How a Follow-up Appointment Turned into One Week in the Hospital

I just spent a week at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. This is a continuation of the nausea I experienced during the radiation treatments earlier in August. By this point, I have not eaten anything for over four weeks. Additionally, both my lower legs and left arm were swollen for no apparent reason. There were a lot of tests done but most came back negative, meaning they do not know what is wrong with me.

Initially, the appointment on Wednesday, September 3rd was just a follow-up. Because my arm was still swollen, my nephrologist wanted me to go to the emergency room (ER) to see if they could do an ultrasound and remove any clots they find. Wrong decision. I believe a combination of an uptick in COVID cases and the fact no one has health insurance means a fully packed ER. The decision was made to admit me to the main hospital, but there was no room or beds anywhere. I sat in a tent for ten hours waiting for open space in the ER hallway, and spent the first night sharing the space with four other patients. The next night, I was moved to to the general observation unit, which meant my own bed but no en-suite bathroom. All the while, I was freezing to death.

Finally on the third night, I was moved to the oncology wing of the hospital. Here I finally got my own room, but it was on the floor with cancer patients. I had to wear a mask and be super quiet. Throughout this time, they were taking vital signs, drawing blood, and feeding me new medication. None of it helped my feeling of nausea. At one point, the GI team wanted to do an endoscope but could not schedule me until Tuesday, thus pushing the earliest discharge date to Wednesday. So, I spent an entire week in the hospital without really learning anything except getting a bunch of new pills for my troubles.

Now that I have been out of the hospital for five days, I feel much better. I suspect that my nausea would have improved on its own without the hospital visit. It is a good thing that the transplant clinic is paying for all the cost for the research study. Seven days in the hospital is not a cheap stay.