The Monday morning after being in the ER for my cough, I wake up and am not doing well. I am finding it hard to move my body. I have to cancel my rehabilitation session for the day. I book a massage to see if we can limber me up again. I am unsure as to what is going on or what to do.
Tuesday morning, July 28, 2009...I wake up and I can't move. It takes me forever to get to the bathroom and to try get myself ready. I feel like everything is locking up on me. I call my friend Lisa to talk about what is happening. She tells me I need to call the Health Link and ask them what they think. I call health link and they urge me to get to the ER. This is just crazy. I call Glenn at work and he comes home immediately. We call an ambulance as Glenn doesn't know how he will get me to the car. My joints are completely stiff, I can move with minimal mobility.
The firemen and ambulance crew come. My hands are starting to curl in, I have lost movement in them. It is scary for us. What is going on in my body now??!! I am taken to the UofA emergency room. We don't have too wait too long before I am taken back into the examining area. They somehow get me from the ambulance stretcher to the hospital stretcher. We wait for the doctor...
Now I feel like I am in a soap opera. You know, most soap opera's, daytime television, they end up being in the hospital or the show is based around a hospital setting. I feel like this the moment the ER doctor comes in. He doesn' look like a doctor, he looks like an actor out of Hollywood who is trying to play the role of the doctor. Think, pretty boy. He isn't even in full scrubs. You know, tight t-shirt to show off his biceps which I am sure is the only thing he works on...no, I think he works on perfecting his hair as well...when he isn't playing doctor. Anyways...I am laying on a stretcher and can't move...back to that...
So pretty boy doctor comes in and asks me a few questions. He does a very quick, not very thorough physical exam of my joints etc. He says he will be back. He comes back a little while later. Remember how any doctor can check on all the medical history of what has been going on with me lately? This can be a good thing and a bad thing. So he has looked at my file and sees that I have been through numerous tests and blood work and he feels that he doesn't need to do anything. He says that I should follow up with my doctor as he knows best about what is going on with my care at the moment. We ask what do we do for now as I can't move. He prescribes me morphine, which I cannot take and I tell him that. He refuses to give me any other medication. He refuses to do any blood work or any testing on me today. We ask if it could be an infection taking over my body or something and should he maybe check for that. His answer is go see my doctor.
The problem is, my doctor is on holidays this week and the next. Isn't that always the case? I tell pretty boy that and he doesn't really care, just gives me the morphine prescription and tells us to have a nice day. Yup. How do I get off this stretcher?
Glenn goes and gets a wheel chair and somehow maneuvers me into it to take me to the car. Again, with difficulty and maneuvering, he gets me into the car. It is now just before lunch time. I tell Glenn that there is no way I am getting out of this car unless it is to go see a doctor. We drive home, Glenn grabs me some shoes, we go to a fast food restaurant for food so we can order in the drive through and then eat in the car. At 1:00 I am going to go to my doctor's office and see the doctor that is covering for my doctor while he is away. You see the fun in all of this!!??
With lots of patience and time, we get me into the doctor's office. The poor doctor that is covering for mine... He has no idea what has been going on with me and tries to catch up real quick by looking at my file and asking me questions. The poor guy is scrambling. He wants and needs to help me but this is out of his scope. He orders a bunch of blood work and tells me to hang on until Dr. Boyko gets back and can see me. There really isn't any more that he can do for me. I feel bad for him as he is trying his best but he really is unsure as to what to do.
Glenn and I spend the rest of the afternoon getting me to the lab for blood work and then getting me back home. The day is now gone. When you have very little mobility, a simple task can take up most of the day. We get me settled into bed. Glenn has to come help me out of bed to get to the bathroom. Glenn has to get me off the toilet as I can't do this myself. It has been a long and trying day for the both of us.
The next day, I have a little more mobility so Glenn goes to work. I tell him if I need him I will call. I pray I don't have to use the bathroom much that day. Hopefully I can stay in bed and not have to worry about getting around. My friend comes over to visit. She can hardly believe it. I am totally like an old woman trying to move around and get up and down. At least it is a little better but what does it all mean and when will I have full range of mobility again? Rehabilitation has been suspended for 4 weeks. Jay, my therapist, doesn't want to work on me until they know what is going on with me. We have taken a major step back.
Life's Path
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