Hospital Emergency

HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL !!!

I am home from the hospital emergency room, after yet another potential brush with death. Yes, I take full responsibility for this one.

This late morning into mid-afternoon, I was at the hospital emergency room with lung issues/difficulty breathing, following this morning's pulmonologist appointment. However, that was not my ultimate problem.

I am OK, as per doctors at Delray Medical Center, but I don't feel like I am. I am awaiting instructions from my pulmonologist.

At the hospital, I had a chest X-ray, which is clear. I had an EKG, which is good. The results from my blood test are good, except for ...

My problem was actually my dangerously high blood-sugar level. It was 530 mg/dL when I arrived at the emergency room, which then dropped to 435. I received a bag of intravenous water and electrolytes, probably salt-related, which probably brought it down another 100 or so, into the 300s.

The nurse at the hospital told me not to eat or drink until I give myself my usual daily insulin injection into my belly, wait an hour, and then test my blood-sugar level. That should get it fairly close to the normal level of 80 to 140.

I thought that I had the potentially fatal, dreaded "diabetic ketoacidosis," because I had all of the symptoms, including what is called "Kussmaul Respirations," which is increased, deep, and fast breathing. The nurse assured me that I luckily did NOT have it. He told me that they often test for that, and I was perfectly OK with the other two determining factors from my blood test.

So, after I arrived home, I took a nebulizer treatment with a liquid bronchodilator to relax my lungs: inhaling the medical mist created by an electric machine for 20 minutes. I do this 3 or 4 times daily. Later, I will inhale my daily dose of a powder that contains a bronchodilator and a steroid, the latter to reduce my lung inflammation.

I then gave myself my usual daily injection of a long-acting insulin into my belly. I drank some water and rested in bed for an hour. I then checked my blood-sugar level.

201 (good news)

I am still having difficulty breathing due to my Restrictive Lung Disease and possibly from my Congestive Heart Failure. I take prescription medications for both and also engage in lung exercises.

Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for escorting me through yet another one of my many medical exploits. And, yes, I will be more diligent in the same regard.

God was definitely involved today. I went to the hospital for my lungs, and I was treated for my blood.

September 17, 2025, at home after the hospital