal with the issue of why I was so swollen. Umm perhaps the 4 litres of fluid pumped into me the first day of emergency. I looked like the Goodyear blimp. I thought the floor was thumping when I walked.  Seriously. So this was obviously major fluid retention. However it didn’t quite explain why my left arm and freshly manicured hand were so much larger than my right. Well, to keep things interesting, I ended up with a blood clot in my vein due to a bad IV in that arm. They kept it in too long. Now I am on blood thinners to try to correct the issue. I will be seeing the Thrombosis clinic shortly to determine the anti-coagulant management. What a mess! 

I am just super happy to be home. I thought the longer I remained in hospital, the more they would find issues that needed to be analyzed. I needed to get out of there and just let my body heal. Not to mention sleep for a bit. And to think it all started with a fever.

But for the record, once I am better, that romantic weekend away will happen.

Health, love and emergency rooms.

Xo