Wednesday, April 23rd, 2003

My CAT scan was scheduled for Wednesday, April 23rd at 10:30 am. I had no idea what to expect. When we got there I had to drink some awful liquid (a liter?). I was so tight and uncomfortable already. To drink all that liquid just made me fill worst. I finally got called in, they laid me on the table and began to start the IV for the scan. The nurse had a hard time finding a vein. She finally called for help after I had holes all over my arms and hands. I was glad when that part was over.
Scott and I were walking out and I had to stop to sit down outside. I told him I was having a hard time breathing and felt funny. There was a nurse outside who asked if I was OK and Scott told her how I felt and she immediately went inside to get a wheelchair to bring me back into the ER. By then it was around 12-1:00 pm. Of course, they wanted more blood and began poking and digging into my veins again. While they were trying to get blood Scott was right there watching. When they finally found a vein Scott asked where the restroom was and disappeared for a little while. When he returned he told me he began swetting and thought he was going to faint. They also took chest x-rays and checked my heart.
Dr. Durden the ER doctor was going to send me home with some drugs to help me get rid of fluid. Later on he comes back and says he called in an Internist Dr. Williams. They decided to drain the fluid from my abdomen right away. I was not excited!!!
Dr. Williams got there, asked me some questions and told Scott where to wait. He told me they would numb my belly right below my belly button. I was hoping I wouldn't be awake for this procedure. About 4:30-5:00 pm in the emergency room Dr. Williams began to try to drain some fluid. He couldn't get enough coming out so they called Dr. Graham in radiology. So they stitched me where they put the drain in and away we went to radiology.
They put me back into the CAT scan machine so they could see better. Dr. Williams stayed through the whole procedure. Putting the drain in wasn't too bad. As the fluid began to drain I could feel relief and see my abdomen go down. They drained about 2 gallons of fluid. The CAT scan showed a mass on my right ovary.
Everyone in there, doctors and nurses talked to me to try to make me feel at ease. I felt pretty good after they were done. By this time I was ready to eat. I hadn't ate since the night before. The decided to admit me to the hospital. They sent me to a room and had a meal sent up to me. They put me on low sodium and fluid restriction diet.
Paula (my sister) was due to fly in that evening. Because I was admitted to the hospital we had to make other arrangments. So Scott's mom and two sisters Leslie and Lorin picked her up and brought her to the hospital. It was around 9:30 pm when they got to my room. We all visited for awhile. Scott informed them all of what we might be facing. After about an hour they all left and went home.
Insert from Paula's journal.
Scott and Debbie were suppose to pick me up at baggage claim but didn't make it. Scott's mom and sisters where there instead. We got to the hospital around 9:30 pm and went to Deb's room. As soon as I walked into the room I could see that she lost alot of weight. She looked good considering all she had been through that day. We stayed about an hour then Scott and I left to go to their house. That was alittle strange not having Deb or Jim with us.
Scott talked about what he would do without Deb and I said let's not think about it. Didn't sleep much that night.