....continued again...

Wanna talk about feeling KRAPPY!?!?!?

13-19 DAYS POST-OP...

So...not long after getting admitted I was moved 4 times in about 3 hrs & I continued to feel worser and worser!!!  By the time I got moved up to the "surgical floor" ward I was beginning to not really care how I was feeling just being adamant that I had to be home by the 15th 'cause Pragmatically Speaking & Hop were coming to visit for 6 days & I was NOT gonna miss that.  Well....this little chest wall infection had it's own plan & it was racing ahead fast.  Those first couple of days I was REALLY sick...sicker then I can ever remember being.  They were taking blood and giving me pain shots I couldn't care....now we all remember that I have a HUGE needle phobia...so you get the idea of just how bad it was.  The chest wall continued to get redder to the point of almost purple & the heat radiating off it could be felt thru my hospital gown before you even touched me.  Miss B (my amazing nurse) had the great idea of outlining the redness so we could better tell if it was getting bigger...so not really being contained by the antibiotics.  You could see it getting bigger & redder almost by the hour!!!  It spread from just past the centre of my chest to behind my armpit & started to swell so they took 3 huge syringes of fluid out of that chest wall.  I never really realized just how sick I was or just how awful I looked...but VoR was really worried but I was shocked by the fear & worry in his eyes.  He did what he always does & drew strength & comfort from the Lord & passed that peacefulness on to me.  I know that he & Pragmatically Speaking gave me a priesthood blessing but I don't even have a snippet of what was said but I began the long & slow turn & began the long and uphill road of healing.  He was not alone in his worry those first days....the doctors & Infectious disease were very worried too. They decided to put in a PICC line to save my veins & just started dumping antibiotics thru my IV while they waited for the culture to grow so they could hit it with the most effective cocktail.

For me the TRUE bummer was when I realized that VoR had gone to pick up Pragmatically Speaking from the airport & I was in fact NOT gonna be home for the entire 6 day visit.  I figured that by the 15th I would be well on the road to healing & a bit tender still but up & around & being me....WRONG!!!!  On the upside they came & saw me everyday at the hospital, but it gave them some really great bonding time....and as it turns out...a free trip for me to go visit them when I am totally healed...so a convoluted win-win.  Pragmatically Speakings other half came to town to surprise us all too so a real tender mercy # (ah heck...who can even count them at this point?!?!) for that little family & us.

I gradually started feeling a little better....probably aided by some dear friends bringing in some yummy contraband treats for me....THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!  You see...when your a diabetic and have food allergies...the limited hospital menu gets even smaller!!! Poached chicken breast, instant mashed potato & over boiled peas & carrots...OYE!!!!   But I digress...

...days 20-22...to come