A Night of Unease
My sleep was a bit
disturbed, as I had a dull ache in my chest on the left side throughout the
night. At one point, the pain spread into my arm, giving the impression I had
lain on it, but every adjustment I made brought no relief.
By 5:00 AM, I was in
two minds: get up and go for a walk to wear away the discomfort, or acknowledge
that this might be something serious and seek medical attention.
AI to the Rescue
The more I thought
about it and keyed the symptoms into my AI app, the more I was persuaded to
plump for the latter.
I opened my door, set
the secure door on the latch, and called 999 for an ambulance, but I was
exhausted by the questions and almost felt I'd be gone before we were done.
In the meantime, I
had packed a bag with the essentials: a mobile phone charger adapter, a power
bank, a notepad, and a pen. Critically, you need to be able to communicate with
loved ones and next of kin; Brian and Kola first, then my manager at work.
On the emergency
call, I was told an ambulance might take 45 minutes or thereabouts, to which I
suggested I'd rather get an Uber to A&E and be seen promptly, and that is
what I did.
Into A&E
I checked in, had my
blood pressure taken, and was then called back for bloods and an ECG. The
waiting began in the Emergency Room, and when the results were sent to me by
email, neither the website nor the app was working, so I could not check what I
was about to be told.
Hours later, a doctor
called me into a consultation cordon and assured me there was nothing serious
to worry about from the ECG and the test for Troponin T, which indicates damage
to the heart muscle, but she needed to rule out the presence of blood clots.
Blood and Bedside
Manner
Her attempt to draw
blood was unsuccessful, and she quickly realised it might be fatigue from five
twelve-hour shifts in a row. You can imagine junior and emergency room doctors
are seriously overworked; the NHS is somewhat strained, and let's not visit the
quality and standard of service from people doing their very best under duress,
pressure, and the circumstances.
She immediately
invited a nurse to draw blood; that also failed on the arm, so a further
attempt was made from the back of the hand, bringing the total to four puncture
wounds, whilst my left arm was already sore from the earlier abuse.
The Vampire
Association
The D-dimer test
result was normal. Another doctor then invited me to relate the symptoms again
before ordering a second troponin test, which he said should be at least three
hours from the first.
I had been in
hospital for four hours by this point, so I was ready for another vampire
feast. I probably should cut down on my sugar intake; three blood draws in one
morning is one draw short of a venesection.
Another nurse arrived
with a phlebotomy trolley, and I asked if she was from the Vampire Association.
She smiled and drew blood from the already sore left arm without much fuss.
Waiting for the
All-Clear
One new development
that has arrived at our NHS, already standard practice in the Netherlands
health service, is the use of a tube between the needle and syringe. This puts
less pressure on the entry point, and I am glad for it.
Once the second Troponin
T test result arrives as normal, I should be on my way home. Meanwhile, the
wait continues, and the concerns are being allayed.
The doctor came to
speak to me in the waiting room to confirm that the second Troponin T was fine.
I already knew, as the website was working in the Ambulatory Care Unit by then;
the result had fallen one unit within the middle of the normal range.
I was sent on my way,
called an Uber, and settled back into bed.
