Monday at the A&E (Part 2)

 (Continued from my previous post.)

To wait for transport back up to Radiology for the supplementary CT scan, my bed was rolled out from the consulting room into the corridor; and there I lay for quite a while. I had kind of stopped looking at my watch by now, but some photos snapped now and then with my phone show the time. While waiting, I also managed a short post on FB on my phone for Swedish friends... Struck me that it might be good if at least a few local friends knew the situation – in case I might need to ask for help from someone with something...! 

 

 

15:50, still waiting in corridor for transport back up to Radiology for CT scan.

 

The doctor who referred me to the CT scan came back for a short visit (in the corridor) at the end of his own work shift (I don't recall the exact time) to tell me that another doctor would be taking over and give me the results. “You're in luck, he's an orthopedist and better than me at these things!” was his farewell promise... 

At 17:17, still waiting for transport to CT scan, 
I was brought a second cup of tea + sandwich.

Once up at Radiology again, the scan was quickly done. But then of course I had to wait again for transport back down to the A&E...
 

Radiology corridor, 18:17

Radiology corridor, 18:27

As entertainment in the Radiology corridor, I had a handyman of some sort fixing some electrics around me... He apologised, but I said never mind - watching a bit of "action" was quite welcome as a change to all the waiting!  

18:47 - back in the A&E corridor

Some time between 18:27 and 18:47 I was brought back down to A&E again. 

Transporter to Nurse (shouting): "Where do you want her?" 
Nurse (probably pointing): "I've become used to having her in that corridor." 
Me: "Yes, I'm feeling quite at home here now..." 

By then I had sort of accepted the situation, and was “happy” (hm) just to be allowed to keep my bed... I even managed to get some passing nurse to bring me a pillow (until then I'd been using my own jacket rolled up). All day I was also able to get up and visit the toilet by myself when needed (several times!). (I had brought one of my walking poles with me from home in the morning, for extra support when walking.) 

Lying for hours in corridors with bright lights, constant beeping, and people running to and fro all the time, is not exactly peaceful, though... 

The 18:47 photo is from looking up at a reflection in some kind of round mirror-thingy in the ceiling. It's actually me lying under that blue blanket. The mirror perespective feels so confusing for my brain now that I feel need to edit it to "normal", though:

That's better - now the image fits with my memories! :)

Eventually (must have been around 7 pm), the orthopedist turned up. He summed up that they had found no fractures in my right foot, but there was still some doubt about how to interpret a certain spot on the x-rays of my left knee. He said it might possibly indicate a small bone fragment of "come loose" (??) in some way? But they could not say for sure. Like the previous doctor he again also patted and prodded both my knee (left) and foot (right) in various ways before finally "letting me go" – with (stern but vague!) instructions not to try any “long” walks for at least 3-4 weeks. When I asked him to specify  “long”, he said like around 3+ km (2 miles). Which to me means, for example, all the way into town + back; a distance I do normally walk at least a couple of times a week. Ah well... Honestly I don't think I'm going to feel very tempted (physically) to try that for a while anyway... 

19:17, back in the reception area waiting for "ambulance taxi" back home (which they ordered for me from the A&E). When it arrived - around 19:40 - that turned out to be a kind of mini-bus, transporting several passengers at the same time (to different addresses). I first thought "oh no..." - but I turned out lucky, as the driver drove to my address first  (I guess all the others must have lived further away). So I was back home around 20:00 (8 pm).

 ---

PS. Everyone all day seemed as mystified as myself as to how I'd been able to contract my bruises in the places where they obviously were/are. Before they first x-rays in the morning, the staff preparing for that came out to me in the corridor to "double-check" with me if  my GP had really got it right on the referral? Right foot, and left knee?? When bandages were removed, though, they could see for themselves... Bruises almost all over my right foot and ankle, but nothing higher up on that leg. But big bruises just about all over my left leg (front and sides) - except for the foot!

So, that's the end of my story about last Monday at the A&E. Can hardly believe that a whole week has actually gone by since then! 

In the upcoming week, one thing on my list is to tackle getting acquainted with a new Health Care app for digitally reporting my blood pressure to a nurse at the HCC. (I've got as far as managing to download the app to my phone; but then I put off the rest. It's very possible that my bp medication does need some adjusting - but basing that on values from the past extremely unusual kind of week would probably not be optimal either!)

 

Monday at the A&E (Part 1)

 It's been over a week now since my Fall outdoors last Friday; in which both my right foot and my left knee got badly bruised - and led to me spending a full day in the Accident & Emergency department of our hospital on the following Monday. I managed a "mini" update here on Tuesday, but a fuller version has just had to wait, as I've been too tired. 

As it's a long story of a long day, I've now decided to do it in two parts. 

Here we go:

On Monday Morning (13 Oct) at 9:15(-9:45) I had a pre-booked appointment for an annual (although at least 18 months since the last one!) follow-up of this and that with a new GP at my primary Health Care Centre (located in the city centre). Normally walking distance for me, but now I realised I'd better take a taxi. (Pre-booked to arrive at 8:45 outside my building, and only 5-10 min drive to the HHC.)

I'd never met this doctor before but immediately liked her; she was fairly young (certainly compared to me!) and seemed both sympathetic and efficient. I decided to start with informing her about my recent accident; and after going through my list of prescriptions (to be renewed), she prioritised taking a look at my injuries rather than measuring my blood pressure right then and there. She said that could be followed up by a nurse later. 

My bruises had kept spreading over the weekend, so by now my whole right foot was rather blue; while my left leg was showing quite an impressive display of various shades of red, blue and purple both over and below the knee. After visual inspection + a good deal of poking and prodding, the GP decided to refer me straight up the hospital for x-rays, in case there were some hidden fractures after all. - She did not specify how to get myself there; but there aren't all that many steps to walk from the Health Care Centre to a bus stop from where I could to take an ordinary bus straight uphill to the hospital. And knowing the distances involved, I saw no problem with choosing that over calling a taxi again. 

I had to wait for a while in the Radiology department waiting room, but actually that particular part of that day's adventures took less time than I had expected. On the other hand - everything after that took a lot longer! 

The x-ray itself was quick, but what I had not really counted on was then being ordered to go to the A&E to wait for the results. And even less that I'd  be spending the whole rest of the day there, and not be home until 8 pm... 

 

Photo taken 11:27, looking back at the main entrance of the hospital as I went round the outside to the A&E. 

Approaching the A&E (Swedish: Akutmottagning) at 11:29.

After registering at the reception, I sat in their main waiting room for a while; but it did not take all that long before a nurse came and brought me + a few others (probably also waiting for x-ray analyses) to another, smaller waiting room. No info about how long I might have to wait there, though. But in retrospect I get that staff can't have had a clue either... They were having a very busy day, and my case obviously wasn't of the highest priority (I could see that for myself!). 

I think it must have been around 2:30 pm that I went out to the nurses' desk in the corridor and said, “excuse me, but I've been waiting a long time now, and I've not had anything to eat since breakfast around 7 am”... 

Not much they could do about the waiting as such, but I was then brought a cup of tea and a sandwich. And almost immideately after, I was taken to an examination room where (after finishing my tea and sandwich, which came with me!) I could lie down on a bed instead, to wait for a doctor. That took a good while again - but at least I was more comfortable now, and had had something to eat. 

14:47 in consulting room, waiting for doc 

At last a doctor did come (rather young, and very sympathetic) - but only to tell me that unfortunately there was some "ambiguity" on the x-rays of my knee, which meant that they needed to do a CT scan as well. This time I would not have to walk all the way back up to Radiology again, though, but would be transported lying on the bed... I'd have to wait again for that of course; and for that, my bed was rolled out into the corridor. But at least I was now waiting more comfortably than sitting on a hard chair in a waiting room!

To be continued... 

Fall

 

Linden trees along a street in my neighbourhood.

How quickly things can change from "normal" (cf. previous post) to - not quite normal!

There is a reason why I chose the title "Fall" for this post - and is has little to do with all the leaves falling to the ground.

Yesterday afternoon (as so often on a Friday) I went to dispose of some "recyclables" in the bins at the end of the linden-lined street above. Having finished that job, I decided to extend my walk a bit further. As the photo shows, it was a sunny day. 

Between the street I was on and a pedestrian crossing over another road, there is a small grassy patch. One second I was happily walking across that grassy patch (only a few steps), while keeping my eyes on the traffic situation on the bigger road... 

... and the next second, I found myself sprawled on the ground, with no idea how that had happened, or which parts of me might or might not still be in working order...

I must have slipped on a patch still muddy from the rain the day before. But there is still a complete blank in my brain as to exactly how I fell, or in what position I landed. (Checking my clothes later, there was not a trace of dirt on my white (!) jacket, neither front nor back - while my trousers were dirty both back and front!)

It felt like I lay there quite a while trying to work out which parts of me I might be able to move at all; and if there might be a position from which it would feel safe to try and get up to standing position...

Two very young girls (around 9-10?) on the sidewalk along the major road were the first to notice my predicament, and ask if I was all right - looking rather scared. It did not look to me like they'd be able to actually help me get back up on my feet, though... Luckily, a more grown-up Angel also appeared - a young woman who had seen me from her car, and stopped to come to my rescue. She was quite small and thin as well, but she seemed to know what she was doing, and after a few attempts did manage to get me up to standing positon. Although I felt generally bruised - and feared for my left knee in particular, as that has a tendency to play up for less! - to my amazement, nothing seemed to be broken or even "seriously" sprained. Once upright, I felt that I could stand on my legs, and also take a few steps without too much pain. 

The Angel decided it was probably best that she drove me home though (and I did not protest!) As I wasn't far from home that only took a few minutes. The car she was driving had the logo of the council housing company that I rent from. It turned out that she works for them as inspector, and was on her way to such a job nearby. I forgot to ask her name, but I'll be forever grateful. She let me off at my entrance - as there's a lift (elevator), no need to worry about my ability to manage the stairs. 

Taking off my trousers to assess the damage, I was shocked at the size of my left knee, which was also obviously going to turn into an enormous bruise... Instinct told me to make a priority of getting some ice on that, and also a compression bandage. Luckily I did have a variety of bandages already. There was also a small scrape wound on the knee, but very superficial, so nothing to worry about. I had some ice cubes in the freezer and made a first provisorical compress with those. Later on, it struck me that it made more sense to use one of those plastic cooling thingys that you put in cooler bags (not sure of the English word for them), as those don't make everything wet when they thaw... 

 The other place where I felt a bit sore and had a bruise arising was on the outer side of my left foot, below the ankle. It's still a mystery to me how I came to be bruised in those two places - left knee + right ankle - but nowhere else. I also have some pain in my left shoulcer/arm, but no visible bruises there, so I think that's probably from my attempts to get up rather than from the fall as such. (In my right shoulder/arm+ neck I have chronic problems since many years, but that seems not to have got much worse by this incident.) 

I've been taking a series of photos of the development of my bruises, but I think I'll spare you those (for now, anyway), and just give you this neatly bandaged version from Friday afternoon... (My summer jeans with very wide legs came in handy to wear at home - I can just roll up the trouser leg when I need to check on the knee...) 

Apart from the colour of my bruises I don't think anything has been getting "worse". I've been resting with my knee and foot "high" quite a bit, and I've not been out; but I can get around in the flat, and I can sit down and get up again, and do what I need to do at home (like getting food, and washing the dishes). I suppose I'd better take a take a taxi to my doctor's appointment (for other things!!) on Monday morning... But that's not the end of the world...

P.S. There is an emergency clinic at my primary health care centre on weekday evenings (including Friday), and daytime on Saturday and Sunday. So had I felt things getting worse and needed advice, I could have contacted them. But it has not felt necessary.

...

A similar fall happened to me once before. My blog tells me it was as long ago as in the spring of 2017. (8+ years ago!) That time, I stumbled on a kerb of cobble stones separating a walk path from a bicycle path (a very unusual arrangement). But I recall the same feeling of suddeny finding myself on the ground, with no idea what happened, or how much damage... That time, I got a rather deep cut on my elbow. But then, too, "Angels" appeared to help (and that time, gave me a lift to my health care centre to have the cut professionally looked after). 

Re-reading my post from back then, I note that I then also listed a number of "things" not damaged in my fall. It was the same now: Glasses and sunglasses undamaged, phone safe in my handbag, trousers not torn (in spite of scratch wound underneath).

"Sometimes, the greatest angels 
are not found in the heavens, 
but walking beside us on this earth."  
~ Shannon L. Alder

Landslide

  

(Photos off my TV screen)

I don't know how rar and wide the news of this event has spread over the world (if at all), but around 1½ hour after midnight on 23 September, a massive landslide occurred in southwest Sweden, causing severe damage to the motorway [E6] between Sweden's second largest city Gothenburg, and Norway's capital Oslo. Seeing images from it on TV, it seems miraculous to me that (from what I've heard) no one was killed. (Had it happened in the daytime, with more traffic, it could have been a lot worse.)

According to the news agency Reuters (23 Sept): 

A large chunk of a motorway in southwest Sweden collapsed overnight, causing three people to be taken to hospital with light injuries, police said on Saturday.

The landslide damaged the motorway between Sweden's second-biggest city Gothenburg and Norway's capital Oslo, near the small town of Stenungsund, around 50 km north of Gothenburg on Sweden's west coast.

"The hardest hit parts of the landslide area measure around 150 x 100 meters. In total, however, the landslide has affected an area of around 700 x 200 meters," the Gothenburg Rescue Services said in a statement.

The slide affected around ten vehicles, a wooded area, a business area with a gas station and a fast food restaurant, the rescue services said.

"A number of people have been helped out of vehicles in the slide area with the help of fire personnel and a helicopter."

Several cars and one truck had fallen into holes and cracks caused by the landslide, Swedish news agency TT reported.

A rescue services spokesperson told public broadcaster SVT all people in the vehicles had been helped out.

Police said on their website they had launched a probe into whether work at a nearby construction site may have caused the slide. ---

I think I probably react a bit "extra" looking at these scenes on my TV screen, because this happened quite close to where my brother and I were driving only about 1½ month ago (and in very rainy weather), on our holiday road trip to the west coast... 

(Repairs to this road will no doubt take a long time and will be causing traffic problems for quite a while onward.)

From Spring in my Step to Sudden Fall

Last Friday (19th May) was a lovely warm spring-on-the-verge-of-summer day here. In the morning, I took a bus across town with the purpose of buying a new camera. Mission accomplished – details another time...

After I had made my purchase, because it was such a nice day, I decided to go for a bit of an extra walk  As it turned out, not one of my best ideas. There were some nice views along the way (which will appear in another post), but then...

 Photo taken with my old camera.

Walking along this street through an industrial area, I had my eyes (please note: not the camera!) focused on a car that was about to back out from the parking space in front of a shop. I wanted to make sure the driver was aware of me before I passed. He did see me; our eyes met in his rear mirror. But then - as he put it afterwards - I just suddenly vanished from his view and was nowhere to be seen! (Like Alice down the rabbit-hole…) 

The driver and his partner both got out of the car to check what on earth had happened. And found me on the ground, trying to sort out the same, and if I had broken anything… After a little while, I decided I probably hadn’t; so let them help me get back up on my feet. Rather miraculously, I seemed neither to have broken nor seriously twisted anything.

I'm pretty sure that what happened was that while looking at the car, I stumbled on the kerb of cobble stones separating the walk path from the bicycle path. (You can see it in the photo.) I remember doing a little "dance" trying to regain my balance. But alas...

Meanwhile, a shop assistant inside had also seen us and came out and offered us to come in. The most obvious injury was that I was bleeding through my jacket from a wound on my arm (close to my elbow), which also looked rather nasty when I removed my jacket.

The girl in the shop had a first aid kit though, and did a good job of basic cleaning of the wound and providing a temporary dressing while we talked the situation over. We agreed I had probably better also have that wound professionally seen to. So the couple with the car offered me a lift to my health care centre – which I gratefully accepted.

Unfortunately, I arrived during the lunch hour, and I had to wait a while. (However, an old friend of mine was manning the reception desk, and got me a cup of tea while I waited. A little bit beyond normal service...) As soon as the lunch hour was over, I got to see a nurse who gave me a proper dressing of the wound. I had some scrape wounds on my hands too but they only needed ordinary sticking-plasters.

I got myself back home by bus okay. Had to wait a while for the bus too, but it was still a nice and sunny day, the HCC is in the city centre and I bought myself an ice-cream and found a bench to sit on. (Could have called for a taxi if I had felt I needed it.)

When I got home I discovered that I also had scrape wounds and bruises on my right hip, leg and knee, even though (mysteriously!) there was no damage to my jeans. The scrape wounds were just superficial. (Obviously the trousers had been good protection!) The bruises of course behaved as bruises do and got worse over the weekend before beginning to fade… But on the whole I feel very lucky, as I could so easily have been much worse injured.

I took most of the fall on my right side, which is my bad shoulder/arm since before. So yes, pain did catch up with me before the next morning (also triggering the old chronic pain a bit). I’ve not been able to lie/sleep on my right side all week, and it’s still hard to write and so on. Neck/shoulder a bit stiff too, but getting better. Was back at the HCC yesterday and got my elbow bandage changed. Will have yet another checkup of the wound on Monday. But it's healing.

It may be a while yet before I’m back to “normal” presence in the blog world and correspondence, though. But now you know why...

PS. List of worldly items that also were not broken in the fall: 

- my glasses
- my sunglasses
- my wristwatch
- my old camera (held in my left hand at the time but not used)
- my new camera (in its box in my backpack)
- my smartphone (in my handbag)

Nor anything else in my handbag or backpack.

The dark blue trousers I wore bear no traces whatsoever of an accident, even though my hip, thigh and knee underneath still do.

The jacket has been washed, and the only damage is a small tear in the sleeve that can be mended (when I have mended myself!)