6 ms·
As an adolescent around 1990, I burst my spleen in the final minutes of a school ski trip. Nearly bled to death as the school staff transported me home and left
by aklemm 5y ago
As an adolescent around 1990, I burst my spleen in the final minutes of a school ski trip. Nearly bled to death as the school staff transported me home and left me in my living room to be found later by my parents nearly unconscious.
Anyway, I got to the emergency room that evening and there was much debate whether to remove my spleen. They decided not to and instead kept me hospitalized for 10 days and then out of school for 3 more weeks after that waiting for it to heal on its own.
- jessriedel 5y ago
- aklemm 5y agoJust a tangential anecdote offered on a fine Friday night. I’ll be sure to check the rules of this subreddit more closely in the future.
- jessriedel 5y agoI mean, hardly anyone disputes the usefulness of moderation. I think these sorts of anecdotes lower the quality of the discussion, and HNers should take that into consideration.
- hungryforcodes 5y agoI enjoyed it.
- cwwc 5y agoConcurred.
- workaccount21 5y agocool story bro, unironically.
- melissalobos 5y agoAt least it was related to the decision to remove a spleen or not. In at least one case I now know of, in a young patient they decided to keep the spleen. In some cases hearing of unextraordinary events helps to calibrate what extraordinary is. I have never suffered a spleen injury, but have heard of lots of young men having theirs removed when I was younger. This anecdote leads me to believe those may have been extraordinary cases. At the very least I no longer think doctors routinely just remove spleens as I once did.
- gcanyon 5y agoMine was lost due to rupture in a motorcycle accident. The doctors didn't say whether keeping it was an option, but I doubt it: it came with a bunch of broken ribs and two punctured/collapsed lungs, so my body had more than a few things to deal with, and fixing a spleen was probably low on the list.
- echelon 5y agoSpleens are one of the more vulnerable organs. They're prone to rupture during trauma, and if ruptured, can easily cause a person to bleed out. In many motorcyclist accidents, a ruptured spleen can be the cause of death. Spleens are essentially large bags of blood and immunological pulp, and the reason they evolved this way is because they act as a filter against bloodborne pathogens. They host a diverse but specialized collection of immune cells, such as macrophages, and have a truly unique and interesting role in overall health. You should read up on the thymus next. That one is super important and is also implicated in aging.
- outworlder 5y ago> You should read up on the thymus next. That one is super important and is also implicated in aging. That one seems to self-deactivate with age.
- echelon 5y agoIndeed. The thymus is responsible for much of our immune cell production, but it shrivels away to nothing by our elderly years. It's unfortunate, because our responses to immune challenges - including cancer - diminish with age.
- GenerocUsername 5y agoHi! Nice to meet you! Similar story! I was on a university research trip in the Philippians when my spleen spontaneously ruptured. It took 4 days to get home and by the time I got back to States for diagnosis half my blood was in my belly area... I rejected surgery since it had been days since initial event and healed on my own...