“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed-reading accident. I hit a bookmark.”
Steven Wright
Here I sit at Grande Prairie hospital. Really don’t like it here. I had a very bad experience in 2014 during a month-long stay. Been here an hour nothing accomplished. Here to check and make sure the chest pains and headaches are not the big one. Heart attack or stroke.
As always I am not able to clearly communicate my symptoms. My chest is pounding headache is getting worse. I got lost just walking down to ER.
Confusion sets in. I want the coffee I am guarding carefully but wait until they run a strip, Medical jargon for an ECG.
I finally see a triage nurse. And looking back now I have a better understanding of what happened in there. Events evidence of cause and effect made by a comment.
I mentioned a Dr. by name. She mentioned how nice he was. I didn’t have a good experience with him. I mentioned that. What happened next was something out of the twilight zone. While she was taking my Bp the blood was completely cut off in my arm so much it turned deep red and hurt like hell. I have had my Bp taken hundreds of time never had an event like this. I grabbed at the device and she slapped my hand away, if I had done that to her it would have been assault.
I complained about it. She said sometimes when your bp is high it hurts. Then she went on to say it was normal at 154/95. It was not.
The reason I sat and waited while others that came in after me. Is because I made a comment about her nice doctor.
Walking out of there was the best thing I did today that ER was not safe for me. This is not the first time I have met health care professionals who were anything but in this hospital.
It will be my last visit there.
Back to the event as it transpired.
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I sit alone in a waiting room.
I am almost ready to cut and run take my chances out there. Doctors in ER are never a great answer. They don’t have enough time to do a proper diagnosis.
What about a family doctor, I have been refused by all of them in my area. Why, because I am too expensive, I am old and broken need lots of work, makes their budgets with the government look bad.
Our last premiere held money back from the doctors until they reduced health expenditures. The end result I am being refused health care.
I need a knee replaced, back surgery done, I suspect my carotid arteries need cleaning out, I also suspect that cancer is spreading through my body. I have a hard time doing some normal things, like breathing, swallowing, lifting a cup of coffee. Oh and major tinnitus. I suspect I am losing my hearing too. Dizziness, yes but not from movement. When I lie still. My bones hurt, my kidneys hurt, throat and lungs all hurt. The only thing keeping me going is that most cancers make you lose weight, I am not. We haven’t even discussed the MS, why? Coz I can’t get an MRI done that is expensive.
It’s not important, I am old, not really a functioning member of society anymore, never mind that I am a veteran, never mind my businesses over the years have employed many, never mind that I was one of the internet pioneers that helped bring the internet into Canada. Yep true story.
So what is my plan of action? Try to survive the day. If I manage that, do it again tomorrow.
Hitting the two-hour mark walking out in six minutes. I thought a possible heart attack might be important apparently not.
I walked out, did my grocery shopping went home. Needed doing.
I am home again, managed to get my months worth of groceries in the house and that is after a two-hour drive home. I won’t lie to you the last ten miles were iffy. I had to fight hard through the headaches and pain and then again after that while lifting the groceries and fuel inside. Unpacked? Nope just inside. Need to rest. I am doing that while I am paying bills online and writing this.
I did notice that my BP was 154/95. I was told that is normal, it is not, and actually stage one hypertension and a lot of my symptoms match that. 7 out of eight, but the triage nurse would know that.
- Severe headache.
- Fatigue or confusion.
- Vision problems.
- Chest pain.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Irregular heartbeat.
- Blood in the urine.
- Pounding in your chest, neck, or ears.
