Sunday, April 22, 2012

Another night in the ER

I slept well on Wednesday night after we got home from the hospital. My pain on Thursday was a little better than it has been, but the pain got worse Thursday night.

Friday started out rough because I didn't sleep well from the pain Thursday night.  All day we tried everything to keep from going back to the hospital. I tried scorching hot baths, heating pads, medicine, my parents rubbing my legs, and more medicine, but nothing worked. I got some relief, but the pain kept coming back and was too much to handle at home. Around 6pm we decided to go back to the ER.

When we got to the hospital, I was taken right back to a room. The doctor came in and said he would run the usual tests to make sure that everything was still okay. He also looked at my bone scan and it was normal! That's great, but it doesn't give us any answers.

My nurse came in and she was the best!! She actually accessed my port instead of starting a peripheral IV! I showed her the bruises and rashes from all the IVs on Wednesday, so she was very happy that she could save me from multiple sticks by using my port.

As she was accessing my port and taking blood, we started talking about Lyme Disease. She thought that it was absurd that we have to go to Nevada for treatments, and that doctors say Lyme doesn't exist here. She thought that was the stupidest thing she had ever heard. I agreed! I told her that obviously ticks with Lyme Disease are smart enough to stop at the border of Oklahoma. She thought that was that funny.

She hooked up the fluids and gave me the first round of medicines and I started feeling better. She gave me Zofran, Ativan, and Dilauded. When she left my room, we heard her telling someone how ridiculous it is that I have to go to Nevada for treatment, and that doctors say Lyme doesn't exist here. I love when nurses and doctors agree with us about how ridiculous the whole situation is. A lot of times, I'm the talk of the ER because the nurses can't believe the fight that we have to go through.

A while later, another doctor came in and he was amazing! It's funny because his name is Dr. Payne. He knew about neurological Lyme! He was trying to figure out what my pain could be from. Could it be neurological or muscle skeletal or something else? I don't remember much of what he said because by that time, I had had a lot of medicine. But we were very impressed with that doctor!! The Dilauded makes me itch, so I got Benadryl too. The amazing doctor, Dr. Payne, got me more medicine because I was still hurting and I had gotten all that the first doctor had ordered for me. He also gave me a prescription for some Ativan to help the pain at home, and help me sleep when the pain is bad. We will definitely remember that doctor in case we run into trouble at that hospital.

After about 5 doses of Dilauded, plus the Benadryl, Zofran, and Ativan, I finally felt better and my pain was mostly gone and I got to go home!

The nurse went to get a wheelchair and this is what she came back with! It was not very comfortable, but was more exciting than the normal wheelchairs.



We got home late Friday night. We had the best doctors and nurses and received the best care at the hospital on Wednesday and Friday. I've been very scared to go to the ER or any new doctor because of what the doctors say to me when they find out I have Lyme. But the care last week was great and once again reminded me why we go to that hospital. We never should have gone to the new hospital that we went to 2 weeks ago. I'm very thankful that our time in the hospital last week was as pleasant as could be.

Thank you again for your prayers! I know I say it a lot, but please keep praying!

1 comment:

  1. Ha, brilliant wheelchair! I'm really glad you had a great team with you this time. And I feel like my comments are getting pretty repetitive, but seriously, you're incredible. Loads of love x x

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