The Emergency Room

I have the unfortunate circumstance of having blood that likes to make clots more than the average individual.  This tendency can increase in certain environments.  Examples include: sitting for long periods of time, traveling, and pregnancy. This blood disorder can also make some doctors over react at weird symptoms that I experience. Case in point: last night I had severe shoulder pain, and when I say severe I mean unable to lay down flat without gasping in pain, sleeping sitting straight up on our couch during the night, finally being able to sleep around 5 in the morning for a happy 1 1/2 hours before getting ready for work.  Unable to carry anything with that arm and the arm feeling very tingly and numb.  After experiencing this, I really didn't want to go without something for pain again so I called my doctors office to see what my options were in case such an event reoccurred.  What resulted was me having to go up to the office, and get my stats pulled.  I had terrible stats.  My oxygen was in the low 90's, my blood pressure was 150 over something, and my heart rate would not go below 140 even after sitting by myself doing deep breathing trying to calm down.  The heart rate only increased and everything else just stayed bad.  While I knew that what had happened was not a blood clot or a P.E. all of my stats and my inability to lie down flat were very concerning to my doctor.  So I got to go and spend a good 6 hours in the emergency room watching my awful stats and succumbing to the increased hormones in my system by crying that I had to be in that yucky place in the first place. Thankfully I had a very good doctor who was willing to listen.  He heard my symptoms, watched my stats, and asked me what I thought about the situation.  I told him that I felt it was not a pulmonary embolism, that I should go home, and that I want to know what had happened the night before or what I could take if it were to happen again.  He listened, looked at my monitors again, and said, "Let's go for a walk." I disconnected from everything, and got to speed walk a couple laps around the emergency room in a gown that had no tie available.  All the while he asked me different questions about Utah, and my past P.E. and then we went back to the room.  I was hooked up to everything again and my stats were awful as usual, but had not changed.  Then that wonderful man gave me my discharge notes stating that if anything weird happened with my breathing to come straight back to the E.R. and he wished me the best.  It was a very long day.  JD had a test the next day, ironically on blood, including the Lovenox that I get to inject in my stomach every night, but nevertheless the timing was not great.  I was grateful to be back home and went straight to bed.  Hopefully nothing like this happens again so that this process is not repeated.

View from the parking garage of the hospital.  I stared at the trees for a bit before checking in.  I was frustrated, sad, and anxious.  It is funny what a contrast sitting and staring at trees for a few minutes can do for you vs spending 3 hours in a waiting room and 3 more being evaluated.  I miss my doctors and Intermountain Healthcare so much on days like today.