Pax's medical adventure

Disclaimer! - Possibly a more apt title would be "Pax watches the medical drama unfold" but that got a bit too wordy.

We've had much drama over here at the moment. If you have been following the recent posts you will know that both my partner (Mr B) and I have had the Whooping Cough for a few weeks.  Part of the illness are the coughing attacks that can leave you gasping for an incoming breath - too much coughing can lead to no oxygen getting into the lungs or the brain and can result in passing out.

Well B blacked out in the bathroom last night just after midnight - cracked his head open when he hit the tiles (he just toppled backwards like he'd been pole-axed and hit the floor so hard it vibrated). I was still up (we keep odd hours here when we game online) and saw it all unfold but couldn't get to him in time to break his fall.  So he's unconscious on the floor and I'm about to apply my (admittedly limited) knowledge of CPR when he takes that one required breath and starts his way back to breathing normally.  This is actually blackout #4 and I finally managed to convince him that we should call for the professionals to help (he said no right up to the point where I held an icepack to his head and he realised how big the lump was, how painful it was & that it was still bleeding. Stubborn bugger.  Of course now he's all "I'm glad I made that decision" and I'm all "Grrrr... I've been asking you to do that since blackout #1".

So ambulance* called - medics arrived - and we ended up at the local hospital just before 1am. B was kept in for overnight observation and I got a cab home about 3am (sleep didn't happen I was so stressed out and worried, so I was zombie girl when I contacted work this morning - luckily they have a heart so I got the okay to have the rest of the day off. about 3 hours of sleep acquired so far - more soon I hope).

Decision made today to admit him to a ward bed as the C.A.T scan has shown there are blood spots on his brain - neurosurgeon is to see him tomorrow (they don't know if it's been there for a while or if its from his fall last night - can't do a MRI due to him having a steel clip holding one tooth to his jaw [I did suggest a quick yank and back to the dentist later but B's sense of humour not that great atm]. They know about his having whooping cough but seem (at this point) less inclined to do anything about easing that than worrying about the cracked skull - I guess I can see why but if they don't control the WC then it's just as likely to happen again.

I've been in to visit - dropped off clothes - sat with him for a bit. However he doesn't like to drop off to sleep if I'm there so my stay was limited. I'll be back in tomorrow after work - or earlier if there's either more complications or the neurosurgeon has bad news. Playing it all by ear at the moment
 
As you can guess I am pretty stressed out at the moment so any prayers you can shift our way would be appreciated.

*For my girl pals that like "guys in uniform" a report: Yes! - both the ambos were buff guys - only one was cute. Unfortunately both of them were giving me the whole "he's got a wound to the back of his head - wonder if she did it" look right up till they realised that the lacerations on his head matched the tile patterns in the bathroom.. criss-cross wounds for the jury to acquit!. My very first ride in an ambulance too - pity I was so stressed out with worry to actually take any of it in. B suggests that next time I can be strapped to the bed and he'll be the ride-along - I've declined the offer

Blogged at: http://marionsmeepings.blogspot.com/2010/04/paxs-medical-adventure.html