More PPML stuff:
At 04:07 PM 2/16/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Date: Sun, 16 Feb 1997 14:18:39 EST
>From: Stephen Strum MD <73140.3041@COMPUSERVE.COM>
>Subject: "open" Lymph node removal
>
>Hubert:
>You should call the doc STAT. You have bleeding into the wound and into the scrotum. I hope you are not on any aspirin, Motrin, or other drug that interferes with normal coagulation. In any event the doc should see you NOW. Your CBC and coagulation should be checked today.
>
>steve
Steve:
(read this at your leisure, and I am not holding you to any expectations of a prompt response)
I appreciate your concern, and willingness to give an opinion. I guess rather than become alarmed about it, I will mention it to the doc tomorrow during my appointment. There was an "incident" at the hospital the night of the surgery whereby one of the nurses on duty called my doctor and was quite concerned about the amount of swelling,
and a fair amount of bleeding from the wound. My urologist made her look pretty small when he showed up. I was semi-coherent after a few too many clicks of the "patient controlled analgesia" but remember him asking me something about "curious George" (????) I said, "yeah?", he said "Yeah, I was reading "Curious George goes to the hospital"
to my 3 year old when *she* called me to come down here, what do you think of that?"
Indeed, what was I to think of that? Was I supposed to feel*guilty*? Or should I have overlooked my embarressment for the young nurse who was only trying to look after me??? Was it fair to put me in the middle like that? Of course not, but docs are human, nurses are human, patients are human....but it made me think less of the man who
hours earlier literally had my life in his hands, such is the state of affairs with "modern" medicine is it not???
Your efforts here are commendable Steve, probably you are too wrapped up in it, to the neglect of your personal life....just a guess. I used to run a computer BBS dedicated to environmental issues, and it became an all consuming passion. Indeed I poured alot of myself into, usually with very little in the way of reciprocal appreciation. At least you *do* seem to have a devoted following here!
As to my current condition. I will weigh your statements with the same fallible scale I use on a daily basis. I asked for opinions, you gave me one, others may respond differently. I *do* appreciate you taking the time to momentarily scare the sh*t out of me!<g> And I am now
convinced that I should not take any sort of "blood thinning" analgesics (ie; motrin, etc.) in the interim....I *was* going to try a couple of advils, but you raise a valid point. (to answer your
question, no, I am not taking any sort of "anti-clotting" pain remedies so far)
In closing, I am in this situation partly because I did not communicate effectively with my Dr.,or do enough research on *this* part of my treatment, I put some questions out on various
forums and basically was still guessing as to the "invasive" nature of the procedure. But I *do* know that I did not *imagine* the fact that the surgery was *supposed* to be done via Laproscopy, which I *thought* would minimize the trauma. I would hate to think that a last minute decision was made to do the surgery this way because it was quicker....I would hate to think that.
Life is full of various "awakenings", my life has been saved previously by modern medicine, (2nd and 3rd degree burns 50% of my body) I realize it is a flawed system, but I am no longer
as bitter about it as I was when my own mother died from an "elective" surgery on the advice of her doctor.
Some days life is such a challenge, I just smile, ya know?<g>
Regards,
Hubert
Apologies to those offended by "off topic" remarks.... |
