The Death March
Around noon on June 2nd, I had to go to have a sit down on my toilet. It seemed a bit runny. I grabbed some tissue to wipe. They showed my backside stool was crimson.
I called my son in law and said I needed to get to the hospital. He and my daughter came over, picked me up and off we went.
I checked into the emergency desk. They took my name and said they would call me when they could. I again went to the bathroom, had a movement and it was watery red. I went back to sit and wait.
Finally they called out for me. I got up and went to another check-in. From the first moment getting into the car my daughter was by my side. We sat down in the check-in area. There were 2 others in there with us. The young girl was taking names and blood draws. When she got to me, my head dropped down and my lights went black. I was not breathing, I was technically dead. What happened in the next half hour or more, I do not know.
When I woke up I was in the emergency suite. Doctors and nurses were in panic mode. My heart was running full throttle, pumping to keep me alive. I was losing blood faster than the doctors could pump into me. I was in and out of consciousness. My veins are hard to find and hard to hit with the needle because the veins roll over when a needle hits them.
The next few days, someone was poking and prodding me 24 hours a day. I couldn’t get any sleep, because they came in one after another and each new one had to verify who I was, Name, date of birth.
They discovered my artery on my right side had opened somehow and my heart was pumping my blood directly into my colon. They put what they called a clamp over the damaged area. How they rejoined the artery, I do not know.
After a few days and when I was mentally back to order, there was plenty of time to flirt with the young nurses. I couldn’t get out of bed without a nurse or an assistant to help me. During the internment, I had to drink 5 gallons of this clear liquid so they could see where the problems were.
This morning, I was discharged and came home. The worst thing now is my diet has to change. I have to rely on greens with lots of fiber, not my favorite thing, but I’m going along with it. I have to eat lots of nuts and seeds. Even worse, no more beer! Smoking will still be a thing of my past. One more thing, I have to cut back or eliminate coffee. What do I have left in my life?
There is a lot more that went on, but I can't remember all of what happened. I will say that the hospital has the best care-givers I could find anywhere.
Brother Bill
