I have to apologize to my faithful readers who were expecting some posts on Thursday (yesterday). Unfortunately my driver’s license was suspended due to medical reasons so I cannot legally drive my car. It’s a crazy story, mainly because the event in question happened in FEBRUARY a full 6 months ago.
For those who are interested: here’s what happened. It actually started in December of 2006 – I had food poisoning which caused me to pass out because I was so sick in the washroom that I lost 5 pounds in a few hours (all fluids). The loss of fluids caused a drop in blood pressure and I fainted. I had not properly replenished my fluids (one of the symptoms of dehydration is that you DON’T feel thirsty) and one week later I had a glass of wine at a friend’s house and since alcohol is a diuretic (makes you go to the washroom) it pulled what little fluid I had in my body from my blood, causing yet another drop in pressure and a fainting spell. All of that was fixed with a clever diagnosis by my father who is a physician. No one figured out the cause until later, so as you can imagine I was freaking out wondering why I was passing out! My resting heart rate was in the 40’s until my father told me to drink 2 big bottles of Gatorade – as soon as I did, my heart rate returned to about 70bpm.
Now, unfortunately when I was at the ER (two times, both after each fainting episode) it looks like I picked up a virus which gave me labrynthitis – an inflammation of the inner ear which causes balance problems and vertigo. I had one episode of vertigo and recurring episodes of light-headedness. Fast track to February, no more fainting, but still getting the slight light-headedness – one particular week I had a headache that lasted about 4 days so at the advice of a friend, I went to the ER to get it checked out just in case. (The first time I had fainted, I had hit my head very hard, so there was worry of internal bleeding in my head). Even though I had been seeing my family doc regularly to get everything sorted, the ER physician (after having seen me for all of 2 minutes) decided not to do any imaging tests, but to rather request I go see my family doc and in the meantime he faxed a form to the Ministry of Transportation to have my license suspended just in case.
I phoned the Ministry immediately the next day and they said that I could drive until I get an official letter from the Government – which came 6 months later and now that I am in perfect health!
Needless to say, I spent all of yesterday running around getting doctors’ notes, test results, etc. all submitted to the government in order to have my license reinstated – which will take 4 to 6 weeks. I am currently seeking counsel to ascertain whether there is a malpractice suit that should be directed at the ER physician since I was under constant care from my family physician who did not see the need to have my license temporarily suspended after spending hours with me, while a resident physician came to a different decision after 2 minutes. (I understand the backlogs in the ER, but that shouldn’t compromise the quality of care given).
If anyone has a referral to a good medical malpractice lawyer, please let me know! …and sorry for the lack of posting on Thursday. :(