Stay Away From Doctors!
My Most Excellent Year!
A few years ago, I met an elderly lady in her late nineties and became friends with her. I asked her what she did to continue her longevity. She responded, “Stay away from doctors!” I wish I had followed this woman’s advice. In April 2023, she turned 102 years old but passed away soon after.
My experience with doctors has proven that my friend was right. This year was a terrible year for me because I listened unquestioningly to doctors. I’ve had more health problems for that reason. Let me explain.
Sometime in late 2022, I was out for a walk near my home. For some reason, I slipped and fell down on a sidewalk, bleeding on my clothes and the sidewalk. I was unable to get up on my own, and I ended up going by ambulance to the Emergency. I received stitches under my chin and on my pinky. I had to spend two (2) days in the emergency ward under observation before being moved to a room with other patients. I went through a CT scan and X-rays. Four (4) days in the hospital this time.
Afterward, when I saw my family doctor, he put me on medication for high blood pressure. Previously, I had refused to go on this medication. I was already on medications for various issues from my family doctor and two specialists I was seeing.
Finally, I listened to my doctor and took the additional medication he prescribed to me. You are supposed to trust a doctor, right? As a result, my feet swelled up terribly. When I saw my family doctor about this problem, he prescribed diuretics to help reduce the water I was retaining. The diuretics prescribed by my family doctor did the opposite of what it was intended to do. Instead of releasing the water, I was retaining it in my feet, and my feet and calves in both legs bloated.
In February of 2023, I tripped on a sidewalk uptown and smashed the right side of my face onto the hard sidewalk. I was quite the eye-sore. Both my eyes went black, and the right side of my face was black and blue from my eyes down my cheek and shoulder. (I still have a bruise on my right cheek from this fall.) It is possible that I put my left hand out to try and break my fall. An elderly woman walked by and asked me if I believed in God. I said, “Yes!”
First, the firefighter attendants stabilized me until the ambulance arrived. The ambulance attendants put a Cervical Collar around my neck and placed me on a straight board before lifting me into the ambulance. I was retaken to the Emergency ward. I remember that I was pretty shaken up. Again, I had to go through a CT Scan and X-rays. I complained about my left wrist hurting, but they x-rayed my right wrist. I continued complaining about my left wrist hurting and was back to X-rays. When the X-ray was examined, it was discovered that I had fractured my left wrist at the carpal tunnel.
The Emergency doctors spent four (4) days going through all of my medications, taking me off some and/or reducing the dosages.
With all the medication that my former family doctor and a couple of specialists had put me on, it turned out that I had survived “poly-pharma” – that is the official diagnosis made by the hospital - which means all the previous doctors had put me on too much medication and too high dosages. Consequently, I was unable to stand on my two feet and I was unable to walk.
I was discharged from the hospital after being there for 4 days. I went to the pain clinic in Surrey to receive a cast on my left arm.
I thought everything was going smoothly, but it was not to be.
In May of 2023, a friend who was looking in on me said I became incoherent and unable to stand. I was unable to carry on a basic conversation. At first, I refused to go back to the hospital, but after a couple days of this, he called for an ambulance, and off to the hospital I went again. I was in the hospital for 5 days this time. Arrangements were made with Fraser Health for daily in-home support.
In early June of 2023, I became incoherent and confused again. I got the shakes and couldn’t even hold a glass of water. I did not remember the name of the friend who was looking in on me. He called for an ambulance, and I was off to the hospital for a fourth time. (Actually, the paramedics took me in a taxi because the ambulance was delayed for so long.)
In the Emergency ward, it was noisy, there were no windows, and therefore no natural lighting. From emergency, I was moved into a hallway because the hospital was overcrowded. I would wake up in the middle of the night not knowing whether it was morning or night. My sleep cycle was disrupted. I was unable to have a shower or bath for the month. Eventually, I was moved into several rooms afterwards for various tests.
One evening while sleeping, I was woken up by three (3) nurses screaming and they had an electrocardiogram (EKG) monitor which they attached to the end of my bed with electrodes attached to me. The nurses said that my heart had paused for six (6) seconds. If your heart pauses for just three (3) seconds, it is cause for concern. I remember a nurse saying, “We brought you back.” After this incident, the doctors at the hospital discussed a pacemaker. I was alone and frightened and had to decide on this surgery.
After everything was explained to me, I decided to have the surgery even though my thoughts were that I was too young to have a pacemaker but the doctors explained that my heart was weak. It was concluded that the two (2) falls I survived this year may have been because I fainted. Well now, I also survived getting a pacemaker to assist in keeping my heart beating regularly and keeping me alive. I required a follow-up appointment four months after the pacemaker was placed above my heart and it was concluded that everything was working fine.
My month in the hospital was horrible. I had been in for 25 days this fourth time.
Soon after, my right calf hardened and turned purple. Back to Emergency for a fifth time, I went, and the emergency doctor looked at my legs and said that my right leg was infected. I was put on antibiotics for seven (7) days. At the end of the seven days, I went to see my new family doctor. He looked at my legs and prescribed 10 more days of antibiotics to ensure that the infection was gone. Can you imagine being on antibiotics for 17 days to get rid of the infection? Again, I was unable to walk because of the swelling and infection in my right leg. It was most painful.
I still have trouble walking and to this day, I am using a walker now to get around. I’m making slow progress and walking much better. My feet stayed swollen until now not allowing me to wear any of my shoes or boots until this week. I finally got to wear one (1) pair of my boots and then the other pair which made me happy and gave me some confidence in my walking. Earlier, I bought a pair of slip-ons which also helped me to feel confident. With the cold weather though, the slip-ons were unsuitable for the weather conditions. I froze my feet. I sleep every night with my legs and feet elevated and continue to do so.
It has been almost a year now since I was hospitalized for the first time. The swelling came down in my feet and legs, enough to allow me to put my boots on, I can walk with confidence using a walker although I find it challenging most times. I started off staying off my feet as much as possible and I continue to sleep every night with my legs elevated. Also, I am practicing walking around my suite slowly but carefully without my walker. After all of this, I can say that I survived.
It will never be known if the overmedication of drugs caused my falls and subsequent heart issues, but … I can’t help but wonder. My advice to you is, please “STAY AWAY FROM DOCTORS!"
A good cautionary tale, Anita.