Christmas In The Hospital!

This past Christmas I spent a week in the hospital. After about 17 surgeries and probably almost two years of my life cooped up in hospital rooms, doctors’ offices and in for tests, this was the first time I actually spent Christmas in the hospital.
I went into the Emergency Room on the 22nd of December (a Tuesday), but I had stared getting sick the Thursday night before that. I just figured it was one of my normal sicks that landed me in bed for a week. It happens for no apparent reason and is just part of life.
I was listless, couldn’t eat at all, wanted to drink but could only stomach water. All I did was lay in bed with my puppy glued to my side. He virtually refused to leave me for any reason unless forced.
Actually that Monday night I thought I was getting better. I got up, took a shower and did my normal work from home thing (more on actual work later) and ate a couple bites of food. I didn’t feel at all decent, but I got through work and immediately went back to bed. I kept trying not to throw up that night. I kept forcing it back, trying to make believe I was doing better.
The middle of the night I violently threw up and knew something was seriously wrong. I told my boyfriend I needed to go to the E.R. He was freaked out about my health and logistics. I told him it was 4AM. He should go back to sleep, get up with the alarm, get his kids (3 of them) off to school, then take me in. I wasn’t going to get much worse in three hours and didn’t think we needed his mother to get up and drive a half hour just so I could get to the E.R. an hour earlier than I would anyway. So I laid there and wallowed in self pity for a couple hours.
I knew it was my Crohn’s Disease, but I really had no clue what was wrong.
After much poking and prodding, blood work, x-rays, etc, it all came down to what looked like a partial blockage and I needed to be admitted for observations, fluids and pain management. Oh the pain was horrid!
The next day we finally got the contrast into me for a CAT Scan, but then they dumped more contrast into me via IV, because all the stuff I drank didn’t work! Why they didn’t just dump it into me by IV in the first place is beyond me.
So lots of pain and drifting in and out of reality. Normally I read a lot, I was too sick to even do that. I also spent very little time on my laptop as it was too heavy to move by myself most of the time! I knew I was really sick when the chicken broth wasn’t the most disgusting thing on the planet.
Normally most of my pain is in the lower right corner of my abdomen. It’s been there for the better part of thirty years and I have experience little else. But this wasn’t just in the lower right quarter of my abdomen, this was also searing pain right up in the middle, just below where your stomach sits. This was extremely scary and more than unnerving as the same pain has been back and bothering me for the past two hours (but I’m not going to freak out yet).
So I was admitted into Central Maine Medical Center. For some reason they put me on M1, the cancer ward. If I ever have to go back into CMMC I’m going to request M1! I have never encountered such fabulous nurses in my life!
As I said, I have spent a lot of time in hospitals and dealing with medical staff, these were the best nurses and CNAs I’ve ever dealt with. They were more than on top of everything, enjoyable, forthcoming and kind. Anything I wanted or needed, right down to a smile was given without a grudge. Some hospital staff I’ve dealt with made you feel like you were completely putting them out if you were writhing in pain and asked for something to help relieve it. This group was nothing like that. This is the first time that I did not encounter anybody who wasn’t pleasant and there for the patients. I seemed to encounter no bad moods or attitudes on M1! A first in my life.
So I had a partial bowel blockage, a first for me. Normally my CD just festers away making my life a living heck, but not really doing anything too detrimental until I actually need surgery. This time my CD was right there causing some serious trouble and I still hadn’t found a gastroenterologist that I liked (a whole other story I’ll get to later). Well, in CMMC not only did I find fabulous nurses, I found a GI (gastroenterologist) who I adored.
Within five minutes of meeting Dr. Stuart Eisenberg (from here on out known as Dr. Stewie) I decided that I needed him to be my GI. Not only was he kind and thorough in his examination of me, he asked all the right questions, put me at easy and set up a game plan. My boyfriend wasn’t sure of Dr. Stewie as I was right off the bat, but he also has not gone though as many doctors and specialists as I have over the years. Stacy now completely agrees with me and is as blown away as I am.
So while I spent from December 22nd to the 27th in the hospital, it was not the worst thing in the world. There was much pain and fear, but something wonderful came from it, I now have a GI I actually trust.