I'm being admitted into the hospital

[ThomCat]

original thread here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=8089873&mesg_id=8089873

I didn't get a lecture from the surgeon so I must have done well. :)

He poked around, swabbed, and announced that I need to spend 2 days on an antibiotic IV and then have surgery. There is necrotic tissue farther deep down in there than I thought. No wonder I felt the need to cut this one open. It's apparently the worst one I've had.

I'll be at Beth Isreal Medical Center in Manhattan, if any of you are interested. I think most of the NYC DUers have my cell phone number if you want it. I'll have my cell phone with me.

I'll talk to all of you when I get back, probably on Monday evening, but maybe on Tuesday. :hi:

[Jamastiene]

1. Get well soon!

:hug:

[ThomCat]

17. Thank you.

:hug:

I'm procrastinating on leaving. My wheelchair isn't done recharging yet so I have an excuse. :P

[TZ]

2. Oh man, good luck!

As of this post, my mother is STILL in the hospital! People you have to stop getting sick!
:( :hug:

[ThomCat]

18. Please let your mother know that your friends are sending her

their love and best wishes. :hug:

Hang in there, and I promise to do the same. :)

[supernova]

3. Oh, sorry you have to go in

But IV antbiox are the bestest.

:hug:

[ThomCat]

19. I hope so.

I want all the microscopic little bugs to DIE so this thing can heal already. x(

:hug:

I just wrote to my boss to tell him I'll be out on Monday. It would be so nice if I could occasionally miss a day of work because I was doing something fun. :P

[fizzgig]

4. pretty good do-it-yourself surgery if the surgeon didn't scold you

;)

joking aside, take good care of yourself, thom, and get well :hug:

[ThomCat]

20. Thank you!

:hug:

Normally he's have to cut it open, clean it out, pack it with gauze, and give me an appointment to come back in a few days so he could see inside. So I saved him several days. :)

Of course, I also cost him the income from that initial visit, but he didn't seem to be peeved about that. He's still going to make a good penny off of me. :)

[MrCoffee]

5. Feel free to give the surgeon some pointers (they love that)

Get well soon, ThomCat!!!

[ThomCat]

21. Oh no. He's really cute.

I'm not doing anything that might possibly offend him. :P

Thank you. I will do my best to get well as soon as possible. :hug:

[flvegan]

6. Get well soon, Thom.

Nice work on the surgery. Most I've ever done is stitches.

[ThomCat]

22. Thank you!

Hopefully I won't have to do this often enough to become good at it, so this was totally beginners luck. :P

[Starbucks Anarchist]

7. Get well soon, Thom!

:hug:

[ThomCat]

24. Thank you!

If you're in the neighborhood and you're feeling like stopping at your namesake, I'll probably be having huge cravings for a soy latte. Feel free to come for a visit :7

:hug:

[Gormy Cuss]

8. Get out soon!

Take care, Thomcat.:hug:

[ThomCat]

25. I used to work at Beth Israel Medical Center

Oh, I definitely want to escape that place as soon as possible. :(

:hug:

If you happen to be in the neighborhood please stop by. I'm sure I'll be craving some company. I won't have a computer with me, and I can't stand watching tv. If my roommate is watching tv I'll be going nuts from the distraction. :P

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. You don' need no steenking hospital!

I'll bring over some tools and you can do it yourself. Y'think a 2 1/2" hole saw would work? :D



Be well, dude. :hug:

[ThomCat]

26. As long as you've cleaned the blood and rust off of those things

since the last time. :P

:hug:

I'm sure I'll be fine in no time. This is really minor and routine. My biggest problem is going to be boredom.

[pokerfan]

10. You'll be fine

I suspect that they just want to keep an eye on any potential infection (staph) getting in the bloodstream and getting out of control.

[ThomCat]

27. Yup. I agree.

The dead tissue definitely needs to come out. It should have stopped oozing days ago, and it hasn't. It should have at least stopped being white by now and started being all blood, but it's still mostly puss. So the infection is still raging down there somewhere.

So the surgeon needs to digging for treasure. But I'm sure that the big worry is that the infection will spread.

If all goes well though, this will be no big deal.

[Writer]

11. I hope it all goes smoothly.

I wish you the very best.

:hug:

~Writer~

[ThomCat]

28. Thank you very much.

:hug:

I would be very happy with the very acceptable. I think the very best is somehow denied me by cosmic law. :P

But I expect this to go smoothly, and I should be fine in a few days.

[lost-in-nj]

12. sweety

take the time and rest.....

both mind and body. We will be here when you get home

:hug:


lost

[ThomCat]

29. Hospitals are no place to rest.

I'll do my best though. I'm bringing two books and my cell phone. I think that should be enough for two days. :)

:hug:

[RetroLounge]

13. Get well soon, my friend

:hug:

RL

[ThomCat]

30. I will certainly do my best.

:hug:

Please keep an eye on this place while I am gone and don't let anyone trash the lounge. :P

[Lavender Brown]

14. Get well soon Thom

:hug:

[ThomCat]

31. Thank you LB!

:hug:

I am going to try.

[Haole Girl]

15. That's one way to make you rest, huh?

;-) Please get well soon!! :hug:

[ThomCat]

32. It definitely is.

I'd let someone else take my place if I could though. I'm not a big fan of this kind of rest. :P

:hug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. My dear ThomCat!

Wow, that's pretty shocking news!

You take care, and have a good rest, you hear me?

Good luck, sweetie!

:hug:

:loveya:

[ThomCat]

34. Hi Peggy!

I was a bit surprised. I've never had one of these abscesses that went this deep. It's more than I expected. Getting an order to admit myself into the hospital totally took me by surprise. :wow:

:hug:

[Zuiderelle]

23. Oh yikes, take care of yourself!

I'm glad he's smart enough to get you into the hospital for that. :hug:

Will keep you in my thoughts.

[ThomCat]

36. I definitely will.

:hug:

The most important part of taking care of myself while I'm in the hospital is getting food. There is no way I'm eating hospital food. Even if they had any clue what vegan food is, their food sucks. So I'm having friends bring me meals. :)

[Pierre.Suave]

33. Best of wishes for a speedy recovery Thom

:hug:

[ThomCat]

37. Thank you!

:hug:

I'm hoping it's all over on Monday except for a few changed bandages and a few more days of antibiotics. :)

[Callalily]

35. Glad that you'll be getting

rid of those nasty little bugs.

Wishing you a swift and complete recovery.

[ThomCat]

38. Thank you very much!

What are the chances they can drive this thing out of me so thoroughly that I never get another abscess ever again?

That would be wonderful! That is the ideal and complete recovery if it is possible somehow. :)

:hug:

[Maccagirl]

39. Dear Thomcat

I wish you healing and light. Prayers and good karma are on their way.

[ThomCat]

41. That is very kind and wonderful of you.

:hug:

[musette_sf]

40. get well

get well soon
we want you to get well

xo

[ThomCat]

42. Thank you.

:hug:

I have friends coming tomorrow who are bringing me food, taking care of my cats, a friend bringing me a change of clothes on Monday so that I don't have to hault too much to the hospital tonight. It's all working out so that I don't have much to worry about. I'll be able to lay there with a book and let the IV do it's thing until Monday.

Then on Monday the surgeon comes in with a shover to to dig out the abscess and packs it with gauze. Done.

From their it'll heal over naturally. :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

43. Best Wishes For A Speedy Recovery, Thomcat --

Feel Better Soon :hug:

[ThomCat]

44. My first flowers!

Yay! Thank you! I love getting flowers!

:loveya:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

45. aww...

me too :)

glad you like them, enjoy! :pals:

[WinkyDink]

46. {{ThomCat}} Get well and return soon!

[KitchenWitch]

47. Thom if you are still here

Please PM me your cellphone number.

I would love to call you.

[yellowdogintexas]

48. Oh MY! Please get all the rest you need.

Good thing you did start draining that !

Wish I weren't so far far away. :hug: :hug: :hug:

so you have books, good. There will probably be cable in the hospital room too and you can watch SNL tonight!

Hope all goes well.

[XemaSab]

49. Get better soon!

:pals:

[BlueIris]

50. Woah. Good luck, ThomCat. nt

[lightningandsnow]

51. Best of luck!

Hope you feel better soon.

(and sorry for not PMing you yet...I haven't been around here much lately! I'll try and do it soon.)

:hug:

[bigwillq]

52. I hope you feel better.

:hug:

[VenusRising]

53. Oh, sweetie!

Sending vibes and good thoughts for you.

:hug::loveya:

[KamaAina]

54. Malama pono, E ThomPopoki!

("take care of yourself") This may explain why you didn't bite on my "Greetings from Asbury Park" thread last week...and, with absolute predictability, I am leaving -- you guessed it -- Tuesday. :eyes: Aloha 'oe...

[Connonym]

55. You're probably already admitted and won't see this until you get sprung

Sorry the infection turned out to be so bad it requires hospitalization but I suspect the rest will do you good and maybe they'll figure out why this keeps happening. Take care Thom.

[Bullwinkle925]

56. aaarrrggghhhh . . . . . .

here's wishing you a speedy recovery.

poor baby!!!

[undeterred]

57. Good luck, ThomCat

I hope its not too painful or boring and there's good stuff on TV. :hug:

[Mutley]

58. Get well soon, ThomCat!

:hug:

[applegrove]

59. That is terrible. No wonder you were in such pain. Take care of you.. and get well.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

60. Feel better soon, sweetie...

:hug::hug::hug:

[appal_jack]

61. get well Thom!

From one former Staten Islander to another, I hope your recovery is speedy and complete!

-app

[RFKHumphreyObama]

62. My thoughts, prayers and best wishes ThomCat

All the very best for your hospital stay and recovery. Keep your spirits up and remember that there are a whole lot of people keeping you in their thoughts and prayers. Get well soon

[stuntcat]

63. :hugs:

:hug: It'll go by fast and easy!

[crim son]

64. Oh my.

That sucks, but it's a really good thing you had the follow-up. Be well, Thom. :hug: :hug:

[snailly]

65. Just get that infection taken care of, sweetie

and get back here asap!

[mwooldri]

66. Take care and get better soon.

Hate being in hospital... bet they've got you in there purely because of the IV meds...

My son's a BE patient and gets urinary tract infections frequently. Add to it, he's allergic to some types of antibiotic. So often he is in hospital purely because of the IV meds.

Take care... and as for that self-medication on it, if it were that bad I probably would have done the same, except I don't have morphine.

:hugs: Mark.

[Kat45]

67. Sending good vibes your way............

Hope you get better soon. :hi:

[Orrex]

68. For God's sake! Use a condom!

The next time you're bitten by a mosquito, that is.

Good luck to you! Next time, don't screw around with the morphine and razor blades. Go right for the vodka and the ice cream scoop.

[lizziegrace]

69. I talked to Thom last night around 7:30 and he was still waiting for a room

I could barely hear him. He promised he'd call and let me know how to reach him but I haven't heard. If anyone has heard from him and knows how I can talk to him, please PM me.

I'm going to try his cell just in case he's allowed to use it shortly.

BTW - he's there alone. All alone. Please keep him in your prayers...

[supernova]

70. Thank you for the update lizziegrace

:hi:

Surely he's in a room by now?

[lizziegrace]

72. I hope so

he was losing it in the waiting room. A woman was screaming at someone (complaining) and he was tired and miserable. :(

[Rhiannon12866]

71. Oh, my friend! Thanks for letting us know and my heart is with you...

I was in the hospital last week and it's not my favorite thing. But this sounds like a really great health center and I'll be thinking of you and wishing you only the best... Get better, my friend, and come back soon...

Rhiannon:hug:

BTW, I was in the hospital last week, and I'm here to tell the tale. You'll do fine, but please come back to us... :pals:

[lizziegrace]

73. I'm driving back to Wisconsin shortly

in the rain and winds left by Hurricane Ike. Should be fun. I understand some Chicago highways are flooded.

I'll check in tonight. If anyone hears from Thom, please tell him I'm worried, I love him and to please call if he can.

Thanks...

:)

[lizerdbits]

74. Get well!

Too bad I can't pay you a visit. :hug:

[Eurobabe]

75. Oh my, do take care and get well soon...

:grouphug:

[Cassandra]

76. I went to see Thomcat this afternoon.

He is in his room, in reasonably good spirits, and other visitors besides me supplied him with good things to eat. The nurses are very nice. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, but he's not sure what time exactly, or if he'll go home tomorrow or Tuesday.

[Danger Mouse]

77. Best of luck, and healing wishes for you.

:hug: