“Blood is that fragile scarlet tree we carry within us.”
~Osbert Sitwell
TIME: 6:20 PM
PLACE: Pheresis Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital
SUBJECT: Double Needle Platelet Collection
After a week of iron supplements…I qualified!
(13.7 baby!)
So they hooked me up.
My whole blood went into the pheresis machine.
Some platelets were removed.
Then my blood was returned to me.
This was repeated for about 70 minutes.
I had a little bit of tingling from the anticoagulant that was used, so I was given some Tums for calcium.
Other than that, it went smoothly.
I believe I will donate again.
“Everybody does something stupid at some time in their lives…right Mom?”
StellaDella, to me on the drive to the hospital to remove a piece of gravel from her ear.
TIME: 8:17 PM
PLACE: Emergency room
SUBJECT: Pebble removed from SD’s right ear
We were watching TV (eagerly anticipating the mid-season finale of “The Walking Dead”) when SD went to her father and told him that she had a rock in her ear. Seriously? Apparently, she had found the pebble on the rug, was rubbing it on the outside of her ear (don’t ask) and somehow managed to drop it in her ear canal. I took her to the Emergency room and steeled myself for a loooong evening in an uncomfortable chair in the waiting room. To my relief, they had a non-critical care room available about 45 minutes after we walked in. The doctor flushed out the gravel with water and prescribed ear drops for her irritated ear canal. She thanked us for giving her the easiest case she had all day. You are quite welcome Doc. We left, had the prescription filled and made it back in time for the 9pm encore presentation. *Shaking my head* There’s never a dull moment around here.
“Database: the information you lose when your memory crashes.”
Dave Barry, Claw Your Way to the Top
TIME: 10:21 PM
PLACE: DePaul Health Center
SUBJECT: Emergency Room entrance
I did not expect to be at this hospital today. I met my dad and sister at the Dragon Boat races and we raced our first heat. Cathy and I walked back to the sponsor’s tent with Dad following a couple of minutes behind us. I was sitting down and saw him walk past the tent. He turned and looked a little confused. I called him over and he asked me if I was sure that this was our tent. He then stated that he felt really disorientated and could not figure out how he got there, nor did he remember why he was there. Things went quickly after that. He walked to the EMS area, they took his pressure, heart rate and called an ambulance. They took his blood sugar level. Everything was normal. He was unable to remember anything that happened in the short term. They took him to the emergency room in the ambulance; we followed. At the ER, he was considered a stroke protocol and he had a CT scan. That was normal. No stroke. The neurologist arrived and after asking him questions, stated that he has Transient Global Amnesia and was admitted for at least 24 hours. He kept asking the same questions, in the same manner and tone. His reactions to our answers was the same each time. “Did I have a stroke?”, No. “Did I have a heart attack?” No. “Did we race?”, Yes. “Did we win?” No. “How did I get here?”. In an ambulance. “Did you ride with me?” No, we followed. “Did I have a fun ambulance ride?”, Yep, lights and sirens. “Cool.”, “I don’t remember driving this morning.” You were fine before the race. “I’m sorry guys, I just can’t remember.” Don’t worry about it Dad. “I had a CAT scan? They drug a cat over me? I’m sure they didn’t find anything. Ha ha!” (He still had his sense of humor-that was good to see.) “What time is it? Really? It’s that late? Wow, I lost a lot of time here.” “So, what’s wrong with me then? Are you going to tell me?” You have Transient Global Amnesia. It’s temporary. “So, I guess that means I’m staying at the hospital tonight.” Yes you are. “What hospital is this?” DePaul. Then 2 minutes later, the exact same series of questions would begin again. Cathy and I must have patiently answered these hundreds of times over the course of the day. When we left, he was beginning to remember some of what he had done on Friday and starting to retain some of the answers we were giving him, so it looks like he was at the beginning of recovering. He was scheduled for an MRI but hadn’t had it when we left at 10 o’clock. He will probably be getting it in the morning. I will be going back tomorrow (Sunday) to see how the MRI went and when he will be released. He should make a full recovery, with a rare chance of reoccurrence. He will not remember Saturday morning and most of the day at the ER and hospital at all. Ever. The whole thing is very surreal.
“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.”
John Locke (English Philosopher who made great contributions in studies of politics, government and psychology. 1632-1704)
TIME: 6:43 PM
PLACE: St. Paul's United Church of Christ gym
SUBJECT: Books
Thank you all so much for your birthday wishes. I hope I didn't sound too ungrateful in my post. I am very thankful to have hot water - I just wish it didn't cost so much!
Tonight I went to an annual hospital book bazaar that is held where StellaDella attends Mother's Day Out. I didn't have my camera with me, so I had to resort to my cell phone to take my photo for today. That is why the quality of the picture is not so good. But, I did a few adjustments in Photoshop and I think it ended up being acceptable. This book bazaar is a four day event and has thousands upon thousands of books. I ended up purchasing a 1977 city directory for our town (for genealogy reference), some retro craft books, a couple of fiction books and some magic books for MonkeyBoy. Tomorrow, every book is half the marked price and on Saturday, for $2.00, it's all you can stuff in a grocery sack. I look forward to attending this event every year.
