Eleven Weeks

During the time of COVID-19 we've appropriately spent a lot of time appreciating the hard work of our health care providers. They're amazing even when we aren't dealing with a global pandemic. At my best estimate I've spent approximately 11 weeks of my life in the hospital. This is overnight hospital stays; it doesn't include dozens and dozens of tests, ER visits, etc. I've been the beneficiary of some incredible care by a number of healthcare professionals.

In a blog I wrote a few months ago I expressed my fear at the idea of having to go to the hospital. Two weeks ago we had a video chat with my brother and sister-in-law, and I signed off saying I had to run six miles the next morning. At 1 a.m. I woke up with bowel obstruction pain, and I knew I was in trouble. I used the heating pad on my stomach and then went downstairs and was walking laps around my house (walking can help). My husband came downstairs a few hours later and knew I wasn't okay.

I hoped it would resolve itself, but I started throwing up. The pain was extraordinary, and I decided to call 9-1-1 in hopes that getting to the ER in an ambulance would mean I wasn't sitting in the lobby of the ER for hours like I have done before. 

It worked, and I went right into a room where they immediately started fluids, pain medication and anti-nausea meds. The dreaded NG tube was inserted into my nose, down my throat and into my stomach, and a CT revealed a bowel obstruction. My biggest fear during COVID-19 came true, and I was admitted to the hospital that morning.

Wearing a mask in the ER

The NG tube is the WORST.

For the first day I was pretty out of it, mostly sleeping and on pain meds. But that night I felt remarkably better. I actually went to the bathroom (the best sign) and by the next morning there were signs that the obstruction had cleared relatively quickly.

The staff at the hospital (mostly nurses because you only see doctors for 10 minutes when they round and if there's something really wrong) were, as always, fantastic. Other than staff wearing an extraordinary amount of personal protective equipment (masks and face shields), it felt like a pretty normal hospital visit. My nurses were fantastic - professional, caring, responsive. Even in the midst of a global pandemic their calm professionalism put me entirely at ease.

Excitement when the NG tube is removed!

I've had six abdominal surgeries, five bowel obstructions, and a number of other issues that have required hospitalization, and I'm kind of a hospital pro. The work of health care professionals - from the nurses, doctors and medical assistants to the incredible staff who clean rooms and bring food - they create a peaceful environment at a time when the patients don't feel peaceful. I am eternally grateful for the care I've received - from my first hospital stay 20 years ago at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to the half a dozen times I've been hospitalized at Sparrow Hospital here in Lansing the last few years. I've been grateful that during two decades of a chronic illness I've had a great team helping me navigate (including my GI doctor at the University of Michigan). 

If you haven't spent a lot of time in the hospital I hope you don't have to, although I'm always grateful because while Crohn's can be tough, I always know it can be worst. Let's continue to appreciate our healthcare providers not only in time of global crisis but every day.