So You're The Lady Who Had The Latex Reaction

What is the first thing the nurse says to me this morning as she takes my pre-op information over the phone.

DING!  DING!  DING!

I could not believe it.  Here I am, trying to tell the nurse all about my medications I take, the allergies I have, my contact information and...

"Oh, so YOU'RE the lady who had the latex reaction at the hospital last Friday.  Do you know you shut down the whole hospital?"

NO...REALLY???  I didn't know that.  Please excuse me as I wipe the sarcasm dripping from the corner of my mouth.  *palm : forehead*

On Friday, when I went in for my pre-op labs, I had an Anaphylactic (ANA) reaction to the latex GO-FLEX bandage that the phlebotomist used to hold the cotton to my arm after taking out 12 freakin' vials of blood, which sent me from Admitting to the ER directly.

Long story short, the bandages were thought to be latex free...at least they were ordered that way.  Come to find out that the hospital did place the order correctly, but they did not receive what they had ordered.  Instead, they received the bandages that have latex, with a cute little note on the back of the package that reads "latex free alternative available".  SERIOUSLY???  

Well while I was down in the ER receiving treatment, the entire hospital stopped to pull the last shipment of these Go Flex bandages from all departments.  Apparently, I was the talk of the hospital, too, as they had not seen an ANA reaction to latex happen THAT FAST there.  Of course, it had to be ME who ended up being their guinea pig!   And now my reactions will be forever worse.  This sucks!

So, needless to say, every call I have received this week about my upcoming surgery (which is this coming Monday morning) has included... "So you're the lady who..."

Seriously?

TinaMarie