Iowa City ER Visit #1 - September 17 and 18

The ER at the University of Iowa hospital, as is the case in many cities, was very busy. After midnight, we learned of one couple who had been waiting since 3 PM Thursday afternoon. Our arrival after 10 PM meant we would need to wait, but I had NO DOUBTS that I would be admitted to the hospital. My body was a mess, and I was in pain. Besides that, what doctor team would not be curious about what was going on in my body?

But here is the big difference. I got to sit in a wheelchair when I arrived. I did not need to carry my bag of stuff. And Denise was with me the entire time. We sat and dozed in the ER. The first wheelchair became unbearable for me, so we switched. That was better and I slept more, which I needed after not sleeping during most of our travel time from Kiev.

About 3:30 AM, we got moved into an ER room. That is the first major step that we had been waiting for. Then about 5:00 AM, one of the overworked ER doctors came to start trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

So much happened that first day. I had to fast, because of the tests and procedures that they decided to do that first day. We were in the ER until after 5:00 PM Friday, and they were working on my case most of that time.

They found that I had a blood clot in my right leg. It had been swollen much longer and more severely than the left leg. That could be potentially very dangerous. This meant taking blood thinners (I found out later for about 6 months or so). And this was not yet the primary reason that I had come.

Most of the medical staff were amazed that we had come from Ukraine to get treated, but when we explained that we had family in the area and that we chose to come there and stay with them, it all made sense.

They did a lot of blood work and found that some of my basic blood counts were off, so they started giving me some IV fluids to counteract that. They also found that my right kidney (remember that it was enlarged) was not working right and was in danger. Why is that? Well, with the things inside me all messed up and swollen, the right urethra was unable to empty into the bladder as normal. This meant that the kidney was just growing. So they decided Friday evening to put a nephrostomy tube into my right kidney.

By 6 PM they finally had a hospital bed for me to lay on, so I got to move out of the ER and to a regular room. Denise had been with me the entire time in the ER, except for a couple of hours when I made her leave to take a shower and to eat something.

Then after my move, the charge nurse informed us that visiting hours ended at 5 PM, and that she would need to leave. Up to that point, we had had no idea what the rules were, but now we know.