Warning A couple of graphic photos from Lee's fall

On August 27th I got a panicked phone call from Lee while I was at work.  He has called me in the past to tell me he had fallen but this time was different I felt it in my gut when I answered the phone that there was something wrong.  Lee told me he has fallen down the stairs, he didn't dare get up and he could feel blood running down his face.  This was at 10:35 p.m.  I quickly told my charge nurse who sent me home right away.  Lee called me again as I was driving home and told me he was getting light headed and just wanted me to talk to him.  When I arrived home I found Lee sitting I found Lee sitting at the bottom of the stairs covered in blood.    I quickly grabbed a towel and pressed it against the wound that was bleeding the most.  I then called for an ambulance I did not feel like I should move him or if I could even get him into our FJ by myself.  While I waited I wiped some more of the blood off and looked down at his shirt although it was a black shirt it did have a superman symbol on the front that you could no longer see because of the amount of blood that was covering his shirt, needless to say EMS cut it off and tossed it. I want to give a shout out to the EMS crew and the operator that I was on the phone with.  Although I am a nurse I needed the reassurance that EMS was on their way and that everything will be okay.  EMS arrived got Lee loaded into the ambulance after a quick assessment and they were on their way.  I followed soon after I just grabbed Lee a quick change of clothes and checked on our Sadie girl.  Sadie was so scared she would not move from the top landing and just stood there not making a sound she was as still as a statue.  After I called for an ambulance I went up the stairs to put her in our room before the ambulance crew arrived she ran right into her kennel and laid down poor baby was quivering I did give her a quick love and shut the door.  I arrived to the Utah Valley Emergency Room shortly after the ambulance arrived. 

Lee looks pretty beat up and there was dried blood everywhere, the doctor and nurse decided the best way to get him all cleaned up was to head to the shower room and wash him up good and make sure there was no more glass left in the cuts. 
       
Just remember this is after I wiped him up at the house and the ambulance crew cleaned him up some to find the worse of the bleeding cuts.  The shower made a world of difference, I went in with him to help get him all cleaned and so I would better know where all the cuts were located.  I was still in my scrubs after all and I kept getting weird looks from the ER staff several asked if I was new, no I just left work and came straight here.  The ER crew were great this time.  I want to send a shout out the Lee's nurse Jake he was very nice and gentle while cleaning all of Lees wounds and then Bree took over,  not only was she very sweet and ind to Lee she let me use the computer in the room to catch up on all the charting I had not done before running out of the building to get home to Lee.  After x-rays and a CT scan there were no broken bones and no internal bleeding thank goodness.  Lee ended up with 6 staples in the head and multiple wounds that needed to be bandaged.  Here is a shot from the nest day after all was cleaned.  There are multiple lacerations on his head and his left arm is bruised and has multiple abrasions.

Here is the glass shelf that Lee fell into that did sit at the bottom of the stairs needless to say it will no longer be there and will be re-purposed into the table I will be making sometime this winter it will make the perfect frame.


There will now be nothing at the bottom of the stairs unless Lee decides he wants something there to sit on.  This was the bottom landing,  three stairs then the landing six more stairs than a landing and three more stairs before the top floor.  I had always worried about Lee on the stairs but he was so sure this is the house we were suppose to live in.  So he picked it out. 

September 1st:  Lee woke up having some severe pain in his left chest, pain medications, aspercream with lidocaine rub and heat did not seem to make a difference.  We headed back to the ER.   This experience was not all that good Lee was treated like he was only there for drugs.  The reason we returned was the uncontrolled pain, I know there had to be something else that was going on and I am on the cautious side with Lee it seems when there is something wrong it is a big something wrong. They repeated the chest Xray and for some reason did not see that he has 2 fractured ribs when we were in the ER the first time.  I just wanted to be sure there was nothing bleeding or no blood clots in his lungs.  I know from being a nurse that these things may not be seen at first but develop over time.  This doctor did not want to give Lee any addition pain medications told him to go home, continue with his daily activities and make sure he is taking deep breaths.  He did not see very sympathetic, just wanted to get him out of the ER.  I am a nurse and I do not like to utilize the ER so we do not go unless I feel there is nothing else I can do from home, I also felt that the insta-care would just send us to the ER for this issue.   Needless to say I do not like being treated like an idiot by the ER doctors and having an ER nurse that only came into the room once, and the xray tech just pushed him back into the room in his wheelchair and left him I got him back on the gurney.  I am a little disappointed with this ER 1 out of 3 times we have been there had been positive.  I am sorry that I have a very sick husband and we will be in the ER several more times.  Sorry that things happen when it is not 9-5 and I can take him to his regular doctor.  I just needed to rant a little and get that out of my system.  I am hoping to find a regular internal med doctor in the area that I can take him to and that will be flexible to work with him.  I hope things will get better soon I am trying to stay positive and keep my head up.