My Birthday Eve....any guesses where I spent it? Anybody? Anybody?

Well....if you guessed the St. Paul's Hospital Emergency Room, then DING DING DING, we have a winner!!  Your prize is in the mail!  Don't cash it until the end of the month please :)

Technically, it was actually my birthday by the time we arrived.  If you read one of my earlier blogs (as I know everyone avidly does because what else would you do in your spare time?) then you will notice that I had a liver biopsy through my jugular in my neck.  Well, it never would quite heal so I kept a bandadge over it until that Friday, the 24th of February.  I went in for my check up with my doctor and my numbers were continuing to improve after my episode of rejection, I had the flapjack fundraiser to see all my friends and family the next morning so all was joyous!  After looking at my opening on my neck that still wasn't healing, just rebandadged and sent me on my way....its not uncommon given I was on heavy blood thinners.  Well, as I was getting ready to shower about 6 later that evening, I was changing the bandadge again (looking back dont remember why). As soon as I took it off (hide your eyes faint of heart) blood literally squirted out everywhere!  I grabbed a towel and yelled for my mom.  We made a tourniquet of sorts around my neck but the bleeding continued heavily for several hours.  (I have pictures for the not so faint of heart :)  Around 11, I called the Liver Coordinator on call and they told me to immediately head to the ER and that they would be expecting me!  We went up there and there was only one other person waiting....where are all the crazies on a Friday night?  They took us back to a set of chairs and we waited there soaking through towel after towel after towel for 2 hours before they even put me in a bed.  You should have seen my dad pacing and giving everyone that walked by (including the poor little lady innocently waiting for her own room, j/k dad!) THE look!  Sweet dad, it was his first trip to the ER with me--he didn't know the drill...also if you'd like to see my impression of him, I'm happy to show you!  When I was in the hospital, he knew all the ins and outs, trust me he is the man you want with you if you are a patient....you get what you ask for when you ask for it...but politely of course!  How else do you think we became the nurses and techs favorites to come visit....I don't like to brag but people did sign up to be in my room!  Okay, back to my birthday in the ER....finally in a room, first PA that comes in begins to undo the bandadges, looks at me with a horrified glance and leaves before he finishes.  Ummm....okay?!?!?  Finally we get a resident surgeon who knows what he is doing.  He said we would try putting pressure on it and hope it would stop.  I asked what would happen if it didn't....I had pancakes to eat in a few hours!  So, got to know Dr. Derek very well over the next hour or so where he himself sat and help pressure to my jugular.  Finally, his beeper went off so he told my dad to sit and hold it.  I asked what his next step was....after I had been bleeding heavily for going on 7 or so hours by now.  He said I would be admitted and they would give me meds to reverse the blood thinners.  I told him that wasn't an option because it was my birthday and I had so many wonderful friends and family coming to see me and I wasn't missing it.  Dr. Derek looked at me and said, "You do realize you are and have been bleeding constantly from your neck, right?"  I immediately responded, "He could just stitch it up and I would be back by 10:30 (after the breakfast)!"  I should so have a degree in medicine, am I right??  Well, he so eloquently stated next that my neck wound would swell up to the size of a baseball with blood and would errupt from the inside."  Oh..........ok.......sniffle sniffle!  No tears though, I'd come this far and wasn't giving up.  So, my dad held pressure until his fingers literally were so cramped and straight he couldn't bend them and then were going numb.  He blames this on me because he says I kept complaining that he wasn't pushing hard enough!!!!  He asked if it hurt and I said yes of course but I was getting to Applebees at 8 a.m!!!  Dr. Derek came back around 6 a.m. to check, it had slowed so he put a special bandadge on it that he thought would hold it.  WooHoo!  Get me out of this gown, I am running out the door before they can change their minds (which literally almost happened when they saw my heart rate was up to 128) and so we busted out!  And guess what??/  We made it!!!!  Told Dr. Derek and the nurses and everyone else that 12 hours of bleeding from my jugular wasn't stopping this NOW 32 year old!!! 

Best Birthday and Breakfast Blog to Come!!!!!!!
P.S.  Thank you Dr. Derek for the words to live by....literally!