dougd Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I had a nasty cold a week ago that had me coughing and sneezing incessantly. Well, over the weekend I found a walnut sized, palpable lump on my abd while tucking in my shirt. I met with my doctor Monday and confirmed what I suspected - I developed a hernia at one of the incision sites from my lap choly two years ago. I meet with the surgeon on the 25th for him to examine and plan a course of action. I'd like to get it corrected before the end of the year since I have good health insurance from my full-time employer, but they are being bought with the deal to close in late December and our futures are very uncertain there. I talked to the ambulance company that I work part-time at and with my partner - they were very cool about it. (Not that I expected otherwise.) We're taking it very touch-and-go for the moment - I worked my regular shifts this week and likely will next, but if I notice any pain or if it is getting worse I'm to let them know ASAP and go out on leave. I'm also not picking up any extra shifts, being liberal in calling for lift assists when necessary, etc. I talked to my partner at length about it. I don't want to be out there not (no pun intended) pulling my weight and putting him at risk. That's putting him in a sucky situation and is one of my biggest concerns. On the other hand, he's not real keen about not having a regular partner that he can tolerate. For the moment, we'll see. I not sure I'm going to make it worse since I do all my lifting with my legs already - I've never been an upper body strength kind of guy. We worked two shifts this week and I didn't have any issues - but I also know that all it takes is one wrong twist or move to hurt yourself on this job. I figure this will pretty much put me out of commission working on the ambulance until the end of the year if I elect to have the surgery done. (Which I would rather do now, as opposed to finding out who the on-call surgeon is some night at 3am should I develop complications. ) Obviously, it would be nice to keep banking the extra income for school coming up in Jan., but looking over my budget, there are places I can cut back to make up the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Stop working and get surgery now. It is not worth risking further harm. Hope you a speedy recovery. Usually if only a hernia repair you will get a 6 week vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedoc5 Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Don't do like I use to do, try to tough through to the last minute. Number one, take care of yourself. You are your most important aspect in your job. If you deal with whatever is wrong with you now, it won't be an issue that may be more serious down the road. Good Luck. During your down time, don't worry about work. It will still be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VentMedic Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Get it repaired ASAP especially if you are continuing to lift or plan to lift in the future. This is not something you want to mess around with for too long. If the heaviest thing you lift was a pencil, the advice might be different. If you don't want a pencil to be the heaviest thing you can lift, take the medical advice about the repair. If you feel more pain it could mean the hernia has become incarcerated or strangulated. That could mean it can no longer be reduced or pushed back into place. This could lead to a blockage in the intestine. If it is severe enough it may cut off the blood supply to the intestine which leads to necrosis. I don't think I need to go into details about what happens then. Your abdominal muscles are what keep your back in good position regardless of how well you lift with your legs. Any weakness there will eventually have a cascade effect. If you experience a sharp and sudden pain while lifting, it could also throw off your partner's balance and cause injury to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougd Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Surgery tomorrow morning at 07:15. Apparently I get to wake up early so they can knock me back out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akflightmedic Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Good luck buddy. Let us know how you are once you get home.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirduke Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Then after the procedure, when you are sleeping in your cosy hospital bed, they'll wake you up to give you something to help you sleep. Goodluck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Then after the procedure, when you are sleeping in your cosy hospital bed, they'll wake you up to give you something to help you sleep. ROFL! Obviously, you've been there! I worked at a hospital that did not have an on-call sleep room, so we would have to commandeer an empty patient room for the purpose. Even though we would grab the very last room at the end of the hallway, and post a sign on the door noting that it was occupied by on-call medical staff, inevitably, some nurses aide would come wake us up every few hours trying to take our vital signs. Talk about protocol monkeys! :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougd Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share Posted October 7, 2008 All went well, I left the hospital Friday afternoon and spent the weekend at my parent's house since my mom was nice enough to play Taxi for me Friday. Saturday was a little rough, I woke up feeling like someone had punched me in the gut all night long. Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good, but I won't be lifting any patients for the next 4-6 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaisu Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Glad for you that its over. Rest up, take care and give yourself a pat on the back for taking care of your problem. OH and Get well soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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