Sorry, no birds today. I’ve had other things on my mind.
My orthopedic surgeon has become increasingly suspicious that at least some of my leg symptoms are caused by insufficient blood flow to my legs rather than by impinged nerves in my back so recently he arranged for me to have a medical test that would evaluate the circulation in my legs. I had that test done yesterday afternoon in the office of a vascular surgeon at St. Mark’s Hospital.
Ankle Brachial Index Test – image in public domain
The ankle-brachial index test (ABI) is the ratio of the blood pressure at the ankle to the blood pressure in the upper arm. Compared to the arm, lower blood pressure in the leg suggests blocked arteries due to peripheral artery disease (PAD). They have a special (and intimidating-looking) machine that includes four BP cuffs that they cinch onto your four limbs so they can compare pressures. It includes ultrasound of the noises within your arteries that are amplified so loud in the room that it almost hurts your ears. Listening to those sounds at that decibel level is disconcerting to say the very least.
The technician (I’ll call her Joan) hooked me up to the machine and began the test by evaluating the pressure in my right arm first. Almost immediately she blanched, looked at me for a few moments and then said “I’ll be right back”, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. In a couple of minutes Joan came back, sat down in front of me and with a very serious voice and expression on her face she told me that I needed to go the emergency room, immediately. Normal systolic blood pressure is 120, her machine can only measure it as high as 250 and my systolic pressure was higher than that – how much higher she didn’t know. I was in “hypertensive crisis”.
I’m a biologist by training and I have an aneurism on my lower descending aorta that I’ve been watching for years so I knew the implications. St. Marks Hospital is in the midst of major remodeling so it’s a labyrinth of nonsensical hallways to get from where I was to the ER so Joan kindly put me in a wheelchair and pushed me all the way there. The ER folks were in such a rush to get me evaluated they didn’t even make me sign any papers, they just confirmed who I was and admitted me to the ER.
Needless to say, yours truly was scared to death. All the way to the ER I’d had visions of a burst aortic aneurism and expiring in the wheelchair. A situation like that does that to you – at least it did to me.
Within about five minutes the ER doctors told me I was fine. After relaxing for a bit (or trying to) my BP was only 131/80. They said Joan must have made a mistake. They asked me if she had repeated the test to confirm her results, but she hadn’t. They called my vascular surgeon’s office to see if they could do the ABI test again, which they agreed to do, so one of the ER doctors actually wheeled me all the way back to the vascular surgeon’s office. I was much more relaxed for that second trip than I was for the first.
When Joan repeated the test she admitted that either she, or the machine, had made a mistake and that before I arrived the second time she had “checked and reconnected all of the machine’s tubes”. This time the machine and/or Joan worked properly and I got an accurate result. When the vascular surgeon finally came in to go over the results with me he told me the blood flow to my legs and hips was “completely normal”.
So, the symptoms in my legs are a result of nerve impingement in my back and not insufficient blood flow to my legs, which means I’ll avoid a surgery to correct a circulation problem. I’m very relieved about that, but I’ll tell you what. Late yesterday afternoon and last night I felt like I’d been run over by a truck, almost certainly due to stress.
I know, today’s post resembles a typical “woe is me” social media post more than it does a Feathered Photography post but I’m still having a hard time focusing on birds and photography. For me that’s highly unusual.
Back to birds tomorrow, I promise.
Ron
Scary to say he least, but very happy you’re OK, Ron!
Thank you, Wayne.
I’m so so sorry that you had to go through all that stress, Ron. Gentle hugs, lots of deep breaths, and some Bourbon on the rocks. ❤️
Glad your blood flow is normal and I’m sorry you’re still having so many nerve issues. Getting older just sucks big green donkey ones sometimes, doesn’t it!
It sure does!
But not to worry, last night I tried your medicinal bourbon suggestion and it helped…
I’m sure glad you came out ok. I’m sorry you had to go through that major scare but it does seem that the tech did well not to take chances with your life. I had a PCP who ignored my consistently above desirable blood pressure and a warning bleed in the back of my eyeball. I ended up with a ruptured brain aneurysm. That’s not as dangerous as an aortal rupture but it does have a significant mortality risk and after effects I could do without. I’m a big proponent of better safe than sorry and am glad you are safe.
“That’s not as dangerous as an aortal rupture”
They’re both very dangerous, Lleni. I’m glad you apparently came out of it OK.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Utah. And you were getting the ABI test run because somebody suspected arterial blockage. When the technician saw a blood pressure over 200, the worst mistake she could have made would be wasting time to troubleshoot her equipment. If her measurements were real, 5 minutes could have meant the difference between whether or not you survived. She gambled her embarrassment against your life and did exactly the right thing. Thank God, it was the equipment malfunctioning — instead of our favorite teacher and photographer.
Interesting point, Howard. She sure didn’t waste any time getting me down there. And neither did the ER folks getting me admitted.
On the other hand, she admitted that it was just as easily her error and not that of the equipment. It would only have taken her seconds to repeat that first part of the test to confirm or not confirm.
A difficult call. One of the reasons I didn’t go into the medical field like I almost did.
Dear, dear heavens! I just got to this post today, much later than normal. Stress like that can kill a person even when there is nothing wrong with them. I am so sorry to hear you had to endure that and hope you will take not only today but probably a few days to recuperate just from that stress. There will be a lot of us who will gladly wait with patience until you are feeling more like your usual self.
Thank you, Granny Pat. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow, today I’m still a little… I don’t know, drained?
Oh Ron. Even this far away as I read this my heart plummeted and my blood pressure shot up (leaving an inconvenient hole in our roof).
I am so very glad to hear that Joan or her machine made a mistake. And sad to learn that more surgery is in your future.
Thanks, EC. One surgery is certainly better than two.
Good grief, talk about scaring the crap out of you unnecessarily! I’m just relieved it was “human error” and all is going to be OK. I opened your post with a bit of dread. Many years ago my mom had angioplasty, considered pretty routine. Unfortunately she was the one in 5,000 that they accidentally punctured her artery, leaving her in ICU ten days fighting for her life! My dad consulted with an attorney and was informed he had no case because my mom didn’t die! WHAT? They should have covered the medical bills!! Take good care and get back to your birdies…getting out in nature is the best form of stress relief.
That’s an awful story, Ann. They sure should have covered her medical bills.
I was happy to hear it was a false alarm. However it won’t hurt to have a weekly blood pressure check.
I check it at home, Jorge. I’m on BP meds so I keep an eye on it.
Hi Ron, glad you were ER Scare turned out OK. It sounds as though the technician needs to review protocols. Nice to have you back with the birds!
“It sounds as though the technician needs to review protocols”
It sure does, Brett.
Indeed!
This is probably not your case but whenever I go to the doctor my BP is up even though I have just checked it at home and it’s normal. Some people have very labile BP and don’t like going to the doctor. Anyway, its always good to get cured of a disease you never had.
It’s exactly my case, John. I make that fact clear to them before I ever let them put the cuff on me.
Your last sentence made me smile – my first smile in a while now.
What a terrifying experience. I’m glad to hear you’re ok. While I look forward to you continuing to share you beautiful images and knowledge, after that scare, a few days to reset is more than understandable.
Thanks, Wood.
I’m very glad it all turned out ok in the end. Nerve pain is not good but it’s a known and better than the stress you were put through. It should not have had to be like that. When I was in the hospital with my leukemia treatments they did an ultrasound of m heart and associated vessels. At one point the technician frowned and shook her head. When I asked if there was a problem she said “I don’t like what I’m seeing so we are just going to do this part over again.” She did and everything was fine. She said she always repeats a suspicious or bad reading. That’s what should have been done in your case and saved you a lot of unnecessary stress. I’m glad you can return to birds. They are always good at helping to relieve stress.
Yes, birds are always a stress reliever. Thank you, Dan.
So very happy the tests were normal at the end of the day but certainly sorry for the horrifying ordeal you endured. You bring all of us immense joy with your photos and prose and you’re more than deserving to unload as much woe as you need to, whenever you need to.
Here’s to a great bird day tomorrow. Although sometimes tells me you’ll take a thousand bad bird days over a day like yesterday.
Yup, I would, Mark. Well, maybe just 500.
I am happy you are well. What a scare! Sounds like they gave you great care. You are still probably crashing from all the adrenaline from yesterday’s experience. St Marks is a mess, that is where Jon had his cataract surgery yesterday. Fortunately the east end is less involved in the remodel. Hope you will be out birding in the morning. My car goes in for work so unless I do something with Tana in the morning I will be hanging out in the yard trying for more hummingbird grooming his beak with a foot shot.
Tell Tana hello for me, April. I miss dropping into HWI occasionally with the chance of seeing her.
Glad you are ok Ron. If something were to have happened to you, how would we have ever known? The blog posts would stop and we would all be here wondering what had happened. This sounds selfish of me but I know there are many who follow you, including myself, who would really be very concerned. Do you have a plan in case of that possibility?
I think my readers would be notified, Brad.
Ugh! What an ordeal! VERY happy you are fine.
Thanks, Kathleen.
argh!!!!!
That’s TERRIBLE
Humph 🤬
My cousins blood work was mixed up with that of an 80+ year old (she was in her teens) and the docs arrived to tell my aunt and uncle that she had advanced kidney disease and was dying; my uncle never forgave the medical establishment!!
I am sooooo glad that everything is *fine* and that you didn’t require emergency surgery!
Nicole, I can imagine how your aunt and uncle felt when they heard that unfortunate bit of ‘news’.
Oh my goodness… that was quite that day! I’m glad you’re ok! I can only imagine the stress impact to you following that experience; rest up. We’ll be here when you’re feeling up to getting out and posting your wonderful bird photos and stories again.
Thank you, Gina.
Ron,
For reasons you know, I don’t open Facebook every day now, but I subscribe to your blog and see the title even on days when Facebook is not on my schedule. When I saw the title of your blog this morning, for reasons I will never understand, the punch line of one of my favorite jokes (“Bring me my brown pants”) popped into my mind and my blood pressure increased and stayed there until I discovered it was a machine/technician error.
The machines and the people who operate them may make errors, but there are many people alive today who would not be if they did not exist.
David, your last sentence makes an excellent point. It’s something we should all remember and appreciate.
Don’t see any woe is me in your post Ron. So glad I was not in a rush and just read the first half. What a story. I don’t think technicians like Joan make very many mistakes, but when they do and results like that appear it can certainly cause major problems. Luckily a good team of doctors there suspected what might have gone wrong and took you back to confirm their suspicions.
Remarkable what our technology can now determine. For your dad and certainly your grandfather whatever problems and diagnosis were determined came solely from their doctor’s learning and experience.
Good ending to what appeared to be a very scary adventure.
Thanks, Everett. I guess the new technology is only as good as the people using it.
Please take care, this whole thing makes shiver and tear up at the same time.
Kaye
I plan to, Kaye. Thank you.
Yikes! Glad you’re not suffering from PAD. Imagine this: a a picnic blanket laid out in the shade of a stately cottonwood tree near a babbling brook in a less-traveled (by humans) nature sanctuary where the animals and plants and birds and insects are in delightful balance with each other. And there you are, comfortable and relaxed, a snack bag, your camera and a book you’ve been wanting to read (may I suggest ‘Martin Marten’ by Brian Doyle?) at hand, nothing more to do this day than let the natural flow of life course through every molecule of your body, dissolving the stress of this experience, and bringing health and coherence to your body, mind and spirit. Be well!
I’ll try to imagine it, Elise.
Thank you for the book rec!
Geez, Ron! My heart is racing and all I’ve done is read your account! Take time today to get back into nature and breathe deeply. You’re body will thank you!
“My heart is racing”
Diane, you should have heard and felt mine during that wheelchair trip to the ER.
Ron,
Please take some time off to be thankful for the final outcome of your very stressful day. That must be very draining to go through such turmoil. Your readers are all concerned for you, we can wait a few more days or however long it takes for you to get back to normal. Start enjoying every day right now.
Prayers are with you.
Angela
Angela, I’m taking today “off”. Thought about going shooting this morning but realized my heart just wasn’t in it.
Harrowing!! I’m so sorry you went through that but I’m glad that everything turned out well. It’s more evidence that our medical system has gone crazy with new “toys” and machines that the technicians rely on without checking their brains as well. And all of that equipment just adds to the outrageous cost of health care in this country. Sigh.
And yes, Ronnie, you are, like all of us, certifiably nuts!! It’s one of the things I love most about you!
Yes. Easy for me to say in retrospect but fancy-schmancy technology is sometimes no substitute for common sense ….
“our medical system has gone crazy with new “toys” and machines that the technicians rely on without checking their brains as well”
Sue, as usual you concisely, accurately and even amusingly summed it all up.
I’m always glad to share the insane asylum with you, one of my very best friends, in our own version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. After all, there’s a bird in the title and I’ve always liked Jack Nicholson anyway.
Whew! How scary. So glad you are OK. I so enjoy your photos and posts. They have inspired me to look even longer into the beautiful forest surrounding our home.
“They have inspired me to look even longer into the beautiful forest surrounding our home.”
Loved hearing that, Mary. Thank you.
AMEN that it was an error (human or mechanical). Take some time to rest and get your mind back in the right place. Some quiet time and soft music does it for me. Regardless, some prayers from all of us will be coming your way !!
Thank you, Gary. Getting “my mind back in the right place” is a top priority for me this morning. I’m hoping this post will help.
Ron, your devotion to this blog and all of us who follow it is remarkable. How you manage to post every day blows my mind.
I’m essentially a complete stranger to you, yet you share these things, and I honor that. Don’t be fooled by my Google profile photo (if in fact you can see it) as I an 68 years old. I use that photo of my younger me because it reminds me how I feel in spirit. Nevertheless, medical events come along and remind me just where I am chronologically.
For what its worth, a teacher of mine says that there is something to be learned from every event in life. Even things that we judge to be bad or negative have something for us to learn about ourselves, and not just on a physical level.
Thank you for sharing. Keeping you in thoughts and prayers.
Sometimes it blows my mind too, Michael. I’m probably certifiably nuts.
Yes, I see your profile photo and I wondered if it was current. Lots of folks use older profile photos for a variety of reasons. My own profile photo is now roughly 10 years old but it was new when I first started using it.
Scary!! Sorry for the trauma.
Rest and take care of yourself.
I plan on it, Deedee.
Wow I am so sorry you had to go through that stress. I hope you can get feeling better, and today is a better day for you. Let Shane and I know if you ever need anything!
Very kind of you, Kimmy. Thank you.
We’re here for you if you need anything, Ron. What a scare but I am grateful that good news came through after a stressful incident. P.S. You had me scared already with the late posting, but I hope that was due to some extra sleep you gained to recover your nerves.
Also – You may or may not have known this but my mom had a brain aneurism removed 18 years ago. Found by ‘mistake’ after a seizure she suffered.
Yes, I did know what happened to your mom. Years ago she told me all about it while we were talking over the fence.
Thank you, Shane. This morning I posted later than usual because a post like this one takes me a long time to write.
GAWD! That was no joke! Joe had the machinery malfunction at the VA one time – not that bad BUT took a bit to convince the tech there WAS a malfunction – Joe made him take his own on the machine. 🙁 The aortic aneurism is no joke of course. Lost one of Joe’s cousins to that a year or so ago – undiagnosed until……. 🙁
GREAT news you don’t have to deal with surgery for that at this point, and with luck, never. R&R today sounds like a GREAT idea…….
I’m glad Joe insisted, Judy. At the time I didn’t even think of the possibility that there’d been a mistake.
Joe’s BP tends to be on the low side and if they started pushing meds for an error on that it could be fatal. No, they aren’t “God” – sure wish one could convince some of them of that fact along with the fact one may know more about their own body then they do…….. 🙁
Yikes. I’m glad you are OK. That sounds very stressful! The serenity and awe of nature will taste that much sweeter in the next few days. This was a reminder for us all to enjoy every day. Thank you for sharing both your love of nature and personal experiences with life. We all benefit when you do.
Much appreciated, Jim.
OMG— terrifying to say the least.I can well imagine that you feel today like
you’d been “run over by a truck.” If the reading WAS due to a machine malfunction, I have to say that Joan was definitely acting in your interest to
rush you to the ER- there’d be no time to waste…..if it was due to her personal
error, I’m guessing she’ll be paying a price, professionally. Glad you’re OK.
Kris, I’d like to know if it was the machine or Joan but I guess it really doesn’t matter, not for me at this point anyway.
Glad you didn’t have a nosocomial coronary, although it sounds like you had a “hypertensive crisis” of sorts on the way to the ER.
After your recent surgery, have you seen any relief? Back surgeries seem like a crap shoot. My wife had it and doesn’t seem to have benefited from it.
I haven’t benefited much from my last one either, Lyle.