Another trip to the ER, where Julie gets a little bitchy

I took e-husband to the ER last night. He fell a few days back and was complaining of upper left sided chest pain. It was not crushing, more of a pinching, broken rib kind of pain, to which there is no real treatment, pain meds and such. He did not go to the ER and I did not push him to do so, I bitched for a few days at his constant wincing every time he moved, thinking, you are on massive amounts of pain meds already, shouldn't that help??

I did notice that he was not sleeping, and looking considerable more and more 'ill'- but I did not push him on it after he told me to leave me the hell alone. I only need to be told once, he knows where to go when he needs me.

Last night I had an important work dinner to go to, so of course he had to call me and tell me that he could not breathe. I was a few blocks away, setting my kids down so I took off and picked up him. He looked awful. Very distressed, his breathing was fast and shallow- he looked panicked. Bad bad bad. I rushed him to the ER, calling first to see if they could meet us outside, but she said they were understaffed, so if he could walk, could I bring him in. I did that and he sat down- I gave the admitting gal his info and said, "he can't breathe, he needs to be seen right away."

I did not bring him to the hospital I work at, or the hospital he is usually seen at, I brought him to the hospital that is closest to my house. Can't breathe? Go for the shortest distance, that is what an ambulance would have done. I wait for about two minutes and when nobody showed up to take him back into the room, I leaned back over in front of the admitting rep and said, "Can someone please hurry, my husband cannot breathe."

"We'll be with you in a few minutes."

I looked her dead in the face. There I am, wearing nursing scrubs, listening to my husband gasping for these short breaths. "No- not in a few minutes. He cannot BREATHE. I need someone to be with him right now!" She got up and scurried back, and within another two minutes, the nurse showed up. I was furious. She did not bring a wheelchair, and started talking to him. Asking him how he was, what is was there for. She thought she knew his name. He looked at me, confused and frustrated. I said to her, "Can he sit down first??" She was a bitch. They were angry.

The put him on some oxygen, gave him an IV, started him on fluids and took his blood sugar. It read "Hi"- meaning somewhere over 600. No surprise there really. She immediately said he was in DKA. She looked at me and said, "DKA causes pain."

me- Yes, I know- but it causes abdominal pain. He is having upper left sided chest pain. That is not the norm.

nurse- well he's in what's called "diabetic ketoacid-"

me- I KNOW what DKA is, but this chest pain and rapid breathing is something new.

nurse- well, it causes rapid breathing also.

me- listen. DKA is not something new for us. I am telling you that he may be in DKA, but I know that you don't know that without lab results. His baseline for DKA, and yes- he HAS a baseline for DKA, is abdominal pain, nausea and vomitting. HE doesn't get rapid breathing with DKA. DKA does not cause chest pain in my husband. THIS (motioning violently towards my husband on the gurney) is NOT from the DKA. THIS is an acute onset of something ELSE. I am not trying to be disrespectful, but PLEASE do not discount what I am telling you.

nurse- (pause- looking over at husband on the gurney, shiverying, pale and rapidly breathing) the doctor will be in shortly.

and she left.

He has a pretty severe case of pnemonia. From the broken rib and not breathing deep enough to break the sacs of the fluid that helps carry oxygen and C02 out of your lungs. So the sacs don't break, and the lungs fill up with fluid... phemonia. The doctor tried to chew ME out over the phone about about his blood sugar, as if we are somehow ignorant and completely non compliant. I then explained to her his blood sugar is damn near impossible to manage, even in the hospital. I went through the whole nine yards of his medical background. Assured her that he was no longer drinking and that we are doing what we can with what we have. She said he was very sick, the pnemonia was severe, he's severely dehydrated and she's never seen labs so bad before. "Your husband is very very sick, Mrs e-husband."

me- "yes, I know this."

severe.

She seemed surprised that I was not surprised, but I'm not. It will not get better. I can see that. She told me that he is very high risk for kidney failure. I told her that I know that too. this is not new for me. Again, his condition is severe. I know. A few days of antibiotics, he will be back to his NORMAL sick self. I understand.

"He's so young," she said, "These things happen in patients much much older, but never in someone so young."

me- "Yes, doctor. I know that too."

I wish someone would tell me something I don't know. Some NEW information would be nice.