Nurse Linda had a new patient late afternoon, August 24, 2016, who’d just had hernia surgery. She noticed that her oxygen level was dangerously low, so she used another machine, which read the same.
Linda hit the “code” button on the wall while she began meds (a shot, I think) to rid the patient (me) of pain meds and worked with a rebreather, trying to get me to respond. The room quickly filled up with hospital personnel, including the chaplain, with more in the hallway. I remember Linda trying to get me to wake up, to open my eyes.
After listening to the assistant surgeon ask the nurse several questions, Guy heard him tell her, “Nice save.” Thank you, Almighty God, for my life. . . . and for Nurse Linda, 8th Floor south, Mercy downtown. She later told us she’d never had a patient measure that low on oxygen and make it out alive!
I’d had a much more serious surgery that January, which set me up for this one, but had not been overdosed with pain meds while still in the ICU.
When I had a shoulder replaced in 2020, I had no pain meds in the hospital. A “neck block” took care of the pain until I was home, lucid, and could take care of my own meds.
I’m very thankful for modern medicine, and very thankful to still be useful this side of heaven!