Homeless people and surgery- Week 7

It’s no secret that there is a major homeless pandemic all over the nation. San Diego is no different. On my last day of vacation before I headed to the airport, I decided to do a run. I was due for an 8 miler but after how hard I hit the bottle this vacation, I would take anything I could muster. I started my run down the mountain to the waterfront to run next to the bay.

My friend sent me on a road that went next to the Police Station just for safety reasons. On my way down the  mountain, I see a guy whose body language was a little off. As I ran towards him I prepared myself for whatever might happen. I got with in a couple of arm lengths and all of a sudden he jumps at me with his hand in the air as if he was going to hit me. I made a quick move away from him so I was completely out of reach. When I was past him he turned around and laughed. I was more annoyed than anything and though it could have been a dangerous situation, I didn’t feel like my life was in danger. It just goes to show that no matter where you are in the world or what you are doing, you must be aware of your surroundings. The rest of my 6 mile run (I know right- 6 miles!) was uneventful.

This weeks workouts where pretty much spot on (shocking I know). Going into Friday I did a row instead of Crossfit and a run since I had surgery to go through. Don’t worry it wasn’t major surgery just a small procedure. However I wasn’t allowed to eat past midnight and my surgery wasn’t until 1:30pm. I was hangry AF all morning. Once back in my hospital room, they started to prep me for my IV. I let her know that most people have issues with my veins. She assured me that I had good veins and there shouldn’t be any issue. She stuck me and it wasn’t too bad until she started moving the IV around in my vein trying to get through the valve. She had to pull it out and find another vein. Sticking me for the second time, she ran into the same problem. The Anesthesiologist came in and and stuck me for a third time pushing through the valve. Blood spurt everywhere! They had to replace my covering because it looked like I had bled out.

Asking a thousand questions like I always do, I asked about the valves and why there were so many issues. The nurse told me that though everyone has valves in their veins, sometimes it is harder to get the catheter through the valve in active people so instead of forcing it, they just looked for other veins that would work. Mind you she did try and force them and it wasn’t awesome.

*Side note, after doing a little research, a catheter should not be moved through a valve but instead it should steer clear of them. There are ways of finding the valve in a vein before you get stuck with a needle.

My doctor told me that I should be able to get back to working out in a day or so but to listen to my body. Recovery was painful. Lots of cramps and discomfort in every position I laid in. A few oxycodones later and a good night’s sleep; the next day was good. I had minimal pain and didn’t need the pain killers. Looks like I will be back on the horse in no time!