I ramble in this final part.
I went to Jacobi Hospital April 8th and was discharged April 18th. I have mixed emotions regarding this visit.
The doctors and the nurses were very good. There were some Asian nurses (from Korea I believe) who I couldn't always understand but were very nice. Doctors are usually brief in their appearances but mine were informative. I wasn't happy to be staying at Jacobi as long as I was but I understand.
By the third day I was already tired of the IV and being stationary for it though. All necessary.
What was awful was the food. I have heard people complain about hospital food before. I can't say one way or the other about how it tasted because I never got to eat any of it.
I am allergic to nuts, tree nuts and legumes. For those unfamiliar legumes are beans and peas, specifically. I told the hospital upon my entry about my food allergies. When I got my first meal there was no mention of my situation so I mentioned it to the nurses. They assured e they would tell the dietitians. Meanwhile I am getting meals garnished with green peas. Eventually I would see my allergies listed on my menu but the entrees would still have some legume in it. One day I got tilapia with green peas all over it. Consequentially I would only eat a fruit or a fruit cocktail because the food either had allergens in it or I was afraid they were mixed in the ingredients. Some evenings my cousin would visit me and bring me a sandwich from Subway. Otherwise I would have fruit or a fruit cup everyday. For almost two weeks.
One day one of the substitute doctors was talking to me about being borderline diabetic. Granted, I am a big guy. I wasn't borderline diabetic before this visit. However, taking about three different antibiotics through IV and eating basically nothing I had questions about being borderline diabetic. MY thinking was either:
1) There was an error because I lost significant weight in the hospital due to being malnourished.
2) Being on three intravenous antibiotics and not eating messed with my blood sugar.
I left the hospital feeling weak due to the forced diet. On my own I will check on the diabetes but I am still certain it was brought on by the hospital stay.
That is literally the scariest shit. What if a person comes into the hospital and cannot really do for themselves. If they have food allergies they can eat something and die in the hospital. I was stubborn. I wouldn't trust anything. I got beef stew which had green peas all in it.
In fairness Jacobi tried to accommodate me. They offered a sandwich with the meal. However the sandwich was often warm and I don't eat warm chicken salad. Or the warm yogurt. They need food advocates.
I have to harp on the allergy issue. If I had dementia or other mental issues having that crap on my plate could cause greater issues than I experienced. I am schooled in the dangers of food allergies. I lost a considerable amount of weight because I wasn't able to have a balanced diet or even eat. Being on IV antibiotics and not eating I don't know what damage was done.
Around April 14th the doctors acknowledged that I had a nasty strain of whatever bacteria I came in contact with. They were concerned about my white blood count going up. The Infectious Disease doctors concluded I had a nasty strain of the cellulitus bug and that I needed to be on the antibiotics longer. I think I was on one antibiotic and it was increased to three. These physicians also concluded that I got to the hospital in time. I didn't need surgery. My doctors told me that I was responding to the increased antibiotics and that I should be able to go home the following Monday.
I was nervous. The lead doctor was off that Sunday (the 17th) and the physician who substituted for her went in a different direction, choosing to feel my undiagnosed borderline diabetes was the culprit. I thought they were trying to find more reasons to keep me in the hospital. I was skeptical about leaving the hospital until I actually got discharged the next day.
When I got discharged I got a surprise. I originally thought I had the flu. They admitted me for cellulitus. They treated my celulitus. They discharged me for Deep Vein Thrombosis.
I got one CAT Scan once midway through my stay. They said I had no clots. I asked no questions. I wanted to leave. Some people think that you just go to the hospital and stay until you recover. People forget the "little" things like rent, work, leave from work, bills and even garbage.I was going to pay my rent on April 10th. Now I have to pay an extra $50 because I am late. I used a lot of annual (personal) leave from work. I am concerned about having to return to the hospital because I will have no leave and thus no way to pay any bills.
My post hospital situation has been interesting. During the last days inside the hospital the skin around my leg became hard. My leg wasn't in pain but it was stiff. A little swollen at times. A few days after getting home the skin started to peel. The new skin was not irritated, but I am scared to peel anything. Meanwhile the old skin gets itchy and will rub off. The leg gets swollen from time to time. I was told to walk, however, walking or even sitting makes the leg swell with no pain. If I sit with my leg up there is no or very little swelling. I have a follow up on Tuesday and I am nervous.
And I need to see my primary doctor. Actually I need to see a brand new physician. After trying to see my personal doctor on April 5th and not getting anywhere I need a new doctor.
No comments:
Post a Comment