50 ~ A salient element ~

[HOSPITAL MEMOIR]

Day 8 – 27/06/2017

Image of an arm with a Dr inserting a needle for an IV

** This image & the 1 below is not my arm, it’s a free image but looks quite alike to when the dr was inserting the needle for me besides the fact that the vein chosen was lower because the ones above this particular point atop the elbow were overused & bruised)

[ MORNING ]
A dr walks in a rush whilst talking to another saying

“We need to send her for the CT chest scan without delay”

*Dr looking at my arm*: Who took out the needle of your drip?

Me: Another dr who wanted me discharged on Saturday said its not needed, but after we voiced our concerns I was told to stay.

*Dr slightly annoyed*

Gently inserts a new one stating if anyone says it should be taken out, tell them I said it needs to be kept until you’re discharged so we don’t have to poke new veins each time.

Left arm & hand was a wonderful sight – “out of needle order” – 6 pokes, swollen, blue from bloods drawn, & a drip. Drawing blood from the hand or wrist are the most painful places..
So my right arm took the 7th & 8th pokes.

Personally I’m not afraid of needles from a younger age but also doubt that chronically ill people are scared of needles because they become a continuous part of our lives..

Unless a drs hand is heavy or it’s in a sensitive, delicate place, the experience can be a really painful. Everyone’s pain threshold differs.
Ready, steady…

“On your marks, gets it…

Go!”

😂😂 On the lighter side 😂

Waiting whilst arrangements were being made & information sent through..

A big shout & special thank you goes to Tasneem Kathradas mom for being at my call that morning & Tasneem herself for assisting in keeping my valuables & “extra baggage” in her care whilst I was gone for the tests & transferred to another private room in the same ward.

Tasneem is an OT (Occupational Therapist) in the hospital & rendered much needed assistance, as well as company 😀😀

May the Almighty reward you abundantly for all your kindness & service!

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[ AFTERNOON ]
Dropped of at the radiography department…

Take a seat & wait for my turn..
“Wait”…

In every sense of the word!

Being admitted into a hospital does not only require a bag of clothing & medication etc..

The salient element is patience!

Essential to stock up ample bags of patience ensuring the sufficiency never falls short.. but if you do, it doesn’t matter, we’re human after all & this path is carved entirely on ups & downs.

At every turn & point the challenges rise; poor communication, waiting, misunderstanding, frustration, pain etc….

A poet beautifully sings in Arabic:
“O the 1 who makes patience his bosom friend / companion

Rejoice! The Almighty will never allow your patience to be void of benefit”

My turn wouldn’t have taken very long because my name was submitted early but 3 casualty patients came in from an accident so that took over 2 hours…

Then a lady in charge of abdominal X-rays gave me a type of liquid from which 1 cup had to be drunk every 15 minutes finishing the entire bottle, which was more than 500 ml if remembered correctly…

This does not work with gastroparesis & can cause disastrous symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting etc.

(Gastroparesis explained in chapter 10)

So I drank a little not thinking anything wrong or odd until the nausea set in, I approached her saying that I could NOT finish 1 cup let alone 2 cups or a bottle because a puke would emit any minute 🙈🙈

Then only! Did she realise I’m going in for a chest scan which requires an intravenous dye, the needle having already been inserted earlier!

** Another lesson to always bare in mind… Be vigilant & alert of what you are given or prescribed as far as possible… Be sure. Check properly who’s in charge of what & if something looks amiss, please notify!!

Sometimes errors are committed unknowingly. By going with the flow you could end with an unnecessary mess or disaster not needed.

Don’t be shy to inquire & say as you’re feeling.

Whilst waiting there were all kinds of patients sitting next to me on either side, most with chest issues..

Coughing, sneezing, others like me on oxygen..

Instinctively… The thought struck 💭💭

Goodness! Cover your nose & mouth properly, else you’re going to be doomed with the amount of germs flying around & circulating in this place…

Few hours later;

Atonement begun…

If people think flus are bad, then wait to read what follows with an infection or germ caught quicker due to autoimmune diseases & weak lungs

A combination of a kind & an experience to which any person with a kind of lung disease will testify..

When staying long in a hospital you’re bound to picking up a nasty germ / bacteria of some sort..

Short term stays or visits don’t do anything to normal people but for individuals like myself – we’re prone to suffer the effects of a sneeze or cough even within a normal home environment not to mention public places…

(I am currently 🙈)

(A post is to follow regarding tips & guidelines that need to be excercised with certain autoimmune + lung weakness or diseases because adopting steps of precaution are important)

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A Computed Tomography scan is an imaging test that combines computers & 360-degree x-rays to produce highly detailed images of the body.

CT scans are 1 of the best tools to look for sources of pain in the abodomen or pelvis, to find the cause of difficulty breathing, to show the extent of cancers, or demonstrate problems of the skeleton.

It is often performed to examime lung nodules, liver masses & follow stones in the kidney & bladder.

Some of the most sophisticated uses of CTs include examination of the heart, blood vessels & looks inside the colon for cancer.

• Extracted information from a hospital.

In a CT scan room the machine has a “bed” which slides beneath a dome like tunnel for the organ which requires imaging…
You are made to remove any clothing with wires or hair pins & lay on the “bed” completely still once the machine is switched on..

The radiographer then attaches a pipe connecting to the needle. Once the dye flows through your veins & reaches the chest area, warm sensations are felt…

Cannot recall how long it took exactly, approximately 20 minutes +-

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[ EVENING ]
Transferred to this room with a good out view window able to see other patients for entertainment 😂

A patient from Congo would sit on a chair in the passage way knitting & crocheting while rambling all sorts of speech.. Others would purposely play & make jokes with her to create a mini circus…
Amusing!!!!!

During visiting hours, family members found the situation out of my room very intriguing because all kinds of scenes not usually seen were played for free

😂😂😂😂😂😂

This image below shows my medically interesting complex file sitting on the desk 👇

A bed here & “green hosepipe of airflow”

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Its a norm for us to be accused of psychic disorders, but staying in this casualty ward where psych patients awaited places in their specific wards which were full… Made me wonder..

How do some drs deduce these conclusions regarding us when here I witnessed first hand accounts on a daily basis…

How is a similarity drawn between us & them??

Unfair indeed!

A tour through this ward opens the mind & heart..

If someone thinks “I, or we” fall in this category…

Then that person belongs there too 😜