SICKLE CELL AND YOURS TRULY
As avid readers of my Sickle Cell blog, you all know that I talk a lot about food that I have tried and tested over time. And I also talk about my experiences when I am sick or go to hospital because I am not writing this from a place of ‘I too know’. I am writing from a place of I have passed through this too and I survived and can write about it and let you ‘my extended family’ from the world of Sickle Cell know about it.
A while back, I went to the pain clinic because of persistent pains in my left upper arm and shoulder. I had been managing the pain for over six months and after a while, I thought, ‘Tola, go seek help’; because that particular day the pain was so severe.
I went in and they gave me 15 mg of Morphine injection; their protocol at that hospital is to give the patient another shot an hour later. As the nurse wanted to give me the 2nd shot, I felt my tummy rumbling in a not nice way and I knew what it meant. I then stopped the nurse and told her that they had not given me any anti-sickness injection, since I arrived and could not take another Morphine injection with them administering the anti-sickness.
I also told her to reduce the 15 mg Morphine injection to 10 mg but she told me that she had already prepared 15 mg. I didn’t have any strength to argue with this woman and so left it.
She gave me IV anti-sickness and it took like forever (actually maybe about 30 mins or a bit more, can’t remember…). When it finished, she came to give me the injection for Morphine. A few minutes after taking it, I asked for a bowl because I knew I was going to throw up.
I was in the pain clinic from after 11 am till after 7 pm because I kept throwing up on the hour and less than the hour. It was horrible. I hated myself!
As if the drama was not enough, this nurse had me connected to their machine to monitor my heart, pulse etc… After a while, she kept telling me that my oxygen level was low and the monitor was beeping fast and stating ‘very low’. I started to panic and the nurse would tell me ‘breath in and out’. I kept doing what she said and it would go back up to normal and after a short while, the monitor would start bleeping again. This went on for over an hour. Later on, as I was panicking, I thought, ‘Tola, you are in hospital, if anything is going to happen, this is the best place to be and not at home’; with that consolation, I stopped panicking.
I look back as I am writing this down and blame the nurse who would not listen to me when I told her ‘give me 10 mg and not 15 mg’. Next time, I will have to insist that whoever the nurse is, listens to me, the patient and give me what I am asking for. I mean, it is easy to become aggressive, when in pain, and one is not being listened to.
Eventually both myself and the medical team let each other go because the monitor will start, I will breath in and out, it will stop and within a few minutes, it will start again. The drama in that room was too much and so I was released to go home. Hurray!
The following day, I went back because I did not sleep a wink overnight due to pain.
This time, I had a ‘charge nurse’ looking after me; this woman was the best. I had good care, she had read about all what had happened the day before and so had thought of alternatives for me. I was given the Morphine injection and they started at 10 mg and after she gave me a new anti-sickness injection, that seems to be in alignment with my organs. By that, I mean I did not throw up.
After, she gave me a pain relieving patch for the area where I was having the pain in my shoulder and she told me it would numb the tissue and was a 12 hours slow release pain.
When I left, I was happy and wondered why is it that with all things to do with human beings, whether they are in the medical profession or not, it depends on who/whom you meet?. Who you meet will determine the type of experience that you will have in any given situation.
As you can see, I live to tell the tale and laugh over it, even though at the time, no body was laughing and we were all tearing our hairs out.
I rest my case and until next time, do take care of yourself.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us on here…I pray that God should continue to strengthen you and heal you and everyone of us in Jesus mighty name…Amen
Dear Tunde, thank you for your kind words and I also pray that God will heal you and that you will be able to achieve your purpose and destiny without Sickle Cell being a hindrance. Take good care – Ms T
Am happy I come across this page today as I have been looking for who to talk to for a while. Actually I was looking for ways to gain fat as a sickle cell patient when I saw your post about health foods to eat. Although my questions have not been answered, it was nice to read from someone who can relate. Keep up the good work.
Dear Mrs Yekeen, nice to hear from you and thanks for visiting. Pls keep doing so. I love the bit about ‘gain fat’; aren’t we blessed, people want to loose weight but we are the opposite! Do get in touch with me re your questions at – t.dehinde@yahoo.com and I will endeavour to answer your questions. I look forward to hearing from you and I wish you well.