Tag: medical

November 23rd – Healthcare

by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

I am off for another medical test today. I am grateful that throughout my life, I have for the most part been able to avoid medical procedures and surgeries, but time obviously catches up with all of us eventually. While I have healthcare on my mind, I decided this would be an opportune time to share some ‘words of wisdom’ on health, healthcare, and the medical profession.

“If your body’s not right, the rest of your day will go all wrong. Take care of yourself.” – V.L. Allineare

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s books.” Irish Proverb

“In minds crammed with thoughts, organs clogged with toxins, and bodies stiffened with neglect, there is just not space for anything else. ” – Alison Rose

“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.” Arabian Proverb

“Your mind needs exercise just as much as your body does, that’s why I think about jogging every day.” – Unknown

“The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine.” – William Osler

“Excuses don’t kill the fat, exercises do.” – Unknown

“Though the doctor’s treated him, let his blood, and gave him medications to drink, he nevertheless recovered.” – Leo Tolstoy – War and Peace

“We’d been assured it wouldn’t be painful, though she might experience ‘discomfort’, a term beloved by the medical profession that seems to be a synonym for agony that isn’t yours.” – Leon Shrivner This one I can relate to! When I was in the hospital a few years ago, I had drainage tubes in my back which were kept covered by a huge bandage, held in place by tape that I was obviously allergic to. Every time, the bandage was changed, the tape took off parts of my skin and much of my soul with it. One clever doctor decided the best way to remove it was to rip it off with one swift pull. I let out a shriek and clung to the ceiling in pain. The doctor looked at me, dazed and confused, and said “That didn’t hurt”. I assured him that it did indeed hurt. 🙄

That’s it for today, folks. Take care and have a great day!

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October 8th – Synchronicity

by annemariedemyen, posted in News & Views - October 2021

It took me a while to find a positive news story today, but I am relatively positive that I have found one that people can appreciate. This story is about a bike rider who was injured in a freak accident and the doctor who happened upon the scene and quite possibly saved his life.

In short, Corrections officer Todd Van Guilder was out riding the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails of Minnesota. After landing on his chest, when he leapt off of his bike to avoid a catastrophic accident, he lost conciousness . Dr. Jesse Coenen, an emergency room physician from Wisconsin, happened upon the scene. He saved Van Guilder from potential heart stoppage and possible death by performing an emergency cricothyrotomy.

Obviously, this is a story that had a positive outcome for Van Guilder and for Dr. Coenen! But I believe it is a positive story for all of us.

We are often told “It can happen in an instant…”. Life changing events typically with devastating results. Fortunately, amazing things also tend to happen in an instant! Too often, these moments go unnoticed because disaster was averted. Nothing to see here, folks!

For all of us these moments happen on a regular basis throughout the course of our lives. One such dramatic event happened in ‘our’ life a few years back. My husband came home early one day with a splitting headache. Although he is not prone to headaches, he decided to lay down for a bit and hope that it would pass. It did not. The next morning I asked him if he wanted me to take home to the hospital to be checked out but he declined. I left for work. A couple of hours later he decided that he should in fact get checked out. He pulled on shorts and a t-shirt and called a cab to take him to our nearest emergency room. Entering the emergency room, he walked past a door that happened to open at that moment. A young doctor sitting at a desk glanced up and saw Dan. In that brief moment, the doctor noticed a strange rash on Dan’s leg. He jumped up, ordered a gurney, and had Dan taken straight into a treatment room. If, if, if… If the stars had not aligned perfectly in one instant, I would probably have lost Dan to sepsis. It was that close.

There have been countless other moments in our lives. Some more notable than others . Like the day that we were driving to Gravelbourg, one of the few times that I was behind the wheel. Just as we approached the turnoff to Gravelbourg, a vehicle coming towards us sped around a curve and came straight for us – in our lane. I honestly have no idea how a head-on collision was averted, but at the last second the other driver swerved back into his lane.

I could recount dozens of such moments in our life and I am sure there are hundreds more that went by totally unnoticed.

There were of course other moments where an ordinary day turned extraordinary just due to one incredible instant of synchronicity. That chance encounter, that stroke of luck, the perfect moment in nature, that perfect photo, or that perfect sports shot – all happen in one instant.

What I think this says, is that one needs to be aware of the potential for bad and good in life. And, we need to live in the moment – because that moment holds the possibility for the devastating and the miraculous.

Take care and have a great day, filled with special moments. 💞

September 14th – So Far So Good!

by annemariedemyen, posted in A Piece of My Mind - September 2021

My catscan is complete and I am back home with Kat. Today the ‘piece of my mind’ that I am sharing is relative to my latest medical experience.

Kat was not worried – she was just waiting for me to share my breakfast. 😂

Everything went as well as could possibly be expected!

I was up at six o’clock to drink two glasses of water as per instructions. By seven o’clock I had lost eight pounds which would probably be expected by anyone who has ever gagged down two glasses of water at six a.m. Since the hospital where I was going is just a few blocks from our house, I had ample time to get dressed, check the weather and read my online news while I was not having my regular morning coffee.

I headed to the hospital at seven thirty and got there with no issues. I made it into the hospital and to the admitting desk without issue. I found radiology on my first try. (By this time I was feeling pretty cocky! I have the worst sense of direction and when I am within the confines of a hospital, where my stress level is through the roof, my sense of direction flies right out the nearest window.)

I was sent down the hall to change and had only one moment of sheer terror when I stepped back out of the change room with no idea which direction I had to turn. There were only two directions to turn and fortunately I chose the correct one to take me back to the reception counter. The clerk at the counter led me to the catscan area.

In the catscan area I was given another glass of water to drink. When I told the nurse I had already gagged down two glasses of water, she gave me a pass. She could not give me a pass on the iv that she had to insert so the lab technician could pump dye into me for the catscan. The injection went smoothly despite the fact that my vein (or artery?) on the inside of my elbow runs horizontal instead of vertical. Very strange – maybe they zigzag all over my body. 🤷

As soon as the iv shunt was in place, I was taken into the lab and placed on the catscan table. They attached the bottle with the die and did a quick scan before, and one after, the dye was released into my system. The dye did not hurt but it definitely causes an instantaneous and wierd feeling as it travels through one’s body – like a warm liquid starts at the top of one’s head and moves all the way down. That was relatively creepy.

That was it! All I had to do was wait fifteen minutes before the iv could be removed and I was free to run back to the change room, get my street clothes back on, stop in at Robins for a coffee and lemon poppyseed muffin and I was out of there!

I was so excited that I got to the Jeep before I realized that this was just a test and I still have to go for the actual surgical procedure for my hernia(s). I will have to go to the General Hospital, across town, for that performance. 😧😳😥

I made my way out of the parking lot and got myself home in one piece. Now I may need a nap. If I let myself dwell on the next step in this journey I may need wine – or a shot of tequila. 🥺

I must say that everyone, EVERYONE – from security, to clerical, to nurses, to technicians were AMAZING this morning. I am definitely grateful for their kindness, consideration, competence and professionalism.

That is it for today! All in all, a good full day before nine a.m. (Retired life is so great until one inevitably has to venture back into the real world. 😂)

Take care and have a great day! See you tomorrow. 💞