Today was a stressful, exciting day! As planned, you stayed home while I went to the ER. Nana and Papa'll drove me to the ER at Raleigh General Hospital, and Nanny and Poppy took care of you. The entire way to the hospital, I had my seat reclined, a barf bucket by my side, and a towel over my eyes to block the sun. When we got to the hospital, Papa'll dropped me off at the door to the ER, and Nana helped me walk in. My migraine was so bad at this point that I could barely see. I had extreme sensitivity to light, so I'd almost black out when I opened my eyes.
I got registered, and after a short wait, they had me walk to a room in the ER. A nurse led me in the right direction, and I kept my eyes closed until we reached the room. I got into a gown, laid down on the bed, and they took my vitals.
When the doctor came to my room, I explained that David told me to come to the ER, and that I needed a spinal patch. The doctor called David to make sure he had all the information correct, and to see what he could do for me. David instructed him to find an anesthesiologist, and have them do the procedure. The ER doctor was excellent, and followed David's directions. He knew that I was a new, nursing mother, that I'd travelled to have the procedure, and that I needed to get home quickly. He got on the phone immediately and started calling to find an anesthesiologist. Within 30 minutes, the anesthesiologist was in my room.
The anesthesiologist asked me a few questions, such as when the migraine started, if I was sensitive to light, and if the migraine went away when I laid down. I answers the questions, and he agreed that I needed a spinal patch, and said he'd do the procedure as soon as he found someone to assist him. About another half hour later, they wheeled me to the surgery recovery area. I wasn't sick, and they wanted to keep me away from germs, so it was the safest place to do the procedure. The anesthesiologist said that we'd know within an hour whether the procedure had been successful or not.
The doctors sat me up, and I leaned forward onto one doctor while the anesthesiologist started the procedure. Essentially, it was the same procedure as an epidural. I leaned forward, and they inserted a needle into my spine. I didn't receive any numbing medication as they needed me to tell them when I felt pressure in my spine. He said I'd know what he was talking about when he started he procedure. They removed blood from my arm to insert into my spine. Like the doctor said, I knew when it was enough, and told them when to stop the injection.
Almost immediately, I felt the pressure in my head start to release. They laid me down, and had a nurse come every 15 minutes to set me up 15 degrees at a time, until I was sitting up. When the hour mark hit, and I was sitting up completely, my migraine was gone! I've never felt such relief! They wheeled me back to my original room in the ER, and within 29 minutes, I was discharged. I walked out of the ER with a sore back, and directions to take it extremely easy, not to bend or lift for two weeks, to drink as much caffeine as possible to keep the blood vessels constricted, and to love on my baby as much as possible!
We left the hospital, stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch, and headed home! We got home and I nursed you, and finally felt like I could be the mother you deserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment