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I have had a series of health crises that have fallen short of serious damage. A short time back I was admitted to the local hospital with a diagnosis of TIA (a mini stroke); however, a cardiologist changed the diagnosis to something less serious.
Just this New Years' Eve my wife found me comatose sitting in front of my iMac in my new "task chair" ― a high chair with a chrome ring around the bottom on which to rest one's feet. She could not elicit any response from me, so she called 911 and a crew came and could not rouse me, so they took me to WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, where I regained consciousness, waking up in a hospital bed and finding myself being treated like an incompetent who could no longer care for himself or manage his own affairs. The doctor said I was admitted with a tentative diagnosis of a stroke, but tests did not show that to be the case; so I was given a diagnosis of "Transient Alteration of Consciousness" with a recommendation that I be sent to a rehab facility or be monitored at home by a government-paid healthcare worker.
The doctor would not sign discharge papers for me to leave the hospital unless I consented to at least the latter option. Now my wife and I have to cancel a scheduled appointment for someone to come to our home tomorrow to evaluate my home situation and my ability to manage my own life, as our friends and neighbors, including a retired nurse, insist that it is ridiculous for us to be subjected to such requirements.
The doctor has been treating me as though I have had a debilitating stroke, after he has ruled out that diagnosis.
Anyhow, that's just the background story. I am as full of praise to God as I have ever been, if not more so. Not least of all because I have learned things via these episodes that will enable me to lessen the likelihood of more serious problems in the future.
The doctor said the most likely factor in my most recent admission to hospital is severe dehydration, which is a chronic problem stemming from my lack of a colon, and recently exacerbated by the fact that I was finding it difficult to drink water after my last abdominal surgery, so I started drinking coffee to supplement the water drinking. Problem with that was, I began to drink more and more coffee, which is very dehydrating.
So, the trip to the hospital has broken me of drinking any coffee or any caffeinated beverage at all.
Bottom line: Praise God!!! Life is good!
Just this New Years' Eve my wife found me comatose sitting in front of my iMac in my new "task chair" ― a high chair with a chrome ring around the bottom on which to rest one's feet. She could not elicit any response from me, so she called 911 and a crew came and could not rouse me, so they took me to WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, where I regained consciousness, waking up in a hospital bed and finding myself being treated like an incompetent who could no longer care for himself or manage his own affairs. The doctor said I was admitted with a tentative diagnosis of a stroke, but tests did not show that to be the case; so I was given a diagnosis of "Transient Alteration of Consciousness" with a recommendation that I be sent to a rehab facility or be monitored at home by a government-paid healthcare worker.
The doctor would not sign discharge papers for me to leave the hospital unless I consented to at least the latter option. Now my wife and I have to cancel a scheduled appointment for someone to come to our home tomorrow to evaluate my home situation and my ability to manage my own life, as our friends and neighbors, including a retired nurse, insist that it is ridiculous for us to be subjected to such requirements.
The doctor has been treating me as though I have had a debilitating stroke, after he has ruled out that diagnosis.
Anyhow, that's just the background story. I am as full of praise to God as I have ever been, if not more so. Not least of all because I have learned things via these episodes that will enable me to lessen the likelihood of more serious problems in the future.
The doctor said the most likely factor in my most recent admission to hospital is severe dehydration, which is a chronic problem stemming from my lack of a colon, and recently exacerbated by the fact that I was finding it difficult to drink water after my last abdominal surgery, so I started drinking coffee to supplement the water drinking. Problem with that was, I began to drink more and more coffee, which is very dehydrating.
So, the trip to the hospital has broken me of drinking any coffee or any caffeinated beverage at all.
Bottom line: Praise God!!! Life is good!
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