I gathered my phone and my purse, looked at my sick ass self in the mirror (I really could have used some make-up) and made a run for the car after a quick bathroom break. It was about 7:30 in the morning and I had been up since 3:30 doing my business if you will so I was tired. I managed to call my sister on my drive to the hospital to tell her where I was going in case people were looking for me.
Two minutes later my phone rang and I noticed that it was my second mother Kathy calling. As much as I didn't want to worry anyone, I answered her call. She was so concerned that she dropped her plans and decided to meet me at the hospital. What a sweet person. I knew that I would have to call my mom, who was at the cabin, after I talked to Kathy. They have been best friends for years so the word would get to her sooner or later. Her initial thoughts were to come home but I convinced her to wait and see what the doctors had to say before doing anything irrational.
I entered the ER and was happy to see that it was a slow day. Of course, the fact that I was losing blood sent me straight to the front of the line anyway. I was escorted back to explain my situation but once the doctors heard that I had been overseas the month before, I was immediately put in isolation. They were afraid that I had contracted some kind of contagious infection and didn't want to spread it around.
I could not believe what was happening. The day before I was playing in a golf tournament and twelve hours later I was quarantined.
I was seen by two nurses and a doctor right away for an initial examination. I explained my symptoms and that I was a bad patient. They found my honesty somewhat amusing. And then I was informed that a CT scan was necessary. Great, I did not have time to be this sick. I had planned my daughter's birthday party for the next day and invited thirty guests. I explained my worried to Kathy and my nurse but then remembered.
"Maybe I can't host a party when I'm running to the toilet every ten minutes."
The nursed laughed and replied, "you would be a serious party pooper."
Kathy and I laughed at his joke that was so wrong it was funny.
After my CT scan the doctors informed me that my colon was inflamed and since I was still bleeding and having pain, I would have to stay over night in the hospital.
No!! I thought. I want to go home.
Then I said allowed, "no...can't I just go home?"
The doctor smirked and replied, "do you think you can manage your pain by yourself?"
I thought about the two doses of morphine I had had in the last five hours and replied, "no."
"I didn't think so," he said smugly yet in a caring manner.
As the doctor's prepared my new room, Kathy said good-bye and said that she would stop by later. Then I decided it was time to call my parents back. They were so concerned by the news of my hospital stay that they decided to come home and help me with my kids. I also chose to cancel my daughter's birthday party but my lovely mother hosted a smaller version with my family, Kathy's family and my best friend Stacy's family. It was still a good size party with twenty guests excluding the birthday girl's mama.
My kids were worried about their mom as you can imagine. Since Stacy's kids attended the party, they were often preoccupied but my sisters said that they were pretty clingy to all of the adult women in the room.
I felt so bad for my babies. It must have been so scary for them to have a sick mom. And as bummed as I was to be hospitalized, I was thankful to have such supportive friends and family.
To keep my sanity, Stacy visited me while the party was in full force. She was my third guest after Kathy and my parents and it was nice to see her smiling face. The best part was that Stace had just completed her RD license, registered dietitian, and the knowledge she retained from her residency was still fresh in her mind so she helped answer some of my questions about infections and diet where digestion was concerned.
The following day doctors still did not know what was wrong with me so I had to stay a third day in the hospital and wait for the results of my culture to come back. I called my parents to inform them of my fate and they seemed as stressed out as I was. As a way to control anything, my mom decided to bring my kids up to see me. They were so worried about me and just wanted to see their mama.
I was just a desperate to see them but I looked like hell. I immediately called my nurse and found my way into the shower. I put on street clothes and a sweatshirt to cover up my IV. A needle in my arm would probably have put my kids over the edge.
A half an hour after the phone call with my mom, I heard a knock on the door. It was my babies. They looked so scared as they entered my room. Their eyes were as large dinner plates and I didn't see a smile on either their faces. I opened my arms and said, "come here you too."
They hesitated for a few seconds then both ran to me and gave me a huge hug. I was in heaven. Nola handed me a vase full of flowers and a card she had made. And then Miles handed over his card but kept hugging me, he's such a sensitive little man.
I thanked them for thinking of me and for visiting me. It took about ten minutes for them to relax and once they did the remote for my bed and the television became a point of interest. I told them that I would do my best to come home the next day but that was wishful thinking because the following day I got the results of my culture, negative.
"Negative? What does that mean? I asked.
"Well, you do not have a contagious infection," replied the doctor, "so we can take you out of isolation."
"Okay, that is good right?" I asked.
"Yes, but we still don't know what's going on so you are going to need to have a colonoscopy. We believe that you have a form of colitis. We've narrowed it down to ischemic or ulcerative colitis."
I had heard of colitis but did not know that their were different kinds of it.
"A colonoscopy will help us to determine which kind you have and how to help you."
I was not excited to have a colonoscopy but I wanted some results and if that was the course of action so be it. That being said, I had to stay one more day in the hospital. Ahhhh!!!!
And by the way, the colonoscopy sucked. It hurt so bad. I must have been immune to the pain meds they gave me because I felt every twist and turn of that damn scope. My only good news was that my babies were going to visit me again. I did the same routine by showering and putting on my street clothes. And this time, I asked the nurse if I could meet them downstairs instead of freaking them out by coming to my room. She said that she would check with the doctor.
The doctor decided to play a trick on me and had the nurse tell me that I had to stay in my room until I was discharged. I looked at the nurse sadly when she relayed the message and accepted the response. She laughed and said, "just kidding."
"You're horrible!" I shouted with a laugh.
She apologized for the joke and blamed it one hundred percent on the doctor.
When my mom and kids called me I told them to meet me downstairs. We ate dinner and chatted. I mean they ate dinner and I sucked on some rice. The first two days in the hospital I went without food and the third day I was allowed oatmeal and rice.
My son sat on my lap, desperate to be close to his mom, and my daughter sat across from me and looked up my sleeve, "what's that?" she asked.
I gave her a sly smile, "that's an IV," I replied. I was hoping that Miles didn't hear me and luckily he didn't because he was more focused on eating his food.
"I need that for medicine, babe."
Instead of being scared, she seemed proud to know something that Miles did not.
My fourth day in the hospital was my last because the results were in and they were good. I had ischemic colitis. It is a temporary colitis that heals itself and should not occur again, if I am lucky. They were not certain what caused the blood clot in my colon but the augmentin I had been on for a sinus infection was most likely the culprit.
I left the hospital excited to see my babies, my friends and my family. My healing process would take a few weeks but there were a few good things that occurred. I received some much needed rest and relaxation during my four day stay in the hospital and I lost about seven pounds. I would not recommend the colitis route for weight loss but I needed to focus on something positive from the unfortunate situation that took four days of my life.
"Maybe I can't host a party when I'm running to the toilet every ten minutes."
The nursed laughed and replied, "you would be a serious party pooper."
Kathy and I laughed at his joke that was so wrong it was funny.
After my CT scan the doctors informed me that my colon was inflamed and since I was still bleeding and having pain, I would have to stay over night in the hospital.
No!! I thought. I want to go home.
Then I said allowed, "no...can't I just go home?"
The doctor smirked and replied, "do you think you can manage your pain by yourself?"
I thought about the two doses of morphine I had had in the last five hours and replied, "no."
"I didn't think so," he said smugly yet in a caring manner.
As the doctor's prepared my new room, Kathy said good-bye and said that she would stop by later. Then I decided it was time to call my parents back. They were so concerned by the news of my hospital stay that they decided to come home and help me with my kids. I also chose to cancel my daughter's birthday party but my lovely mother hosted a smaller version with my family, Kathy's family and my best friend Stacy's family. It was still a good size party with twenty guests excluding the birthday girl's mama.
My kids were worried about their mom as you can imagine. Since Stacy's kids attended the party, they were often preoccupied but my sisters said that they were pretty clingy to all of the adult women in the room.
I felt so bad for my babies. It must have been so scary for them to have a sick mom. And as bummed as I was to be hospitalized, I was thankful to have such supportive friends and family.
To keep my sanity, Stacy visited me while the party was in full force. She was my third guest after Kathy and my parents and it was nice to see her smiling face. The best part was that Stace had just completed her RD license, registered dietitian, and the knowledge she retained from her residency was still fresh in her mind so she helped answer some of my questions about infections and diet where digestion was concerned.
The following day doctors still did not know what was wrong with me so I had to stay a third day in the hospital and wait for the results of my culture to come back. I called my parents to inform them of my fate and they seemed as stressed out as I was. As a way to control anything, my mom decided to bring my kids up to see me. They were so worried about me and just wanted to see their mama.
I was just a desperate to see them but I looked like hell. I immediately called my nurse and found my way into the shower. I put on street clothes and a sweatshirt to cover up my IV. A needle in my arm would probably have put my kids over the edge.
A half an hour after the phone call with my mom, I heard a knock on the door. It was my babies. They looked so scared as they entered my room. Their eyes were as large dinner plates and I didn't see a smile on either their faces. I opened my arms and said, "come here you too."
They hesitated for a few seconds then both ran to me and gave me a huge hug. I was in heaven. Nola handed me a vase full of flowers and a card she had made. And then Miles handed over his card but kept hugging me, he's such a sensitive little man.
I thanked them for thinking of me and for visiting me. It took about ten minutes for them to relax and once they did the remote for my bed and the television became a point of interest. I told them that I would do my best to come home the next day but that was wishful thinking because the following day I got the results of my culture, negative.
"Negative? What does that mean? I asked.
"Well, you do not have a contagious infection," replied the doctor, "so we can take you out of isolation."
"Okay, that is good right?" I asked.
"Yes, but we still don't know what's going on so you are going to need to have a colonoscopy. We believe that you have a form of colitis. We've narrowed it down to ischemic or ulcerative colitis."
I had heard of colitis but did not know that their were different kinds of it.
"A colonoscopy will help us to determine which kind you have and how to help you."
I was not excited to have a colonoscopy but I wanted some results and if that was the course of action so be it. That being said, I had to stay one more day in the hospital. Ahhhh!!!!
And by the way, the colonoscopy sucked. It hurt so bad. I must have been immune to the pain meds they gave me because I felt every twist and turn of that damn scope. My only good news was that my babies were going to visit me again. I did the same routine by showering and putting on my street clothes. And this time, I asked the nurse if I could meet them downstairs instead of freaking them out by coming to my room. She said that she would check with the doctor.
The doctor decided to play a trick on me and had the nurse tell me that I had to stay in my room until I was discharged. I looked at the nurse sadly when she relayed the message and accepted the response. She laughed and said, "just kidding."
"You're horrible!" I shouted with a laugh.
She apologized for the joke and blamed it one hundred percent on the doctor.
When my mom and kids called me I told them to meet me downstairs. We ate dinner and chatted. I mean they ate dinner and I sucked on some rice. The first two days in the hospital I went without food and the third day I was allowed oatmeal and rice.
My son sat on my lap, desperate to be close to his mom, and my daughter sat across from me and looked up my sleeve, "what's that?" she asked.
I gave her a sly smile, "that's an IV," I replied. I was hoping that Miles didn't hear me and luckily he didn't because he was more focused on eating his food.
"I need that for medicine, babe."
Instead of being scared, she seemed proud to know something that Miles did not.
My fourth day in the hospital was my last because the results were in and they were good. I had ischemic colitis. It is a temporary colitis that heals itself and should not occur again, if I am lucky. They were not certain what caused the blood clot in my colon but the augmentin I had been on for a sinus infection was most likely the culprit.
I left the hospital excited to see my babies, my friends and my family. My healing process would take a few weeks but there were a few good things that occurred. I received some much needed rest and relaxation during my four day stay in the hospital and I lost about seven pounds. I would not recommend the colitis route for weight loss but I needed to focus on something positive from the unfortunate situation that took four days of my life.
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