Our Story: So Much for Sleeping In

One morning in early January, Ryan was scheduled for an early shift at Lin's Grocery Store. I didn’t have to work that day. Of course, my big plans for the morning were sleeping in.

The phone rang at a little after 8am. It was Ryan’s cell phone. I didn’t want to answer: he was probably just on a break and calling to see how I was. I decided I’d better answer. Screening your husband’s calls just seemed tacky to this newlywed.

“Hi. I got hurt at work. Someone is driving me to the emergency room. I need you to come to the hospital. And please call my parents.” I was calm. I was sure nothing was really wrong. I asked what happened. A long story short, he tripped coming down off of a movable staircase and, um… hurt his manhood. I didn’t understand why he needed to go to the emergency room for that. He explained there was blood, a lot of blood. I figured he was just being concerned with his male parts, but reassured him that I’d be there shortly.

I quickly got ready and drove to the ER. I called my father-in-law on the way there. I explained that I didn’t know much but I’d call with further details when I knew more.

I met Ryan at the triage desk. He was sitting in a wheelchair, which I thought was a bit much. The coworker that drove him was a retired man who bagged groceries in his spare time. I thanked him for his trouble and he left.

While the nurse was performing her examination of blood pressure, pulse, and asked medical history type questions, Ryan adjusted himself in the wheelchair and that’s when I noticed the blood on his pants.

With each new hospital employee, Ryan was required to re-explain his traumatic injury. The employees that knew me from working in the ER in the past joked that it was a good thing that he had already knocked me up with twins. Oh brother.

We got back to the examination room and I helped him undress and put the gown on. His underwear was full of blood. I thought I spotted and bled a lot during regular periods. This was much worse. This underwear was not salvageable. He stood leaning against the table and drips of blood slowly hit the floor. He was still bleeding. Now I became quite concerned. I felt horrible that I down-played it so much. He was hurt quite badly.

After quite an agonizing wait, several procedures including him peeing a bloody urine sample into a cup for his Workers Compensation drug test and an ultrasound of his testicles, they called in a urologist.

Another not so quick procedure indicated my husband had severed his urethra, the tube that carries urine from your bladder to the outside of your body. This was no simple injury, and no simple fix. How many times had men been kicked in the groin or fell skateboarding on America's Funniest Home Videos? They didn't bleed and need medical attention. What gives?

He required immediate surgery. I called and updated his parents. With that news, they planned a trip down to help. I was thankful for the support. My mother also came to the ER to bring me breakfast of yogurt, a muffin and some milk. She waited with me for the surgical staff to take Ryan to surgery.

I was told how long the procedure would take and that Ryan would be in the hospital overnight. He would also have two urine catheters: one coming out of his penis, and another one coming from his abdomen. That’s right. They actually had to cut into him and put in another catheter.

When the doctor was done, he came to the waiting room to see me. He pulled me into a private room to give me the news. Ryan did indeed sever his urethra and they were able to stitch it back together. I was relieved. There was a ‘but’ that I wasn’t prepared for. The scar tissue at the wound site could become a problem once it was healed and not permit urine to flow out of the body. That was the reason for the second catheter. If this became a problem, Ryan would need surgery in San Francisco in a few months. Yikes. I listened to more information from the doctor, but didn’t comprehend much of it. I was happy that Ryan was okay for the moment, but I was scared beyond belief that this wouldn’t be the end of the injury.

The next day, Ryan was released to go home. We were given instructions by a nurse and more supplies to take care of the incision site for the second catheter. The nurse said he could shower once per day and that we needed to keep the incision site clean and dry. Make a follow up appointment with the urologist at the two week mark. Also, no sex at least until that appointment. This is horrible news for newlyweds, but it made sense. With me being pregnant, I certainly didn’t feel like being intimate anyway. It was a good excuse for me.