Yesterday, Monday we were expecting a quieter day following a fairly full day on Sunday. All went well until half an hour after Hubby was given a new type of antibiotic, all hell broke out.
I'm sat there having an afternoon doze and all of a sudden Hubby goes into a massive upper body set of spasms, shouts out in pain. They were so bad he thought he had damaged his left arm. I knew it was serious so get the nursing staff involved, who try and take his blood pressure but cant because of the spasms in his arms and chest. They end up attaching the cuff to his leg to get a reading.
Oh shit it was up to 250/90 Autonomic Dysreflexia was surely indicated, a medical emergency. Doctors were called. We have the GTN spray but decide to hold off using as it can cause as many problems as it solves, diving blood pressure onto the floor. Myself and the nursing staff go through the procedure of making sure there isn't another pain source that is the reason for the attack, I empty his bladder just in case. Always seems like an age when you are waiting for someone to come that can do something positive. Hubby's throat was beginning to close up, pains in his chest, his head felt like it would explode, feeling nauseated, frightened, shouting out every time a wave of spasms hit.
Eventually the Doctors arrive, give him something for the pain, some anti histamine, oxygen, paracetamol drip. After about an hour his blood pressure comes back down to more normal levels and the more serious possibilities of bad outcomes lessen. Stroke, Cardiac Arrest etc. They take some arterial blood from his groin, it is quite difficult to locate and take.
Diagnosis:
Anaphylaxic shock from taking the anti-biotic which brought on Autonomic Dysreflexia.
He is okay now as I write although totally wiped out by the bad experience. The staff on the whole were great, I think it was a bit of a wake up call though, as it re-enforced the importance of not leaving Hubby on his own, and justified me being here. He might not have been able to push the call button had he been on his own.
Well done RNOH staff.
So glad the emergency was dealt with. Healthy people don't always understand that when in hospital you need a family member to be there (as much as they can) to deal with things - even basics like washing and eating often aren't done by the staff - terrible state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteMy mother died in 1956 (renal failure from the disease she gave me) Yes, I have survived much longer due to to 'treatments' and medical advances - but she had far better CARE. She even used to go off to convalesce - and whilst at home the GP would visit every day!