Tag Archives: heart
Peace and quiet…
Time flies. I skipped last week since I was up to my earlobes in work, but now I’m back!
This week talks about getting out of the ICU and moving to the piece and quiet on a regular cardiovascular unit. I got my own room which was incredible. After spending, I forget how long, in the higher energy ICU it was like being let out in a sunny meadow. In the ICU they have constant check on everything that goes on in your body since you’re fresh out of the oven. Like I said in the comic, there are alarms going off constantly for disconnected tubes or end of IV-cycles (when all of whatever medicine has been pumped into somebody’s body) or if there is some urgent event. I felt very safe there since I was surrounded by people who were focusing on me being ok every hour of the day and night. The flip side of that coin is that it can be hard to get good rest there. I can’t remember if I wrote this before, but a nurse said something like “it’s ironic that the hospital is not really the best place to get some good rest”. Apart from the alarms there are tests and x-rays and studies and check-in’s. And that’s not counting the crazy lady in the next room who screams that she needs to speak to someone who understands Russian. I felt for her. Being in the hospital can be scary, and not understanding what the hell people around you are talking about as they poke you is not going to make it better.
So, my own room felt incredible. There continued to be tight checks on everything, but I could close the door and have my own space, I could have visitors. Of course, in the back of my head I was often thinking “this shit ain’t free”, but the comfort at the moment was the most important.
So, anyway, I hope you’re all doing well, or at least decent. Thanks for reading!
Tooth ache – week #36
Aching tooth…
It’s been a pretty busy two weeks with a dear visit from family and some tight deadline work. I finally managed to get this episode together that partially deals with, while still being in the ICU, getting a crazy toothache. It just came on all of the sudden and it was really bad. I had to soothe it with ice water first and the water had to be in my mouth constantly, otherwise the pain would escalate to a brutal level. We’re talking writhing-in-my-chair level. It would move from my molar in the back to the front teeth and then back again. I finally managed to take even more painkillers, in between the other painkillers I already took. So, there I was, after open heart surgery, and the worst pain was not in my chest but in my tooth! It was laughable. After a few days a dentist finally managed to come in and she spotted a tiny (!) cavity in one of my molars. Needless to say I immediately booked a time with a dentist to have it fixed as soon as I could leave the hospital. Then, as sudden as it appreared, the ache disappeared. About 1.5 years later my regular dentist spotted the tiny cavity and fixed it.
This week also talks about being surprised about the kind of social help that would pop up in the US system when I least expected it. Growing up in social democratic Sweden in the 70’s and 80’s, the social welfare system in the US could feel heartless and meager in comparison. I guess to sum it up, it feels like I have learned that there is help to be had here too. It just kicks in way later and you have to be in a way more dire shape in order to qualify. Better or worse? That’s a good discussion to have at some point. Right now I am too tired.
Again, thanks all for coming here to read and I hope you’re all doing ok.