Monday, February 27, 2006

JUST BACK FROM THE E.R.

I just got back from the E.R. after yesterday's battle with HYPOGLYCEMIA. After my neighbor called 911 at 2:00AM because I yelled at her to do that, since I was on the floor of my apartment thrashing about with the Forces of Life and Death. The Paramedics arrived and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital. Since I had drunk a good quantity of Maple Syrup and my Blood Sugar was now 65mg/dl where previously it was 40mg/dl. I decided against going to the hospital. They would have given me Glucose I.V. and taken my blood. These things I was doing myself minus the Glucose I.V.
What happened was when my BloodSugar was 40mg/dl, I decided to make Crepes with Maple Syrup to raise it up. However, Time was not on my side. Yes, I began eating the Crepes w/Maple Syrup, but next found myself on the Kitchen Floor with my plate smashed doing battle with the Forces of Life & Death from the Hypoglycemia. It must have gone down to about 20mg/dl. Since I now have Hypoglycemia Unawareness, the Falling of my BS is very quick,
Before the Paramedics left, I tested my Glucose and it was now 86mg/dl. We all felt assured that things were OK. However, an hour later my L Hand began to swell. I immediately put ice compresses on it and knew that it was related to the Fall. Since the EMT people had already left, I decided to go to the E.R. in the morning after sleep.
While waiting in the E.R. Waiting Room I heard someone coughing and sneezing. I turned in the direction and again saw that the simple implement of a tissue or handkerchief was not used to cover the nose and mouth. The person looked like a Fellow American. So it shows, that All People,including Americans (based on my comments of yesterday in the TUBERCULOSIS article) can display low class, base behavior, not caring about others or themselves.
Back to the E.R. The results of the Xray revealed a fracture of the Radius on my L Hand. So I have to wear a Soft Cast for about 6 weeks. The irony about all this as I told my Physician and Nurse is that all the long years I spent in Martial Arts, I never incured a Fracture, However my Battles with staying Alive from Hypoglycemia related to Diabetes caused more Pain (Emotional & Physical) as well as Fractures in comparison.
Eventhough I ended up staying 8 hours in the E.R. from 4:00PM to 12:00AM, Dr. Kaplan who was the E.R. Attending and Dr. Gulotta , the Orthopedic Resident were great as were Thomas and Mei my E.R. Nurses.

4 comments:

Shannon said...

Thank God you came out of that episode (albeit with a broken hand).

But it sucks that you came out of it with a broken hand.

I hope you're resting and taking it easy for now.

BetterCell said...

Thank you Shannon for your concern. I am finding it kind of difficult to wash dishes and dress with just one hand available while the other is in a right angle position. These are the SCARS and WOUNDS in the BATTLE with HYPOGLYCEMIA and Diabetes.

Kelsey said...

Wow! I'm glad you're okay (for the most part!) That story is a really good reminder to treat lows quickly! Even though it's tempting to use a low blood sugar as an excuse to eat something really special and yummy! :)

BetterCell said...

Hi Kelsey....Thanks for coming by. I figured that the Maple Syrup(which is pure sugar) added to the Crepes would be the way to go when my Blood Sugar was 40mg/dl. But.............as we all now know what I needed was something "really quick". In the past, I found that drinking a can of Coke or Pepsi would get me out of a hypoglycemic reaction fairly quick, since they are loaded with a carb content between 25 - 33mg. My Big mistake was that I ate something rather than drank something which in turn took longer for the body to absorb. That and the fact that my Blood Sugar was zooming down "too quickly" for food to Stop. When I was on the kitchen floor with the busted plate and the Crepes scattered all over (we all came down together), my Blood Sugar must have been around 20mg/dl.

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New York, New York, United States
I do not give up my Autonomy,especially to the Medical Profession. Passionate, Creative, Able to see Beauty within Simplicity, I Am Not A Diabetic, rather I have Diabetes (there is a big difference between the two on many levels).Type 1 Diabetes since 5 years of age. Belief in G-D