JCs Bad Day

Bad Day for JC

I think JC knew it wasn't going to go well when the usually competent nurse got distracted while draining his catheter and filled up one of his tennis shoes. Then after sending his blood draw to the lab the results came back horribly bad. Really, horribly bad!

A hemoglobin count of 9 calls for a one unit (about a pint) transfusion of good old type o+ which he usually gets a couple times a month, but this lab result showed a hemoglobin count of below 5! They immediately started pumping two units of blood into him and scheduled him for another unit in the morning.

The nurses were shocked and amazed that he was getting around as well as he was and that he had driven himself to the clinic with such a lousy blood count. (I couldn't drive him because I was in Corvallis seeing my doctor.)

I can't imagine how discouraged JC was driving home that afternoon with insufficient hemoglobin and a pee soaked tennis shoe, but it had to be bad.

Thankfully, later that evening a nurse from the hospital called, apologized and explained that the lab had made a terrible error and that JC didn't need to come in for another transfusion. Much relieved he went to bed.

He awoke realizing that he had rolled over on the remote for his adjustable bed and was being folded into a very uncomfortable position. With his free arm he fumbled for the remote and knocked it onto the floor where it came apart letting the batteries fall out.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Later that night his catheter bag broke and soaked his bedding.

It was just one of those days (and nights!)