On this day in 2022, a significant event took place that would begin to have major impacts on the rest of my life.
In the early hours of May 27th, 2022, I observed the diabetic ulcer on my left foot’s left side turning black. I took a photo with my phone and sent it to my GP via email. Later that morning, my GP called to inform me that hospital IV treatment was necessary as the prescribed medication had failed.
My GP knows I dislike hospitals. A year earlier, I had my right little toe amputated at CCLHD (Central Coast Local Health District – Gosford Hospital) due to a rapidly worsening infection that turned the toe black within 48 hours. At that time, I was in Sydney visiting my sister and celebrating Mother’s Day 2022 with our mother, who had travelled down from Coffs Harbour, on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, but I had to return home urgently that day. An Uber took me to Hornsby, and then my support worker drove and picked me up from there and we went home, packed a bag and left for the CCLHD.
After the call, understanding the urgency, I informed my support worker that I needed immediate hospitalization, following my doctor’s orders. He quickly made plans to pick me up from Hornsby and took me directly home and then to CCLHD. After a short wait in the Emergency Department, an ED doctor assessed my foot and consulted with my Vascular Surgical Team (VST). They determined that I needed to be admitted for IV treatment. I expected a brief hospital stay to receive IV medication through a PICC line, considering my poor veins, and then to return home swiftly. However, things did not go as planned.
Later that day, I was transferred from the Emergency Department to a private room in the surgical ward.
Once settled, my VST presented the treatment plan: insertion of a PICC line followed by IV therapy, with hopes of discharging me within three to four days. Unfortunately, this plan also did not materialize.
The continuation of this narrative will be shared in the next post, which will detail the events of May 28th, 2022.
We will chat again tomorrow.
