Hospitalized

Hospitalized

Last Monday I had a doctor appointment. I complained of fatigue, extreme weakness especially in my legs, and severe shortness of breath as if someone or something were squeezing my lungs and I mentioned to the doctor "It feels like I can't get as much oxygen as my body is wanting and I feel like i'm suffocating sometimes" Now the previous month I took various blood tests. it took the doctor a month to review the results! Of course I'm going to get a new doctor since in that month that I could have had a heads up my blood count went from 6 to what turned into 4 when I had my initial blood test after being directly admitted to the hospital. He may be a nice guy but what an idiot!

So I was directly admitted into the Ahuja Medical Center and Hospital straight from that doctor's appointment because the results indicated that I was severely anemic and had an extremely low blood count and they needed to find out why.

Night one I had a 3 unit worth blood transfusion. I was dubbed a fall risk and couldn't get out of bed to take a shit without a nurse escort. I was really surprised I got any sleep that night as aids came to take my vitals every hour and others came to sit with me the first fifteen minutes out of every hour to make sure I was reacting well to the new blood.

Day two I had a unit of pure iron pumped into my body through my IV because it was determined that I also had an iron deficiency. I was put on a clear liquids diet after breakfast because one of the doctors came in and said he wants to do an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy on me in a couple days to see if there were ulcers or any sort of internal bleeding.

Day three I had to drink a gallon of an extremely salty solution to clear out my colon. It seriously made me piss out of my ass! It was disgusting to drink but I got the whole jug down in an hour. They also had a little music therapy there. A music therapist strummed on her guitar playing various songs that the patients requested off a list. It was actually rather nice. I was also told by the nurses that when they were checking on me that I had stopped breathing in my sleep and also suspect I have Sleep Apnea. My mom visited me every day and my sister also came with her a couple times. I would have been completely fine if she didn't as we don't have a fair relationship but I suppose I should be grateful she cared enough to want to visit me either way. My mom also presented me with a tiny gift from the gift shop which I loved and greatly appreciated.

Day four I had a busy day. I had the Endoscopy and Colonoscopy that morning. Luckily I was knocked out for the whole thing but I will admit I woke up rather confused about the time and even where I was. which came back normal and the doctor commented "You have a beautiful colon" uh... THANKS! I think... I had to remain on the clear liquid diet because they had another test they wanted to run on me the next day.

The final day they decided they wanted me to swallow a camera the size of a horse pill. I had to wear a bulky recorder and a mini computer storage unit on a belt for 12 hours. They discharged me that day and requested that I return the equipment the next Monday. after 2 hours I was on a soft foods diet like mashed potatoes and soup. That evening I ate a nice meal. I was so happy I was able to take the annoying belt and recorder off the next morning.

While I was in the hospital I had gotten a few packages at home which included an Alienware Laptop. So of course I was excited to get home and play with my new toys. I now have to follow up with a blood doctor to get another transfusion, and with my aggravating primary care physician to get a referral for a sleep study to confirm the sleep apnea. I'm on anti-acid medication and iron pills now but on the bright side the shortness of breath and weakness almost completely went away since the transfusion and I can only hope to keep improving. My legs don't hurt as much and I can walk around more frequently.I still have a hard time going up the stairs unfortunately but my health is better now than it was and now i'm finally getting answers as to why I'm feeling this or that way. I now have hope in the future.