B29) The accident (part 2)

April 22^nd, 2009 7:05 am.

I’m wheeled into the emergency room at Rush Copley in Aurora. I can see by the clock on the wall thirty minutes passed since the car hit me. It felt like the longest thirty minutes of my life.

As we entered the emergency room my eyes began searching for the man in charge. I needed to look the doctor in the eyes before I would allow myself to feel safe. A hysterical tirade was percolating just below the surface. I was hanging on by a thread.

Minutes are passing like hours and each second brings yet another wave of this unrelenting pain.

The doctor in charge distinguished himself immediately by barking out a series of orders. The orders were crisp, clear and concise. Everyone began moving with a sense of urgency. There were no discussions. Zero chin wagging. There were commands and the execution of those commands. It was extreme professionalism.

The doctor had my complete and undivided attention. From a strictly spectator point of view I had the best seat in the house. As far as I am concerned everyone at the hospital earned a Gold Medal that day.

I was on the verge of hysteria and waiting for my moment. I needed to make sure I was in the right hands before I caved into the pain and began screaming hysterically.

Take care of business first and then have your moment.

The ER attending radiated confidence. He made me feel absolutely positively certain I was at the right place considering the circumstances. The confidence I felt from this doctor chased away my impending hysterical meltdown.

I would later read in the doctors notes that he considered me “calm and rational" upon my arrival. It's hard for me to imagine I was able to project "calm and rational" in that situation. I did not feel calm. I did not feel rational.

I was able to have a conversation with the doc. I had to answer a few questions, like:

·    What happened?

·    Did you have a helmet on?

·    When was the last time you ate?

·    Have you ever had surgery before?

·    Do you have any issues with anesthesia?

There was one point I wanted to get across to the doc.

“It hurts doc. It hurts bad”

"We're giving you more pain medication now"

I saw a nurse pushes a syringe into my IV and squeezes. The effect was indistinguishable (and unacceptable).

In seconds my clothes were off, they plugged me in to a variety of machines and took x-rays.

One of the nurses asked about calling family so I reeled off a list of numbers including my boss in Washington DC.

“Tell my boss I’m probably not going to make it in today”

When I said that everyone froze and looked at me.  This was hospital patient humor.

The nurse leaves then returns:

“No one is answering any of those number”

It was a little after 7:00am in Chicago and 6:00am in DC.

No one up. No one answering. Great.

Within minutes of my arrival I was in the CT scanner and hearing that thumping and pounding.

Every minutes or so I remind everyone I’m in pain. Still.

“Whatever you are giving me is not working”

As I came out of the CT scanner I reminded the nurses:

“It hurts. I’m sorry but it hurts”

“I know” She says

“We are giving you something different right now for the pain. This is going to help”

Again I see the syringe go into the IV.

Within seconds it feels as if my scrotum is on fire. Like someone just dunked my ball in boiling water.

WTF

I looked at the nurse with desperate and pleading eyes trying to indicate the problem is not with my scrotum.

We begin to move again. This time to the operating room.

In route to the operating room with my testicles in flames I ask one of the nurses:

“Am I going to need a catheter”?

One more experience I was looking forward to NOT having.

They wheeled me into the operating room at 7:35am. Exactly one hour from time of impact. It was amazing. I was marveling at the professionalism I was witnessing from these dedicated people. They were amazing.

Once in the operating room the anesthesiologist and I spoke briefly. After that all I heard was:

“Time to go to sleep Mr. Knight”

There was no time to count back. He pressed a button and the lights went out in Georgia.

Rush Copley is an amazing hospital. I am so thankful for the Emergency Room Attending and his amazing staff. On the worst day of my life they were champions. I am so incredibly grateful to those people.