Call a WHAAAAAmbulance
Must be holding my own; I’m getting to the point of feeling sorry for myself.
That’s the bruise left from the arterial stick Tuesday night in the ER. To get an idea of how much oxygen one actually has available to one’s assorted organs, what medfolk do is stick a needle in an artery (as opposed to a vein) and get a sample to run through a nifty machine that computes the oxygen saturation (95%) and the “partial pressure” of various gases (O2 was 44.something, as I recall) that one’s blood is shuttling about from one’s lungs. That sat was OK; the pPO2 kinda sucked.
That’s not an oxygen mask I’m wearing; it’s conveying a mist of albuterol and some steroid in saline that I’m snorting four time a day. Makes me twitchy and gives me the munchies. Plus the prednisone does more of the same and is making me bloat up like a pig’s bladder. But hoo boy does it make me all optimistic with delusions of adequacy. If it weren’t so damned dangerous I’d like to take it all the time.
Pulmo consult on the 14th, or sooner if they get a cancellation. Geez, good thing I’m not sick or anything.
Posted by: Ron Sullivan
Responses
2 | By: kathy a on April 4, 2009 at 03:16 PM
and yeah, what is with the wait for a consult? don’t these people know you need to breathe?
3 | By: Pokey on December 8, 2012 at 10:09 AM
A pleasingly raitoanl answer. Good to hear from you.
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1 | By: kathy a on April 4, 2009 at 03:14 PM
youchie on the bruise! oy, about the rest of it. albuterol is kind of a happy drug, with speedy side-effects. it makes a world of difference for breathing when you need it, but let’s hope you can retire the big doses soon. [when my son was having the worst of his asthma and on the neb, i’d be ready to drop dead and he’d be ready to party.]
i mailed a postcard to you yesterday, and it came back today—maybe because the ink got all smeary. phthhht. will try again.