Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Brief medical report without pictures

I worked Monday morning, came home and quaffed the first 1.5 oz of prep, spent the day near the facilities. Took next dose of prep at 5 pm. Quaffed ALMOST a gallon of Gatorade. Went to bed at 9 pm, forgot to drink an additional 3 eight ounce glasses of water. Woke up a little dehydrated.

Tuesday, went in a 8 a.m., Tim dropped me off with plans to come back at 9:30. Nurse Angie took me back to the endoscopy suite and had me dress in the appropriate garb and gave me heated socks to put on and a heated blankie to wrap up in. After missing a vein in my right hand she found a real good one in my left forearm. She put on three EKG electrodes, nasal oxygen, BP cuff and a finger tip instrument to track Oxygen saturation. I signed consent forms, everything was tickety boo. She gave me a little Versed, had me roll to my left side and that is the LAST thing I remember until she woke me up to get dressed and stagger out to the waiting room so Tim could take me home. The left hand did not get all ugly and bruised, neither did the right forearm. I received excellent care but the endoscopy suite ceiling sure could use some paint.

DIAGNOSIS: DIVERTICULOSIS, SIGMOID POLYP REMOVED.

Follow up clinic visit 14th to get results. Hah! I will probably see the path report before the doctor does.

2 comments:

Gale said...

The ability to read said records is the only thing that has kept me sane through out the last 5 months. I honestly don't know how a regular patient handles the delay in getting the message. I have waited weeks WEEKS!!! to be told 'nonmalignant'. I am guessing the longer the wait the better the news?

Anonymous said...

Yes the longer the wait...bad news comes quickly in medical records land. Panic values send lab techs scurrying to notify docs who in turn track down patients to tell them to take an extra pill, etc.