I am the world's biggest idiot. Seriously.
Kyley has health issues. She has asthma, pretty bad, and she also has a threatening reaction to fire-ant bites. She carries an inhaler and an epi-pen, and if she gets a cold, her asthma reacts, and she has to take nebulizer treatments. In 4th grade, she was out of school for 2 weeks, and it was TERRIBLE! She had to take the neb. treatments 6 times per day. We've had to take her to the ER twice for asthma attacks, and she also takes morning and night time allergy meds for dust-mites. We pulled out the carpets in the whole house for her, and she has hypo-allergenic bedding.
I recently refilled ALL of her meds, which I do yearly, to make sure nothing is expired when she needs to use it. (mainly her epi-pen). So, She got 6 total. inhaler, epi-pen, daily asthma steroid, morning allergy, night-time allergy, and neb-treatment (just in case). We decided that for her emergency meds (inhaler and epi-pen), she should have 3 this year. In middle-school, they don't keep them in the classroom, and she is not the best at making sure she has the stuff with her. So, we decided we would keep 1 at home, 1 in her purse, and 1 in her locker, which the school can get into if she forgets her purse.
The epi-pen comes in packs of 2. So, I needed to make sure that she had 1 more that was not expired. I was looking in our medicine cabinet, which is a high cabinet in our kitchen. It is high enough that I need a chair to get into it. So, I was standing on a chair in the kitchen and I found it. For some reason, it was not in the protective cover. But, I picked it up with my left hand, and needed to read the fine print to see if it was expired. Some-how, while trying to look for the expiration date, above my head, standing on a chair, my right hand pulled off the safety, and it discharged into the palm of my left hand. Fully. OUCH!!! This is a fairly long, thick needle, and my hand was a bloody mess. My palm immediately created a large bubble of epi-fluid, and I could feel the stuff burning as it went up into my wrist and then up into my arm. OH THE PAIN!!!
I cried. And then I quickly got on the internet to find out what was going to happen. I saw this. Everything said NEVER inject epi-pen into your hand, and you can lose circulation, and seek immediate medical attention. I was scared, and in pain, and Rick and I set out to our home away from home, the ER. Fortunately, we were there for only 2 hours. Fortunately it was an epi-pen "JR.", fortunately, nothing bad happened to my hand. Except for the intense pain, which continues to throb in my hand and up my arm into my shoulder. We left with a good dose of vicodin, and an RX for more, which I am trying not to fill, because I don't have insurance. But, I may just fill this RX, because of the PAIN I am still experiencing. This was last night at 8:30pm, and now is today at 1:00pm, and I HURT plus, I have been working on this post for 2 hours 1-handed. Oh, and the swelling.
The doc. told me to take the engagement ring off, and I almost wish I had listened, because instead of losing circulation to my left hand due to epi-injection, I may just lose circulation to my left ring-finger due to engagement ring that used to fit.
Showing posts with label hospital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hospital. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Our latest jaunt to the ER
So I can't write about the part that I wasn't there for. I will start with earlier in the day, because for some reason, I guess the first time I wasn't there in an emergency, I feel like I need to justify why. We took the boys to get their "first-day" new clothes. It took hours, thanks to Jacob who is pickier and more fashion conscience than any of our girls. When we got home, we dropped them off, and had to bring Kyley to the barn. She had a rodeo the night before, which, by the way, Montana messed up in, broke the pattern, and she was disqualified. Anyway, she had to go to the barn to put her stuff away. Then we had to go to the shop and get everything ready for Rick to not go to work the next day. He took a day off to do some wedding stuff with me. Then, we went to the grocery store. So we get home, and Rainia is outside in her new school clothes. I was mad, but didn't even have time to deal with it, because I hear that Grand-ma took Josh to the ER.
I freaked out, ran to grab the insurance info, and we drive quickly to little town hospital. They tell us what room he is in, and we find him. When we walked in, Josh was in the bed with his little knee peeking out of a sterile cover, and the dr. is sewing him up with a very thick curved needle. Grand-ma and Brooke are standing there watching, and the dr. has to keep telling Josh to move his little hands, because he is sitting up, and trying to help. Josh is in a great mood, and tells us that he was "wunnin weawwy, weawwy fast. Supa fast. As fast as I could. Then I twied to jump on ma window, and I fell on a big, pointy wock."
So I asked to clarify, "Did you just say that you jumped out of your window?"
"No" he says, "I was twyin to jump IN da window. An I fell, on a big pointy wock."
The dr. is laughing, and keeps telling us how cute Josh is, and how he didn't cry or anything. And keeps telling Josh to move his hands, because for some reason, he wants to help sew his own leg up. Then the dr. tells Brooke to sit down. I hadn't noticed, but sure enough, I look, and Brooke is white, almost green, and doesn't look so well.
Brooke and my Mom leave the room, and a few minutes later, we see Brooke roll by in a wheelchair, pushed quickly by a nurse. A minute later, a nurse runs in and says, "Mom, your daughter just passed out cold and threw-up all over herself. We need your help in here." So I run in, and Brooke is admitted in another room, and is covered with vomit. Literally covered. It is in her hair, on her glasses, covering her chest and lap, and between her toes. Covered. They explain that she passed out and then vomited. She acts like she doesn't really know where she is, or what happened. "Is Josh OK?" she says.
"Josh is fine, but you're not." I tell her. The nurse actually CUTS Brooke's clothes off of her, because of the amount of vomit they are covered in. They bring me towels to wash her up, and she doesn't know what is going on, or why she is covered in vomit. I am trying to hold back my own vomit as I am washing the threw-up out of every nook and cranny on her body. My mom comes in and explains that Brooke threw-up all over HER, and she was washing herself up in the bathroom. She is very concerned, and says that she thought Brooke actually had a seizure, not just fainted, because of the way her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body was jerking.
My mom and I finish washing Brooke up, and I put one hospital-gown on her, front-to-back, and then another, back-to-front, so that she is completely covered. The dr. comes in to check on Brooke. She finally understands that she passed-out, but doesn't know why, because she explains how she did so good helping Josh, and actually even leaned over him in the room while he got his numbing shot so that he didn't see the needle. She explains that if she was going to pass-out, it should have been when the skin on his knee was hanging off, and they actually folded it back to scrub inside of it. The nurse suggests that she was to busy being strong for Josh, and when the parents got there she could finally relax, and that was when the adrenaline hit her.
My mom takes Brooke home, and I go back into Josh's. Rick is sitting with him, repeatedly telling him to keep his leg down, and his hands away from his knee. We leave there with an anti-biotic, a very tough little boy, and the knowledge that med. school or nursing are absolutely not in Brooke's future.
Josh's knee = 7 strong stitches
I freaked out, ran to grab the insurance info, and we drive quickly to little town hospital. They tell us what room he is in, and we find him. When we walked in, Josh was in the bed with his little knee peeking out of a sterile cover, and the dr. is sewing him up with a very thick curved needle. Grand-ma and Brooke are standing there watching, and the dr. has to keep telling Josh to move his little hands, because he is sitting up, and trying to help. Josh is in a great mood, and tells us that he was "wunnin weawwy, weawwy fast. Supa fast. As fast as I could. Then I twied to jump on ma window, and I fell on a big, pointy wock."
So I asked to clarify, "Did you just say that you jumped out of your window?"
"No" he says, "I was twyin to jump IN da window. An I fell, on a big pointy wock."
The dr. is laughing, and keeps telling us how cute Josh is, and how he didn't cry or anything. And keeps telling Josh to move his hands, because for some reason, he wants to help sew his own leg up. Then the dr. tells Brooke to sit down. I hadn't noticed, but sure enough, I look, and Brooke is white, almost green, and doesn't look so well.
Brooke and my Mom leave the room, and a few minutes later, we see Brooke roll by in a wheelchair, pushed quickly by a nurse. A minute later, a nurse runs in and says, "Mom, your daughter just passed out cold and threw-up all over herself. We need your help in here." So I run in, and Brooke is admitted in another room, and is covered with vomit. Literally covered. It is in her hair, on her glasses, covering her chest and lap, and between her toes. Covered. They explain that she passed out and then vomited. She acts like she doesn't really know where she is, or what happened. "Is Josh OK?" she says.
"Josh is fine, but you're not." I tell her. The nurse actually CUTS Brooke's clothes off of her, because of the amount of vomit they are covered in. They bring me towels to wash her up, and she doesn't know what is going on, or why she is covered in vomit. I am trying to hold back my own vomit as I am washing the threw-up out of every nook and cranny on her body. My mom comes in and explains that Brooke threw-up all over HER, and she was washing herself up in the bathroom. She is very concerned, and says that she thought Brooke actually had a seizure, not just fainted, because of the way her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body was jerking.
My mom and I finish washing Brooke up, and I put one hospital-gown on her, front-to-back, and then another, back-to-front, so that she is completely covered. The dr. comes in to check on Brooke. She finally understands that she passed-out, but doesn't know why, because she explains how she did so good helping Josh, and actually even leaned over him in the room while he got his numbing shot so that he didn't see the needle. She explains that if she was going to pass-out, it should have been when the skin on his knee was hanging off, and they actually folded it back to scrub inside of it. The nurse suggests that she was to busy being strong for Josh, and when the parents got there she could finally relax, and that was when the adrenaline hit her.
My mom takes Brooke home, and I go back into Josh's. Rick is sitting with him, repeatedly telling him to keep his leg down, and his hands away from his knee. We leave there with an anti-biotic, a very tough little boy, and the knowledge that med. school or nursing are absolutely not in Brooke's future.
Josh's knee = 7 strong stitches
Saturday, April 12, 2008
About Us
Contact: iamdoodlebelle@gmail.com
We are a blended family with 7 children, one of whom has a brain tumor. The DoodleBelle's are: Heidi, Kyley 11, Rainia 9, Jacob 5, and Joshua 5.
The Big Mac's are: Rick, Brittney 13, Brooke 13, and Andrew 10.
We are so glad that we have eachother, and God, love, joy, humor, and fun are what get us through this crazy life of hospitals and treatments, step-family issues, financial hardship, and parenting such a large family.
I, (Heidi, a single mom) and Rick (a single dad) met when I bought a car from him in April 2003. We dated for some time, and decided to introduce our children. The kids hit it off immediately, enjoying eachother's company and loving doing things together. Throughout this time, Andrew was sick, getting severe headaches, and losing weight. Rick took him to many doctors and hospitals, who kept saying that Andrew was upset over his mother, who struggles with mental illness. Andrew got progressively worse, having vision problems, refusing to eat and vomiting after every meal. Finally Rick got a doctor to refer him for a CT scan. This was August 8th, 2006. The next day, Andrew was in emergency surgery to remove the huge (baseball size) tumor that was growing on his brainstem.
When Andrew awoke, he was paralized on his right side. He had a trachiostomy, and a feeding tube. He had a permanent shunt put in to drain excess fluid on the brain. Andrew struggled in the PICU for three weeks. When finally able, he was transfered to the hospital's rehab center, where he finally after two months, through shock treatments, gained back the use of his gag reflex, allowing him to swallow food.
Throughout this time, Rick never left Andrew's side. Brooke and Brittney, Rick's daughters, moved in with me and my four children. Still unable to walk, without the use of his right arm or left eye, Andrew was released on Oct. 17th, 2006. Because he needed homebound school services and intense rehab three times per week, I quit my job at Rick's car-lot where I was working, so that I could take care of him, and Rick could return to work. Rick and Andrew moved in with what had become the seven of us, making nine.
Andrew rapidly learned to walk, and returned to school in Jan. 2006. He continued to have PT and OT, through the school, and through private practice. How wonderful he did, until the tumor started to grow again. Andrew had 28 rounds of radiation-treatments in March and April of 2007. Unfortunately, around this time a cyst began to form on his tumor, creating more and more pressure on his brain, bringing us to the first update entry.
Oh-Yeah, plus we are engaged as of Christmas Eve, 2007.
We are a blended family with 7 children, one of whom has a brain tumor. The DoodleBelle's are: Heidi, Kyley 11, Rainia 9, Jacob 5, and Joshua 5.
The Big Mac's are: Rick, Brittney 13, Brooke 13, and Andrew 10.
We are so glad that we have eachother, and God, love, joy, humor, and fun are what get us through this crazy life of hospitals and treatments, step-family issues, financial hardship, and parenting such a large family.
I, (Heidi, a single mom) and Rick (a single dad) met when I bought a car from him in April 2003. We dated for some time, and decided to introduce our children. The kids hit it off immediately, enjoying eachother's company and loving doing things together. Throughout this time, Andrew was sick, getting severe headaches, and losing weight. Rick took him to many doctors and hospitals, who kept saying that Andrew was upset over his mother, who struggles with mental illness. Andrew got progressively worse, having vision problems, refusing to eat and vomiting after every meal. Finally Rick got a doctor to refer him for a CT scan. This was August 8th, 2006. The next day, Andrew was in emergency surgery to remove the huge (baseball size) tumor that was growing on his brainstem.
When Andrew awoke, he was paralized on his right side. He had a trachiostomy, and a feeding tube. He had a permanent shunt put in to drain excess fluid on the brain. Andrew struggled in the PICU for three weeks. When finally able, he was transfered to the hospital's rehab center, where he finally after two months, through shock treatments, gained back the use of his gag reflex, allowing him to swallow food.
Throughout this time, Rick never left Andrew's side. Brooke and Brittney, Rick's daughters, moved in with me and my four children. Still unable to walk, without the use of his right arm or left eye, Andrew was released on Oct. 17th, 2006. Because he needed homebound school services and intense rehab three times per week, I quit my job at Rick's car-lot where I was working, so that I could take care of him, and Rick could return to work. Rick and Andrew moved in with what had become the seven of us, making nine.
Andrew rapidly learned to walk, and returned to school in Jan. 2006. He continued to have PT and OT, through the school, and through private practice. How wonderful he did, until the tumor started to grow again. Andrew had 28 rounds of radiation-treatments in March and April of 2007. Unfortunately, around this time a cyst began to form on his tumor, creating more and more pressure on his brain, bringing us to the first update entry.
Oh-Yeah, plus we are engaged as of Christmas Eve, 2007.
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