You Have Got To Be Kidding

So Darrell was home from the hospital for a week and it seemed that everything was going well and falling into a routine...dressing changes every 8 hours, IV antibiotics once a day. He was able to walk around pretty well, though the surgeon said he should really keep off his feet.

On Tuesday, we went to his primary physician for a checkup and his blood pressure was a little low, but within the "ok" range. Doctor recommended he take the H1N1 vaccine shot. Immediately after the nurse gave him the shot, he seemed to have a hard time breathing and wouldn't respond to my asking if he was alright. The nurse went to get the doctor, and Darrell wouldn't respond to him either. The nurse ran to get a shot of epinephrine and the doctor asked the receptionist to call 911.

As soon as he got the epi, he "woke up" and was able to respond. I thought maybe he was in anaphylactic shock from an allergic reaction. It was scary to have him just sit there and not respond at all. Right after he got the shot of epi, the paramedics and firemen arrived. They decided to take him to the Kuakini emergency room to check him out, even though he seemed ok. That was the shortest ambulance ride ever! The doctor's office is in the physicians' building right next door to the hospital. The paramedic kept telling me to hop on for the ride to the ER, but I declined; hello, I got to the ER before they did by walking. The door to the hospital was right next to the ambulance!

The time between getting the H1N1 vaccine and becoming unresponsive and waking up was maybe less than 10 minutes, but it seemed like forever. Darrell said he doesn't remember anything during the unconscious period.

The paramedics thought maybe it was a vasovagal reaction, like from being afraid of the needle when getting a shot. Darrell and I dismissed that because he gets poked with needles all the time. But that seems to have been the most likely reason, per all the doctors. He also seemed to be dehydrated, so I need to make sure he drinks water at home now. I was focusing on making him healthy portion-controlled meals, but didn't really monitor his fluid intake. Bad nurse!

His team of doctors decided to admit him at least overnight for observation, so we were back on the third floor. You know you've been there a lot when the nurses recognize you and say, hey didn't you get released already?!

It was just an overnight stay and he's back home again. And hopefully will be drinking more fluids.