Flashbacks

I had a run in with a VA cop over the weekend and felt very threatened. I haven't written anything about it yet, but I'm working on it.

Tonite I couldn't sleep and kept thinking about something that happened 40 years ago. I can't get it out of my mind, I'm trembling and feeling extreme anxiety about some appointments I have at the VA today. I guess I'm afraid I'm going to run into that cop. I don't really know. I guess this is what PTSD is about.

Leaving the hospital

Last Thursday afternoon I checked in the hospital for monitoring while my blood pressure and diuretic medications were being “adjusted”. I have heart and kidney problems and diabetes. The hospital staff took my BP, weight, etc when I checked in. My BP was very high, in the over 180 range. Earlier in the day it had consistently been in the 200 range (the DIA readings weren’t so bad, more like 80).
During the next 5 hours I received no treatment. None. No medications, no monitoring of any kind. Nothing. My nurse told me that nothing was scheduled for me. I’d been fed supper earlier (after complaining to the nursing staff of hunger) but it included milk and salty foods – things I knew I should not be eating.
I thought it was important to do something about the blood pressure so I went home simply because at least that way I’d be able to take some blood pressure medications and would be able to monitor my blood pressure. I thought that was medically important and I got no positive response at all from the staff when I brought it up.