Nurses need sick days too
Yeah, it's been a pretty busy month already. 3 posts in one week; that's got to be a record, but a lot has happened. Early yesterday morning, I found myself on the other side of the healthcare fence, as the patient. I went to bed Monday night per my usual but after a few minutes in, something felt really strange. I had this very sharp and sudden onset of right lower abdominal pain. I rolled around, tossed and turned, tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away...at all. So after about an hour, I figured I'd better go do something. Normally I'd just suck it up and deal with it, but given the fact that my sister is getting married this weekend and I'm the maid of honor and there was NO WAY I WAS MISSING THIS WEDDING, I did a good thing and drove myself to the ED....at midnight. I'm going to say, if you ever have to go to the ED, go in the middle of the night, because chances are you won't have to wait as long. I checked in a bit after midnight and maybe waited 5 minutes before I was called back. The triage nurse asked me what was happening, I explained. She asked if I had ever had kidney stones before, said no but both my parents had. Vitals were all good, I met my nurse out of triage and I was taken back to my own room, which I was expecting like a curtain or a glass door, but no. It was actually my own room, a private room! Then I remembered, oh yeah, this is a Level 1 trauma center and the biggest hospital in the state, yeah, it was nice.
Nurse came back in, told her I was a nurse that worked a few floors up, we talked, she did her thing, I answered her questions and then the resident came in. Nice guy, sweet. Ordered some blood work, UA, that sort of thing, pretty typical for abdominal pain. Wait around a few minutes, doze a bit, pee in a cup, doze some more, nurse comes back in and says the resident ordered Toradol, Zofran and Morphine. I chuckled and accepted the Toradol, explaining that since I drove myself taking morphine would be a bit foolish, not to mention I really don't like how narcotics make me feel. At all. So she put an IV in me (a 22g for my fellow medical cohorts that may be reading this) and got it in one go. The Toradol came a few minutes later. Listen peeps, that's some good stuff, but.....it BURNED. I asked if that was supposed to burn, and it was. Go figure.
Attending comes in a few minutes later, says he agrees with the resident's findings and given my age and the fact I didn't have any other existing symptoms (nausea, vomiting, fever, etc) that there was no need to throw me into a CT scanner. Hey, good thinking, because I didn't really want to be exposed to radiation. Blood work and UA all came back within normal limits, so all was good. Also, it was nearly 2 in the morning and I was pretty tired, and basically was there to make sure my appendix wasn't about to explode. It wasn't, still isn't, and after giving the Toradol some time to work (which it did wonders) I was sent home. Chalked it up to a strained oblique muscle, having mentioned that I ran about a mile on the ellipitcal and walked a mile on the treadmill, so I probably overdid it....yeah, makes sense. Came home around 2:30 and crashed. Left work a bit early today because I wasn't feeling well...not related to yesterday's shenanigans. But the good thing is I'm actually feeling a bit better, so hopefully all will be well. So there you have it, my ED experience when the psych nurse became the patient. The nurse, the resident and the attending all said good luck with the wedding by the way, Sis!
Nurse came back in, told her I was a nurse that worked a few floors up, we talked, she did her thing, I answered her questions and then the resident came in. Nice guy, sweet. Ordered some blood work, UA, that sort of thing, pretty typical for abdominal pain. Wait around a few minutes, doze a bit, pee in a cup, doze some more, nurse comes back in and says the resident ordered Toradol, Zofran and Morphine. I chuckled and accepted the Toradol, explaining that since I drove myself taking morphine would be a bit foolish, not to mention I really don't like how narcotics make me feel. At all. So she put an IV in me (a 22g for my fellow medical cohorts that may be reading this) and got it in one go. The Toradol came a few minutes later. Listen peeps, that's some good stuff, but.....it BURNED. I asked if that was supposed to burn, and it was. Go figure.
Attending comes in a few minutes later, says he agrees with the resident's findings and given my age and the fact I didn't have any other existing symptoms (nausea, vomiting, fever, etc) that there was no need to throw me into a CT scanner. Hey, good thinking, because I didn't really want to be exposed to radiation. Blood work and UA all came back within normal limits, so all was good. Also, it was nearly 2 in the morning and I was pretty tired, and basically was there to make sure my appendix wasn't about to explode. It wasn't, still isn't, and after giving the Toradol some time to work (which it did wonders) I was sent home. Chalked it up to a strained oblique muscle, having mentioned that I ran about a mile on the ellipitcal and walked a mile on the treadmill, so I probably overdid it....yeah, makes sense. Came home around 2:30 and crashed. Left work a bit early today because I wasn't feeling well...not related to yesterday's shenanigans. But the good thing is I'm actually feeling a bit better, so hopefully all will be well. So there you have it, my ED experience when the psych nurse became the patient. The nurse, the resident and the attending all said good luck with the wedding by the way, Sis!
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| Come on...I had to take at least one picture... |
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