This is a re-posting of a story I wrote from in bed at a Nursing Home on Wed, Oct 15 2003 9:40 pm.
I hope that it may a survival lesson that can be learned from a accident and my mistakes.
Subject: ThunderHawk, Hindsight is 20/20
Hey all,
Well just a quick note, to let you know I am still around. I have been holding up in a nursing home sence mid-September. Maybe I could go into the details of surviving in a nursing home hehehe, Ya right.
Hindsight being 20/20 would have been great. I could prepare for the best and worse of times. However, some small matter of lack of common sense or comfort got in the way. Me . . . Guilty as charged. I happen to have a few health problems one of them being I have high blood sugar, not always controlled. It all started with me doing what I like to do, walking around barefooted around the house. Sure I had a wife that always nagged me about putting some shoes or sandals on my feet. But, I rarely listened and neither did I want to, since I really enjoyed being barefooted, as I usually wore high top boots most of the time for work and regular use.
It started on a Sunday night. I was with my son alone, and up late at night playing on the computer. I needed something from a room in the back of the house. The light was on the other side of the room, and I was walking barefooted in the dark to turn it on. OUCH! . . . . I had stepped on something that hurt, and crunched into my foot. I got into a chair on my knees, got the light on and looked over my shoulder and saw a large gash in my foot with some glass, and bleeding heavy. My son came into the room and looked and started to panic, and wanted to call 911. I said, not to call and let me take care of it. I did my best to remain calm for my son so he would calm down and not panic anymore, however lots of blood was pouring out. I pulled the glass out and wrapped a towel around my foot. First, bad news hard to stop the bleeding. Two, I looked into my first aid bucket, only to find that the hings that I needed to patch myself up had already been used up and had not been replaced. I moved to a place with better light to see what I was doing. I sent my son to get some of my wife's personal pads and get me a roll of tape. I then sealed my foot up. It seemed it would be ok. Ya, Right . . . so I thought.
The bleeding stopped and I had a closer look at what kind of glass I stepped on. One of my mini-kerosene lamps had fell off the shelf. The top had broken and there it had laid waiting for my bare foot. Well I soaked my foot for a couple of days and took some medications for the pain and swelling. On day two I had the things I needed to patch the foot up right. I had some military medical superglue and sterile-strips. I put a fresh bandage wrap on it. It looked great and did not feel too bad. I then returned to work on Tuesday with a slight limp and worked for two more weeks this way. Nine days later the strips fell off and the foot looked good. Friday after work the foot hurt and I went to take a nap at 4pm. No one could wake me, and I slept there on the couch with my foot up till 1am. I then took a hot shower, which after it had some junk discharged from my foot and it hurt to walk. I went back to sleep and went to work again the next day at 6am. By 11am I could not walk anymore. I finished at 2pm hopped near fence and waited to have my wife pick me up. I later got home and laid up on the couch with my foot up. I figured since I did not have insurance I would wait to Monday and go into the clinic. I thought I would be ok.
Then it happened. At 9pm Chest pains and a sick feeling all over. To the hospital I went, to the emergency room. I was very lucky, they were very busy, and they took me right away. They drained the foot, and fixed me up from the chest pain. I remained there till about 7;40am. They then put me in a room there till Wed. night. Then was transferred to the nursing home I am at now. Lots of IV antibiotics every 6hrs. Shots of other
stuff, and lots of different medications. Here I lay, or get in a wheel chair for an hour at a time every 4 to 5 hrs. I could end up staying here for 3 or more months since still now my foot is not getting better, and I still could end up loosing it. It is very hard to be away from my wife and kids. Nursing homes and not a great place to be at and the care people may not come after you hit the button for long periods of time. Average wait time 15-20 minutes, and one time I waited 40 minutes.
What I have learned so far from my current experience.
1. Wear something on your feet, to protect them.
2. Seek Pros for medical help. They said, I would have not lasted over the weekend to Monday.
3. Enjoy what little time you do have with wife, kids, family, and friends.
I am sure there are other things too, like resupplying the medical bucket, and securing items in place to prevent things from breaking on the floor. Also to take better care of my health. I have a high pain threshold
and had enough knowledge to take care of a emergency at home but, I should have followed up with some outside help of a Doctor. Which if I had I might not have ended up here. (Hindsight is 20/20) Ya Right!
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Aftermath; After spending almost 3 months at the nursing home. about 8 years have past and I am alive; my son who was 6 at that time is 14 and entering high school. (Time really does fly) I do have some residual health problems and disabilities. I try my best to do what I can each day as is comes. Have Hope, Live for today, survive for tomorrow, and beyond. You Can Too!
Your Friend, ThunderHawk
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