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Disconcerting, and weird
Dec. 23rd, 2014 12:38 amStanding outside the library, chatting with an acquaintance, is not supposed to be a hazardous activity. So, when the family passed us, then stopped and looked back at us, I noticed, but thought, well, I don't recognize any of them. And I had just said I had to get moving, since my knees were hurting. At which point the man from the family came back to us and said, "Uh, ma'am? I think you're bleeding." Which, my response was, "Huh? What are you talking about?" He gestured to the ground, and I looked down, then turned around and saw the big puddle of blood, with the blood trail that led to my left shoe. The acquaintance said, "That's... a lot of blood. Maybe you should sit down." So I walked over to the bench, sat down, lifted my pant cuff and said, "Oh. Yeah, that shoe's full."
When the squad got there they pulled off my (full) shoe, then started to pull down the sock. FIREHOSE! Seems that sometimes when a varicose vein ruptures, it really means business.
At the ER, two hours of compression dressing led to a wound that was no longer firehosing, but was a lovely drinking fountain arc. And still not stopping, despite another hour, or so, of compression dressing. Injected coagulant, with stitches wrapping the vein on either side of the hole, and a half hour of yet another compression dressing, and we had success! Got to the ER around 6:5 or so, got home around 11:45.
At least the wound was never painful- just itchy and then burning some when they were tinkering with it. No, the severe pain was my arthritic knees, which objected, constantly, to having to be straight on the gurney while we were compressing and so on.
The blood-filled shoe was bagged by the squad and turned over to the acquaintance (which, I really should have told them to just give it to the library staff; acquaintance was so not thrilled). On the way out of the parking lot, the squad called up the local fire station to send the pumper over to hose off the sidewalk. Because, you know, puddles and trails of blood.
So. FUN day for me! Howsabout anyone else?
When the squad got there they pulled off my (full) shoe, then started to pull down the sock. FIREHOSE! Seems that sometimes when a varicose vein ruptures, it really means business.
At the ER, two hours of compression dressing led to a wound that was no longer firehosing, but was a lovely drinking fountain arc. And still not stopping, despite another hour, or so, of compression dressing. Injected coagulant, with stitches wrapping the vein on either side of the hole, and a half hour of yet another compression dressing, and we had success! Got to the ER around 6:5 or so, got home around 11:45.
At least the wound was never painful- just itchy and then burning some when they were tinkering with it. No, the severe pain was my arthritic knees, which objected, constantly, to having to be straight on the gurney while we were compressing and so on.
The blood-filled shoe was bagged by the squad and turned over to the acquaintance (which, I really should have told them to just give it to the library staff; acquaintance was so not thrilled). On the way out of the parking lot, the squad called up the local fire station to send the pumper over to hose off the sidewalk. Because, you know, puddles and trails of blood.
So. FUN day for me! Howsabout anyone else?
