Off The Cuff

From The Hospital: Written In Notebook-Aug. 2nd

Posted by: From Arkansas in Health Topics on Aug 05 2008

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Written on Aug. 2nd.

After having been sent to the hospital for this spider bite, I have found that, according to the administration in this hospital, I do not qualify for actual admission. Therefore, they have put me into an observation unit. I have to say that I am greatly impressed with that unit. They treat the patient like they are in an ICU. Very impressive. If you need something, they deal with it RIGHT AWAY not in a few moments. Not with someone having to go get somebody. Not waiting for up to an hour for anyone to show up in the room.

I am being watched over very closely since I do have that nasty little infection that seemed to be ever growing on Friday. Since I got here, they have been bombarding me with IV antibiotics plus the couple of antibiotics that I was prescribed on Thursday. My husband, who is with me, has been quite attentive as well, making sure that I get those things needed. I feel a bit sorry for him since he has been sleeping in a fold out chair that he prefers to leave closed. He is definitely getting the worst of this.

We found yesterday that this unit is very different from the usual hospital room. While we did have access to a phone and a television, the tv is very small, probably around 9 inches. It’s on a swing arm that allows the patient to bring it to them on the bed. Great for the patient and not so hot for the extra person. You can, however, bend it to allow both to see it. It’s a bit awkward but doable.

On the other hand, not so handy is the bathroom. It’s outside the room across the hall and waiting room. It is close but not close enough, in my opinion. The waiting room or what actually looks like a television room is right in front of my door. Very little privacy if the door is open. Actually none. But the good thing is that the food trays come out there first, I think. At least, they do show up early on a pretty tight schedule, unlike in the upper rooms of the facility.

On a sadish note, the duffel that I have had for over 20 years sort of bit the dust today. When my husband was trying to get something out of it, the zipper just broke. That duffel has seen a lot of action, primarily when I was on the road all the time. I bought that in 1984. Made me wish I had a Briggs and Riley suitcase with us. That would not have broken. But we are able to continue with the current duffel for now. I sure do hope we don’t need to use it anymore than to carry what we already have. Sigh.

That’s about it for now. The doctor did say that I would not have to have surgery at this time. He came in this afternoon with his nurse who also makes rounds. Prior to this, he had mentioned doing some surgery on my arm to clean the mess out. But today, he wanted to wait and see what the bite looks like tomorrow since the antibiotics seem to be doing their jobs. That’s encouraging.

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