Returning Home

The chest x-ray was finished early morning and the pulmonary doctor informed us that there was no indication that fluid had returned to my left lung, so I would be cleared to go home if everything came back fine on my bone scan.

My oncology doctor's assistant noted there was some "irregular activity" in my 7th and 8th ribs on my left side (location of my back pain when I was admitted to Oakwood). There weren't any specific conclusions that could be drawn, as the "irregular activity" could be due to a strained muscle. A set of rib x-rays were ordered (which turn out to be different than a chest x-ray for my lungs). Since I already had approximately 6 x-rays over the duration of my stay at Oakwood, the hospital tried to get the necessary rib images from previous shots. By 3 pm, it was finally decided to send me downstairs to get the set of x-ray images of my ribs.

At 4 pm, we were transferred to a different floor of the hospital, as the 10th floor was being cleared for renovations over the holiday. At 5 pm my primary doctor informed me that the rib x-rays showed no abnormalities in my ribs, so I was free to go home. By 6 pm I had my discharge papers, so after 195 hours in Oakwood hospital I walked out of the building with Deb.

Everyone was relieved that I was home (myself included). Although the hospital has all of the needed care available on-site, there is nothing like the comfort of home.