Category: My Life

Yesterday the sun shined bright, the skies were blue and our temperatures climbed to well over 80! We managed to keep the house a toasty 79, but I told Hubby that we will have to get the window air conditioners in soon.

But yesterday gave me so much hope and filled me with happiness. My Physical Therapy started and one of the things I did was walk in my yard and 1/3 of the way up my driveway. I know that doesn’t seem like much, but trust me, it is.

She also gave me exercises to do three times a day. Slowly, but surely, I will get back into shape. I know it!

Home, where grandchildren visit!

Today is laundry day, which in turn is also exercise day. There are 13 steps down to our basement and thirteen steps up. I have three loads of laundry and so all that stair climbing will be a very good thing.

Have I said how wonderful it is to be home? Home with my puppies and Hubby. home where I can watch the birds and my eagles, and enjoy the melting snow! Home, with my own bed and soft comfy pillow!

Yes, today I feel so very thankful!

I’m pleased to announce, that I have cooked the last two suppers. Both came out well, and although I was exhausted by the end of the meal, I was filled with happiness and accomplishment at having gotten that done!

It’s quite hard to do nothing for seven weeks. And out of those seven weeks, 17 of those days I spent in the hospital and then when home, in bed. I’ve lost 28 pounds, but I do not recommend this as a means of weight loss.

You pay a terribly high price for that. Your muscles sort of turn to jelly, and your stamina disappears.

Yesterday I did go out, kind of did too much, and then oddly enough suffered from my first ever case of insomnia. You would think I would have fallen instantly asleep, but no, it just didn’t happen. What do you do when you have insomnia?

I decided today that I will do little jobs around the house, but take things easily. I plan to pay a few bills, get a few things ready for snail mail, and perhaps watch a little TV. I have a new show I am enjoying. “Dr. Jeff, Rocky Mountain Vet”. As the title explains, it is all about a Veterinarian in Colorado. A true show, with real life or death stories about the animals that Dr. Jeff and his staff treat. It’s on Animal Planet!

I know I am repeating myself, But I am ever so grateful for making it through this storm of poor health. I truly feel lucky!

I’m home, and I have started oral antibiotics. It will be so for 2-3 months, to make sure that the infection does not come back. Every 12 hours, a pill, with a full glass of water, and a small snack. The new normal.

This is totally okay. Trust me. Getting the PICC line out, getting off the super strong antibiotics and getting home, is a wonderful thing! And I am not complaining.

In fact I am joyous, and thrilled and I am embracing it all. How lucky I am to be regaining my health, my strength.

I am not going back to Boston. I am not going back to poor health and illness. I see this as a time when I can take control and regain my health all the way around!

Life! I chose life!

I’m sitting here at home, feeling so thankful to God, for getting me through the last two months. During the dark days, when I felt so sick, I prayed so hard to God to bring me through this. And he did.

When I was a kid, I used to pray for candy bars, and since the candy was sort of around, I figured he heard me very well.

As I grew older, I came to accept the fact that my prayers were not always answered the way I wanted them to be, but somehow the comfort of Christ remained.

During this time, I just prayed for a return to health, even if the road was long. Somehow, someway, God heard my prayers and I felt the urge to take control of my healthcare and my life.

All the special doctors in Boston were literally killing me, until I said…enough. Three super antibiotics that I was allergic to…what are the odds? At least now I am going on antibiotics that I have taken before. There is a little side effect from them, but I know I can handle it. It’s just crazy I will be on them for 2-3 months!

But I am so happy to be home, to feel well, and to be regaining my strength. Oh yes, and to be able to shower every day without the hassle of covering my PICC line, which is now in the trash!

I am so thankful as I go forward in my life. Life was tough, but right now, I see nothing but blessings all around me!

It is so good to be home! I can certainly tell you, that after 6 weeks, with several hospitalizations, that a hospital is no place to be when you are ill. In fact, if you are sick, get the heck out of there as fast as you can!

My illness was hospital caused. Looking back, it all started with my cervical spine surgery. It was in the Operating Room where the bacteria was introduced into my body. And then the games began.

They used many hard antibiotics. Those medications, in large doses just wipe you out. Unfortunately, I am allergic to many antibiotics. This made it even harder to treat the infection. At one point I felt as if I would die.

When I was discharged this last time I came home feeling as if I might never be cured.

On Sunday the visiting nurse came and she sat and went over the BRAT diet with me. She said that after all I’d been through, my gut (stomach) was beat. All the good bacteria and flora was gone. She suggested the BRAT diet.

What is the BRAT diet? Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast.

She sat and talked to me while I made the rice, thawed my own applesauce and then I sat down and had my first mini meal. It was hard to eat it, but I got that first meal down.

An hour later, I ate a little more. And an hour after that… Then slowly, I started to feel just a little bit stronger. Just a little bit! My stomach stopped hurting, and the nausea began to ease.

And I slept last night. Better than I have in a while. I woke this morning and started in with my BRAT diet again. And things are settling with my stomach.

Tomorrow is the last day for the injectable antibiotics. After this I hope I will not need anything more, but if anything it would be oral.

I decided to take back control of my life, of my eating, and my rest and care. And now, fortunately, my life is starting to get back on track.

It’s been a month since my cervical spine surgery. I was so hopeful that I would have the surgery and then after a short recovery, life would go back to normal. However, this was not meant to be.

I was in the hospital for four days, came home, and after four days of being at home got very ill, and was rushed back to the hospital and into emergency surgery, as I was full of a Staph infection.

I sort of thought that once they cleaned it all out, I’d take antibiotics for a bit and then I’d been fine. That also wasn’t to be.

For some reason, the antibiotics are not kicking the infection’s butt and I am still quite ill.

I run fevers, and want to sleep and I feel like I am getting weaker and weaker.

Today I decided that despite feeling bad, I needed to at least do a few things. I got Hubby to bring the laundry to the basement, and started that. I made a list of items we needed at the grocery store, and while he was gone, I sat on a little step stool and cleaned the fridge out.

That was it, aside from folding the clothes, but Hubby helped me with that.

I think the biggest reason I find this all so frustrating is that my expectations were that I would go in get fixed and get well.

I go back in to see the Infectious Disease doctor on Tuesday, as well as my surgeon. I hope that the news is good. I suspect that either way, the recovery will be a lot longer than I thought.

Meanwhile I have a PICC line in my right arm and I get IV antibiotics three times a day. My kitchen sort of looks like the set of General Hospital. At least with the PICC line I just infuse the medications and not inject them.

So life goes on. And hopefully, very soon the infection that has been vacationing in my body will decide to go away too.

It’s really wonderful when you meet a really nice person, who is willing to help you out with something important, and while speaking with this person, you realize how very much you have in common, and how happy you are to have met. Yvette was such a kind woman, who really wanted to help, and spent some of her own time today making sure at least part of my problem was taken care of.

You see, Monday found me with another problem with my PICC line. I needed to get an ultra sound done on the arm to see if there was a clot in the blood vessel.

There is and I need a new line, and so everyone, from my visiting nurse, to my doctor in Boston worked to get my local GP to write the order.

Hubby and I were informed by GP (here in New Hampshire) that he wouldn’t write the order. If I needed the new PICC line I could go to Boston. He did say however, if he spoke to the Boston Doctor, he would consider writing the order. But after he spoke to her, he still refused to write the order. So at 3:50 PM on Monday afternoon, I had no one to help me and nothing to do.

I would not give up. Now the really nice person (mentioned above), called his office and arranged for me to get a normal IV which I can use until Thursday, when Hubby will drive me to Boston to get my new PICC line put in.

But the really nice thing was meeting the Nurse, Yvette. A dachshund lover since her youth, she loved flipping through the pictures of the dachshunds and Lili and I even pulled up my Flickr Pictures, so she could see the baby pictures of Anneliese’s litter of four puppies. Oh, I love cell phones which allow you to show off your children, grandchildren, puppies and babies of all shaped and sizes!

Yvette was the highlight of my day. She helped to get an IV into me so I could continue to get my antibiotics infused, uninterrupted, and talking with her, was like talking to an old friend.

I was watching the TV yesterday, thinking about how long it will take to get better. Two major surgeries in a matter of a couple of weeks, and a deep infection. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it’s going to be a very long recovery time.

So, yesterday I kicked back a little and relaxed and rested for a large portion of the day. I find that if I want to take a good nap, I go into my room, lie down with my pillows, blankets and dachshunds, and turn on old TV Game Shows. The fake laugh tracks, and the silliness, puts me right to sleep! I was grateful to get two good naps in yesterday.

Last night, I slept well. I slept until 6:45 this morning, when the dogs got me up and at that point I said the heck with it, and after they all came in, I dressed and sat down with my coffee.

I am falling into a routine with the antibiotics and I am getting more confident with the sterilized equipment, and getting the antibiotics all  into me at the correct times and then all the lines cleaned and sealed off until the next dose.

Hubby is doing well with the meals and the home clean up. Although I have to admit that my appetite is not very good. Tonight he wants to make Venison Salisbury Steaks, and since he is being so attentive, I will do my best to eat one.

I still have stitches and will until the 14th. That the day I go to get them out and to see the Infectious Disease doctors.

Time for me to hook up my IV’s! Happy Sunday!