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!!!