- OLIN 155 - This is by far the best option. This lecture hall has a very large screen, a projector that doesn't flake out on you, and comfortable seats. The only drawback (and this is a significant drawback) is that the room is locked after 9:30 PM. Also, at the time of this writing, there is some construction (renovation) work in Olin Hall, so it can be rather noisy at times.
- THURSTON 205 - This room is a very good one. It's not a big lecture hall. The equipment (projector, seats, etc.) are all in good working condition. Nothing spectacular, but it works.
- OLIN 255 - This lecture hall has insane stadium seating. Insane meaning that this room alone looks like it takes up 2 floors due to the steep incline of the stadium seating. The equipment is in good working condition, but if I remember correctly some of the lights stay on in this room.
- UPSON B17 - The home-away-from-home for mechanical engineers like us. The projector turns off after 40 minutes of inactivity, which gets very annoying.
- KIMBALL B11 - Pretty much the same story as Upson B17. The projector goes off every once in a while, forcing you to get up and turn it back on.
- PHILLIPS 203/219 - The projectors here work well, but the drawback it that not all of the lights go off. Either that or we haven't figured out how to kill all the lights.
- PHILLIPS 101 - First you must find your way from the back of the room up to the front podium in the dark in order to turn on the lights in the room. After that you realize that the audio cable is frayed, so this room is no good for watching a movie on the big screen (unless it's a silent movie).
Monday, December 22, 2008
Makeshift Movie Theaters
After living in the 'trols room with the right nut and the seabass for 12 days, final exams and final projects have officially ended for the Fall 2008 semester (and grades are being rolled out as I type). Occassionally there was a study break that involved a movie on the big screen in a classroom somewhere in the Engineering Quad. Personally, I have not seen a movie in all of the rooms discussed here, but here is a brief review from personal experiences and word-of-mouth of the available options in case you seek a similar study break:
Friday, November 21, 2008
Good Morning, Elevator
Every morning as I head out to breakfast/class, I take the elevator down since I live on the 6th floor. Occassionally when I'm not feeling lazy I'll take the stairs down. There are 2 elevators in the building, and one is faster than the other. Obviously people want the fast elevator because the elevators aren't that fast to begin with (compared to, say, the Statler Hall elevators), and time spent in the elevator is kind of like sunk time because there's not much one can do in the elevator. The elevators are so slow in general that people manage to hold conversations on the posters in the elevator by writing on them.
Anyway, I've noticed that 99% of the time, the fast elevator comes up to the 6th floor to take me down in the morning, which is a good thing and makes me happy. I figure this is the case because in the morning, everyone goes from high floors down to the bottom floors to head out and begin their day. This means that in the morning hours, chances are both elevators are sitting on floors 1 and/or 2 (where the doors to the building are) unless someone pushes the elevator call button, in which case the elevator shimmies up and then goes back to chillin' on floor 1 or 2 after dropping the groggy student to the door floor. When both elevators start on the bottom 2 floors, the fast elevator always beats the slow elevator in traversing to the 6th floor. The fast elevator is that much faster than the slow elevator, but the slow elevator usually has elaborate handwritten conversations on the posters in them.
Anyway, I've noticed that 99% of the time, the fast elevator comes up to the 6th floor to take me down in the morning, which is a good thing and makes me happy. I figure this is the case because in the morning, everyone goes from high floors down to the bottom floors to head out and begin their day. This means that in the morning hours, chances are both elevators are sitting on floors 1 and/or 2 (where the doors to the building are) unless someone pushes the elevator call button, in which case the elevator shimmies up and then goes back to chillin' on floor 1 or 2 after dropping the groggy student to the door floor. When both elevators start on the bottom 2 floors, the fast elevator always beats the slow elevator in traversing to the 6th floor. The fast elevator is that much faster than the slow elevator, but the slow elevator usually has elaborate handwritten conversations on the posters in them.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
It Was Nice Knowing You, Subway's Chicken Pizziola
-- Last night the fire alarm in Cascadilla Hall went off again. This time, it went off at 3:30 AM, which was 2 hours after I went to bed. On top of that, it was wet and cold outside because it was raining a little.
-- Last weekend was APEX, which was a series of performances by popular Asian-American artists such as Randall Park, Hsu-nami, Magnetic North, and (of course) Wong Fu Productions. Since I volunteered to be a bouncer, I got a free show while I kicked out other people who wanted to steal a free show. It was a pretty good show, especially Wong Fu's short videos. Wong Fu visited Cornell 2 years ago, when I was a lowly freshman, and showed their first full-length movie. For some reason, whenever I see Wong Fu when they visit Cornell, I'm always inspired to make a short movie by myself.
-- I actually enjoy working the 5-hour Friday night shift at the Law School computer lab. Most people would opt not to work the Friday night because...hell, it's Friday night. However, I like Friday night because the computer lab is usually near empty (if not completely unoccupied), it forces me to at least do a little homework, and to tell the truth I usually never go out to crazy parties on Friday nights.
-- Apparently Subway's Chicken Pizziola promotion ends today. It was a pretty good sub for the price. From an Asian point of view, it's a very good deal because you get a lot of meat (chicken and pepperoni) for a $5 footlong sub. Basically it was a chicken pizza, with marinara sauce and tomatoes and whatever else you want on it.
-- Last weekend was APEX, which was a series of performances by popular Asian-American artists such as Randall Park, Hsu-nami, Magnetic North, and (of course) Wong Fu Productions. Since I volunteered to be a bouncer, I got a free show while I kicked out other people who wanted to steal a free show. It was a pretty good show, especially Wong Fu's short videos. Wong Fu visited Cornell 2 years ago, when I was a lowly freshman, and showed their first full-length movie. For some reason, whenever I see Wong Fu when they visit Cornell, I'm always inspired to make a short movie by myself.
-- I actually enjoy working the 5-hour Friday night shift at the Law School computer lab. Most people would opt not to work the Friday night because...hell, it's Friday night. However, I like Friday night because the computer lab is usually near empty (if not completely unoccupied), it forces me to at least do a little homework, and to tell the truth I usually never go out to crazy parties on Friday nights.
-- Apparently Subway's Chicken Pizziola promotion ends today. It was a pretty good sub for the price. From an Asian point of view, it's a very good deal because you get a lot of meat (chicken and pepperoni) for a $5 footlong sub. Basically it was a chicken pizza, with marinara sauce and tomatoes and whatever else you want on it.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Fire alarm
The fire alarm went off at 9:00 AM this morning. This was irratable for several reasons:
-> It was early in the morning, and I wanted to sleep in, as I went to bed at 2:30
-> At first I thought it was someone's obnoxious alarm clock set too loud, but then my roommate told me it was the fire alarm so I had to get up
-> The alarm was mad loud
-> I had to take the stairs from 6th floor to 2nd floor (which I do normally sometimes anyway)
-> It was cold outside (like 30 degrees)
-> I took the stairs back up to the 6th floor
-> I tried to go back to sleep afterwards, but couldn't
-> It was early in the morning, and I wanted to sleep in, as I went to bed at 2:30
-> At first I thought it was someone's obnoxious alarm clock set too loud, but then my roommate told me it was the fire alarm so I had to get up
-> The alarm was mad loud
-> I had to take the stairs from 6th floor to 2nd floor (which I do normally sometimes anyway)
-> It was cold outside (like 30 degrees)
-> I took the stairs back up to the 6th floor
-> I tried to go back to sleep afterwards, but couldn't
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Science Guy
Fall break is now winding to an end. The weather was rather phenomenal - no rain and plenty of sunshine.
This morning I went to Upson Hall to do some work for CUSat. After a while of trying to get the satellite simulation working, I decided to step out into the hall and get a drink of water. After I get my drink of water, I see Bill Nye walk out of the stairwell. I heard he came to visit Cornell this weekend (why he chose fall break, I don't know...there sure aren't a lot of people on campus during break), being a Cornell alumnus and all that I guess. I didn't say anything because I didn't have anything intelligent to say. Plus, I figured he's probably tired of his publicity stunt on campus, so it's all good.
This morning I went to Upson Hall to do some work for CUSat. After a while of trying to get the satellite simulation working, I decided to step out into the hall and get a drink of water. After I get my drink of water, I see Bill Nye walk out of the stairwell. I heard he came to visit Cornell this weekend (why he chose fall break, I don't know...there sure aren't a lot of people on campus during break), being a Cornell alumnus and all that I guess. I didn't say anything because I didn't have anything intelligent to say. Plus, I figured he's probably tired of his publicity stunt on campus, so it's all good.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Fall break is on
It seems like most schools don't get a fall break, but we do. It lasts for all of 4 days (including the weekend). As I was walking back to the dorm after work tonight, Collegetown seemed more like a ghost town compared to a normal Friday night, as most people have already gone home or gone elsewhere fun for break. I, on the other hand, have opted to stay on campus like I have for the past 2 years and bum around. Actually I have work to do over break, which is good so I can be kept occupied with meaningful stuff to do.
I've always been hearing how people commit suicide on campus by jumping into the gorges, but I've never actually been around when it happened until this week. I guess it is pretty freaky when someone decides to call it quits on life and jump the bridge, especially when it happens in broad daylight and people actually saw it happen. And now I know it's not just a rumor...it actually happens.
I've always been hearing how people commit suicide on campus by jumping into the gorges, but I've never actually been around when it happened until this week. I guess it is pretty freaky when someone decides to call it quits on life and jump the bridge, especially when it happens in broad daylight and people actually saw it happen. And now I know it's not just a rumor...it actually happens.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Asians do get sunburned
...believe it or not. Wednesday I was outside in the sun for 4+ hours and I didn't even know I was sunburned until I got back to my room and realized I looked like a ripe tomato. It looks a little more normal now, except the skin's starting to peel around my forehead, nose, and neck.
I guess I'm writing this to keep track of the last time I got sunburned, because I seriously do not remember the previous time I got sunburned.
I guess I'm writing this to keep track of the last time I got sunburned, because I seriously do not remember the previous time I got sunburned.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Road Trip Back to Cornell
I actually tried to keep a count in my head this time through the 19-hour drive (while I was awake, that is).
-- Construction zones: 16 (there were maybe 4-5 on I-86 through the middle of nowhere in New York state. The middle of nowhere in New York beats the middle of nowhere in the Midwest because in New York there are things like hills and trees that you can look at)
-- Police stopped alongside the road looking to nab speeders: 9
-- Police stopped alongside the road who already nabbed a speeder: 6
-- Roadkill: 4 (rather low number it seems. Maybe mating season is over, and animals don't have any reason to get lost on roads)
-- Construction zones: 16 (there were maybe 4-5 on I-86 through the middle of nowhere in New York state. The middle of nowhere in New York beats the middle of nowhere in the Midwest because in New York there are things like hills and trees that you can look at)
-- Police stopped alongside the road looking to nab speeders: 9
-- Police stopped alongside the road who already nabbed a speeder: 6
-- Roadkill: 4 (rather low number it seems. Maybe mating season is over, and animals don't have any reason to get lost on roads)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A Few Words From The Hospital
Greetings from my 3rd hospital stay for the same spontaneous pneumothorax. Today is my 8th day (and hopefully last day if they release me later this afternoon after a check-up from the surgeon - I got the chest tube pulled out this morning), which makes this hospital stay slightly shorter than the 11-day duration 2 months ago, and a breeze compared to the 21-day marathon I had 4 months ago. Speaking of marathons, at least the Olympics were on TV this time, so I wasn't quite as bored out of my mind. Now, if the hospital wireless network wouldn't block 50% of my oft-frequented websites, then I wouldn't mind so much being in the hospital. What follows now will be some random thoughts from this most recent hospital stay (in no particular order).
-- FOLEY CATHETER
Yes, the dreaded urinary catheter. For lung surgery this time, I specifically requested no catheter because I didn't seem to have any problems at Cayuga Medical Center without one. However, it seems like the anesthesia they use here at Mercy Hospital always renders my bladder useless, so they had to use the catheter the day after surgery. What made this catheter experience even worse was the fact that it took TWO (2) tries before they got one into my bladder to drain the urine away. Having a catheter shoved up your dick and then pulled back out is by no means a pleasant experience, so I worked hard to prove to the nurses that I didn't need a 3rd catheter after that 1-for-2 experience.
-- "YOU'RE BACK?"
...is what most of the nurses said to me during the past week. Even the ones that didn't have me under their care before, but saw my name on the roster previously. I stayed on the same 4-Heart floor post-surgery as I did 2 months ago, and as a result the staff here recognized me (despite the haircut I got that threw off everyone at work). Even the dude from wheelchair transport recognized me this morning as he wheeled me downstairs for an x-ray.
-- TAPE
While the Foley catheter and the twice-a-day heparin shots still rank at the top of worst hospital experiences so far, they are joined now by pulling-tape-off-from-skin. This tape pulling is done frequently when the nurses have to change the chest tube dressing daily.
-- VICODIN
In an effort to wean me away from IV drugs for pain relief, they decided to start feeding me Vicodin yesterday. The nurse decided that the full dose of 2 pills was adequate for me, so 2 pills went down, and I was knocked out cold in broad daylight. I literally passed out on the bed after lunch and woke up when dinner came in 5 hours later. After that, they decided to feed me 1 pill at a time when needed. However, I still prefer the IV drug Dilaudid. It packs a more subtle knock-out punch as well as an all-around numbing sensation immediately after injection. Good stuff.
-- FLASHBACK: MY CLOSEST ENCOUNTER WITH A FUTURE OLYMPIC SWIMMER
3 years ago (in 2005) I qualified in 1 lone event for the Speedo Champions Series (also known as USA sectionals) in Long Island, so I got to travel with the team down there for 5 days and swim my 2 events (you get a bonus event for each qualifying event, because otherwise people like me would only go to the meet to swim 1 event, and that's no fun). I DFL'ed (dead fucking last) in my qualifying 100 breaststroke, and got 2nd-to-last in my bonus event 200 breaststroke. Despite that, it was a fun time. Anyways, back to the story. It was at that particular Speedo Champions Series meet where a 12-year-old girl was pulling off victories (literally winning events) over high school and college swimmers like us. And if I remember correctly, that 12-year-old's name was Elizabeth Beisel. 3 years later as I'm watching the Beijing Olympics on TV in the hospital, the 15-year-old Beisel (apparently the youngest member of the USA swim team at the Olympics) made it to the finals in the 200-meter backstroke and placed 5th. How cool is that?
-- MICHAEL PHELPS
That man can swim. Those were some fun races to watch. Congratulations.
-- FOLEY CATHETER
Yes, the dreaded urinary catheter. For lung surgery this time, I specifically requested no catheter because I didn't seem to have any problems at Cayuga Medical Center without one. However, it seems like the anesthesia they use here at Mercy Hospital always renders my bladder useless, so they had to use the catheter the day after surgery. What made this catheter experience even worse was the fact that it took TWO (2) tries before they got one into my bladder to drain the urine away. Having a catheter shoved up your dick and then pulled back out is by no means a pleasant experience, so I worked hard to prove to the nurses that I didn't need a 3rd catheter after that 1-for-2 experience.
-- "YOU'RE BACK?"
...is what most of the nurses said to me during the past week. Even the ones that didn't have me under their care before, but saw my name on the roster previously. I stayed on the same 4-Heart floor post-surgery as I did 2 months ago, and as a result the staff here recognized me (despite the haircut I got that threw off everyone at work). Even the dude from wheelchair transport recognized me this morning as he wheeled me downstairs for an x-ray.
-- TAPE
While the Foley catheter and the twice-a-day heparin shots still rank at the top of worst hospital experiences so far, they are joined now by pulling-tape-off-from-skin. This tape pulling is done frequently when the nurses have to change the chest tube dressing daily.
-- VICODIN
In an effort to wean me away from IV drugs for pain relief, they decided to start feeding me Vicodin yesterday. The nurse decided that the full dose of 2 pills was adequate for me, so 2 pills went down, and I was knocked out cold in broad daylight. I literally passed out on the bed after lunch and woke up when dinner came in 5 hours later. After that, they decided to feed me 1 pill at a time when needed. However, I still prefer the IV drug Dilaudid. It packs a more subtle knock-out punch as well as an all-around numbing sensation immediately after injection. Good stuff.
-- FLASHBACK: MY CLOSEST ENCOUNTER WITH A FUTURE OLYMPIC SWIMMER
3 years ago (in 2005) I qualified in 1 lone event for the Speedo Champions Series (also known as USA sectionals) in Long Island, so I got to travel with the team down there for 5 days and swim my 2 events (you get a bonus event for each qualifying event, because otherwise people like me would only go to the meet to swim 1 event, and that's no fun). I DFL'ed (dead fucking last) in my qualifying 100 breaststroke, and got 2nd-to-last in my bonus event 200 breaststroke. Despite that, it was a fun time. Anyways, back to the story. It was at that particular Speedo Champions Series meet where a 12-year-old girl was pulling off victories (literally winning events) over high school and college swimmers like us. And if I remember correctly, that 12-year-old's name was Elizabeth Beisel. 3 years later as I'm watching the Beijing Olympics on TV in the hospital, the 15-year-old Beisel (apparently the youngest member of the USA swim team at the Olympics) made it to the finals in the 200-meter backstroke and placed 5th. How cool is that?
-- MICHAEL PHELPS
That man can swim. Those were some fun races to watch. Congratulations.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Farmers Market
Today I went to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. There are 2 anecdotes from the visit that I will share.
Firstly, as I walked by a counter of potatoes that were being sold by an Asian-looking family, something caught my attention and immediately made me think of ex-vice president Dan Quayle. You could probably guess where this is headed. "Potatoe" was the spelling on every sign that referred to the potatoes there.
Secondly, I saw a little kid less than half my height carrying one of those balloon sculptures, and I had a Superbad moment. I assume it's meant to be a sword, but it looked very much like an object of the phallic type. Probably because both sides of the guard of the sword were circular in shape due to technicalities in creating the balloon sculpture.
Firstly, as I walked by a counter of potatoes that were being sold by an Asian-looking family, something caught my attention and immediately made me think of ex-vice president Dan Quayle. You could probably guess where this is headed. "Potatoe" was the spelling on every sign that referred to the potatoes there.
Secondly, I saw a little kid less than half my height carrying one of those balloon sculptures, and I had a Superbad moment. I assume it's meant to be a sword, but it looked very much like an object of the phallic type. Probably because both sides of the guard of the sword were circular in shape due to technicalities in creating the balloon sculpture.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Longest day at work (so far)
Yesterday was officially the longest day at work that I've experienced so far.
Some background information: Infinite Campus (where I work at) has literally outgrown the rented office space that we used to call our home, so now we are moving into a newly-constructed building that should give us plenty of room to breathe in and for future expansion. This weekend is the official transition (a.k.a. move-in weekend), and by Monday morning everyone will be starting work in the new building. Well, as most large-scale construction projects go, this one went way behind schedule early on (I hear we are currently 1 month behind schedule, but nothing can be done to delay moving in, so...), so now we're in an extreme clusterfuck of working around all the different construction and moving crews in the last-minute rush, getting stuff set up in an attempt to minimize the number of complaints directed towards us IT staff come Monday morning.
Yesterday morning started with me walking into the building/construction site at around 8:30 AM. I ended up spending the entire morning on my hands and knees (this is where knee pads really come in handy) pulling up the carpet and floor tiles to reroute the power cables underneath because they were put in all the wrong places all over the building. The good thing is that we had a handful of volunteers from the office who came to help us, otherwise we would never have gotten that task of mythic proportions done. Lunch consisted of lots of pizza (thanks to our CEO/benevolent dictator, who ordered them for us). Then I spent the entire afternoon helping the fellow IT staff install wireless access points onto the ceiling, which required extensive use of 12-foot ladders (I stayed on the ground to hand off supplies when needed). Dinner was at Taco Bell across the street at around 8 PM. After dinner we headed back to the building to plug data cables in a systematic fashion all over the office floor. By that time the 3 of us peons and our dictator were the only people left in the building. Finally, at around 10:12 we decided to call it a night after patching in the entire upper floor, but it wasn't until 10:30 PM that I was on the road driving home.
Some background information: Infinite Campus (where I work at) has literally outgrown the rented office space that we used to call our home, so now we are moving into a newly-constructed building that should give us plenty of room to breathe in and for future expansion. This weekend is the official transition (a.k.a. move-in weekend), and by Monday morning everyone will be starting work in the new building. Well, as most large-scale construction projects go, this one went way behind schedule early on (I hear we are currently 1 month behind schedule, but nothing can be done to delay moving in, so...), so now we're in an extreme clusterfuck of working around all the different construction and moving crews in the last-minute rush, getting stuff set up in an attempt to minimize the number of complaints directed towards us IT staff come Monday morning.
Yesterday morning started with me walking into the building/construction site at around 8:30 AM. I ended up spending the entire morning on my hands and knees (this is where knee pads really come in handy) pulling up the carpet and floor tiles to reroute the power cables underneath because they were put in all the wrong places all over the building. The good thing is that we had a handful of volunteers from the office who came to help us, otherwise we would never have gotten that task of mythic proportions done. Lunch consisted of lots of pizza (thanks to our CEO/benevolent dictator, who ordered them for us). Then I spent the entire afternoon helping the fellow IT staff install wireless access points onto the ceiling, which required extensive use of 12-foot ladders (I stayed on the ground to hand off supplies when needed). Dinner was at Taco Bell across the street at around 8 PM. After dinner we headed back to the building to plug data cables in a systematic fashion all over the office floor. By that time the 3 of us peons and our dictator were the only people left in the building. Finally, at around 10:12 we decided to call it a night after patching in the entire upper floor, but it wasn't until 10:30 PM that I was on the road driving home.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Recurrence
^ No, I'm not referring to solving differential equations by using power series methods. Here, I will share some personal experiences from my recurring spontaneous pneumothorax, also known as a spontaneous collapsed lung. I will be covering approximately 11 days worth of hospital anecdotes in this post, so it probably won't be quite as detailed as those posts back in April 2008. In fact, I might actually skip some lackluster days and just divulge the highlights. Anyhoo, here goes...
-- DAY 1: Monday, June 9, 2008 --
It was Oxymoron Day (the great 6/9 of 2008) and I was at work as normal. Sometime in the afternoon, while I was trying to teach myself some Microsoft SQL Server stuff on the computer, I started to feel the same sqeezing feeling in my right chest area, much like the feeling I had at work at the Cornell Law School back in March when my lung started to collapse. Actually, the pain comes from blebs on the lung popping, which results in the lung collapsing if the bleb was large enough.
Weird, I thought. I had a pleurodesis on my right side 2 months ago when my right lung collapsed for the first time. A pleurodesis is where they go inside the chest wall and scrape it up, resulting in an inflammatory response which allows the lung to sort of stick to the chest wall upon full expansion. This will help prevent future pneumothoraces, because the lung shouldn't be able to collapse while stuck to the chest wall. I guess I'm one of the lucky few to have my lung recollapse post-surgery.
Later that evening (I refrained from telling my parents about my situation until they came home from my brother's PSEO orientation at the University of Minnesota), I went to the ER at Mercy Hospital of Coon Rapids, MN. After waiting around in the waiting room, being interrogated briefly, and a chest x-ray, I followed a d00d into the ER where I sat myself onto a bed and watched various ER nurses hook up a heart monitor, an oxygen supply, and an IV for me. Based on reactions from ER personnel during IV insertion for me, I guess my veins "roll around," the needle "goes through my veins," and my skin is "very tough," all not desirable qualities when inserting an IV into a patient.
Plan A for my hospitalization this time was to have me on constant oxygen supply until the next day (Tuesday), when the doctor will re-evaluate my lung collapse and go from there. If a chest x-ray shows things worsening, then surgery will ensue. The ER doctor told me that I had around 15-20% collapse after 7 hours or so, which is not quite as bad as 100% collapse after 2 days like last time.
After the plan was drawn out, it was another hour or so before they found a room for me to stay in. Room 361 was a single-occupancy room, and enough space for me I guess. I actually didn't see any double-occupancy rooms in the hospital this time.
-- DAY 2: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 --
Today I just sat around and watched CNN on TV (yes, I actually turned on the TV during this hospital stay). I ended up watching CNN for most of my waking hours in the hospital. After the chest x-ray today, the surgeon told me that they'll do another pleurodesis the next day (Wednesday) as an add-on patient, so at what time was unknown. Whatever, I thought. It's not like I have much to do in the hospital anyway.
It turned out that nutrition services canceled my dinner order this day as a mistake (in preparation for anesthesia for surgery). I ended up having a dinner of cold turkey sandwich, ice cream, and the such.
-- DAY 3: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 --
Today I ate my last solid food at 8:30 AM. Later, they let me take a shower (w00t), but had to cover my left arm in waterproofing plastic because of my IV. This would be the last shower that I have taken so far.
At 2:45 PM, they took me down to the surgery waiting room, and I guess at 3:30-ish the operation went under way. I remember the following: being told "this injection will make you feel relaxed," being wheeled down the hall from the waiting room to some operation-looking room, and waking up in the recovery room with a nurse sitting next to me, staring me in the eyes.
After this operation, there were a few differences. Most notably was the use of multiple chest tubes (by that I mean 2 chest tubes). It looked like as if both tubes were inserted through 1 incision, but it was actually 2 separate incisions placed closely together. Along with 2 chest tubes, other appendages I had attached to me included the continuous IV fluid into my left arm (probably to stave off hunger and keep me hydrated, as I was on the NPO diet immediately post-surgery), a heart monitor (probably why I ended up on floor 4-Heart), leggings that squeezed my legs periodically to keep the blood flowing there (since I couldn't stand up and walk quite yet), and worst of all...the Foley (urinary) catheter. Apparently I couldn't stand up and pee into the bottle, so they put the catheter up my dick so it can drain urine from my bladder. I guess having the catheter in wasn't quite as bad as putting it in nor taking it out while fully conscious, which I will elaborate on shortly. Oh yeah, and they brought me back not to Room 361 as I was in previously, but into a very spacious single-occupancy H4019, a room on the "heart floor," presumably for patients who have heart problems and need a heart monitor. I then joined my fellow senior citizens on the 4-Heart floor (I didn't see any patient who wasn't a senior citizen up there...)
The nurses came by every hour to inject a dose of morphine...I guess through experience they know pleurodesises hurt like hell, and morphine is fun. Also, I had to get a shot of heparin every 12 hours in my stomach while in the hospital to prevent blood clots in the chest tube. I never got used to that. In fact, I dreaded the heparin shot at 7:30 AM and 7:30 PM everyday. By the time I got out of the hospital, one can see numerous brown spots around my stomach, probably due to small amounts of bleeding from the heparin needles. I think at one point the nurse hit some organ in my left side with a heparin shot, and my left side was really sore ever since (now at home it's much better), preventing me from standing up straight.
The nurses also gave me a shot of ibuprofen-type drug (I forgot the name of it...began with a "T" I think) through my IV periodically to keep the inflammation down around the chest tube area. However, this was discontinued after a few hours as the doctor determined its effects would counter that of the pleurodesis. An inflammatory response was desired in the chest wall so the lung can stick to it post-surgery.
Sleeping at night with all the various appendages squeezing my legs and such and the "babbling brook" sound effect from the water seal vacuum on around me was rather difficult, but I managed I guess. Also, during the night there was an unexpected power outage (probably due to the storm that rolled by). Everything went dark for maybe 20 seconds, then generator power kicked in, and I continued in my attempt to sleep.
-- DAY 4: Thursday, June 12, 2008 --
This day was full of activity. Not the getting up and walking around activity (though I was able to get up now).
It started with getting the Foley catheter taken out sometime in the morning. Apparently the catheter holds itself in the bladder with a small air bubble. After letting the bubble pop, they told me to take a deep breath in. I've learned that when doctors/nurses tell you to "take a deep breath in..." usually something rather unpleasant is about to happen. Taking the catheter out through my dick was...kinda painful for about 4 seconds. After it was out, everything seemed fine.
Later in the day, the surgeon reviewed the chest x-ray from the morning and decided that one of my chest tubes needed to be pushed farther in by about 1 inch. So they came in, gave me some local anesthesia, and pushed the tube farther in. No biggie there I thought. The painful part was the needle of anesthesia going into my side.
It was this day that I learned I could have been getting regular doses of Dilaudid rather than morphine. Both are basically the same thing (IV pain medication), but different patients feel various levels of effects from the 2 drugs, and I happen to feel the Dilaudid much more than morphine. So they switched me off the morphine and onto Dilaudid, and I was happy.
Even later in the day, the shit hit the fan. I felt like I had to take a leak really bad every 15 minutes or so, and everytime I tried, I couldn't pee. Actually, I could, but it was only a few drops at a time (and it really burned at first - probably a side effect from the Foley catheter. I guess the painful urination was comparable to that of having gonorrhea, but I wouldn't really know due to lack of personal experience with STDs). The nurse came by with a bladder scanner, and found that I had 800 cc of urine stuck in my bladder (that's 80% of 1 liter). Having the Foley catheter in for over half a day probably messed up my bladder's valving system, rendering it unable to release urine. The cure was to insert another Foley catheter, have my bladder drained, then have the catheter taken out and hopefully I can then pee normally. I would say having the catheter stuck up my dick was more painful than having it taken out. Foley catheters suck royally, and here ends my rant about possibly my worst day in the hospital (the repeated Foley catheter tops the list of shit times).
-- DAY 6: Saturday, June 14, 2008 --
I guess the only thing I wanted to say about this day was that the nurse I had spoke very much like the band camp girl in the American Pie series (just the way she talked, not what she actually said). I was amused. She made me take a stroll through the floor, which I managed well I guess (didn't faint or anything upon standing up for extended periods of time).
-- DAY 7: Sunday, June 15, 2008 --
Well, as the days roll on, it's mostly just sit and wait, rinse and repeat. The interesting story I have for this day is that I asked the night nurse for dilaudid, and she shot it through my IV in one fell swoop instead of slowly injecting it in. I think my entire left arm went numb for about 3 seconds shortly thereafter. It was a fun experience in my opinion.
It was also sometime today that they moved me out of my room (H4019) and into a different room down the hall (H4002) because they needed my room for a new surgery patient. My new room wasn't quite as spacious as the old one, which is ok because then I don't need to walk as far to get to the bathroom. The thing I didn't like about my new room was the drastic temperature fluctuations throughout any given day. This was probably due to my massive window view of the hospital's parking lot and the trees surrounding it.
-- DAY 9: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 --
I learned that the hospital actually had a wireless network available, so my parents brought my computer. I read before that they didn't want wireless and cellular devices interfering with heart monitors, so I assumed I would have to live computer-free in the hospital. Guess not. Unfortunately, Mercy Hospital's firewall was much more aggresive than Cayuga Medical Center's, so I couldn't hop onto AIM or anything like that. I watched plenty of movie trailers on Apple.com.
-- DAY 10: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 --
Today they decided to take out chest tube 1 of 2. Once again I was told to take a deep breath in and hold it, but it wasn't too bad. I guess I can attribute this to a number of things such as a dose of dilaudid right before chest tube removal, or this chest tube not hitting as many ribs and/or nerves on its way out as the Ithaca one. Actually, the Ithaca chest tube removal wasn't too bad either, but what feels really uncomfortable is the pressure that the surgeon applies after taking the tube out (to stop the bleeding while preparing the dressing I guess).
-- DAY 11: Thursday, June 19, 2008 --
They let me go home with a Heimlich valve attached to my remaining chest tube instead of water seal. They also put a bag-like thing on the end to catch any drainage, which right now has a small amount of blood-like substance in it. Today I actually looked at the chest tube incision site while the nurse was doing the daily dressing change (previously I didn't want to look at what the chest tube site looked like). It actually didn't look too bad from my vantage point. The site where they took the tube out the previous day didn't seem to be spewing anything, and where the remaining chest tube went in has what looks like a pretty tight seal of skin around it, supported by some stitches around it. It wasn't quite what I had expected, but I still would rather not look at it if I don't have to. The most painful part of dressing changes is taking the foam tape off my skin. There are a few battle scars on my right side from where the tape tore off some skin. Sometimes it's because the nurse went a little too happy on applying ointment to the dressing gauze, resulting in foam tape + ointment that oozed out onto the skin, which makes the tape extra sticky and difficult to remove.
-- EPILOGUE --
Well, there's the lowdown on Round 2 of lung surgery for me. For now I'm just chilling at home with an awkward setup hanging out of my shirt draining blood and stuff. Hopefully when I go back for a follow-up on Monday, they can take this last tube out so I can shower again. I haven't showered in 9 days now.
I guess the surgery part of pleurodesises isn't too bad. It's just being chained to the wall in a hospital room for days and days that really sucks. Some of the doctors and nurses compare my situation in the hospital to being in a prison, but I'm sure the situation in a hospital is far more favorable than being in prison.
Thanks to all you loyal readers out there, and thanks for the support and concerns once again.
-- DAY 1: Monday, June 9, 2008 --
It was Oxymoron Day (the great 6/9 of 2008) and I was at work as normal. Sometime in the afternoon, while I was trying to teach myself some Microsoft SQL Server stuff on the computer, I started to feel the same sqeezing feeling in my right chest area, much like the feeling I had at work at the Cornell Law School back in March when my lung started to collapse. Actually, the pain comes from blebs on the lung popping, which results in the lung collapsing if the bleb was large enough.
Weird, I thought. I had a pleurodesis on my right side 2 months ago when my right lung collapsed for the first time. A pleurodesis is where they go inside the chest wall and scrape it up, resulting in an inflammatory response which allows the lung to sort of stick to the chest wall upon full expansion. This will help prevent future pneumothoraces, because the lung shouldn't be able to collapse while stuck to the chest wall. I guess I'm one of the lucky few to have my lung recollapse post-surgery.
Later that evening (I refrained from telling my parents about my situation until they came home from my brother's PSEO orientation at the University of Minnesota), I went to the ER at Mercy Hospital of Coon Rapids, MN. After waiting around in the waiting room, being interrogated briefly, and a chest x-ray, I followed a d00d into the ER where I sat myself onto a bed and watched various ER nurses hook up a heart monitor, an oxygen supply, and an IV for me. Based on reactions from ER personnel during IV insertion for me, I guess my veins "roll around," the needle "goes through my veins," and my skin is "very tough," all not desirable qualities when inserting an IV into a patient.
Plan A for my hospitalization this time was to have me on constant oxygen supply until the next day (Tuesday), when the doctor will re-evaluate my lung collapse and go from there. If a chest x-ray shows things worsening, then surgery will ensue. The ER doctor told me that I had around 15-20% collapse after 7 hours or so, which is not quite as bad as 100% collapse after 2 days like last time.
After the plan was drawn out, it was another hour or so before they found a room for me to stay in. Room 361 was a single-occupancy room, and enough space for me I guess. I actually didn't see any double-occupancy rooms in the hospital this time.
-- DAY 2: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 --
Today I just sat around and watched CNN on TV (yes, I actually turned on the TV during this hospital stay). I ended up watching CNN for most of my waking hours in the hospital. After the chest x-ray today, the surgeon told me that they'll do another pleurodesis the next day (Wednesday) as an add-on patient, so at what time was unknown. Whatever, I thought. It's not like I have much to do in the hospital anyway.
It turned out that nutrition services canceled my dinner order this day as a mistake (in preparation for anesthesia for surgery). I ended up having a dinner of cold turkey sandwich, ice cream, and the such.
-- DAY 3: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 --
Today I ate my last solid food at 8:30 AM. Later, they let me take a shower (w00t), but had to cover my left arm in waterproofing plastic because of my IV. This would be the last shower that I have taken so far.
At 2:45 PM, they took me down to the surgery waiting room, and I guess at 3:30-ish the operation went under way. I remember the following: being told "this injection will make you feel relaxed," being wheeled down the hall from the waiting room to some operation-looking room, and waking up in the recovery room with a nurse sitting next to me, staring me in the eyes.
After this operation, there were a few differences. Most notably was the use of multiple chest tubes (by that I mean 2 chest tubes). It looked like as if both tubes were inserted through 1 incision, but it was actually 2 separate incisions placed closely together. Along with 2 chest tubes, other appendages I had attached to me included the continuous IV fluid into my left arm (probably to stave off hunger and keep me hydrated, as I was on the NPO diet immediately post-surgery), a heart monitor (probably why I ended up on floor 4-Heart), leggings that squeezed my legs periodically to keep the blood flowing there (since I couldn't stand up and walk quite yet), and worst of all...the Foley (urinary) catheter. Apparently I couldn't stand up and pee into the bottle, so they put the catheter up my dick so it can drain urine from my bladder. I guess having the catheter in wasn't quite as bad as putting it in nor taking it out while fully conscious, which I will elaborate on shortly. Oh yeah, and they brought me back not to Room 361 as I was in previously, but into a very spacious single-occupancy H4019, a room on the "heart floor," presumably for patients who have heart problems and need a heart monitor. I then joined my fellow senior citizens on the 4-Heart floor (I didn't see any patient who wasn't a senior citizen up there...)
The nurses came by every hour to inject a dose of morphine...I guess through experience they know pleurodesises hurt like hell, and morphine is fun. Also, I had to get a shot of heparin every 12 hours in my stomach while in the hospital to prevent blood clots in the chest tube. I never got used to that. In fact, I dreaded the heparin shot at 7:30 AM and 7:30 PM everyday. By the time I got out of the hospital, one can see numerous brown spots around my stomach, probably due to small amounts of bleeding from the heparin needles. I think at one point the nurse hit some organ in my left side with a heparin shot, and my left side was really sore ever since (now at home it's much better), preventing me from standing up straight.
The nurses also gave me a shot of ibuprofen-type drug (I forgot the name of it...began with a "T" I think) through my IV periodically to keep the inflammation down around the chest tube area. However, this was discontinued after a few hours as the doctor determined its effects would counter that of the pleurodesis. An inflammatory response was desired in the chest wall so the lung can stick to it post-surgery.
Sleeping at night with all the various appendages squeezing my legs and such and the "babbling brook" sound effect from the water seal vacuum on around me was rather difficult, but I managed I guess. Also, during the night there was an unexpected power outage (probably due to the storm that rolled by). Everything went dark for maybe 20 seconds, then generator power kicked in, and I continued in my attempt to sleep.
-- DAY 4: Thursday, June 12, 2008 --
This day was full of activity. Not the getting up and walking around activity (though I was able to get up now).
It started with getting the Foley catheter taken out sometime in the morning. Apparently the catheter holds itself in the bladder with a small air bubble. After letting the bubble pop, they told me to take a deep breath in. I've learned that when doctors/nurses tell you to "take a deep breath in..." usually something rather unpleasant is about to happen. Taking the catheter out through my dick was...kinda painful for about 4 seconds. After it was out, everything seemed fine.
Later in the day, the surgeon reviewed the chest x-ray from the morning and decided that one of my chest tubes needed to be pushed farther in by about 1 inch. So they came in, gave me some local anesthesia, and pushed the tube farther in. No biggie there I thought. The painful part was the needle of anesthesia going into my side.
It was this day that I learned I could have been getting regular doses of Dilaudid rather than morphine. Both are basically the same thing (IV pain medication), but different patients feel various levels of effects from the 2 drugs, and I happen to feel the Dilaudid much more than morphine. So they switched me off the morphine and onto Dilaudid, and I was happy.
Even later in the day, the shit hit the fan. I felt like I had to take a leak really bad every 15 minutes or so, and everytime I tried, I couldn't pee. Actually, I could, but it was only a few drops at a time (and it really burned at first - probably a side effect from the Foley catheter. I guess the painful urination was comparable to that of having gonorrhea, but I wouldn't really know due to lack of personal experience with STDs). The nurse came by with a bladder scanner, and found that I had 800 cc of urine stuck in my bladder (that's 80% of 1 liter). Having the Foley catheter in for over half a day probably messed up my bladder's valving system, rendering it unable to release urine. The cure was to insert another Foley catheter, have my bladder drained, then have the catheter taken out and hopefully I can then pee normally. I would say having the catheter stuck up my dick was more painful than having it taken out. Foley catheters suck royally, and here ends my rant about possibly my worst day in the hospital (the repeated Foley catheter tops the list of shit times).
-- DAY 6: Saturday, June 14, 2008 --
I guess the only thing I wanted to say about this day was that the nurse I had spoke very much like the band camp girl in the American Pie series (just the way she talked, not what she actually said). I was amused. She made me take a stroll through the floor, which I managed well I guess (didn't faint or anything upon standing up for extended periods of time).
-- DAY 7: Sunday, June 15, 2008 --
Well, as the days roll on, it's mostly just sit and wait, rinse and repeat. The interesting story I have for this day is that I asked the night nurse for dilaudid, and she shot it through my IV in one fell swoop instead of slowly injecting it in. I think my entire left arm went numb for about 3 seconds shortly thereafter. It was a fun experience in my opinion.
It was also sometime today that they moved me out of my room (H4019) and into a different room down the hall (H4002) because they needed my room for a new surgery patient. My new room wasn't quite as spacious as the old one, which is ok because then I don't need to walk as far to get to the bathroom. The thing I didn't like about my new room was the drastic temperature fluctuations throughout any given day. This was probably due to my massive window view of the hospital's parking lot and the trees surrounding it.
-- DAY 9: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 --
I learned that the hospital actually had a wireless network available, so my parents brought my computer. I read before that they didn't want wireless and cellular devices interfering with heart monitors, so I assumed I would have to live computer-free in the hospital. Guess not. Unfortunately, Mercy Hospital's firewall was much more aggresive than Cayuga Medical Center's, so I couldn't hop onto AIM or anything like that. I watched plenty of movie trailers on Apple.com.
-- DAY 10: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 --
Today they decided to take out chest tube 1 of 2. Once again I was told to take a deep breath in and hold it, but it wasn't too bad. I guess I can attribute this to a number of things such as a dose of dilaudid right before chest tube removal, or this chest tube not hitting as many ribs and/or nerves on its way out as the Ithaca one. Actually, the Ithaca chest tube removal wasn't too bad either, but what feels really uncomfortable is the pressure that the surgeon applies after taking the tube out (to stop the bleeding while preparing the dressing I guess).
-- DAY 11: Thursday, June 19, 2008 --
They let me go home with a Heimlich valve attached to my remaining chest tube instead of water seal. They also put a bag-like thing on the end to catch any drainage, which right now has a small amount of blood-like substance in it. Today I actually looked at the chest tube incision site while the nurse was doing the daily dressing change (previously I didn't want to look at what the chest tube site looked like). It actually didn't look too bad from my vantage point. The site where they took the tube out the previous day didn't seem to be spewing anything, and where the remaining chest tube went in has what looks like a pretty tight seal of skin around it, supported by some stitches around it. It wasn't quite what I had expected, but I still would rather not look at it if I don't have to. The most painful part of dressing changes is taking the foam tape off my skin. There are a few battle scars on my right side from where the tape tore off some skin. Sometimes it's because the nurse went a little too happy on applying ointment to the dressing gauze, resulting in foam tape + ointment that oozed out onto the skin, which makes the tape extra sticky and difficult to remove.
-- EPILOGUE --
Well, there's the lowdown on Round 2 of lung surgery for me. For now I'm just chilling at home with an awkward setup hanging out of my shirt draining blood and stuff. Hopefully when I go back for a follow-up on Monday, they can take this last tube out so I can shower again. I haven't showered in 9 days now.
I guess the surgery part of pleurodesises isn't too bad. It's just being chained to the wall in a hospital room for days and days that really sucks. Some of the doctors and nurses compare my situation in the hospital to being in a prison, but I'm sure the situation in a hospital is far more favorable than being in prison.
Thanks to all you loyal readers out there, and thanks for the support and concerns once again.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Home
Hours I drove: approximately 8 of 19 total
Construction zones I drove through: maybe 6 or so
Police vehicles parked on the side of the highway looking for speeders: maybe 11 or so
Police vehicles parked on the side of the highway already with a speeder: maybe 7 or so
Animals already as road kill: lots
Animals about to become road kill: 1 (a squirrel was trying to cross a highway in Ohio, except the highway was separated with a median, so the squirrel was kinda stuck and ran back and forth in the road trying to dodge cars)
At one point it was pouring while I was blinded by sunlight - that was rather weird.
Construction zones I drove through: maybe 6 or so
Police vehicles parked on the side of the highway looking for speeders: maybe 11 or so
Police vehicles parked on the side of the highway already with a speeder: maybe 7 or so
Animals already as road kill: lots
Animals about to become road kill: 1 (a squirrel was trying to cross a highway in Ohio, except the highway was separated with a median, so the squirrel was kinda stuck and ran back and forth in the road trying to dodge cars)
At one point it was pouring while I was blinded by sunlight - that was rather weird.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hospitalization (last post, try 2)
DAY 17: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Today I decided to start doing some work for school. I decided to start with the 212 project that was due on Tax Day. Other than that, there was nothing new for the day.
DAY 18: Friday, April 18, 2008
Ditto to the last sentence above. Basically, the day started with me waking up at 6 AM when the nurse's aide comes by to get vitals, followed by me trying to sleep in the sunrise. The doctor then comes sometime before breakfast, makes me do some coughing, then says "nope, still leaking."
Listening to the Muse song Stockholm Syndrome kinda makes me think of my current situation. Of course, I'm not a hostage or prisoner (I think), only a hospital patient, but I'm still stranded in my room via the suction cable. Even when I'm unplugged and free to move around the hospital, I never actually ventured outside of my room. I just didn't really care I guess...I would rather be in my room. Some other people (like my last roommate) seemed grumpy while in the hospital and ready to get the hell outta here as soon as possible. I'm just chillin' on a tether, not really caring (although worrying about what to do about this semester in school), smile when someone walks into my room, and just like an overall "meh" after 2 weeks of just waiting and wondering if I'll ever get out of the hospital. Good thing is that the nurses here are nice, and I actually get to choose what I eat (as opposed to being in prison), so Stockholm Syndrome doesn't really describe my situation, but it kinda got me thinking about a connection.
DAY 19: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Still the same news regarding me, the chest tube, and the Pleur-evac. Still the same situation - tethered to the wall suction.
I guess doing sudokus from the newspaper everyday was good practice in doing sudokus. I took the 4-star sudoku today and did it in maybe 10-15 minutes while eating breakfast. I remember the first ones I did took me what seemed like forever.
Also, there was a visit from campus today. It was good to see people drop by for a visit. It was also good to clip my nails after 3 weeks, so now typing feels much better. Thanks guys.
DAY 20: Sunday, April 20, 2008 (a special annual holiday...)
Finally the doctor detected no air leak in the morning, so they unplugged me from suction for the day. It was exactly 1 week ago when they did the same thing, except they kinda jumped the gun, which resulted in a re-collapsed lung for me. This time, the nurses tell me that things seem to look and sound better. As a result, hopefully I can wake up tomorrow morning and get the green light to get the hell outta here.
I finished the MATLAB part of the 212 project today, as well as part of the user manual. Thanks everyone for the help.
Well, hopefully I will see everyone soon enough (and not in the hospital again), but I'm not going to count on anything at this point. It's been too long. Anyhoo, thanks again everyone for the help, support, etc.
Today I decided to start doing some work for school. I decided to start with the 212 project that was due on Tax Day. Other than that, there was nothing new for the day.
DAY 18: Friday, April 18, 2008
Ditto to the last sentence above. Basically, the day started with me waking up at 6 AM when the nurse's aide comes by to get vitals, followed by me trying to sleep in the sunrise. The doctor then comes sometime before breakfast, makes me do some coughing, then says "nope, still leaking."
Listening to the Muse song Stockholm Syndrome kinda makes me think of my current situation. Of course, I'm not a hostage or prisoner (I think), only a hospital patient, but I'm still stranded in my room via the suction cable. Even when I'm unplugged and free to move around the hospital, I never actually ventured outside of my room. I just didn't really care I guess...I would rather be in my room. Some other people (like my last roommate) seemed grumpy while in the hospital and ready to get the hell outta here as soon as possible. I'm just chillin' on a tether, not really caring (although worrying about what to do about this semester in school), smile when someone walks into my room, and just like an overall "meh" after 2 weeks of just waiting and wondering if I'll ever get out of the hospital. Good thing is that the nurses here are nice, and I actually get to choose what I eat (as opposed to being in prison), so Stockholm Syndrome doesn't really describe my situation, but it kinda got me thinking about a connection.
DAY 19: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Still the same news regarding me, the chest tube, and the Pleur-evac. Still the same situation - tethered to the wall suction.
I guess doing sudokus from the newspaper everyday was good practice in doing sudokus. I took the 4-star sudoku today and did it in maybe 10-15 minutes while eating breakfast. I remember the first ones I did took me what seemed like forever.
Also, there was a visit from campus today. It was good to see people drop by for a visit. It was also good to clip my nails after 3 weeks, so now typing feels much better. Thanks guys.
DAY 20: Sunday, April 20, 2008 (a special annual holiday...)
Finally the doctor detected no air leak in the morning, so they unplugged me from suction for the day. It was exactly 1 week ago when they did the same thing, except they kinda jumped the gun, which resulted in a re-collapsed lung for me. This time, the nurses tell me that things seem to look and sound better. As a result, hopefully I can wake up tomorrow morning and get the green light to get the hell outta here.
I finished the MATLAB part of the 212 project today, as well as part of the user manual. Thanks everyone for the help.
Well, hopefully I will see everyone soon enough (and not in the hospital again), but I'm not going to count on anything at this point. It's been too long. Anyhoo, thanks again everyone for the help, support, etc.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Hospitalization (yeah, that's right...)
DAY 14: Monday, April 14, 2008
This morning I woke up hopeful of getting out. After a day off of suction on Sunday, they wheeled me down to radiology to get an x-ray. Unfortunately they found that without assistance from the suction, my right lung re-collapsed. So they hooked me up again, and I stay here for now.
DAY 15: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 (Tax Day)
Well, today was no different from Monday. Still on suction all day long. I managed to shoot out another round of emails to group members, advisors, professors, and TAs giving them yet another heads up of the failed attempt to get me outta here. I think I've spammed their inboxes quite a bit in the last 2 weeks now.
Sunrise every morning gets earlier as the days go by. Now it's around 6:15 AM that I see the sun peek out over the trees/horizon. For some reason, the blinds to my window are enclosed in glass from the inside, so I can't really see how to close them. No matter...I even told the nurses not to worry about the blinds on my window. I don't really mind it, except I usually have no choice but to stay awake after 6:30 AM, when the sunlight comes in full force and I can't even see my laptop screen on the brightest LCD setting (I think my window faces the east). Also, around midday it gets quite warm in my room (I'm too lazy to fix the thermostat), so when the aides come by at 2 PM to get vitals, my body temperature's always around 99.4 at that time (as opposed to 98.4-ish at 6 AM).
I'm really bummed that I'm missing the above-average weather outside. They tell me it's around 70 these days (and apparently quite sunny too!). I remember the day after being in the ER it was around 50 and cloudy outside, and I walked to Gannett that morning for the follow-up that sent me straight back to CMC for an unprecedented 16+ days.
DAY 16: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 (1 year after Virgina Tech)
Today I woke up hoping to be off suction again so I could maybe leave tomorrow. Guess I still had a small air leak when I cough, which is no good. As a result, today was the same as the previous two days - tethered to the wall suction all day.
I think the TV hanging on the wall has been on for a total of less than 1 hour in the past 16 days. I just don't watch TV for some reason. I also can't believe I'm still meeting new nurses, aides, nursing professors, and nursing students, but I think I've been here so long that it won't be much longer before I meet the entire crew here at CMC and TC3. The people who have met me before keep saying how they're surprised I'm still here (I am too). I still haven't showered (I do try and bathe with a basin of water and towels!), shaved, nor cut my fingernails in 16+ days, so I really hope I get out soon enough. Lastly, I think I had a record 700 cc of urine in one sitting (or standing, rather) today (that's 70% of the urinal's capacity). That was in the afternoon when I woke up after an after-lunch nap.
...and I really hope everyone's right when they say things with classes can be worked out for this semester, because at this point I'm kind of clueless as to where to start or what to do. After today, I've missed as many days of classes as there are days of class left in the semester.
Thanks again everyone for your continued help, support, encouragement, etc. I really appreciate it. There's nothing else like it when you're in a situation like this. I should probably listen to happier music while I'm here or something...I dunno.
This morning I woke up hopeful of getting out. After a day off of suction on Sunday, they wheeled me down to radiology to get an x-ray. Unfortunately they found that without assistance from the suction, my right lung re-collapsed. So they hooked me up again, and I stay here for now.
DAY 15: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 (Tax Day)
Well, today was no different from Monday. Still on suction all day long. I managed to shoot out another round of emails to group members, advisors, professors, and TAs giving them yet another heads up of the failed attempt to get me outta here. I think I've spammed their inboxes quite a bit in the last 2 weeks now.
Sunrise every morning gets earlier as the days go by. Now it's around 6:15 AM that I see the sun peek out over the trees/horizon. For some reason, the blinds to my window are enclosed in glass from the inside, so I can't really see how to close them. No matter...I even told the nurses not to worry about the blinds on my window. I don't really mind it, except I usually have no choice but to stay awake after 6:30 AM, when the sunlight comes in full force and I can't even see my laptop screen on the brightest LCD setting (I think my window faces the east). Also, around midday it gets quite warm in my room (I'm too lazy to fix the thermostat), so when the aides come by at 2 PM to get vitals, my body temperature's always around 99.4 at that time (as opposed to 98.4-ish at 6 AM).
I'm really bummed that I'm missing the above-average weather outside. They tell me it's around 70 these days (and apparently quite sunny too!). I remember the day after being in the ER it was around 50 and cloudy outside, and I walked to Gannett that morning for the follow-up that sent me straight back to CMC for an unprecedented 16+ days.
DAY 16: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 (1 year after Virgina Tech)
Today I woke up hoping to be off suction again so I could maybe leave tomorrow. Guess I still had a small air leak when I cough, which is no good. As a result, today was the same as the previous two days - tethered to the wall suction all day.
I think the TV hanging on the wall has been on for a total of less than 1 hour in the past 16 days. I just don't watch TV for some reason. I also can't believe I'm still meeting new nurses, aides, nursing professors, and nursing students, but I think I've been here so long that it won't be much longer before I meet the entire crew here at CMC and TC3. The people who have met me before keep saying how they're surprised I'm still here (I am too). I still haven't showered (I do try and bathe with a basin of water and towels!), shaved, nor cut my fingernails in 16+ days, so I really hope I get out soon enough. Lastly, I think I had a record 700 cc of urine in one sitting (or standing, rather) today (that's 70% of the urinal's capacity). That was in the afternoon when I woke up after an after-lunch nap.
...and I really hope everyone's right when they say things with classes can be worked out for this semester, because at this point I'm kind of clueless as to where to start or what to do. After today, I've missed as many days of classes as there are days of class left in the semester.
Thanks again everyone for your continued help, support, encouragement, etc. I really appreciate it. There's nothing else like it when you're in a situation like this. I should probably listen to happier music while I'm here or something...I dunno.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Hospitalization (hopefully the last post)
DAY 13: Sunday, April 13, 2008
This morning I awoke to find that the air leak from my right lung has stopped. Good news. The doctor then unplugged my tether to the wall (the suction) and said if all goes well I can peace out tomorrow (after course enrollment at 6:30 in the morning, of course). I got my IV pulled out today with no replacement IV, so no more morphine. I guess that's a good thing.
Today I realized that I haven't clipped my fingernails in 2+ weeks (I have no nail clippers here in the hospital), and typing on a keyboard feels somewhat awkward with such long fingernails.
The doctors, nurses, aides, student nurses, and staff in general here at Cayuga Medical Center have been great. Food was good too, except my appetite was somewhat shot for most of the time due to foreign objects inserted inside me.
Once again, thank you everyone for everything. Hopefully I will see you all soon enough.
This morning I awoke to find that the air leak from my right lung has stopped. Good news. The doctor then unplugged my tether to the wall (the suction) and said if all goes well I can peace out tomorrow (after course enrollment at 6:30 in the morning, of course). I got my IV pulled out today with no replacement IV, so no more morphine. I guess that's a good thing.
Today I realized that I haven't clipped my fingernails in 2+ weeks (I have no nail clippers here in the hospital), and typing on a keyboard feels somewhat awkward with such long fingernails.
The doctors, nurses, aides, student nurses, and staff in general here at Cayuga Medical Center have been great. Food was good too, except my appetite was somewhat shot for most of the time due to foreign objects inserted inside me.
Once again, thank you everyone for everything. Hopefully I will see you all soon enough.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Hospitalization (cont'd yet again)
DAY 10: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Well, today was just like any other day here in Room 343-2. Wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, try and wash up (I haven't take a shower since last Monday), eat lunch, take a nap, eat dinner, try and do some work/email/sudoku, go to bed. Except today I took a shit, which was rather painful cuz the pain medication causes constipation, but I managed I guess.
Since I don't have much to talk about, I'll talk about the view out of my window. Since I'm on the third floor, most of the surrounding treetops outside are approximately eye level. Straight ahead is a patch of woods, except there aren't many leaves right now. To the right is part of a parking lot, and to the left are about 3 picnic tables and part of Cayuga Lake. Since there are no high-rise buildings right outside my window, I feel comfortable peeing into my bottle while facing the window (away from the door).
DAY 11: Friday, April 11, 2008
Normal day again, except Tim Rooney (from RIT) popped in for a visit. He came in just as my dad called in the evening. Tim was in Ithaca for the evening with his family. We talked about college life, music concerts in the future, etc. It was quite chill, and good to see friends from home.
DAY 12: Saturday, April 12, 2008
I guess I haven't really gotten into pain meds and resulting constipation. I spent maybe 2 hours on the crapper in the morning trying to drop a deuce. I knew it was there, but it just wouldn't come out, so at lunchtime the nurse gave me a thing of milk of magnesia (that stuff tastes weird) and a stool softener (which I've been taking for 5 days and doesn't seem to help much). I proceeded to walk with my Pleur-evac to the toilet maybe 4 times in the afternoon. I must say it feels better, but that milk of magnesia really tastes weird (and has a weird texture too...)
JD popped in for a visit this afternoon just as the nurse was popping some pills for me. He drove home from Clarkson to Fairport for an interview today, and decided to drop by Ithaca while down here. It was nice...we talked about college in general, electric cars, and Aaron called in the middle proclaiming he was at the beach down in Cajun Country for geology class at Tulane. Lolerskates. Good to see/hear from them.
Well, at this point, I just wanted to thank everyone for their continued support, encouragement, news from campus, news from elsewhere, visits, offers to drive me home, etc. The doctor told me this morning that hopefully I can get outta here within the next few days. We shall see.
Well, today was just like any other day here in Room 343-2. Wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, try and wash up (I haven't take a shower since last Monday), eat lunch, take a nap, eat dinner, try and do some work/email/sudoku, go to bed. Except today I took a shit, which was rather painful cuz the pain medication causes constipation, but I managed I guess.
Since I don't have much to talk about, I'll talk about the view out of my window. Since I'm on the third floor, most of the surrounding treetops outside are approximately eye level. Straight ahead is a patch of woods, except there aren't many leaves right now. To the right is part of a parking lot, and to the left are about 3 picnic tables and part of Cayuga Lake. Since there are no high-rise buildings right outside my window, I feel comfortable peeing into my bottle while facing the window (away from the door).
DAY 11: Friday, April 11, 2008
Normal day again, except Tim Rooney (from RIT) popped in for a visit. He came in just as my dad called in the evening. Tim was in Ithaca for the evening with his family. We talked about college life, music concerts in the future, etc. It was quite chill, and good to see friends from home.
DAY 12: Saturday, April 12, 2008
I guess I haven't really gotten into pain meds and resulting constipation. I spent maybe 2 hours on the crapper in the morning trying to drop a deuce. I knew it was there, but it just wouldn't come out, so at lunchtime the nurse gave me a thing of milk of magnesia (that stuff tastes weird) and a stool softener (which I've been taking for 5 days and doesn't seem to help much). I proceeded to walk with my Pleur-evac to the toilet maybe 4 times in the afternoon. I must say it feels better, but that milk of magnesia really tastes weird (and has a weird texture too...)
JD popped in for a visit this afternoon just as the nurse was popping some pills for me. He drove home from Clarkson to Fairport for an interview today, and decided to drop by Ithaca while down here. It was nice...we talked about college in general, electric cars, and Aaron called in the middle proclaiming he was at the beach down in Cajun Country for geology class at Tulane. Lolerskates. Good to see/hear from them.
Well, at this point, I just wanted to thank everyone for their continued support, encouragement, news from campus, news from elsewhere, visits, offers to drive me home, etc. The doctor told me this morning that hopefully I can get outta here within the next few days. We shall see.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Hospitalization (still cont'd)
DAY 8: Tuesday, April 8, 2008
This morning I woke up and ate nothing, drank nothing. After sitting around short of breath for an hour or so due to being unplugged from wall suction in the waiting room for surgery, they drugged me for operation, and to tell the truth I remember nothing. Not even being wheeled into the operating room nor into the recovery room. Good thing is I didn't feel very nauseous afterwards - I understand that is a common unwanted aftereffect of general anesthesia. The surgery went well I suppose...the doctor, surgeon, and anesthesiast all seemed happy about how things went. I continued the day eating broth and jello, and drinking juice and water. They also moved the chest tube to a lower location along my side, and now it hurts a bit more. During the night I asked for 3 doses of Diaudid (morphine), and I still couldn't fall asleep for real until 1:30 AM after going to bed at 8:30 PM. I guess I was stressing out a bit over catching up with schoolwork once I get back, which I managed to resolve a bit by emailing professors.
DAY 9: Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Recovery day after surgery. I ate a fake breakfast of broth, jello, and juice again, but the doctor said that I could have real food so they trayed in a real breakfast at 10:30 AM. This resulted in me pushing back lunch and dinner by about 2 hours each. Plus, my appetite with the tube shoved in a uncomfortable location has been shot down a bit.
Today I got a new roommate. This guy appears to be a 28-year-old guy who just had surgery for his tonsils. He seemed a bit grumpy at first, but now he seems a bit more cheery. The nurses said he'll probably be discharged tomorrow. In other news, during these past 10 days of having foreign objects inserted into my right side and therefore hindering my right arm movement, I have gotten pretty used to eating, brushing my teeth, and putting on socks with my left hand, as well as urinating in a bottle (the nurses like to call it a "urinal"). I even try to write with my left hand when I fill out each day's menu, but it seems like the only thing successful with that is circling menu entrees with my left hand. In order to get my proper amount of time on my feet, I've been eating and using the computer while standing up. I feel sometimes standing up is more comfortable for some reason. I know sleeping in a semi-sitting position during the night kills my tailbone in the morning, but I need to semi-sit up because the drainage needs to flow down the tube.
It's kind of funny - now that I'm in my second week stranded in the hospital in the same room, I'm starting to have the same nurses and aides for the 3rd and 4th time so far during my stay. Some were surprised to see me still here yesterday and today after meeting me for the first time early last week. Oh well. At least the people here are nice, especially when they give me my dilaudid/morphine. Dilaudid is awesome.
This morning I woke up and ate nothing, drank nothing. After sitting around short of breath for an hour or so due to being unplugged from wall suction in the waiting room for surgery, they drugged me for operation, and to tell the truth I remember nothing. Not even being wheeled into the operating room nor into the recovery room. Good thing is I didn't feel very nauseous afterwards - I understand that is a common unwanted aftereffect of general anesthesia. The surgery went well I suppose...the doctor, surgeon, and anesthesiast all seemed happy about how things went. I continued the day eating broth and jello, and drinking juice and water. They also moved the chest tube to a lower location along my side, and now it hurts a bit more. During the night I asked for 3 doses of Diaudid (morphine), and I still couldn't fall asleep for real until 1:30 AM after going to bed at 8:30 PM. I guess I was stressing out a bit over catching up with schoolwork once I get back, which I managed to resolve a bit by emailing professors.
DAY 9: Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Recovery day after surgery. I ate a fake breakfast of broth, jello, and juice again, but the doctor said that I could have real food so they trayed in a real breakfast at 10:30 AM. This resulted in me pushing back lunch and dinner by about 2 hours each. Plus, my appetite with the tube shoved in a uncomfortable location has been shot down a bit.
Today I got a new roommate. This guy appears to be a 28-year-old guy who just had surgery for his tonsils. He seemed a bit grumpy at first, but now he seems a bit more cheery. The nurses said he'll probably be discharged tomorrow. In other news, during these past 10 days of having foreign objects inserted into my right side and therefore hindering my right arm movement, I have gotten pretty used to eating, brushing my teeth, and putting on socks with my left hand, as well as urinating in a bottle (the nurses like to call it a "urinal"). I even try to write with my left hand when I fill out each day's menu, but it seems like the only thing successful with that is circling menu entrees with my left hand. In order to get my proper amount of time on my feet, I've been eating and using the computer while standing up. I feel sometimes standing up is more comfortable for some reason. I know sleeping in a semi-sitting position during the night kills my tailbone in the morning, but I need to semi-sit up because the drainage needs to flow down the tube.
It's kind of funny - now that I'm in my second week stranded in the hospital in the same room, I'm starting to have the same nurses and aides for the 3rd and 4th time so far during my stay. Some were surprised to see me still here yesterday and today after meeting me for the first time early last week. Oh well. At least the people here are nice, especially when they give me my dilaudid/morphine. Dilaudid is awesome.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Hospitalization (cont'd again)
DAY 7: Monday, April 7, 2008
1 full week sitting in Cayuga Medical Center. Since the air leak in my chest cavity has not improved after putting the mega chest tube in 5 days ago, the doctor and surgeons have been talking with my parents about surgery. Turns out tomorrow morning they're gonna do surgery. Should take about an hour, and involves putting 3 holes in me to do 3 different things, including stapling my lung together after finding out the culprit location with a camera.
About halfway through the day, they stuck a roommate in my double-occupancy room, which was all to myself until now. Apparently he's a 64-year-old guy who just had surgery for enlarged prostate. After hanging around the room for the afternoon and watching TV while I was chillin' on the aftereffects of Percocet, they discharged him at dinnertime, so now I have the room to myself again. The nurse took out my IV, which was in my left arm since the day I got here (7 days ago). I started to get worried about that when small red bumps started appearing on my left arm from the tape used to hold the IV in place.
Well, at this point I would like to thank everyone for their care, support, visits, calls, donated food, getting my textbooks from my room (although I couldn't really concentrate on studying with the chest tube), etc. It really means a lot to me, and I appreciate it. You guys are the reason I keep on keepin' on.
1 full week sitting in Cayuga Medical Center. Since the air leak in my chest cavity has not improved after putting the mega chest tube in 5 days ago, the doctor and surgeons have been talking with my parents about surgery. Turns out tomorrow morning they're gonna do surgery. Should take about an hour, and involves putting 3 holes in me to do 3 different things, including stapling my lung together after finding out the culprit location with a camera.
About halfway through the day, they stuck a roommate in my double-occupancy room, which was all to myself until now. Apparently he's a 64-year-old guy who just had surgery for enlarged prostate. After hanging around the room for the afternoon and watching TV while I was chillin' on the aftereffects of Percocet, they discharged him at dinnertime, so now I have the room to myself again. The nurse took out my IV, which was in my left arm since the day I got here (7 days ago). I started to get worried about that when small red bumps started appearing on my left arm from the tape used to hold the IV in place.
Well, at this point I would like to thank everyone for their care, support, visits, calls, donated food, getting my textbooks from my room (although I couldn't really concentrate on studying with the chest tube), etc. It really means a lot to me, and I appreciate it. You guys are the reason I keep on keepin' on.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Hospitalization (cont'd)
DAY 4: Friday, April 4, 2008
This is the second day with the mega chest tube. Again, it hurt a crazy lot so they shot me with the IV anesthesia in the afternoon (after lunch) and at night before hittin' the hay. I finished a 4-star sudoku in the newspaper today after giving up and coming back to it later several times. I got a surprise visit from a bunch of people back on campus, and we joked around for an hour or so before the nurse said visiting hours are over. We think the patients next door didn't find our conversations very tasteful. I must say I really appreciate the visits, even from the people who couldn't make it due to not enough room in Brian's car. Thanks guys, it means a lot to me.
DAY 5: Saturday, April 5, 2008
Today my parents made it up here via car. Apparently they drove all through the night and made it here at around 11 AM. By this day there was still a little air leakage from the chest cavity as seen from Pleur-Evac. Today there was no need for the IV anesthesia - only Percocet pills at night. It seemed to knock me out equally though.
DAY 6: Sunday, April 6, 2008
Today for dinner I ate cottage cheese (or tried to). Taylor said since I never had it before, he thought I would like it, so I decided to give it a try. It wasn't that great - sorry Taylor and Mikki. I know you guys are avid cottage cheese fans. Today there was also no improvement in air leakage. The surgeon told me before she left for the weekend on Saturday that if by Monday the leakage still persists, then we'll have to talk about surgery. I guess we might have to talk about surgery tomorrow, as I don't feel any better during this past week. My mom went to Wal-Mart to buy some boxers because I've worn the same pair for literally 6 days straight (shudder). Well, hopefully I'll get back soon enough so I could take regular showers instead of washcloth+basin baths with no-rinse-needed soap/shampoo.
This is the second day with the mega chest tube. Again, it hurt a crazy lot so they shot me with the IV anesthesia in the afternoon (after lunch) and at night before hittin' the hay. I finished a 4-star sudoku in the newspaper today after giving up and coming back to it later several times. I got a surprise visit from a bunch of people back on campus, and we joked around for an hour or so before the nurse said visiting hours are over. We think the patients next door didn't find our conversations very tasteful. I must say I really appreciate the visits, even from the people who couldn't make it due to not enough room in Brian's car. Thanks guys, it means a lot to me.
DAY 5: Saturday, April 5, 2008
Today my parents made it up here via car. Apparently they drove all through the night and made it here at around 11 AM. By this day there was still a little air leakage from the chest cavity as seen from Pleur-Evac. Today there was no need for the IV anesthesia - only Percocet pills at night. It seemed to knock me out equally though.
DAY 6: Sunday, April 6, 2008
Today for dinner I ate cottage cheese (or tried to). Taylor said since I never had it before, he thought I would like it, so I decided to give it a try. It wasn't that great - sorry Taylor and Mikki. I know you guys are avid cottage cheese fans. Today there was also no improvement in air leakage. The surgeon told me before she left for the weekend on Saturday that if by Monday the leakage still persists, then we'll have to talk about surgery. I guess we might have to talk about surgery tomorrow, as I don't feel any better during this past week. My mom went to Wal-Mart to buy some boxers because I've worn the same pair for literally 6 days straight (shudder). Well, hopefully I'll get back soon enough so I could take regular showers instead of washcloth+basin baths with no-rinse-needed soap/shampoo.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Hospitalization
This is currently my first visit and stay at a hospital. Venue: Cayuga Medical Center. Reason: pneumothorax.
DAY 0: Monday, March 31, 2008
I got up on Monday, took a shower, did all the normal things that I would do in the morning (except hit up Muffinland for breakfast). I was still feeling shortness of breath and funkiness in my right chest area, so I figured I'd go to Gannett after turning in the dynamics lab report along the way. I got to Gannett probably around 9:45 AM, out of breath from walking maybe a quarter mile from my room.
They set me up with an appointment at 10:25 AM with a doctor, and he decided to send me downstairs to radiology to get a chest x-ray and blood work done to see what's wrong. After the chest x-ray, I sat around in the radiology lobby for maybe half an hour, waiting for word to begin blood work. However, word came in that the doctor called off the blood work and they told me to head upstairs to see the doctor again. At this point I figured they knew what was wrong.
The doctor told me that my right lung had completely collapsed, a sign of pneumothorax. Apparently pneumothorax is common in "tall thin males," which I precisely fit I suppose, and could happen spontaneously. And it did happen spontaneously - I remember it was Saturday at work in the Law School when I first felt short of breath, but I thought things would get better if I waited a bit, except things stayed the same by the time Monday rolled around.
Anyhoo, the doctor told me that he had already called an ambulance to take me to the ER, and to the ER I went, in an ambulance. It was strange looking at all the people in the lobby from a stretcher, and I guess it was strange for them to see a completely conscious guy in a stretcher being wheeled out. On the way out, the receptionists at Gannett said that my x-ray was famous, and they were surprised that I walked in to get checked out that morning.
Being in the ER was a completely new experience for me. There was a TV which I had no interest in watching, but other than that there was not much else to do. The surgeon came in to insert this small chest tube in the upper front of my right chest so that air surrounding the lung can be sucked out via a Heimlich valve, hopefully expanding the lung back to normal. So I waited an hour or two before they x-rayed me and found out that the valve wasn't working, so they hooked me up to suction to assist in pulling the air out. That took another few hours, during which Michelle paid a visit (I was completely surprised). After another x-ray at around dinnertime, they told me my lung should be ok but I'll still need the valve connected to me for the next few days. They told me that I could go home, except when I stood up I almost fainted, so they gave me a boxed lunch to eat (this was the first thing I had eaten all day long - at 6:30 PM). I then proceeded home via bus (and fainted on the bus but I woke up after a while) and went to bed after emailing about 32983403 people telling them I'm lame for the next few days.
DAY 1: Tuesday, April 1, 2008
I got up and walked to Gannett for a follow-up chest x-ray. After seeing that my right lung had re-collapsed overnight, they decided to send me back to the hospital as an admitted patient. I now have a patient room to myself (double-occupancy too, except I'm the only one in here for now). They now have me connected to wall suction 24 hours a day (except when I have to go drop a deuce - then they unplug me temporarily). The hospital food is ok, but after a while it seems like the same thing over and over again. This first day I spent just chillin' and sleeping. There are a lot of student nurses here in Cayuga Medical Center.
DAY 2: Wednesday, April 2, 2008
My second day as a resident in the hospital. They gave me the Ithaca Journal in the morning to help keep me occupied, seeing that I brought literally nothing with me because I did not foresee the need to come back to the hospital when I went for a follow-up at Gannett. I spent the day trying to read the newspaper, sleeping, and doing the sudoku in the paper...and I actually finished it (my first one - 3 stars, hehe). At around 7 or 8 PM, there was a surprise visit from Brian and Michelle, who drove down here to bring me some stuff and pay a visit. It was very nice (and surprising) to see them. Now I have a computer to check email and such (the hospital blocks Facebook for some reason) and my phone charger so I don't have to keep my phone turned off to conserve battery.
DAY 3: Thursday, April 3, 2008
As usual, I awoke at around 7 AM to get a chest x-ray done, except this time they wheeled me downstairs instead of using the portable x-ray machine in my room. After the x-ray came out, the surgeon came in and told me that they'll have to take out the thin chest tube that I've had for 3 days and replace it with a "real" chest tube - larger and more aggressive in sucking out air. This would involve a small operation in which they make an incision in my side and stick the tube in. This was not good for a few reasons - things were not getting better (namely, the lung re-collapsed the night before), and this tube fucking hurts to have inside you to say the least. I had the operation at around 10 AM, had lunch at normal lunch time (although my appetite was shot to death), and agonized until about 2:30 before the nurse decided the pain pills weren't working so they gave me some anesthesia through my IV. That knocked me out for the remainder of the afternoon until dinner came in on a tray. However, I guess the powerful anesthesia causes me to feel lightheaded and faint after sitting up for a while, so I ate dinner periodically sitting up and lying back down for the faintness to go away. I tried to do the sudoku in this morning's paper in the evening, but I kept feeling nauseous and dozing off. That kept up until around 9 PM, when I decided to actually brush my teeth and go to sleep, but not before the night nurse knocked me out with the anesthesia again. I think I woke up at 2:30 AM to take a leak. The tube really kills.
DAY 0: Monday, March 31, 2008
I got up on Monday, took a shower, did all the normal things that I would do in the morning (except hit up Muffinland for breakfast). I was still feeling shortness of breath and funkiness in my right chest area, so I figured I'd go to Gannett after turning in the dynamics lab report along the way. I got to Gannett probably around 9:45 AM, out of breath from walking maybe a quarter mile from my room.
They set me up with an appointment at 10:25 AM with a doctor, and he decided to send me downstairs to radiology to get a chest x-ray and blood work done to see what's wrong. After the chest x-ray, I sat around in the radiology lobby for maybe half an hour, waiting for word to begin blood work. However, word came in that the doctor called off the blood work and they told me to head upstairs to see the doctor again. At this point I figured they knew what was wrong.
The doctor told me that my right lung had completely collapsed, a sign of pneumothorax. Apparently pneumothorax is common in "tall thin males," which I precisely fit I suppose, and could happen spontaneously. And it did happen spontaneously - I remember it was Saturday at work in the Law School when I first felt short of breath, but I thought things would get better if I waited a bit, except things stayed the same by the time Monday rolled around.
Anyhoo, the doctor told me that he had already called an ambulance to take me to the ER, and to the ER I went, in an ambulance. It was strange looking at all the people in the lobby from a stretcher, and I guess it was strange for them to see a completely conscious guy in a stretcher being wheeled out. On the way out, the receptionists at Gannett said that my x-ray was famous, and they were surprised that I walked in to get checked out that morning.
Being in the ER was a completely new experience for me. There was a TV which I had no interest in watching, but other than that there was not much else to do. The surgeon came in to insert this small chest tube in the upper front of my right chest so that air surrounding the lung can be sucked out via a Heimlich valve, hopefully expanding the lung back to normal. So I waited an hour or two before they x-rayed me and found out that the valve wasn't working, so they hooked me up to suction to assist in pulling the air out. That took another few hours, during which Michelle paid a visit (I was completely surprised). After another x-ray at around dinnertime, they told me my lung should be ok but I'll still need the valve connected to me for the next few days. They told me that I could go home, except when I stood up I almost fainted, so they gave me a boxed lunch to eat (this was the first thing I had eaten all day long - at 6:30 PM). I then proceeded home via bus (and fainted on the bus but I woke up after a while) and went to bed after emailing about 32983403 people telling them I'm lame for the next few days.
DAY 1: Tuesday, April 1, 2008
I got up and walked to Gannett for a follow-up chest x-ray. After seeing that my right lung had re-collapsed overnight, they decided to send me back to the hospital as an admitted patient. I now have a patient room to myself (double-occupancy too, except I'm the only one in here for now). They now have me connected to wall suction 24 hours a day (except when I have to go drop a deuce - then they unplug me temporarily). The hospital food is ok, but after a while it seems like the same thing over and over again. This first day I spent just chillin' and sleeping. There are a lot of student nurses here in Cayuga Medical Center.
DAY 2: Wednesday, April 2, 2008
My second day as a resident in the hospital. They gave me the Ithaca Journal in the morning to help keep me occupied, seeing that I brought literally nothing with me because I did not foresee the need to come back to the hospital when I went for a follow-up at Gannett. I spent the day trying to read the newspaper, sleeping, and doing the sudoku in the paper...and I actually finished it (my first one - 3 stars, hehe). At around 7 or 8 PM, there was a surprise visit from Brian and Michelle, who drove down here to bring me some stuff and pay a visit. It was very nice (and surprising) to see them. Now I have a computer to check email and such (the hospital blocks Facebook for some reason) and my phone charger so I don't have to keep my phone turned off to conserve battery.
DAY 3: Thursday, April 3, 2008
As usual, I awoke at around 7 AM to get a chest x-ray done, except this time they wheeled me downstairs instead of using the portable x-ray machine in my room. After the x-ray came out, the surgeon came in and told me that they'll have to take out the thin chest tube that I've had for 3 days and replace it with a "real" chest tube - larger and more aggressive in sucking out air. This would involve a small operation in which they make an incision in my side and stick the tube in. This was not good for a few reasons - things were not getting better (namely, the lung re-collapsed the night before), and this tube fucking hurts to have inside you to say the least. I had the operation at around 10 AM, had lunch at normal lunch time (although my appetite was shot to death), and agonized until about 2:30 before the nurse decided the pain pills weren't working so they gave me some anesthesia through my IV. That knocked me out for the remainder of the afternoon until dinner came in on a tray. However, I guess the powerful anesthesia causes me to feel lightheaded and faint after sitting up for a while, so I ate dinner periodically sitting up and lying back down for the faintness to go away. I tried to do the sudoku in this morning's paper in the evening, but I kept feeling nauseous and dozing off. That kept up until around 9 PM, when I decided to actually brush my teeth and go to sleep, but not before the night nurse knocked me out with the anesthesia again. I think I woke up at 2:30 AM to take a leak. The tube really kills.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Happy Pi Day
And happy Dragon Day, except I didn't go to Dragon Day this year, nor did I purchase a Dragon Day shirt. And happy spring break!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
20
I guess Heath Ledger was found dead on my 20th birthday (and typing on qwerty keyboard is rather difficult for me now).
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