Day 232: 17 April 2012
Week 33 was mostly spent in the hospital. And I am lucky to be posting a week 33, really. On Friday, I was sent to the emergency room because I was very easily getting short of breath, and while I haven’t been able to run for about 6 weeks, one doesn’t fall that poorly out of shape and struggle for air walking to her car.
Still, I delayed going to the doctor, or hospital, for over 12 hours–chalking up this odd occurrence to some kind of bad allergy. But when it happened again Friday morning, I knew I had to do something. My doctor sent me to the ER; within less than three hours of arriving, I had about 8 hospital staff in my tiny room explaining to me that I had a major pulmonary embolism, reaffirming medical history, symptoms, travel, recent injuries, taking vitals, and explaining to me the next steps.
The doctor then stayed and explained to me that I would be spending the night in the ICU. She drew me a picture of where the clot was located in my lungs, that is was massive, and explained the treatment. Still the situation didn’t sink in.
I only stayed in ICU one night, coming off oxygen and monitors the very next morning and going down to a regular floor to continue treatment and monitoring. It was not until much later when my one doctor came in for her morning rounds that it finally sunk in. I joked that I exercised and ate a vegan diet for my health and here I was in the hospital with a blood clot. She smiled and informed me issue (for me) nothing to do with my health and that my diet and lifestyle were likely the only reason I survived as I’d had this for a week before coming into the hospital. My vitals stayed rock solid and I got to go home on Tuesday; where I am currently resting and continuing treatment.
I debated continuing the project while I was in the hospital, but then I remembered the reason I was doing this–to learn to grow as a person, accept who I am, and part of that is accepting this and that for right now, I have to slow down and let my body mend itself the way it is meant to.
