Lessons learned, and lessons remembered, during a medical emergency last week...
My brother was 42 and a tough Vietnam vet. We had not seen him for a few days and my mom went over to his house to check on him.
He told her he felt sick. He had an upset stomach, headache, and diahhrea. My mother called his doctor and the doctor said it sounded like the flu and to bring him to the office the next morning. My mom went down the basement to do his laundry, she heard a crash upstairs. When she got there he was lying on the floor in agony, she tried to comfort him and he died in her arms.
At the time we thought he had taken something and committed suicide. It was a shock for someone who was perfectly healthy one day to die that suddenly. The autopsy showed a ruptured appendix. If he had gone to the hospital instead of trying to tough it out he would still be with us today.
I am so sorry for your family's loss.
Yes, appendicitis can be a horrible pretender... it mimics so many other things, and so many other things mimic it...
Audrey
Highest weight: 340
Surgery weight: 313
Surgery date: 10/24/11
Current weight 170... 170 pounds lost!!!!
I am not a doctor, but I play one at work.
Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry :(
Lanie; Age: 43; Surgery Date (VSG): 8/12/14 w/complications resulting in RNY next day;
Height: 5' 6" SW: 249 Comfort Zone: 135-140 CW: 138 (10/13/17)
M1: -25 lbs M2: -12 M3: -13 M4: -7 M5: -11 M6: -10 M7: -7 M8: -7 M9: -3 M10: -8 M11: -4 M12: -4
5K PR - 24:15 (4/23/16) First 10K - 53:30 (10/18/15)
I am so sorry, that must have been terrible. Appendix is tricky, and there are so many things that can go wrong. Serious reminder.
Cynthia 5'11" RNY 7/23/2014
Goal reached 17 months. 220lb Weight Loss
Plastic Surgery Dr. Joseph Michaels - LBL and Hernia Repair 2/29/16, Arm Lift, BL, 5/2/16, Leg Lift 7/25/16
#lifeisanadventure #fightthegoodfight #noregrets
So sorry for your loss, White Dove.
I too, have some relatives who died from ruptured appendix.. .there are key signs that even we can pick up on, if they are voiced... like pain in areas when pressure is released. We can't live our life wondering about the "what if's" in life, but we can teach our children and grandchildren to report all pain. ..so it can be checked out promptly.
Audrey, what you went through is horrible. I'm glad the end result turned out well for you. It could have very well ended quite differently, luckily it did not!
With that said, I just can't gloss over the fact that you were left sitting in the ER in severe pain for 8.5 hours, part of that time with a ruptured appendix!!!! I know for a fact this type of thing goes on in the ER on a daily basis. It leaves me wonder what part of EMERGENCY the hospitals do not understand?!
Recently there was a man here in Indianapolis that died in one of our hospital ER waiting rooms. He had been waitng for hours to be seen. His family took the story to a local news station. The hospital administration apologized to the man's family, telling them it should not have happened...yadda, yadda, yadda. The hospital probably gave the family a free box of bandaids for their pain and suffering of losing their loved one. Then after the story became yesterday's old news they went right back to ignoring patients that are sitting in the ER waiting room, some with life threatening issues.
Something needs to be done about these ERs, and it needs to be done immediately! What can we do? I don't know! Does anybody have any idea?
67 yrs old, 4'10", BMI 31.8 (51.8 at start), HW 256.4 (8/4/15), SW 217.4, CW 152.8 (4/30/18), GW 125.0, RNY 12/4/15 Dr. RoseMarie Jones, Breast Cancer DX 2/16, Bi-lateral mastectomy 8/9/16.
As long as people without decent access to healthcare continue to be forced to use ER's as primary care sources, the problem will continue. Obamacare fixed some of the problem. But unfortunately until people can take seriously the idea that healthcare is a universal right, not a privilege to be dangled as a political carrot, there will be plenty more 8 hour waits.
Federal law says ER's cannot turn anyone away (google EMTALA for details). I estimate that among the 50 or so people waiting with me, more than half were suffering from flu, strep or other common illnesses that most of us would not go to an ER for. A nurse later told me that a few ambulances then showed up with chest pains and a full arrest and... bam... ER overwhelmed.
One quiet gal underestimating her abdominal pain has no chance against all that.
Audrey
Highest weight: 340
Surgery weight: 313
Surgery date: 10/24/11
Current weight 170... 170 pounds lost!!!!
I am not a doctor, but I play one at work.
