Medical Center: Day Two

July 19, 2023: Day Two, Delray Medical Center, Delray Beach, Florida

PHOTO: selfie in my hospital bed

I arrived at the hospital emergency room via ambulance yesterday with severe pain across my lower back. I receive intravenous pain medication in the ambulance, and an intravenous steroid and pain medication pills in the emergency room. 

I was lying in bed the day before, and it just hit me hard. I was awake all night, screaming with pain.

I had CT scans yesterday of my spine, my chest, and my abdomen. Everything looks good. However, a hospital doctor mentioned to me that there is something not quite right with my kidneys. He didn't say what.

In January 2021, I had kidney failure (both kidneys) that required a regimen of dialysis with a large needle in my neck: four straight hours, seven days per week, for six weeks. Of course, I recovered. Also during my quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in March 2022, I was diagnosed with gallstones.

As for today, I am expecting to have a scan of my spine, but it has not yet been scheduled.

I have been receiving syringe squirts of Morphine every four hours through a catheter in a vein within my left arm, but even with this powerful pain medication, I am still screaming with pain. I am switching to Percoset in pill form for my pain starting with my 8 a.m. dosage.

I don't feel too bad about my screaming. 🙂 ... My roommate screams, too. We screamed out our duet through the night last night. At least, I just lie there and scream alone. He screams at the nurses. 😆

UPDATE: I am having an MRI done of my lower spine today. Also, I forgot to tell you that my roommate sounds like Joe Walsh when he speaks.

ADDITION: I fell twice in April 2023, resulting in the fracturing of two bones (Tibia and Fibula) in my right ankle.