Just lost a really long one due to bad Internet, so I'll condense it.
Born with a twin at about 24 weeks, so months of incubation and years of tests afterward. I have glasses so small that they had to be held on with an elastic, and fit small cats rather nicely (I'd say comfortably, but I don't think they like walking around bumping into everything).
Three hernias needing surgery starting around age seven.
Three sets of spacers and braces, which in the end did nothing, as my teeth are right back where they started, even with a permanent bracket at the bottom. My wisdom teeth will all have to be removed, as there is barely room for the teeth I have, and I'm told I've been lucky my palate didn't split.
My retinas were scarred by oxygen from incubation, so I have very bad vision in my left eye, and the right can't be properly measured, so it can't get a proper lens. I've had two laser surgeries on each eye just to patch up the small tears in my retinas; doctors discourage corrective surgery, as having the glasses between my good eye and pointy objects is probably best. Eight years ago, I had my left retina split after being hit in the head, and the tear went 3/4 of the way around my eye. They cut it open, drained the vitreous jelly, scraped out the scar tissue, patched it with lasers, and embedded a silicone shunt to hold everything together. One month later of listening to audio-books and "Emperor's New Groove" and my air-filled eye had refilled itself with goo and I could see the glory that was my red scaly eye. Swelling went down, and the follow-ups went fine; hadn't lost any vision, and my eye was more stable than it had been before I got hit.
I moved to the Northwest Territories, known for WONDERFUL health care... About three or four years ago, hit my head coming out of the cooler at work. Small red dot shows up in my right eye, and gets larger as the long weekend progresses and the nursing station continues to ignore the emergency line. Tuesday morning I walk in, and tell them that they need to check their goddamn messages, and that if I didn't see the doctor, I'd be taking them all to court. Get sent to a room, nurse shines a light in my eye, and is promptly told she even though she's had a year of formal training, she's got no idea what she's looking for. Nice doctor comes in, tells me he understands the words I am saying, but has no real depth in the field, and flies me out that afternoon to Edmonton to a specialist. Two parts of the family make a 12 and 18 hour drive in awesome time, and more surgery. Almost the same surgery as before (filled the eye with oil instead), and when I can see again I realize that damage had been done, and the red blob was still there, and still covers half my vision in my bad eye. Nursing station closed ranks and said they followed procedure, so nothing came of that. In the end, my eyes are stable now, and have visible scars and discoloration on the whites.
I really hope my wisdom teeth don't come in any time soon.
When I was 7, my friends and I were playing on the rooftop/terrace in our apartment complex. There was an unfinished chimney up there and lots of clothes lines. We were playing with the lines and I fell on the chimney but I felt nothing. A couple of seconds later, I had a weird headache so I leaned against the wall. When I got up, my friend saw a huge blood stain behind my head and the wall I was leaning against had dripping blood. Oops. I went downstairs to my parents who took me to the doctor. I just got a tetanus shot because the chimney had rusty rods sticking out, which had apparently made a dent at the back of my head. I also got my head bandaged. I had to go to school the next day and everything! It's certainly not as serious some of the other stories above.
I'll probably have to get my wisdom teeth removed in a few years. When I got my braces, I saw my wisdom teeth (which are coming in slanted) in the x-rays. -.-
I haven't sustained a major injury yet, thankfully. Though there's definitely some dental surgery in the near future; I have the teeth of one three years older than myself. Not to mention the third wisdom tooth I've got in the back left of my jaw.
Shit, man. After reading the rest of this thread, I have to agree with Scott. I've had a look of horror on my face and a feeling of nausea in my stomach for a few minutes now.
A Tame one - I still have faint scars on my legs from getting stung by a box jellyfish while surfing.
Tame?! My ass!! You're lucky you aren't dead my good friend!
Luck has nothing to do with it, I'm not dead because we were prepared - We had anti-venom in the 4x4 med-kit, because we knew we'd be miles from anywhere if anything happened.
When I was 7, my friends and I were playing on the rooftop/terrace in our apartment complex.
Any story that begins that way will always end poorly...
Well, it wasn't the rooftop that you're used to. It was in India, where roofs are wide open space (not slanted) where you can hang clothes, have parties, sun-dry veggies, and stuff.
I've been miraculously healthy my whole life, my body does it to spite what I do to it. I suffer depression quite badly some times and what might be low grade paranoia at others. I have a friend who I'd lost contact with for years. His mother took him to a doctor several times to ask about what the doctor said was an ear infection. By the time a proper doctor looked at it, it has spread to his brain. I'm not too sure on specifics beyond that.
You know what, I'm going to email him and ask him how he's been. It's been a long time and I shouldn't let my own troubles get in the way of being good to other people.
I had RPLND surgery a few years ago after I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. That was a pretty rough surgery, I still have a scar from below my stomach up to a little below my nipples. (I say I still have one as if its ever really going to go away lol) Actually, the roughest part of the surgery was that I was off Morphine and walking around relatively fine after 5 days, but they kept me in the hospital for 2 weeks! By day 10 I felt relatively fine and I was going stir crazy. Since they had to move my stomach out of the way to get the nodes behind it, my stomach kind of went into shock, which is completely normal, but they won't let you leave until it starts up again good and strong.
Actually, now that I think about it, the thing that really sucked the most is that you cannot drink anything until the stomach turns back on so I had to go without eating or drinking for like 9 days in the hospital. Oddly enough though, thanks to the IV's I never really felt hungry.
The good news is that the chemo had done its job before the surgery and with the removal of the lymph nodes by the surgery I'm still doing ok today. Actually, the real horror story was a side effect of the chemo, not the chemo or surgery itself. But seeing that the story is a bit gross, I'll leave that one alone.
I also recently had my wisdom teeth removed while completely under. I have to say, it was unpleasant but it really wasn't as terrible as all that. I took the following day off work so I could sleep off the effects of the drugs, and within a week I was back to eating normal foods.
It wasn't a fun experience but here's how you look at it. It'll suck for about a week, but hey, you'll never have to go through having your wisdom teeth out again!
To anybody who cares, most of the pain from the wisdom teeth surgery has gone away (through both time and very powerful painkillers). The only problem that remains, is that my cheeks look like as big a chipmunks' does.
When I was 7, or maybe 8, I had my tonsils removed and I have to say, that it was a generally pleasant experience, for ice cream was served daily. But you would have to ignore the two secondary bleedings that struck in the middle of night, one time in the hospital, the other time at home, and I had to be brought to the hospital via ambulance. However, I had my first contact with a Nintendo console there, and I got a Game Boy (Pocket) from my grandparents when I left hospital.
Also, I once had the tip of my finger crushed by two bowling balls. (Yea, it was pretty stupid, but not entirely my own fault, but hey, I was like 13 at that time.) It happened on the 70th birthday of my grandfather, when me and my cousin were bowling, while the older relatives and my parents were in the main hall. So, the mechanism that put those pain-orbs back into the place where you can pick them up was very crude, and we often had to help those heavy spheres to reach their goal. My brilliant and overly intelligent cousin then thinks it a good idea to do it with his foot, while I heave the ball before his with my hand. Long story short: ball - finger - ball <- foot that is pushing. After running down the bowling alley and up again, screaming, I was brought to a crowded hospital, had to wait for a doctor and finally got some morphine to ease the pain. Everything after that was very funny in my eyes, even the part when my nail had to be drilled open, to let the blood out, that was accumulating under the nail. The whole hand was bandaged to support the finger and I later lost that fingernail, it just fell off and a new one grew, but it wasn't something that can be described as something enjoyable. Never again will I take a bowling ball that has a chance of moving around with such carelessness. Never again.
To anybody who cares, most of the pain from the wisdom teeth surgery has gone away (through both time and very powerful painkillers). The only problem that remains, is that my cheeks look like as big a chipmunks' does.
Fantastic, you're well on the road to recovery, and I like I previously posted, just look at it this way, you never have to have wisdom teeth surgery again. The swelling will go down in time, (did they tell you to use ice or heat or anything?), and you'll 100% before you know it.
I've had my tonsils removed, twelve stitches in my head, five more stitches in my head when I fell after leaving the hospital from the first stitches, and surgery on my right eye to remove a piece of scar tissue on my retina.
As an aside, when I went in for the eye surgery, they asked if I wanted to be knocked out or not. They said that they could just deaden the area and let me watch it on a live monitor with my left eye. Who would do that?
FYI, eye surgery sucks. The recovery process was horrible, and I took me like a month or two to get back to near normal.
Also, now would be an opportune time to mention that I have vision exceeding 20/2000 in both eyes with the right eye being substantially worse (My optometrist told me it's both are over 20/2000, but they really don't measure much past that.), astigmatism in both eyes, I see floaters quite commonly because of the surgery, I've grown accustomed to seeing double of almost everything because my right eye is so bad, I'm supposed to get a cataract sometime in my life because of the surgery, and I'm slowly losing color in my right eye. Also, I'm only 18.
I also had my wisdom teeth out. The surgery went well and there was barely any swelling afterwards so I was lucky in that regard. I'm told that I woke up in the operating room and was actually talking to people and walked out to the lobby under my own power, but I didn't start forming memories again until a few minutes later so I was sitting there in the lobby when I subjectively woke up.
I've also had Lyme Disease. Got bit by the tick on Wednesday, noticed the rash on Thursday and went on antibiotics the same day. The tests came back and I started on the special anti-Lyme antibiotics on Friday, and I had a fever in the afternoon. Also had fever Saturday afternoon and a small one on Sunday, but after that the rash faded and I was pretty much ok except for not being allowed to donate blood for a few years.
They said that they could just deaden the area and let me watch it on a live monitor with my left eye.
Having anything touch or stab into my eye is the one thing I fear with every fiber of my being. Like, if things come to close to them, I freak out and usually hurt someone. It gets so bad that sometimes when I'm tired and my mom has HGTV on, I think the nail/staple guns are going to shoot something into my eyes.
To not have a completely useless post, I have broken my left leg going down stairs and my left arm screwing around on my front porch. And my sister hasn't broken anything, but she just got about 6-ish teeth pulled out and braces. Day after tomorrow she's getting them tightened. I feel so bad for her... =/
I had two Laparoscopic surgeries, 2000 and 2005. I am working on a five year plan, next one will be 2010. Thank you, endometriosis.
I had my wisdom teeth taken out in high school. My mother drove me to the hospital. After the surgery, I tried to talk the doctor into giving them back to me. Mom got me a chocolate milkshake to make up for my loss. She then started to laugh at how funny I sounded with gauze in my mouth. So I started crying, causing her to cry too.
Comments
Born with a twin at about 24 weeks, so months of incubation and years of tests afterward. I have glasses so small that they had to be held on with an elastic, and fit small cats rather nicely (I'd say comfortably, but I don't think they like walking around bumping into everything).
Three hernias needing surgery starting around age seven.
Three sets of spacers and braces, which in the end did nothing, as my teeth are right back where they started, even with a permanent bracket at the bottom. My wisdom teeth will all have to be removed, as there is barely room for the teeth I have, and I'm told I've been lucky my palate didn't split.
My retinas were scarred by oxygen from incubation, so I have very bad vision in my left eye, and the right can't be properly measured, so it can't get a proper lens. I've had two laser surgeries on each eye just to patch up the small tears in my retinas; doctors discourage corrective surgery, as having the glasses between my good eye and pointy objects is probably best.
Eight years ago, I had my left retina split after being hit in the head, and the tear went 3/4 of the way around my eye. They cut it open, drained the vitreous jelly, scraped out the scar tissue, patched it with lasers, and embedded a silicone shunt to hold everything together. One month later of listening to audio-books and "Emperor's New Groove" and my air-filled eye had refilled itself with goo and I could see the glory that was my red scaly eye. Swelling went down, and the follow-ups went fine; hadn't lost any vision, and my eye was more stable than it had been before I got hit.
I moved to the Northwest Territories, known for WONDERFUL health care... About three or four years ago, hit my head coming out of the cooler at work. Small red dot shows up in my right eye, and gets larger as the long weekend progresses and the nursing station continues to ignore the emergency line. Tuesday morning I walk in, and tell them that they need to check their goddamn messages, and that if I didn't see the doctor, I'd be taking them all to court. Get sent to a room, nurse shines a light in my eye, and is promptly told she even though she's had a year of formal training, she's got no idea what she's looking for. Nice doctor comes in, tells me he understands the words I am saying, but has no real depth in the field, and flies me out that afternoon to Edmonton to a specialist. Two parts of the family make a 12 and 18 hour drive in awesome time, and more surgery. Almost the same surgery as before (filled the eye with oil instead), and when I can see again I realize that damage had been done, and the red blob was still there, and still covers half my vision in my bad eye. Nursing station closed ranks and said they followed procedure, so nothing came of that. In the end, my eyes are stable now, and have visible scars and discoloration on the whites.
I really hope my wisdom teeth don't come in any time soon.
I went downstairs to my parents who took me to the doctor. I just got a tetanus shot because the chimney had rusty rods sticking out, which had apparently made a dent at the back of my head. I also got my head bandaged. I had to go to school the next day and everything!
It's certainly not as serious some of the other stories above.
I'll probably have to get my wisdom teeth removed in a few years. When I got my braces, I saw my wisdom teeth (which are coming in slanted) in the x-rays. -.-
Shit, man. After reading the rest of this thread, I have to agree with Scott. I've had a look of horror on my face and a feeling of nausea in my stomach for a few minutes now.
I have a friend who I'd lost contact with for years. His mother took him to a doctor several times to ask about what the doctor said was an ear infection. By the time a proper doctor looked at it, it has spread to his brain. I'm not too sure on specifics beyond that.
You know what, I'm going to email him and ask him how he's been. It's been a long time and I shouldn't let my own troubles get in the way of being good to other people.
Actually, now that I think about it, the thing that really sucked the most is that you cannot drink anything until the stomach turns back on so I had to go without eating or drinking for like 9 days in the hospital. Oddly enough though, thanks to the IV's I never really felt hungry.
The good news is that the chemo had done its job before the surgery and with the removal of the lymph nodes by the surgery I'm still doing ok today. Actually, the real horror story was a side effect of the chemo, not the chemo or surgery itself. But seeing that the story is a bit gross, I'll leave that one alone.
I also recently had my wisdom teeth removed while completely under. I have to say, it was unpleasant but it really wasn't as terrible as all that. I took the following day off work so I could sleep off the effects of the drugs, and within a week I was back to eating normal foods.
It wasn't a fun experience but here's how you look at it. It'll suck for about a week, but hey, you'll never have to go through having your wisdom teeth out again!
However, I had my first contact with a Nintendo console there, and I got a Game Boy (Pocket) from my grandparents when I left hospital.
Also, I once had the tip of my finger crushed by two bowling balls. (Yea, it was pretty stupid, but not entirely my own fault, but hey, I was like 13 at that time.)
It happened on the 70th birthday of my grandfather, when me and my cousin were bowling, while the older relatives and my parents were in the main hall.
So, the mechanism that put those pain-orbs back into the place where you can pick them up was very crude, and we often had to help those heavy spheres to reach their goal. My brilliant and overly intelligent cousin then thinks it a good idea to do it with his foot, while I heave the ball before his with my hand. Long story short: ball - finger - ball <- foot that is pushing.
After running down the bowling alley and up again, screaming, I was brought to a crowded hospital, had to wait for a doctor and finally got some morphine to ease the pain. Everything after that was very funny in my eyes, even the part when my nail had to be drilled open, to let the blood out, that was accumulating under the nail. The whole hand was bandaged to support the finger and I later lost that fingernail, it just fell off and a new one grew, but it wasn't something that can be described as something enjoyable.
Never again will I take a bowling ball that has a chance of moving around with such carelessness. Never again.
As an aside, when I went in for the eye surgery, they asked if I wanted to be knocked out or not. They said that they could just deaden the area and let me watch it on a live monitor with my left eye. Who would do that?
FYI, eye surgery sucks. The recovery process was horrible, and I took me like a month or two to get back to near normal.
Also, now would be an opportune time to mention that I have vision exceeding 20/2000 in both eyes with the right eye being substantially worse (My optometrist told me it's both are over 20/2000, but they really don't measure much past that.), astigmatism in both eyes, I see floaters quite commonly because of the surgery, I've grown accustomed to seeing double of almost everything because my right eye is so bad, I'm supposed to get a cataract sometime in my life because of the surgery, and I'm slowly losing color in my right eye. Also, I'm only 18.
I've also had Lyme Disease. Got bit by the tick on Wednesday, noticed the rash on Thursday and went on antibiotics the same day. The tests came back and I started on the special anti-Lyme antibiotics on Friday, and I had a fever in the afternoon. Also had fever Saturday afternoon and a small one on Sunday, but after that the rash faded and I was pretty much ok except for not being allowed to donate blood for a few years.
To not have a completely useless post, I have broken my left leg going down stairs and my left arm screwing around on my front porch. And my sister hasn't broken anything, but she just got about 6-ish teeth pulled out and braces. Day after tomorrow she's getting them tightened. I feel so bad for her... =/
I had my wisdom teeth taken out in high school. My mother drove me to the hospital. After the surgery, I tried to talk the doctor into giving them back to me. Mom got me a chocolate milkshake to make up for my loss. She then started to laugh at how funny I sounded with gauze in my mouth. So I started crying, causing her to cry too.