Saturday 1/27 at around 3:30 am, I woke up feeling really sick. So I went to throw up. When I got back to bed, I started shivering and then the shivering got really bad. I was shaking very hard and just couldn't stop. I also couldn't breath for the life of me and was just wheezing like crazy.
I made Priyanka look up symptoms for blood clot (pulmonary embolism) or blood transfusion allergies. Those were the two things that I could think of that could happen for my condition. The whole feeling was just really scary because I couldn't breath in enough oxygen to help my life.
After 10 minutes of me shaking and wheezing and we couldn't find anything that could possibly be the cause, Priyanka called 911 again. The paramedics came and asked me about my conditions. So I basically repeated all of my answers to everyone (there were like 4 paramedics who came in at all different times asking the exact same questions). Why are you like this? I have cancer that metastasized to my bones and liver. Can you move? I could but I also just had hip replacement surgery. What medications are you taking? Here are a list of of all of things I'm taking. Are you allergic to any medications? Not that I know off. What else should we know? I just got a blood transfusion on Wednesday (it was actually Thursday but I fucked up on the day, give me a break, I couldn't breathe and answering all of the questions 4 times).
They took me to the ambulance, put an IV in (by the way, I was so overly poked on both of my arms that they had to put an IV into my hand), and gave me oxygen. I threw up a couple of times in the ambulance but the oxygen made me feel immediate better.
When I arrived at the Emergency Room, they put me in the isolation room. I basically came to the ER wearing just my pajamas and no shoes. They then took a bunch of blood for all sorts of tests and even did a blood culture. Then they pumped me full of antibiotics because my blood work came back that I my white blood cell counts were insanely low. They also did a quick x-ray and CT scan to make sure that I don't have pulmonary embolism which was a great relief for me. It was determined that I probably got a bacterial infection and because my immune system is pretty fucked from the cancer and cancer drugs, my body went into shock trying to fight off the stupid infection.
So they admitted me to the hospital to monitor me and to keep pumping me full of antibiotics. I was considered neutrophenic (aka, I have hella low neutrophils) so they put me in isolation. Anyone who came into my room had to wear a mask and if they touch me they had to wear gloves. My family had to wear masks too.
It was determined that I should stay in the hospital until they get no growth from the blood culture which should take 72 hours. Meaning, I wouldn't be able to go home until Tuesday at least. It was very boring in the hospital. I was just lying there watching a lot of TV, getting antibiotics every 4 hours, and hooked up to the IV 24 hours a day.
Here's the frustrating part, while I was in the hospital, I was visited by a different doctor/resident each day. No one could offer me any concrete answer. No one update me on my test results. They kept drawing my blood every morning at 6 am. One day, I think it was Sunday, my body finally gave up. They were supposed to take 5 vials of blood in the morning, but my body only gave three vials and it was like: FUCK YOU GUYS, I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH BLOOD ALREADY, SO I'M KEEPING THESE. Later in the day, another nurse came in attempting to draw two more vials. Again, my body only gave one vial and it said: FUCK Y'ALL AGAIN! In the late afternoon, another lab tech came into draw the last vial and he had a hard time because all of the accessible veins were already all poked and bruised like shit. Oh by the way, I bruised way easily because my platelet counts were also super low. He then told me that I have another blood draw later that night to check my antibiotics level.
By this time, I was sick of all of the blood draws. First of all, all of the damn blood I just got from the transfusion are gone because of all the draws. Second of all, I'm fucking anemic, don't they know since they have my chart? It's not like I'm a normal person and I can go eat an apple after a draw and be able to regenerate blood volume just like that. Third of all, I've been fucking poked 3 times in a day already and each time they poke me, I bruised (I also have two IVs in me, one on my right arm and the other in my hand), so there was basically no more spot to draw blood from.
So I got pretty angry, I made the nurse put me in contact with a doctor. I told the doctor that I'm fucking anemic and my body already quit giving blood so they need to group all of their tests together and be more efficient about that shit. So the doctor said: okay, we'll just move tonight's blood draw until tomorrow's morning.
Later that night, a new nurse started his shift taking care of me so he came in around 7:30 pm all prepared to draw my blood again. I said: Nuh uh, hommie, I already told them I'm not giving anymore fucking blood and made him put me in contact with a doctor again. Of course, it was a different doctor and I had to explain my whole situation again and again they agreed to push the blood draw to the next morning.
Next morning, I got a different doctor coming in to visit me, of course. Again, I told her of my concerns. She was apologetic and promised that she will check my charts and make sure that if there are unnecessary blood tests she will remove it so I don't have to have so many vials of blood taken from me. She also promised me that she'll come back and go over all of my results with me.
This was Monday morning around 7 am. Around 10 am, a patient coordinator came in to make sure that I have everything I need when I go home. I was confused which clearly showed on my face. She said: oh, you're getting discharged, didn't the doctor or a nurse tell you? Well shit, no one told me anything! Thanks for letting me know I'm getting discharged.
By the way, I had a Lupron injection on Monday morning at 11 am in the next building about a block away. Obviously I was in the hospital and couldn't make the injection so I repeatedly told everyone (nurses and doctors) that I need my injection and need to get it while I was in the hospital. Well well, they tried to discharge me as fast as possible so I could make my Lupron injection because they didn't have that drug readily available at the hospital. So I basically was rushed out of the hospital with no shoes on and just my pajamas. I didn't even have my wallet on me!
By the time they were done with all of the paper work to let me go, it was 10:50 am. There was no way that my sister could have walked to her car, circle back to pick me up, then drive me to the next building (yeah, it was a block away but there's no easy turn to get there in a car). So I said: fuck y'all! and I walked in my pajamas and my hospital socks (because I ain't got no shoes) to the other building. When I get to the check in point I told them that I just got discharged and I got nothing on me (no ID, no nothing) but I got my hospital bracelet which should identify who I am. Good thing the reception person remembered me so I went through my check in and injection smoothly.
After my injection, I had to go back to the hospital to pick up the antibiotics to take when I go home. Same thing happened. I went up to the pharmacy and I said: I got nothing but you still have to give me my drugs! They made me verify all of my information and gave me my drugs.
My sister then drive me back to my apartment because by this time Priyanka have gotten a cough and was feeling unwell. Being in the conditions that I was, we tried to avoid having me come into contact with anyone who could've gotten me sick. So I went back to my apartment to be by myself.
The next day, I had an appointment the orthopedic doctor to check up on my hip so I asked Helen to drive me to my appointment. I got to meet Helen's new foster dog, Oreo, and she was so cute! Helen was super nice to drop me off at my place and then went and got me a whole roasted duck! She came back to drop it off but I was so exhausted by then that I had to ask Helen to bring the duck up to my apartment. Lord! Helen did that, too, of course.
Later that day, my sister came by to pick me up to bring me back to Sacramento. I was to chill at home with my family for a week. It was nice to come back and by then I was feeling better and was able to eat a bit of food.
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