h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Barton is currently in the hospital. He had the flu and managed to dehydrate himself. The doctor wanted me to take him to the emergency room on Tuesday. But you know Barton. He was feeling ‘better’ and wouldn’t go. Yesterday he took four falls…2 in the shower, 1 falling back in the shower and one in the hallway. He had fallen asleep each time. Lee just happened to be over. (Lee got the shower rod and towel rack reattached, etc., etc.) She called me and I came home. He had managed to get back to bed. I gave him the choice of going to St. Alexis(the hospital I thought was going to kill me) by squad or me driving him to Northwest Community. No other options.

Barton looks like he was the M-star in a S & M film. He has welts running the length of his body on one side and bruises and cuts covering the rest of him. To the best of my knowledge, he has yet to show them to any of the doctors or nurses. The ER was standing room only…we had to wait for triage. He got the last gurney available and was waiting in the hall. When someone finally realized that his blood pressure was 71/41 they decided he should be on a monitor and they found a curtain for him. They did a CAT scan (he didn’t remember if he hit his head…it was the only thing not covered with bruises or cuts) and they X-rayed his ankle. Apparently, he had fallen the day before also and hadn’t mentioned anything. Nothing appears to be broken. But they currently have him on IV-antibiotics and they are re-hydrating him. His blood pressure is still low. He will be there for a ‘couple’ of days. It took until this morning to get his medications straightened out and they are still refusing to give him his Provigil (his wakey-up med)…the pharmacist doesn’t approve of it. Needless to say, they are having trouble keeping him awake. To expedite matters, I offered to call the doctor that prescribed it but he said he would handle it. Sighhhhhhhhhhhh

He will be fine, however….

I am stressed past the breaking point.

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update to my update...

I have just come back from visiting. He is now getting all of his meds except the salve that finally was helping the diabetic wound on his ankle start healing...the doctors in their infinite wisdom have decided that hydrotherpy is what he needs...sigh (we have a five-person spa that he uses frequently...but). He now has a celulite infection on the flip side of the ankle (and I thought celulite was another word for fat) which is what they are giving him the antibiotics to control. He still thinks he is coming home shortly...however, the nurse has informed me they will not be releasing him until the ankle is healed. I figure he will be home sometime next decade. The infection is causing a lot of pain (a four if he doesn't move at all... 8 or 9 with ANY movement) and he can not current stand on the foo. They have him on a low dose pain killer...they don't want to mask anything?!?!? He still has the chills...but I am now thinking it is more from the infection and pain then the flu. RE: welts, bruises, cuts, etc....unless Barton complains of obvious pain, they are not planning on doing anything...if he had broken something there would be pain. If he had internal injuries, there would be pain. No pain...no anything.

Our primary care physician is not available and Barton is being treated by doctors who, by their own admission, know nothing about some of the medical problems Barton has. Obviously falling asleep in the shower and muscle weakness have nothing to do with sleep apnea and a narcolepsy-like condition (don't know the name) or myotonic dystrophy...OBVIOUSLY he has a heart condition and is being treated like a cardiac case. The doctor on call has not bothered to check with any of the specialists who have prescribed any of the meds either.

Stress level is growing by the minute. My 'fear' of hospitals doesn't help any (and my stay earlier this year just augmented that fear).

Help guys!


(lurking around messenger - crolsky at hotmail dot com just in case anyone is available to chat. With the changes Barton made to the computer hook-up, I can't access my regular mail account sigh...but I can read his)

cellulitis

n : an inflammation of body tissue (especially that below the skin) characterized by fever and swelling and redness and pain

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gee that makes much more sense...got to have my hearing aides adjusted

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still more conflicting stories, doctor is indicating a few days to Barton and nurse is telling me weeks.

I told Barton to try and pin the doctor down to what exacted he means by a short stay...if nothing else, I need to know which appointments need cancelling/rescheduling ... which is a bummer because some of them have taken months to get .... well off to the hospital ....

He is FINALLY getting all of his meds!! wooo whooo

He says the ankle is being to show some signs of improvement and the pain is being to subside slightly.

Now I'm off to bed and perhaps not to dream.

Richenda, my best wishes, thoughts and prayers, good vibes, and anything else, to you and Barton! Based on what you said, I think and hope Barton will soon recover ... it doesn't sound too bad, though of course it's not good! Keep us updated please! Also I'll be here for the rest of this day if you need to talk, and I can log on tomorrow or the next day as well if you ask.

My dad also has some problems right now ... he's had an operation to his right hand, and it's not healing like it should ... getting infected etc. but it is a minor problem and he will get over it in time.

I really hope Barton also gets well as soon as possible.

Hi Richenda

Sorry I missed your updates after I received your email about Barton being in the hospital.

I've been praying for you both and sending lots of healing thoughts your way, and I'm so happy to hear Barton's showing *some* improvement. I hope he'll be well enough to return home soon.

I should be at home for most of today, if you want to talk.

I love you both very much!

lastest update...

They re-read B's x-rays. They found TWO different minor fractures. Might be the reason he is in pain everytime he moves the ankle or leg. A bone scan is scheduled for tomorrow. The surgeon who showed up to look at him was the doctor who set my ankle two years ago. He still has a god complex...a superb technician but the bed side manners of a !*?@?!?!*@?. He decided that the wound on B's ankle needed abriding. He proceeded to open the wound to get it to bleed around the edges and then told the nurse that she should give Barton a pain killer 15 minutes prior to doing the same thing he did without any. One of the suggested choices was Percocet, but something else was prescribed. Give you an idea of just exactly how painful it was.

The plan earlier today was for Barton to possibly come home tomorrow. However, that was when the bone scan was supposed to be done today and he hadn't seen the surgeon who ordered a wound consult. So, it is probably iffy (as in, yeah, right).

He's bored. He's in pain.

* * * * * * *

And not that I have anything to complain about...because he's the one in the hospital but............

And I am loosing it very, very rapidly. Too many little mistakes are happening. How many little mistakes does it take to equal a major one? Barton is in a telemetry unit. Twice we have gone off the floor and out in front of the building. Neither time did anyone even comment about him 'dropping' out of sight...and no we did not mention we were going outside. What good is being on a monitor if they don't check when you disappear from their screen? My grandfather was on a monitor in a cardiac unit (same type of unit Barton is on)...he had a massive heart attack and no one noticed until the NEXT morning!!!!! And thus started my fear of hospitals. Every single relative I had that has died, died in a hospital while being monitored. I am terrified of hospitals, but even more so when someone is being monitored. That, to me, is synonymous with about to die.

So, I sit there keeping Barton company. Every now and then, when I just can't handle it anymore, I excuse myself to go to the ladies room...get hysterical, try and compose myself and head back into the room. Sometimes, even if I try real hard, I fall apart in the room...but never as bad as in the ladies room and that is never as bad as driving home alone.

He is in for a minor problem..true, untreated it could be life-threatening or at least limb threatening. But it is being treated. So why am I so out of control? And what do I do when he is in for something major?

HE'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


More tomorrow...I am going to get some sleep.