Health Update – unplanned trip to Sloan Kettering

I got spend five hours in Sloan Kettering’s Urgent Care department this afternoon and evening. Here’s how I managed that trick –

Had a busy day yesterday, going out to New Jersey first thing in the morning. Got home around 5 o’clock and suddenly felt a little achy, so I took some tylenol and headed over to the gym where I had a pretty good session. Then at 7 o’clock headed over to the church to hear a talk, meanwhile feeling a little chilled.

So when I got back I took my temperature – 99.7 – and decided to take it easy. But the chills didn’t go away, and by 10:45 my temp was 102.1, way above the level where they want you to call the Docs at Sloan.

By morning my temperature was down to normal – 97.9 – so I did what I had to do in the morning and then called Dr. Klimek’s office. When I told them my nightime temperature, the alarm bells went off and they strongly recommended coming to the Urgent Care center at Sloan in Manhattan, having tests, seeing Dr. Klimek, etc.

So at 2 o’clock I asked my business assistant Judy if she wanted to go with me to Urgent Care at Sloan (Brigid had obligations with the boys) and she said sure. So off my business associate and I go. Except as we passed the Phelps exit she realized we were going into Manhattan and not to the local Sloan Kettering office! Hahaha on Judy. She ended up being stuck with me for seven hours! Purgatorial.

Had the usual tests they give you – blood cultures, wee in a cup, chest x-ray, etc. Then saw Dr. Klimek, who we are sure was thinking she was going to admit me. I guess when she saw me and realized I looked OK and had no temp, she figured it was OK (x-ray was normal, my WBC was actually marginally higher then it had been last Friday, as was my abs. neut. number) to ship me home with a broad spectrum antibiotic and a shot of the white blood cell booster, neulasta.

But she gave me a pretty major admonition about making immediate contact if I run a fever. Especially after I told her that last week I’d gotten some tummy bug, had briefly run a fever of up to 101.4, and thrown up my whole supper (but Dr. Klimek, that was all over in five hours!).

So I simply have to call these people up if my temp goes over the 100.5 mark.

She wants me to go back on the anti-infection regimen – avoid crowds, diet restriction, etc, and keep in close phone contact with her. I also cannot take anything like tylenol, since it would disguise an infection by keeping my temperature down.

I am knocked out of going to several events I’d hoped to attend this weekend, and have to avoid the gym. I don’t know how long she’ll want to keep the restrictions in place.

So. Seven hours driving to and fro and in Urgent Care. It meant I missed the school science exhibition and the "Human Battery" Joe and two of his friends worked on. And Judy missed a Lenten gathering that was at her house.  When you are in an Urgent Care or an Emergency Room, as soon as they see you are not critically ill, you basically go to the end of the line for things like chest x-rays and the visit from the Urgent Care doctor.

The five hours in Sloan were mostly spent sitting around doing nothing.

Judy showed me her recent pictures with husband Bob on his company trip to Las Vegas. She also taught me how to Thumb Wrestle. Judy let me win, which was thoughtful of her.