Giant snowflake from Disney's Journey Through Inner Space attraction. Circa 1967. Read on, McDuff!
In Part 8, I described the first time I walked after my spinal fusion surgery. It's a good lead-in for this part if you haven't read it yet. Here's the link to that post.
When the nurse came in with my 1:00 PM shot of Demerol, I asked if I had to have it.
When the nurse came in with my 1:00 PM shot of Demerol, I asked if I had to have it.
“Are you sure? Most people don’t want to skip any doses until the fourth day or so.”
“It really doesn’t hurt that much,” I insisted. I was glad it hurt so much less than before that the idea of even less pain didn't mean anything.
The nurse looked skeptical, but she left. Everything was fine until about 4:15 PM. Then, my back began to ache painfully. I pressed my “call nurse” button.
“How can I help you?” the nurse responding to my call asked.
Aside: This is a different nurse from the one who did not give me the 1:00 PM shot. There was a shift change at 3:30 PM.
“Let me check,” she said. She returned with a syringe in hand. “It’s a little early for your next shot, but you’re a big person, so it should be okay.” She administered the Demerol.
For those of you who don’t know, Demerol is a narcotic. It is highly addictive if abused. It is stolen from hospitals because of its hallucinogenic properties. It’s also very effective at relieving pain. And relaxing the body.
Within seconds, it felt like my body was merging with my mattress. All pain was either gone or forgotten. I lay there enjoying the feeling for a bit. Then I closed my eyes.
Within seconds, it felt like my body was merging with my mattress. All pain was either gone or forgotten. I lay there enjoying the feeling for a bit. Then I closed my eyes.
Aside: A new ride at Disneyland at that time was Journey Through Inner Space. The essence of the ride is being miniaturized until you travel inside a molecule of water frozen in a snowflake. There was a myriad of GIANT SNOWFLAKES displayed in the waiting area viewed during the beginning of the ride.
You know how when you close your eyes, sometimes there are flashes of color? Well, it was almost Christmas, and the colors red and green were prominent all around San Diego. I saw red and green when I closed my eyes…
GIANT RED AND GREEN SNOWFLAKES!
And, they were falling through the ceiling!
I opened my eyes. The snowflakes disappeared. I relaxed even more. I closed my eyes again.
Once again,
GIANT RED AND GREEN SNOWFLAKES
were falling through the ceiling!
My eyes said, “Look! There you are laying in your hospital bed.”
My brain countered with, “Don’t be stupid! You are lying in your hospital bed. You can’t see yourself!”
The debate between eyes and brain raged. I tired of the argument and closed my eyes.
GIANT RED AND GREEN SNOWFLAKES
were falling through the ceiling and getting closer to me!
Opening my eyes, this time, revealed me lying in my hospital bed. After repeating the mental dialog described above, I decided to ring for the nurse.
I reached for the call button. My arm moved maybe an inch. It was obvious that the Demerol had relaxed me very well.
Over what seemed like the next hour (but was probably a couple of minutes), I repeated the closed eyes
GIANT RED AND GREEN SNOWFLAKES
falling through the ceiling and open eyes watching myself lying in my hospital bed cycle over and over. Until, finally, my hand reached the call button.
Now certain I was schizophrenic, panic struck! I pushed the button and held it down.
The nurse who gave me the shot of Demerol appeared at the door. I shouted a warning.
“WATCH OUT FOR THE GIANT SNOWFLAKES!”
The blood drained from her face. She turned and, based on the sound of her footsteps, she must have sprinted to the nurses’ station. Her return was quick.
Aside: I’ve not verified the facts in this Aside. These italicized paragraphs are based on what I remember. If the facts aren’t true, I don’t want to hear about it. What I remember makes for an explanation of the events that I understood then and still makes sense.
I remember being told that the body metabolizes Demerol quickly. As with many narcotics, it requires increasingly larger doses over time to ensure the desired effect. For that reason, each of my shots was customized to be slightly more potent than the previous dose.
December 2019 UPDATE. I told this story to the last group of nurses in the "Technical Writing" class I teach for PLNU. They verified that this is how Demerol works.
December 2019 UPDATE. I told this story to the last group of nurses in the "Technical Writing" class I teach for PLNU. They verified that this is how Demerol works.
Assume my first dose of Demerol was given around 5:00 PM on Friday, December 20th in the Recovery Room. Also, assume that I had a shot every four hours from that time until 1:00 PM on Sunday, when I’d declined the offering. That means the shot I skipped was shot #11. Since I’d missed a shot and nearly eight hours had passed since my previous shot, I could have received the same dose as shot #10, which would have been effective. Instead, the nurse gave me my shot #12. That was two dosage strengths more than I should have received. Hence the hallucinations.
She sat beside me and held my hand for almost two hours. She alternated between agreeing that I was lying in my hospital bed, saying “I’m so sorry,” and dodging imaginary
GIANT RED AND GREEN SNOWFLAKES.
I finally went to sleep.
The next day, she told me that she hadn’t checked my chart before she’d given me the shot.
“That you would have skipped a shot never entered my mind. Nobody’s ever declined a shot after an operation like yours before.”
Leaving the hospital with the fever proved to be an unwise decision. But, that’s for another blog, which details the of the post-catheterization mentioned in Part 8.
Also, in another future blog, I'll chronicle my follow-up spinal surgery: Laminectomy & partial discectomy.
It was done in 2005 to relieve pressure on my sciatic nerve.
It was done in 2005 to relieve pressure on my sciatic nerve.
SEO: nostalgia, Americana, memories, 1960s, football injury
Follow me on
Twitter: @CRDowningAuthor
My Blogs
Life as I see it. Topics rotate between those of general interest to lovers of life, authors, teachers—probably you, too. Posts on Tuesdays and some Mondays. http://crdowning-author.blogspot.com/?alt=rss
My Christian Context.Posts M/W of discussion questions. Thursdays - Timeless Truths. Fridays - Expressions of Faith. https://mychristiancontext.blogspot.com/
I'd appreciate your feedback on Blogger!
No comments:
Post a Comment