Be prepared for an unexpected trip to the hospital
By Kim Campbell Thornton
August 27, 2009
I have unlimited faith in my immune system and overall health. They have taken superb care of me over the years. So when my blood pressure started to creep up the past couple of years, I blew it off and encouraged my doctor to do so as well. “It’s just the stress of my job,” I would tell her. We agreed at my last visit a few weeks ago to just keep an eye on it and recheck it in a few weeks.
Just call me the Queen of Denial. I was working last night and my right arm just didn’t feel right. Knowing that my blood pressure was already on the high side, I decided to walk over to the drugstore and test it with their blood pressure monitor.
It was off the charts.
“Well, it couldn’t hurt to go to the ER and have it checked out,” I thought. “They’ll probably tell me that those machines aren’t calibrated very well and send me home.”
So all I brought with me was my cell phone, which appeared to be fully charged, and a 400-page book. I finished the book in five hours (”An Accomplished Woman,” a retelling of Jane Austen’s “Emma,” with hints of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility” and a pinch of Georgette Heyer’s comedy of manners “The Grand Sophy.”)
The cell phone conked out at 2 a.m. when I was talking to Jerry–who’s on the East Coast–telling him that I was being admitted to the hospital for observation. Fortunately, I had already sent a couple of texts to the neighbors and my friend Tamela to make sure someone could go over to the house early and walk and feed the dogs. I didn’t get moved to an actual room with a phone until a little after 5, and I waited impatiently for it to be 6 a.m. so I could start calling the neighbors and make sure they got my texts without feeling too bad about waking them up.
So, here’s my advice.
Kiss your dogs before you leave.
Bring two thick books. Or your Ipod or Kindle or whatever it is that gets you through not having anything else to do or that distracts you from having needles poked into your needle-phobic body.
Bring your cell phone charger, especially if you’re like me and have very few phone numbers memorized anymore because they’re on speed dial.
Have pet care directions on file so you can just leave them out on the counter for anyone who needs to come in and care for your pets. I used to always have these ready to print out, but they haven’t been necessary in so long that I’ve gotten out of the habit.
Don’t forget your favorite pillow–you’ll need it–and ear plugs to drown out the Maury Povich show and other dreck that your elderly roommate is watching because she can’t sleep.
Oh, yeah. You should probably pay a little attention to the rising blood pressure.
OMG, Kim! What’s wrong with you, though???? Are you better now??
Comment by Christie Keith — August 27, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
Oy! Will be thinking of you tonight. Hope you are home in the morning!
Comment by JenniferJ — August 27, 2009 @ 10:51 pm
All my best wishes heading your way! Take care of yourself.
Comment by Liz Palika — August 27, 2009 @ 11:56 pm
Hope the bp steadies quickly so you can get home. Getting older is a real b**ch isn’t ? A good reminder to all of us to have the info handy for emergencies too,I always used to have it taped to a cabinet door,but have also gotten lax about it.Feel better soon.
Comment by Leslie K — August 28, 2009 @ 5:39 am
Kim! Are you home now? Is Jerry coming home? I’ll be calling as soon as the hour’s decent.
I’m starting to think we’re passing some bad health virus back and forth amongst the blog team — and some of the regular commenters, too!
Readers: Wash your hands and don gloves before hitting the keyboard.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 28, 2009 @ 6:52 am
Thanks, everyone! This was Wednesday night and I got home yesterday afternoon. I feel fine, which, of course is the problem with high blood pressure, and now Bella and I are both on meds to regulate our heart rate and blood pressure.
Comment by Kim Thornton — August 28, 2009 @ 6:55 am
Ya, high blood pressure gives very little, if any, warning.
Glad you are fine now!
Comment by Colorado Transplant — August 28, 2009 @ 8:03 am
Glad to hear you’re home and feeling better!
Thanks for providing this excellent reminder about the importance of being prepared for the unexpected.
Comment by Janeen — August 28, 2009 @ 9:33 am
Take care of yourself!!
Comment by Original Lori — August 28, 2009 @ 9:45 am
Glad to hear you’re home and feeling better.
Great advice on how to prepare for emergencies such as yours!
Comment by Ingrid King — August 28, 2009 @ 10:59 am
High BP took me by surprise too as mine was always low and it was unknown in my family. Thanks for the checklist. I’ll print that out along with pet instructions - great help in a panic!
Comment by Nadine L — August 28, 2009 @ 11:26 am