Prompt of the Day-Have you ever feared for your life during an injury or illness? Talk about those feelings... What happened and how did you make a complete recovery?
Source- "1000 Creative Writing Prompts" by Bryan Cohen
Caution: I'm going to try not to get too graphic, but if you have a fear of hospitals or blood, you should probably skip this post.
I've talked many times about my battle with Rheumatoid arthritis and plan on starting a blog devoted to just that. But, last summer, I had the scare of a lifetime. It was mid July and I had been suffering from severe swelling in my right leg. Not just swelling. It was also bright red and warm to the touch. I just thought it was an unusual flare of my RA symptoms. It was kinda hot out, being summer and all, and I just kind of dealt with it. I would be seeing my rheumatologist soon, anyway. I'd just bring it up to her. But, while I was ignoring it, my family was growing more and more worried.
Finally, my mom woke me up early in the morning and said, "I've already called you off work. Either make an appointment or I'm driving you right to the ER." So, I spent the next hour on the phone trying to find a doctor who could admit me. My doctors were either off or full but I managed to find someone at a nearby office and made the earliest possible appointment that day. Mom drove me and he just had to look at my leg and say, "You have a blood clot." O.O A what? Seriously? He quickly sent me for an ultrasound and the radiologist sent him the results immediately. He called me while I was still in the office and told me to go to the Emergency Room. I'd have to be admitted for treatment. Now, I was really scared. Mom called my dad and I texted my sister and boyfriend to fill them in.
The vascular resident came in and told me how bad my situation actually was. The clot ran from below my knee all the way to my abdomen. I had no idea they could get that big! I just thought it was a little blockage like the size of your fingernail at worst. I told him I'd had symptoms for over a week and I was trying to stick it out to see my doctor. He said if I'd have done that, the slightest wrong move could have detached part of it and sent it to my heart or lungs or my brain and I could have died. O.O At age 30! I was absolutely terrified now. They admitted me to a room and put me on bed-rest, thinking I couldn't get into surgery for a couple days. But, then, the surgeon came in and said, "I want to do it today. Just sign for permission." Uh... what? I signed, figuring I could get it over with sooner and on to recovery.
The vascular surgeon was wonderful. He could, obviously, see how scared I was and explained what would be happening. That night they would scope my leg through the back of my knee and run a medication known as a clot buster through my system. This would break up the clot and dissolve some of it for easy removal the next day. It wouldn't be all gone but, with treatment, my body's natural defenses could take care of it in time.
The first surgery took about 4 hours. They also had to put an IV in my neck which, actually, scared me more than the clot. There are a lot of important veins and arteries in your neck and I just don't see why pointy things need to be inserted there. Plus, it was hella uncomfortable. I had hair stuck in the bandaging and I could hardly move my head. They wheeled me back to my ICU room and I was met by my aunts, uncle, 2
cousins, and my sister and her boyfriend. One of my cousins is terrified
of hospitals and faints at the sight of blood so I was really happy she
came and proud of her. They visited for a while and I had a small dinner because I was starving.
The second surgery next morning they removed some of the clotting. I was still scared so the surgery staff put on a Pandora station for me to focus on to calm me down. That one took about 5 hours. When they were done and cleaned me up a bit, my family was able to come in. My mom was talking to the surgeon so my dad came into the operating room to see me. And, who was right behind him? My boyfriend.
Oh, what a sight he was. And, I was even more grateful the doctors had changed my hospital gown because I had blood around my neck from that stupid IV line and the way I was laying on it. He held my hand all the way back to the room and I found out later that he was pacing the halls while I was in surgery. One of my aunts was there, too, and she went with my parents to get coffee so we could visit alone for a bit. He told me how much I had him worried and made me promise to take better care of myself from now on. "I love you and I want you around for a long time, babe," he said. "I've never been so scared for anyone in my life." I started to cry at this. Not that I felt I was being lectured, but the meaning behind it. I had figured it already but that really confirmed that I had found the man I want to spend my life with. He'd hold me accountable, and he does.
Already long story short, I was able to go home Monday evening. Had to use a walker because of my leg. I was purple from having powerful blood thinners pumped through me and being poked and prodded. Biggest relief was getting that line out of my neck. The doctor took it out and I had to have a sandbag on my neck to keep pressure on the wound. I fell asleep and had my first non-narcotic nap in days.
Treatment going forward required compression stockings when I work and being on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I also have to make a point to move more. Aside from the clot being a side effect from a medication, (I'm no longer taking) sitting at my computer for hours on end didn't help my circulation. So, when I have days off where I can write all day, I set a timer on my phone for every hour. I take 10 minutes and walk around the house, get a light snack, stretch, then I can come back and work some more. Or, I give myself a goal. Edit one chapter, stretch, walk around, then come back and it in the new draft. I also have to be on a low sodium diet and I'm nearly 90 days without soda pop which has helped me lose some weight.
I'm still going to have a risk of clotting for the remainder of my life. That's just how things will be for me now. But, as long as I'm careful and my family and friends keep me honest and accountable, it won't happen again and I'll be around for a long, long time.
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