What is it about full moons?
Friday had already started off bad. I was a week overdue for my Remicade treatment, and I was having some serious issues from my ulcerative colitis (don’t worry, I won’t go into details). I was so happy that I would be leaving work at 1:00 pm to get my treatment.
Work was a madhouse. A co-worker had a death in the family, and both she and her daughter (who also works with us) had to leave. The big boss was struggling to put out all the fires caused by the staff shortage, and the big boss was stressed.
An associate had emailed me instructions on a file which he had, and on which I had neglected to do a number of things mainly because I didn’t have the file. OK, no excuse – I should have looked for it, I admit that. But what made the shit hit the fan was that the associate included not only the big boss in the email, he also inadvertently sent the email to the client. Big boss totally flipped out and basically threatened both our jobs.
No sooner had I returned to my little closet after that confrontation than my cell phone rang. My family knows not to call during the day, so I suspected it would be something bad. Sure enough, I learned that hubby had just received a call that our youngest was being taken by ambulance to the hospital because she had blood clots on her lungs.
Now, I had to go back and talk to the big boss. While waiting for her to get off an obviously annoying phone call, my cell phone kept chirping with incoming texts. Normally, I keep the phone off during work hours, but had forgotten this day. Big boss started waving at me when the phone chirped for about the fourth time, and then angrily stood up behind her desk. I mouthed “I have an emergency!”
Well, big boss does care about her employees. She put her caller on hold, I told her what had happened, and she told me to go and they would take care of whatever I was doing workwise. Meaning, of course, that most of it would ultimately fall on her. I do appreciate that, believe me.
Before putting the car in gear, I called hubby to let him know I was on the way. He told me our daughter hadn’t arrived at the hospital, she was still at the imaging center where a CT scan had disclosed the blood clots, and the center staff had called the ambulance. The imaging center isn’t too far from the office, so I decided to go there.
Being me, I wasn’t 100% sure where I was going, so when I got to what I thought was the right corner, I ran into a different medical building and asked for directions. Following those directions, I went the wrong way, and then had to call Cordelia to look up the actual address of the imaging center. Naturally, by the time I got to the right place, the ambulance had already picked my youngest up and taken her to the hospital.
By now, it was the appointment time for my treatment. Hubby was at the hospital with my youngest, and I really needed my Remicade because I was already getting sick. I called hubby, and he agreed that he could hold down the fort – he had spoken with the EMTs and with my youngest, and things, while serious, weren’t as dire as they had seemed.
The infusion center where I get my Remicade has several treatment areas – one very large room with 5 chairs, and several individual rooms. Normally, I am placed in one of the individual rooms. Not today – today I was escorted into the big room, which was full, and I was stressed and nearly in tears. Everyone was looking at me odd as I explained what had happened. My blood pressure was 156/101. The nurses agreed to re-take the blood pressure after I had been in the chair awhile and after the Benadryl had taken effect. Blood pressure came down to 140/81. I wouldn’t stroke out and have to be taken by ambulance to the same hospital as my kid – yay!
The good news was that because my blood pressure was so high, those veins popped right out and the needle went in on the first try. Woo-hoo!
After the Remicade, I drove to the hospital. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but after getting IV Benadryl, I’m not the greatest driver in the world. Normally, I head straight home and climb into bed. But not today. I did, however, refuse to help hubby retrieve my daughter’s car from the image center parking lot – he got Cordelia to help with that.
By the time I got to the hospital, my youngest had been admitted to a room, and I was happy to see her sitting up in good spirits and minimal pain.
A little background – the week before, my youngest had called me early in the morning to say she had a severe back ache, she thought from over-exercising, and hubby took her to her primary, who sent her for a kidney x-ray and then prescribed muscle relaxants. If a chest x-ray had been done at that time, the blood clots might have been found sooner. This does not make me happy.
Anyway.
To make a long story shorter, the doctors think the blood clots were caused because my daughter has been on birth control pills since she was 18. Apparently, this is very common with young women these days. She was put on blood thinners, blood tests were taken, her legs were sonogrammed, and she was seen by a pulmonologist. She was kept overnight and released the next day, to be followed as an outpatient by the pulmonologist.
Once again, I got to know a daughter’s boyfriend in a hospital setting. I really must stop doing that, if only these girls could cooperate. Like the last time, I found my youngest’s boyfriend to be someone we can welcome to the family, and I was very comfortable with letting him take her home and take care of her. Lord knows, my weekend had already been fun enough.
Come the next full moon, I think I’ll just stay in bed. Some days it’s not worth getting up.
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
Yikes. I hope you’re all recovering this weekend. I hope you have a much better week ahead.
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Thanks, Dan. Considering there’s still one day left to the weekend, I’m a little nervous. Fortunately, Daughter #3 is home and not planning on going anywhere.
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Good plan.
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Poor you! I hope things settle and you get rest.
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Thanks, Jean. Actually, I felt a little guilty writing the post, because I made it all about me, me, me. My daughter’s the one who should be resting – and she says, no way is she staying in bed, she has stuff to do around the house. sigh.
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Oh well, she must be feeling reasonabky okay if she’s even thinking housework! Don’t be guilty anyway and YOU rest!
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Wow. I have found my moods to be affected by the full moon over the years, but, Lord knows, never had an experience like yours. Deep breaths, try to relax. Hope you and daughter will be okay.
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Thanks, Van. She should be fine. The clots will dissolve eventually. And I always wind up ok.
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You cannot diagnose blood clots typically on chest X-ray. It requires a CT. She is very lucky that she got one when she did and I am so glad she is on the mend!!!
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Victo – thank you! This comment makes me feel a little less angry. I do know that a CT is generally not ordered at the very beginning, so maybe waiting until the muscle relaxants hadn’t worked was the right way to go. I can’t help but wonder, however, if we had taken her to the ER the week before, if maybe they would have ordered a CT then (her pain was severe). Who knows? I tried to talk her into the ER then, but she wouldn’t go. At least nothing worse happened, and she should be fine.
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For back pain alone, likely no CT at the ER. For chest pain, much more likely, especially if paired with shortness of breath. Pulmonary embolism is a very tough one to catch, even under the best of circumstances, but her symptoms seemed a bit atypical. She is very lucky.
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She is. There are several doctors in her primary’s practice and when she went for her follow-up Friday morning and was still in discomfort, she happened to get one of the smarter doctors. Not that they aren’t all good, but apparently this guy was just a little above the others in taking that one extra step to send her for the CT instead of just prescribing a second course of muscle relaxers. It scares me to think what could have happened.
And of course, we’ve now both been told that blood clots can also be a side effect of ulcerative colitis, so now I’m a little scared for me as well as her. Sometimes I just want to hide, watch TV and drink wine. Wanna join me? 🙂
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Cheers! 😉
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Not much point in second guessing woulda coulda shoulds. Things roll out the way they roll out and we deal with them. Blaming it on the full moon is as good as anything else. I’m glad things seems to be getting better. Whew!
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Yep, Marilyn, that moon certainly is big enough to handle a little mud slung at it. Better than blaming myself or my husband because she got her genetics from us.
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Gah, some days… Mama said, but she didn’t say SO MANY!
I’m glad you have the weekend to rest. It IS kinda weird how you keep meeting the boyfriends in the hospital.
I agree, I would have preferred she’d had some chest imaging. Especially after the part where you said it’s apparently common these days. So okay, she’s young and probably not in need of chest x-rays, but then they say it’s common? Maybe imaging should be common too? That’d ruffle my feathers.
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It may be fate’s way of confirming that the boyfriends are capable of being there for their sweeties. I got to know Cordelia’s then-boyfriend when he stood by her after her apartment was flooded during the October storm. Anyone who can help clean out furniture, debris, and rotting food from a room filled with 2 feet of water is definitely a keeper. They’ve been married a number of years now.
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I am so glad that all worked out well in the end. I will check the moon phases on the calendar before I schedule a Niagara visit. 😉
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Please do. We wouldn’t want to be having coffee in an ER waiting room or something!
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Wow. That’s an impressive start tot he weekend. Good that your boss is so understanding and is willing to take the heat for her work force. As for Ulcerative Colitis, I know how much that can affect you as my mum had it years ago. Back when the treatment involved removing part of the stomach. SO glad they don’t have to do that now (I hope)
Hope you all get better soon and the rest of the weekend has been more relaxing for you all.
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Thanks, Al. Remicade is my last-ditch treatment. If it stops working, I will be forced to have the surgery. A break in the regular treatment sequence could cause it to stop working, so that’s why I couldn’t simply reschedule it – I was already a week overdue and suffering a setback.
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I really hope that it works. It’s not fun with outside plumbing.
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Let me first congratulate you for taking care of yourself. Most women do not see that they need to do that in order to be effective in helping others. Second, I so empathize with you and understand the hardship your colitis gives you. We both have many of the same issues and take the same meds. And then to your poor daughter; I am so glad she is ok. Just food for thought for you….. genetics does play into diseases, but its a good thing because we can know in advance when something happens to us, what it might be and where it came from. In 2003, I went to emergency with a numb finger and funny feeling. They discovered five clots, one very close to my heart. I had surgery to remove the one clot in my arm that was blocking the flow to my hand. The other clots simply went a way and I went on coumadin. I have blogged about this miracle before.
They could have said the clots formed was because I was just fat and had high cholesterol…accept I did not have nor have I ever had high cholesterol. I was tested for Factor V Leiden. And they did that because of the history of my father and grandmother. Both had clots in their legs. They did not diagnose my grandmother but my father had to have a leg amputated and then they did research and diagnosed his problem. For him, it helped him live another twenty plus years instead of stroking out a 50. It is not a common disease. Sure enough, I have it and I encouraged the rest of my family to test. One brother did and he has it and so does his eldest son. They now can take preventive medicine to help them live a long life.So it is a good thing.
I certainly do not blame my family for the genetic toss of the dice. I am grateful for the history so I can prevent things or at least slow down the progression. Psoriatic Arthritis and Psoriasis is also genetic. That came from my mother’s side. …it is what it is.
I hope everyone recovers soon.
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Factor V is one of the tests being done, but we won’t have the results for several weeks. If it comes back positive for my daughter, I will have myself tested. Your comment worries me – I have been getting numbness in both hands and arms for several months. I just figured it was from my neck and poor posture along with being fat. I’ll get that checked out soon. Thanks, Jane.
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You and my daughter have my well wishes. Pulmonary embolism is usually not fatal, but occasionally it can be. It was with my daughter. So make sure she takes care of it.
Also, I want to let you know that your question is being featured on Gibber Jabberin tomorrow. Are you up to it, with all the stuff going on? If not, let me know and I’ll reschedule.
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I’m definitely up for it, Tippy. I can use the distraction. I might not be able to respond until evening, but look forward to doing so. It may well be the highlight of my day!
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ps – you have my sympathy. I can’t imagine losing a daughter like that.
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Alright, we’re on!
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Holy Moly CM! You’ve been busy. I am so glad your daughter is OK and you got your Remicaid treatment. Blood clots are bad news. I’m glad she is on blood thinners. That can be problematic and annoying but will effectively stop it from happening again. I’ve been on blood thinners for years now. You learn to be careful of scrapes and dings. When I as new to the blood thinners,I went to the grocery store one day and I reached for the orange juice that was deep into the shelf. I scraped my knuckle and didn’t realize it. I was standing there pondering something else when a manager came by and asked f I was OK. I told him sure and why.He pointed and I had dripped a pool of blood about 4 inches across on the floor. I apologized. You start to pay more careful attention to small scrapes and bumps. I have not had a clot for the 6 years I have been on blood thinners so they are very effective.Oh, you bruise easier when you take any needles – that is unpretty.
Your daughter will be good.Thank God the doc caught it when he did. I dont know if your doc gave you any stats but blood clots are really bad news until they are treated and then there is no issue.
Best of Health CM.
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Unfortunately, she’s not out of the woods yet. The blood thinner has aggravated her ulcerative colitis. She has an appointment tomorrow to see what can be done about that.
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I hope the very best for her.
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Oh dear! I’m glad you’re okay, CM! Wishing your daughter a speedy recovery. And I think I’ll have a glass of wine with you after reading this. Cheers! ヾ(´▽｀;)ゝ
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Thanks, NBC. Do you prefer red or white wine? I have both.
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I like white. Cheers to you, CM!(>‿◠)✌
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Love and hugs to you and your family CM.. Daughter are a piece of our hearts that we will never get back CM. Did someone else says this? I will be praying; after I dry my tears. Please keep us posted, just even with a quick update. Don’t burden yourself for a long while. Take care of Youngest Daughter CM. And take care of your precious self.
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No need for tears. She’s on blood thinners and doing fine.
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The next full moon, let’s just grab the wine and go out and howl – back to nature and maybe back to a little normal craziness. Hope things are going better!
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Sounds good to me. I’ll stock up the wine cellar.
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