Climb back on that horse!

I’ve got quite a story to tell this week. On Thursday a week ago, I had a mountain bike wreck. I was crossing a dry creek bed that I’ve crossed a hundred times when somehow I went down. I came to a stop when I hit the stump of a log with the left side of my chest.

It knocked my breath out and hurt like the dickens but I felt like I was OK. My riding buddy checked on me and we agreed to ride downhill the mile or so to my truck. That wasn’t a fun trip but once I was seated in my truck, everything seemed OK.

I went to Care Today just to make sure I was OK and the PA and I both saw a rib fracture but nothing more so I headed home.

I went to work the next day and did fine, but toward the end of the day I started feeling rotten. I saw my last patient and immediately headed home. Still, not too bad, I had dinner and sat down to watch a movie with my wife.

About 9 PM, I awoke to my wife calling my name. I only remember gasping for breath and that it really hurt. We went immediately to the Emergency Room at Blount Memorial Hospital, where it was discovered that I had a pneumothorax, or collapsed lung.

Dr. Jerry Price, an ER doc that has been at BMH for many years, placed a chest tube in my side and wrapped me up for transport to UT Hospital. For pneumothorax patients, our ER has a protocol and an agreement to ship those patients, once stable, to UT, where a trauma team is better equipped to handle those issues.

I must mention the excellent care that I got at BMH (yes, I know they are my employer). Ryan, whose last name I forget, and Kimberly Stewart were my nurses and could not have been better. Compassionate and knowledgeable, I felt safe in their hands.

And Dr. Price—when he walked in the room, I knew I was going to be OK. I had a sneaking suspicion about what was wrong but didn’t know how bad it was. They put me to sleep and Ryan later told me of the “whoosh” when Dr. Price reinflated my lung. It was then time to move.

Becky and Eric from AMR transported me to UT Hospital where my first nurse Noah, and second nurse Josh, were understanding, competent, and efficient. Over the next few days, as I recovered, many other medical professionals took great care of me (well, there was this one medical resident that was not the best but he was the only one).

I have several points to make about this. Emergency rooms sometimes get a bad rap, but if you have a medical emergency, they know what they’re doing. If you’re sick or maybe have a medical issue that would best be taken care of by better health habits or your primary care physician, you might not have the best experience in an ER. They are always going to prioritize the patients that need them the most—the patients that might need them so as to not die.

So, if you’re sick but not a medical emergency, you might not like the wait you experience while they save someone’s life.

Nurses are essential, important, and your real connection to medical care. I had good doctors and I had good nurses and their teamwork is essential. I appreciate those nurses more than ever.

Hospitals that collaborate on care are doing the work that they are meant to do. I got exactly what I needed at the BMH Emergency Room. AMR did their job, just as they do every day. I got exactly what I needed out of UT Hospital.

I’m still sore but I’m back to work and I feel fine. It might take me a few weeks to get back on the bicycle but I WILL be back on the bicycle.

The bicycle didn’t do this. I did this. And with the help of excellent medical care, I will ride again. Not yet, but in time. I need to heal first. And I will probably wreck again sometime, but hopefully I won’t do the pneumothorax part. That wasn’t much fun.