July 13, 2006

entry for july 13, 2006 jul 12, '06 11:20 pm for everyone THIS ENTRY IS PART II OF JULY 12, 2006...Previously posted... If you haven't already, read the previous entry. The story starts there. Thanks. Next installment. When we last left Fred, the intrepid Truck roller-overer, he was being removed from the wreckage of the truck and placed in an Ambulance. Now, I don't know why they put me in an Ambulance, except they did take a blood sample for the state trooper who'd arrived at the scene. I knew they were careflighting me out, and frankly, just being free of the truck, I was a happy little camper, but that's where they first put me. They took my vital signs again, took off my boots, and belt, then started cutting off my clothes. I think they turned the Ambulance around, I'm not sure, but within a very few minutes, they told me it was going to be cold and windy, as they were transferring me to the Helicopter, which they promptly proceeded to do, so farewell to my nice, good friends Jerry and Chris, and on to bigger, and better things I hoped. At least I felt like I was in pretty good hands because Jerry and Chris hadn't led me wrong yet, and they trusted these new people, and that was good enough for me! Wow! It was sure-enough cold out there in that wind after being clothed, and confined for so long, at least it had been sheltered, and they'd had a blanket over me! Now, I was out in a STRONG wind, the Sun just coming up, and the predawn chill being blown all about my delicate, semi-naked, strapped down, and wounded self! B-R-R-r-r-r-r!! The Flying Nurse/Dr/Paramedic/Person Guy locked my gurney onto what appeared to me the edge of this tiny little helicopter, and shut the door, then came in the other side, which if my arms hadn't been strapped down, I could have held open for him, and sat by my upper body, placing my boots right at my head. I could see there was another Person down by my feet, but not clearly. I was strapped into a cervical collar, so I had no range-of-motion to see. All I could see was a little bit of sky, and the rotor whirring by, I figured as long as I couldn't make out the actual blade, we'd probably be ok. The Nurse/Dr/Paramedic told me he was going to give me a shot to help relax me, which he did, and boy, it worked! Morphine! I asked him when we were going to get airborne, and he laughed, said we'd been in the air about 5 minutes already, and were about 20 minutes out from the hospital. The rest of the flight was uneventful, except that I told him this was my first civilian helicopter ride, and I'd have liked to have been able to see. He laughed and told me to relax. When we were coming in to land the helicopter bumped around a little, turbulence, so he and I decided to tell the pilot we didn't really like roller-coasters. By, the way, during the flight, they'd cut the rest of my clothes away. When we landed, it was quick, onto a bigger hospital gurney, and roll away into the building. I met a nice new Doctor. I don't remember his name, but he told me they were going to roll me onto my right side, pull out the rest of my clothes from under me, and that he was going to check my neck and back for spinal injuries, and that he was sorry, but that he would have to stick a finger in my butt, to check for something in there too, nearest I can figure, they wanted to feel if my guts had compressed down and were pushing that way, I don't know for sure. I do know that I told him fine, but since he had to check there anyway, and I'm almost due my year 50 prostate exam, if he could go ahead and do that too, I'd be grateful. For some reason the whole Medical Team around me exploded into laughter. I thought it was cute, but not that funny. He checked my neck, spine and sphincter, then when they rolled me over he said By the way? You're Prostate's fine, no problem there. So I felt better about that. They covered me with lots of heated blankets, got me started to be warm and cozy, between the blankets and the morphine, then ripped it all off to send me thru a cat scan machine, then full-body X-rays. About this time things were getting to be a little fuzzy. I was really starting to relax after the cat-scan, thinking they'd see I was ok, and probably send me home in an hour or two, when 3 Oral-surgeons came in, or 1 Oral Surgeon, 1 Resident-in-Training Oral Surgeon, and some guy they must have picked up at the local diner who looked like maybe he could learn, so they were teaching him along the way. This is the one who had the needles full of novocaine that the Senior guy insisted he shove up to my eye-balls. Seriously, he told this kid, that when he thought the needle, must be about at my eye-ball, that it was really about "here" marking a place about my cheek-bone, where there is an apparently large nerve center that just demands to be deadened, before they could operate. (side-note: One of my friends who saw me just before this point said that indeed she could see through where my top lip should have been into my sinus cavity. She said you could see way into the back of my head! She was creeped out and, knowing her, she probably fainted! Girls!!) Anyway, they got it all deadened, I couldn't really see much of what they were doing and I couldn't feel anything but a tug here, or a tug there, so I went to sleep, pretty much. That's about the whole thing, except they sewed up my arm at the same time, and I didn't even know it. Oh! and the catheter!! They should put that in while you are asleep! I think that thing is made of super-small braids of barbed- wire! Jeez!!! that thing hurt!!! ©F.Pierce 7/13/06