Todays adventure: The ER

      No Comments on Todays adventure: The ER
Share this post on:
Tweet this page
Pin this page
Share via Email

We never made it to the County Fair today.  My dad slept in really late which is totally unlike him.  He skipped breakfast and only ate half a slice of toast for lunch.  My dad is like me, tall, thin and always hungry. Me and my  mom knew something was wrong and she tried convincing him to go to an Urgent Care center because his side hurt where he had his lung surgery a few years ago.  As the day went on he just started looking worse and worse.  Finally my dad wanted to go to the hospital so my mom went to grab some stuff out of the other room.  While she was in there he told me to call 911 and get an ambulance here fast.  I panicked and couldn’t dial the phone so Tony dialed for me and I calmed down and talked to the operator.  My dad (having  had numerous heart attacks) knew the drill, laid on the couch with his feet elevated.  They had me give him aspirin to chew.  I think we all thought it was a heart attack.  Three ambulances showed up  along with a fire chief and countless E.M.T.’S that  came in their own cars. I don’t think I could have fit one more person in my apartment.  Of course all the neighbors were coming outside to see what was going on!   My mom was totally impressed with how fast and how many people showed up.  I kept telling her this isn’t Long Island!

Me and my mom followed the ambulance which didn’t have lights and sirens on so we figured he must be at least stable.  Tony stayed behind and watched my cousin. At the hospital they did an EKG right away and his heart and blood pressure were all good but he was VERY dehydrated. His pulse oxygen was a little low so they put him on oxygen.  An xray showed he has pneumonia in one lung. It is in the side where they cut out part of his lung due to emphysema a few years ago. He stopped smoking about 20 years ago but still developed emphysema. The doctors are waiting for the catscan results just to rule out a blood clot, but they are pretty confident it is just the pneumonia and dehydration. Once they got the first bag of IV fluids in him he totally perked back up and was talking and joking around. He has had pnemonia before, he has a really weak immune system ever since he had esophageal cancer back in 1996.  They had to remove part of his esophagus at that time and since then he has had multiple health problems, but at least no cancer. My dad should be able to get out tomorrow if all goes well so we are keeping our fingers crossed. 

Everyone was so nice and helpful at the hospital!  They kept apologizing  for it being so crowded.  My mom kept telling them how she works for a hospital on Long Island so she understands and when my dad goes to the hospital she is used to waiting hours and hours! My dad, since he came by ambulance and they thought it was his heart, didn’t have to wait. Their idea of crowded was that my dad was sharing a room in the ER with someone, which is normal on Long Island.

Today’s lesson kiddos: DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Share this post on:
Tweet this page
Pin this page
Share via Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.