9-16-2011
In the morning what first I asked my husband David to help was to bring my purse and phone to me. I called my health insurance Kaiser Permanente and asked for a stretcher and van to bring me to the hospital.
the woman in the phone asked all the usual questions. Finally she
asked if I had hard time to breath. I said no. Then she asked if I
could stand up, I answered no and told her again I could not even sit
up, let alone stand up. Then she suggested me to call 911. I told her
it was not a life threaterning situation, I just needed to get medical
attention to see how bad the situation was and get a proper treatment.
She emphersized to me that was her suggestion to call 911 and I needed to understand the risks and all of that. I told her that I understood perfectly. Finally she told me she will talk to someone and see if they could make some transportation arrangement for me. Shortly she called back and told me a medical van and two people will come and take me to lake view center kp emergincy room. I said urgent care will do, but she said definitely to the emergency room. Well I guess it was their policy.
Less than 30 minutes the van arrived. Two personals helped me turn on my side and slid a very thin stretcher under me. It was awful when they carried me dowstairs when they could not keep the stretcher leveled. Then I was heading to Anaheim Lake View medical center of kp. The stretcher was very uncomfortable: hard and lumpy; it seemed there was no cushion at all. How does it accomadate any really sick patients? The guy who took my blood pressure and pause did not seem to know how.
Anyway I was in the emergency room shortly. After all the standard
procedures I had an armband on my wrist. The room was very cold, I was
given a couple of blankets. After about 20 minutes a woman doctor came
and asked all the usual questions what happened? How painful from
1-10? where is the most pain from? Then she said as I expected: we
need to take X Ray before to make diagnosis. Of course. Then she left.
I felt the room was getting colder, that my left foot started the cramp.
Then the cramp extended to the shin the pain from the cramp was almost
as bad as my back. Trying to ease the pain and warm the left foot I
put it on my right leg. Nobody was here to help.
Another long waiting, finally a guy showed up in front of me. I knew what he was going todo, but before he opened his mouth, I said to him about the cramp of my left foot and very painful, because it was too cold. He was not deternned: I need to take X Ray pictures for you first, right after I'll find warm blankets for you. Fortunately the X Ray room was much better and my
cramp was pretty much releaved. After many X-Ray exporsions I was
pushed back to the station number 15. There were many stations in the
facility. The X Ray guy got me two warm blanket to ease my suffering.
David showed up not long after my x Ray procedure. He had an
appointment for dental procedure which was not pleasant either. We
were waiting for the verdict from reading of the x Ray. David felt the
room was way too cold so he went back to his car to fatch an overcoat.
Soon the doctor showed up and informed me there was a fracture where my
back pain was. I asked which bone, she said t11. I guess it was the
one right in the middle of the back where was my pain located. Soon a
nurse came in with bunch of injection equipments and said to me you
need some medication. I asked what were they for? Pain medication. I
said wait minute, I don't need pain medication. She said yes you do.
That time David came back and asked what pain medication she was going
to give to me. one was morphine. David said ah , no she can take that.
Why? She does not have much of tolerance for pretty much anything let
alone morphine. Ok, the nurse said and put away all the injection
stuff. I was given a couple of tylonone. Nurse told us what I was
going to need, wheelchair, walker, komod, bedpan.... I said no walker,
and I don't know when I could use wheelchair. Right now I could
hardly wiggle my body in bed with great effort and bearable pain, but
there is no way I could sit up, let alone stand. Any treatment for
this sort of injuries? None, other than paill killers. Worst fradcture
might require surgeries but outcomes were not faverable at all. My
situation requires long time of recovery based on the fact that I have osteoporosis.
Now I was going to be discharged. A case manager was going to talk to us about options we had. Waiting again.
The emergency place was quite and orderly. People walked on the
corredor, all the paitients were in their own stations. The nurse was
very kind that she printed out one page of the x Ray report and
showed us where and how the fracture looked like. It was t12 the spine
bone was crashed so the space of the bones was about a third narrower
than other t bone spaces. I read the discription : the compression fracture.
Finally the case manager came. She explained that kp does not provide
patient transportation, if we wanted she cod make arrangement for us
and we had to pay from our porket. David sId fine. Then she arranged a
physical thereapy for me and I will be contacted. After all the
arrangements were made David left for groceries and blugguers while I
was waiting for the trsnpotation. Before long two guys came in the
room. One looked as he was in charge, and he took many pairs of gloves from a glove box on the wall and handdled quite few to other guy. Don't they need
gloves? Do they have their own equipments? I wondered but kept silent.
They tried to use the bedsheet I layed on to scoop me from the
hospital bed into their stretcher then I said it is hospital sheet, the
guy in charge said it was ok, so they just lift me with the sheet and
laied me on their bed. Before leaving the emergency room one guy
grabbed a white sheet from a desk to cover me. What was going on I was
totally lost.
In fact the stretcher was much more comfortable than the one took me to the hospital. The van looked cleaner and roommer than the early one.
One surprise I got from the station 15 was the nurse told us the medical trasportation costs $600! Wow. It was only about 12 miles. The one took me back which was non emergency transportation was much cheaper, if only wheelchair was requrired in stead of stretcher then it could be half of what we were charged for, since I was not able to sit, the stretcher was necessary.
Funny thig was that they did not have stretcher after all and only have the moble bed, so when we arrived our home they wanted scoop me by the sheet to upstairs since they did not want to carry the heavy bed upstairs. I
rejected their bad idea and asked why they did not have a normal
stretcher, the answer was a stretcher was used in another vehicle.
What kind of reasons it was. Well, I needed to be carried upstair to my
own bed on this moble bed that was what we paied for. Luckly I was so
light, even with the heavy bed they were able to do.
I layed in my bed with agany and was very sad.
Meanwhile I had to do certain things. First checking compression
fracture on the internet I found t11 and t12 were the most common bones
to get the fractures. When David came back I was starving.l gabbled down yourgut an orange a piece of bread and felt better.
All I could do was laying in bed. I asked the doctor in the emergency
room how long to recover from such injuries, she said don't know. So after I finished my food I went back to check the info about the fracture on Internet. 80% of the compression fracture occured in people with osteoporosis gradually. There were usually several t bones involved, the cosequency of which not only coursed pain in the back also the patients hieght and posture will be affected due to thecalapes of the spine bones. Time to rest since9-16-2011
First I asked David to help is to bring my purse and phone to me. I
called kp and asked for a stachur and van to bring me to the hospital.
the woman in the phone asked all the usual questions. Finally she
asked if I have hard time to breath. I said no. Then she asked if I
can stand up, I answered no and told her again I could not even sit
up, let alone stand up. Then she suggested me to call 911. I told her
it is not life threaterning situation, I just need to get medical
attention to see how bad the situation was and get a proper treatment.
She emphersized to me that was her suggestion and I need to understand
the risks and all of that. Finally she told me she will talk to
someone and see if they can make some transportation for me. Shortly
she called back and told me a medical van and two people will come and
take me to lake view center kp emergincy room. I said regent care will
do, but she said definitely to the emergency room. Less than 30
minutes the van arrived. Two personals helped me turn on my side and
slid a very thin strachuer under me. It was awful when they carried
the stacher dowstairs when they could not keep the stechur leveled.
Then I was heading to Anaheim Lake View medical center of kp. The
Strachey was very uncomfortable: hard and lumpy; it seemed there was
no cushion at all. How does it accomadate any really sick patients?
The guy who took my blood pressure and pause did not seem to know how.
Anyway I was in the emergency room shortly. After all the standard
procedue I had an armband on my wrist. The room was very cold, I was
given a coupe of blankets. After about 20 minutes woman doctor came
and asked all the usual questions what happened? How painful from
1-10? where is the most pain from? Then she said as I expected: we
need to take X Ray before to make diagnosis. Of course. Then she left.
Ifrlt the room was getting cold, that my left foot started cramp.
Then the cramp extended to the shin the pain fom the cramp was almost
as bad as my back. Trying to ease the pain and warm the left foot I
put it on my right leg. Nobody was here to help. Another long waiing,
finally a guy showed up in front of me. I knew what he was going to
do, but before he opened his mouth, I said to him my left foot cramped
and very painful, because it is too cold. He was not detered: I need
to take X Ray pictures for you first, right after I'll find warm
blankets for you. Fortunately the X Ray roomwas much better and my
cramp was pretty much releaved. After many X-Ray exporsion I was
pushed back to the station number 15. There were many stations in the
facility. The X Ray guy got me two warm blanket to ease my suffering.
David showed up not long after my x Ray procedure. He had an
appointment for dental procedure which was not pleasant either. We
were waiting for the verdict from reading of the x Ray. David felt the
room was way too cold so he went back tohis car to fatch a overcoat.
Soon the doctor showed up and informed me there is fracture where my
back pain was. I asked which born, she said t11. I guess it was the
one right in the middle of the back where was my pain located. Soon a
nurse came in with bunch of injection equipments and said to me you
need some medication. I asked what were they for? Pain medication. I
said wait minute, I don't need pain medication. She said yes you do.
That time david came back and asked what pain medication she was going
to give to me. one was morphine. David said ah , no she can take that.
Why? She does not have much of tolerance for pretty much anything let
alone morphing. Ok, the nurse said and put away all the injection
stuff. I was given a couple of tylonone. Nurse told us what I was
going to need, wheelchair, walker, komod, bedpan.... I said no walker,
and I don't know when I can use the wheelchair. Right now I could
hardly giggle my body in bed with great effort and bearable pain, but
there is no way I could sit up, let alone stand. Any treatment for
this sort of injuries? None, other than paill killers. Worst fradcture
might require surgeries but outcomes were not faverable at all. My
situation requires long time. Now I was going to be discharged. A
case manager was going to talk to us about options we had. Waiting
again.
The emergency place was quite and orderly. People walked on the
corredor, all the paitients were in their own station. The nurse was
very kind that sh printed one page of the x Ray report for us and
showed us where and how the fracture looked like. It was t12 the spine
bone was crashed so the space of the bone is about a third narrower
than other t bones. I read the discription : the compression fracture.
Finally the case manager came. She explained that kp does not provide
patient transportation, if we wanted she cod make arrangement for us
and we had to pay from our porket. David sId fine. Then she arranged a
pgysicaly thereapy for me and I will be contacted. After all the
arrangements were made David left for groceries and blugguers while I
was waiting for thetrsnpotation. Before long two guys came in the
room. One looked as in charge took many pairs of gloves from a glove
box on the wall and hassled quite few to other guy? Don't they need
gloves? Do they have their own equipments? I wondered bu kept silent.
They tried to use the bedsheet I layed on to scoop me from the
hospital bed into their Strachey then I said it is hospital sheet, the
guy in charge said it was ok, so they just lift me withe sheet and
layer me on their bed. Before leaving the emergency room one guy
grabbed a white sheet from a desk to cover me. What was going on I was
totally lost.
In fact the stretcher was much more comfortable than the one took me to
the hospital. The van looked cleaner and roommer than the early one.
In the station 15 the nursextold us the medical trasportation costs
$600! Wow. It was only about 12 miles. The one took me back which was
non emergency transportation was much cheaper, if only wheelchair was
requrirex in stead of Strachey then it could be half of what we were
charged for, since I was not able to sit, the strachyecwas neseccery.
Funny thig was that they did not have stra hey and only have the noble
bed, so when we arrived our home theyvwant scoop me by the sheet to
upstairs since theyvdid not want to carry the heave bed upstairs. I
rejected their such bad idea and asked why they did not have a normal
Strachey, the answer was the Strachey was used in another vihecle.
What kind of reasons it was. Well, I need to be carried upstair to my
own bed on this moble bed that was why wevpaied for. Luckly I was so
light, even with the heavy bed ther were able to do.
I layed in my bed with agany and was very sad.
Meanwhile I had to do certain things. First checking compression
fracture on line. I found t11 and t12 were the was most common bones
to get the fractures.
When David came back I was starving.l gobbled down a cup of yogurt, an orange, a piece of bread and felt better.
All I could do was laying in bed. I asked the doctor in the emergincy
room she said don't know. So after I finished my food I went back to
check the info about the fracture on the Internet. 80% of the compression
fracture occured in people with osteoporosis gradually. There were
usually several t bones involved the cosequency of which not only
coursed pain in the back also the patients hieght and posture will be
affected due to thecalapes of the spine bones. Time to rest since I
was so exhusted by all the things going on in addition of the pain
which ate away my energy fast. in the afternoon I had an on off nap. It was very painful to turn around in bed. But I had to do it frequently to make me to feel better. Dinner time I had two piecec of toasts with sunflower seed butter and a home grown tomato. Even eating became a challenge when very limited movements were granted. It had been a long day.
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