Discharged

Discharged

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

9:28 PM

 

Today, I had to return to the hospital for several reasons. The most important was to be officially discharged. I also had to undergo some tests, which are required as part of the process when applying for a lung transplant.

 

Mary and I arrived almost in time for the Nuclear Medicine Myocardial Perfusion Stress Test, but apparently someone had cancelled it. So we headed back to Unit 2 where I am still a patient. This particular test involved some considerable sacrifice: fasting 4 hours before and no caffeine for 48 hours. One of the nurses on Unit 2 asked if I wanted some breakfast and given how hungry I was, my answer was, definitely. The tray arrived and I was about to dive in when another nurse came around the corner like Kramer entering a room and yelled, “Don’t eat!” I stopped the spoon midway to my mouth. The test had been res-scheduled. Not another minute later, yet another nurse came in and told me it was ok to eat. The test would be sometime later. And before I could get the cornflakes up to my mouth, the first nurse was back with a ‘don’t eat’ tone in her voice because I would be going for the test within the hour. If I hadn’t been half starved it might have been funny. I was wheelchaired down to the test area within that very hour.

 

For the test, I was injected with a microscopic amount of radioactive material and then had to go through about a half an hour of being scanned by a couple of different devices.  In layman’s terms, they track the radioactive material through the body to measure how the heart is working. I have to go back tomorrow morning for a follow-up test. In the meantime, no coffee, no tea, no chocolate, no carbonated beverages (the thrill is gone).

 

After that we returned to Unit 2 in room 222 in bed 2 for a meeting with the doctor. She was considering discharging me, but given I had a walking/breathing test booked for 3:00 PM, she decided to wait to save me having to go through the whole registering-at-the-hospital routine. This turned out to be one of the best decisions of the day.

 

Just before 3:00, Carol the Porter came to collect me. I don’t know if you’re aware that there is a whole team of porters whose job is to shuttle patients throughout the hospital. I got into the wheelchair, Carol hooked up an oxygen tank, and away we went. I think it’s the fastest I’ve moved in a month. The walking/breathing test is simple. You walk up and down a hallway for six minutes. The side of the hallway has tiny orange pylons every 15 metres. I did better than I expected and was able to walk just over 60 metres. That performance speaks to how weak I have become and how difficult it is to get enough oxygen when active.

 

Once that test was completed, it was back to Unit 2 to meet wth the doctor again. After some discussions around home oxygen, some additional prescriptions, the importance for my mental health to be at home, the doctor officially discharged me. The hospitalist working with me through all this has been wonderful; she is compassionate, knowledgeable, professional, patient-centred.

 

We have reached the point where I can’t be left home alone. There have been many times in my life when I should never have been left alone or worse in charge, but in this case it’s a matter my survival. I need help with almost everything, but the most important is receiving a steady supply of oxygen. If there is a power failure or should the oxygen concentrator stop, I need to switch quickly to an oxygen tank; something I’d need help with. I’m also not driving anymore.

 

On the upside, with Scott here, we’ve played many games of backgammon and cribbage in the last few days. Neither of us has had people we can play with, so this is a real treat.