Not What the Doctor Ordered

I’ve been admitted to hospital in Fresno California for  2 nights! I was on the bus tour in  Yosemite and I started vomiting  thinking I had motion sickness because the bus was hot and very winding road again. Anyway 12 hours after the bus trip I was still vomiting  and could not stop. I had no diarrhoea and had  pain that would go away after I vomited only to return again in 30 to 60  minutes later. Also feeling my abdomen I had a small painful  swelling size  of a 50 cent coin in my right groin. Anyway Rick said you could have a obstructed   hernia and I said no it’s probably just gastro! Anyway  after vomiting the whole night I had to admit I could have a bowel obstruction! We drove from Oakhurst to Fresno which was 50 miles and I was  still vomiting in the  metal salad bowl. There are 4 hospitals in Fresno and we  went to the County hospital  which is like a public hospital in Australia. There was a guy in a glass booth  in the front  emergency entrance with a gun  in his belt who asked me why I’ve got  a metal bowl! We had to put our bags through a security scanner and went into triage. I was in a line of  half dozen people and this guy who I presume was a drug addict  said to me ” do you want my chair”! I  was really dehydrated   so could barley stand, so very pleased with his good manners – when called from the line we gave the chair to a young negro lady who was clutching her right side in distress. They triaged me as unwell so I moved quickly through the system. I saw several nurses and doctors was given IV fluid and IV Ondansetron which made me feel a lot better. I had a CAT scan that confirmed I had a small bowel obstruction caused by an inguinal hernia and went to theatre at around midnight , after they had finished on a guy with a  gun shot wound to the chest. Fresno is a very busy trauma hospital. I stayed 2 nights after my surgery till I could eat a meal. I had fantastic treatment. The bill will be about $24,000, and NAB MasterCard will hopefully cover it.

20 comments

    • Rick says:

      Hey Rae will be heading your way soon hopefully , will get in touch , will probably be in one of the parks out towards the coast .

  1. Jo says:

    Omg!! Lil hope you are ok, get well soon so you can enjoy your holiday xox I Served Nola today and mentioned how slack I had been not keeping in touch!! She proceeded to tell me you had had surgery, you could have knocked me over with a feather.. I have just read your blog you poor thing!! Now our last walk I remember we did discuss travel insurance didn’t we??? No more said!!!
    News from home, We are now going to sth America on the 4 October for 5 weeks, so will see you when you get back
    Cheers my friend get well and stay safe
    Xx

    • Lily says:

      Thanks Jo. We are covered by MasterCard insurance for free. They have agreed to pay150% DRG which is probably the lot cause I did not have a pre-existing condition! Anyway you can never tell what will happen, at least I’m not coming back in a box! I’m limping around a little bit but I’m ok.

      • Jo Brusa says:

        Thats good then lucky !! Hope Ricky is taking special care of you. Now I have finally hooked up with this blog I will follow your progress.. Stay safe and get well..

  2. Erin Redmond
    Erin Redmond says:

    Oh Lily, what a time to get a bowel obstruction! Still, it could be a tax deduction- a GPStudy of the difference in management and care between Oz and US. Hope you get better pronto

    • Lily says:

      Hey Erin I was thinking that myself when I see you’ve been on a conference to New York! If I survive this holiday I think I might go on conferences overseas too. The care I got was probably better or as good as Australia. I’ve never been so grateful for a fart!

  3. Noel says:

    Hi Rick & Lilly Anne and I hope that you are on the road to recovery sorry to hear that you have unwell. It good to have a Dr in the house so to speak. Get well soon and enjoy the rest of the trip. Anne @ Noel

    • Rick says:

      Thanks Noel and Anne , it has certainly been an experience being on the, other end . The care has been exemplary , this is the big trauma hospital for the central valley
      Anyway will be in Fresno a couple of days to make sure all is OK

  4. Dorothy Buswell says:

    Hi Lily, so pleased to know you are recovering it certainly wasn’t a very nice experience for you. Hopefully it won’t interfere too much with this wonderful holiday you have both been looking forward too so much. Rick will just have to make sure he looks after you (as I am sure he will). I take it that you are out of hospital now? Are you still living in the Motor Home? As I said on fb, please keep in touch, it’s worrying when our family are so far away when something like this happens. Lots of love for a quick recovery… Mum/Dorothy & Allen xxxx

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