Three Days Later

It's Thursday & everything is still okay. I haven't been cooking yet but I've managed to wash almost all the dishes that were left soaking in my clean kitchen sink. My friend Ron hauled most of the garbage, cleaned off the horizontal surfaces but got called away on a family emergency. I've washed up most of the dishes he left, got my own prescriptions from the drugstore & even made a quick trip to my favorite Oriental grocery for fruit over the last couple of days. Gawd how I wanted fresh fruit!! They don't feed you any fresh fruit in the hospital .   .   .   .

I've even finished up the last couple of tax returns on my desk & there's only MINE & one other to do. But I have to clean out the fridge. Most of it went bad during my stay in the hospital so I'm not looking forward to that. Maybe I can start on the mountain of laundry on the floor in my bedroom. I think almost everything I own is in that pile. Why?? Because I was too weak to pull out the washer & hook it up to the sink! I could've hung it all on the drying rack once it was washed but I just couldn't get that washer out. I thought about dropping it off at the laundry but it became too much effort. So, now there's a mountain. The good news is that I can pull that damned washer out & hook it up again without problems. The bad news is - will anything still fit me????

I have spoken to Darlene, the sister of a pal, who owns a moving company. Darlene came by today to help me figure out what to do about my situation. Since I rescued her little brother from  tax paperwork hell, she promised to rescue me for only the labor costs. She says we can pack, sort & move in two days to make it easy on me or one day if we push it. Then we can get a bin & toss all the rest in a couple of hours - anytime. She has a big job booked for the 10th & is busy for the rest of the month, OMG - I'm booked for June 05!!  Got my estimate & was told to shut up & let us handle the move. Shutting up Dar!

On the Needles - nothing new on the needles. Trying to finish the current sock before I move. The sock bin is NOT going into storage but will come with me to my new abode with all my sock needles intact. It's up to me to point out the yarn I'm taking & the yarn that goes into storage.

The Best Laid Plans . . . . .

Dear Diary - I meant to be prepared, got things organized to a point & then it all went to shit. I beat that April 30 deadline more or less - the folks who showed up at the last minute got less - and then got so sick I had to call 911 for a ride to the hospital. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't walk, was afraid if I went to bed I wouldn't be able to get back out. I waited until the last dawg was hung before calling for help. Yeah, I thought about driving myself but had some brains left since I remember thinking about where to park .  .  .  .  I thoughtfully sat outside after packing my essentials - ebooks, Audiobook player & phone with chargers. I even packed some knitting & my toothbrush but I never thought about clothes. I thought they'd ship me back after a few hours in Emergency.

 By the time help arrived, I couldn't get out of the chair. I was done. I remember waking up at a couple of points but mostly it's fuzzy for the first week. I do remember waking up & talking to a very young looking fellow sewing a central line into my neck & again to someone trying very hard to find veins to put IVs into - I have all the bruises to show for it too. All my vessels shrink & roll when someone points something sharp at them!!! I ended up waking in Intensive care with lines in my hands, arms, neck & a breathing machine bouncing up & down on my face. That stupid machine became the bane of my existence!! It honked like a goose, whistled out the side & periodically spewed a lot of fluid onto my lips, nose & face - yuck! The bouncing made all my facial & nasal bones sore - I think my nose was numb two weeks after they took it off, but I needed it to breathe for me. When they took it off & I went to sleep, I'd stop breathing. I heard I shocked a couple of friends who came to visit & thought I was dead in the bed.

My heart couldn't beat with all the fluid backing up into my body & was close to shutting down they said. Not only was it unable to push the fluid, but my lungs filled up & couldn't oxygenate my blood. They told me if I hadn't called when I did on May 03, that I would've died. They weren't that sure I'd survive when I arrived at the hospital said the doctor who sewed the central line in my neck. He told me he didn't expect me to wake up talking in the ICU either - they were talking about putting me on life support when I woke up complaining. One minute I was almost dead & the next I woke up hollering for a more comfortable bed & to get that horrible mask removed. He said I must be one tough old bird.
I came home yesterday. Suddenly. I was getting ready for release but they decided they wanted me to stay for a few more days just to be sure. I was bored. I grumbled. All hell was breaking loose - ER was full with beds in the hall, we had beds in the hall & the doctors were trying to figure out how to squeeze another bed in there. I heard that & said I could go home since I was doing all my own self care & helping my roomie as well. I could sleep in my own bed & order in if I had too. So they double checked my vitals & asked if I was sure I could manage at home. They talked about my medication & what to do if my weight fluctuated too much. They checked my referrals & information. And agreed that I could leave. Whew. 'Course, then it took 3 hours to check out. By then I could've cheerfully crawled back into the hospital bed I gave away.

But I made it!! Hooray!! I'm stuck with home oxygen & travel oxygen. The oxygen is to help my heart do it's work. Remarkably, I'm only on a cholesterol pill, a new blood pressure pill, a blood thinner & the water pill. And I have to go for a Sleep Study to see if I need that night time breathing machine or just the oxygen I'm on today. I have to say I had one of the best sleeps ever in my own lumpy bed with my own smelly sheets & 6 pillows with the window wide open & my favorite audio playing in the background.

I do get tired quickly. But I was able to drive my car - after I got all the equipment loaded - go to the drugstore today to get my meds & some quickie meals in a bag. I'm missing my bedside hospital meals!!! But I had a smoothie & a chicken wrap at Mcdonald's on my way home. I do love that chicken wrap. And I have to admit that I feel better today than I have in months, even though I'm tired. I may not have the stamina to go to Safeway yet but I wouldn't have been able to go to the drugstore the week before I went to hospital. And now I can. So, a little every day & one day at a time.

Knitting Stuff - Yes by gawd, I took a sock in progress to the hospital. Couldn't do a lot until most of my IVs came out but I finished the first sock & am almost to the heel with the other. You find out what's important in the hospital - good fibre, food & air to breath!!!