April 18 - 2016 So Glad We are on the Other side of this Day.... Today Ivan is feeling much better, Yesterday was difficult

Monday, April 18 - 2016

We had a really difficult day, once again ...dealing with Ivan's health.

He's been having nose bleeds but got good treatment and positive results for them from Dr Lastra more than a month ago. The treatment was working well, but since he got sick a week ago, he's been straining...blowing his nose and coughing. (he's using an estrogen cream that thickens the the lining of the nose which is too dry from the thermal water, sunshine and aging).  It seemed like a great idea and no doctor in Canada ever suggested that to me post menopause when I had nose bleeds! If only Canada and Mexico would combine their best cures, both countries would be better off.

He had a nose bleed this afternoon while in the CASA after blowing his nose too hard. We couldn't get it to stop bleeding, despite doing all the right things. 

I read everything online including eating ice cubes.I think his nasal passage was raw and his health low. We decided to go to the Hospital Urgencia only 5 minutes away,  as it seemed like a small problem they could easily solve. We've both had successful experiences there before.

Unfortunately, Ivan had a repeat performance of what I never witnessed in Canada. ( do you remember the story of the time Ivan collapsed and stopped breathing during his First Aid Course?  His teacher knew it wasn't a trick and did CPR then called an ambulance). (so I'm not blaming Mexico for this!!) Then Fernando called me and we drove to St Mary's.....by then they realized he had his BP meds changed and it caused a sudden drop in BP that caused him to collapse in the  Sechelt class. He had felt sick-ish before but didn't tell the First Aid teacher (Ivan's a collapser).

I didn't realize they decided to give him a SL pill under his tongue to lower his BP (which was not really that high and not the cause of the nose bleeds. His BP was fine in the casa and has been fine, his heart rate is faster than usual but not over the acceptable.  The drive along the gravel bumpy road while Ivan held kleenex to his nose was very likely a cause for further aggravation and slightly higher BP. I was filling out forms, medical Spanish talk was a bit too fast, and they were .

They also gave him an injection to help the blood coagulate. They put some medicine on gauze or something and stuffed them up each nostril. We started driving back to Roca Azul after paying the required $7.00 (the hospital is just at the end of the shortcut country road).

As I drove away from the hospital Ivan said he felt dizzy and sick, we both realized it was probably the SL pill causing a sudden drop in BP but figured it would pass. As I got close to Roca Azul he felt worse. He was no longer responding to me, he couldn't hear me even when I screamed his name. 

He was probably briefly unconscious. I made a UTURN and ambulanced him to Dr Nunez. It was really scary to see him fading away while I was speed driving to get help. By the time I reached the large road he "came to" a bit but was white, and looked terrible. He managed to walk into Nunez's clinic. Then he was in a terrible sweat,  & nearly slipped out of the wheelchair they put him in (he was so weak). 

They immediately gave him oxygen, and an IV drip. In about 20 minutes he started getting enough blood pressure to bring some colour back to his face and was comfortable in a simple small clinic hospital bed. He dozed off and on, but I could watch the colour come back to his upper body and face. What a relief!

Nunez did an EKG ...once again FINE.  His BP was coming back up. I spent 4 hours there while he snoozed and absorbed the IV rehydration, electolytes etc, which he needed. I crossed the street to Rochetta's and got some food (hadn't eaten since breakfast and my Spanish lesson). The nurse was sweet and conscientious.

Ivan was communicative and much much better within less than 2 hours, but glad they kept him for 4.5 hours.

By  6 PM he was feeling fine and anxious to get home.  Nunez said he had to stay to get the rest of the drip and speeded it up.

The nurse was nice and it was like I got two Spanish lessons today, except the second one lacked all the medical words I should acquire from a book on Kindle a friend here wrote. 

We left the clinic at about  7:30 PM and Ivan is already talking about swimming tomorrow but I think he needs to rest some more. He took the second gauze out of his nose and so far it's fine.

You never know what skills one needs in "Life with Ivan". 

He's happily tucked in and let's hope for some peace and serenity tomorrow.

Just another day in life in Jocotepec. At least medical service is faster.

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April 19

Great improvement. Ivan had a 40 minute swim and really enjoyed it. His health and energy is better and he is stable and slowly regaining enthusiasm.

Life is a roller coaster on any latitude!