In Hospital

As some of you know, I have been in hospital for the past 10 days. I went to Urgent Care to get a new IV as the one I had went interstitial. The triage nurse saw that my sats were about 89-91 and took me in right away - do not pass GO, do not collect $200. They did a chest x-ray, which they said was clear but I later found out showed some fluid in my lungs.

UC is only open 12 hours a day, so they transferred me to the tertiary care hospital, where I spent about 22 1/2 hours in the ER on an isolation wing - isolated because I answered 'yes' to a COVID screening question - "Are you experiencing abnormal shortness of breath?" I had to have a swab before coming upstairs to the ward and I hope to never need another. My sinuses still haven't forgiven me.

At first they thought I had a pulmonary embolism, but a contrast CT scan ruled that out. That is another test I hope to never need again. I am allergic to IVP dye, so they pumped me full of benadryl and a steroid, both by IV. The high was interesting, but the two panic attacks during the scan weren't.

One of my doctors went back through my file, looking at other tests I've had over the years. The computer systems of the two hospitals are connected as are specialists. The doc noticed that my last echocardiogram two years ago showed evidence of pulmonary hypertension, so they want me to have another echo. I looked the illness up and thought fuck it, I'm done. I began to refuse to take my b/p meds and took off the 02 cannula. At first, my sats were 80% without it, but now they are up to 92-93%.

I wanted to go home AMA, but they wouldn't let me. Fuckers filled out a form 1 on me - involuntary admission - and said it could only be lifted by a shrink. At first I said bugger off w/ that bovine excrement, I will wait out the 72 hours it is valid for, then go home. They said they would just keep renewing it. I didn't think they could, but I thought it would be faster to just talk to the shrink and convince him that I am not suicidal. (they even had hospital security coming by my room at regular intervals to make sure I was still here)

An ethicist came to see me this am and he told me they cannot keep me against my will except under very specific situations. He also said that I absolutely have the right to refuse testing and treatment and that he felt there had been a misunderstanding between myself and my medical team. He was going to recommend that the form be lifted.

Then two psychiatrists came to see me and asked a zillion questions, one of them was to rate my mood pre-COVID. I have never been asked that before. Another one was what do you do at home? I said I write, figuring that would be the end of it. They wanted to know what I wrote and if it was published. I couldn't very well say anything about books here at Zity, so I used The Mule, which I have at Wattpad. One of them wrote it down and the website's name and said he was going to check it out. Yikes!

They did agree w/ the ethicist about it being a misunderstanding and that they would lift the form, but they talked me into staying to try to find out what is wrong. They asked if I would be open to talking to someone on a regular basis - I do not know why, maybe because I have so many health and mobility issues. They are going to come see me again Monday.

I am really trying to resist the urge to go home!!

PS To those looking for new book chapters - sorry, but it may be awhile. I have my notebook computer with me, but typing on it is a pita. I did put my current mule chapter on Google Docs, so I may work on it a bit. I did not expect to be here this long if they admitted me.