Okay. So I was talking about my visit with the doctor when we ended last time. A couple more things I learned from him. I also suffered from Pulmonary Infarction which means that some of the tissue in my lung died due to the lack of oxygen. Wait, did I say that in blog 1? Maybe I did. Kids, this is your brain on morphine.
So, that morning I was enjoying being relatively pain-free. The feeling was still there when I took a deep breath, but the feeling was much duller. The doctor mentioned getting up and out walking a couple of times that day. He also ordered me off my PCA and half of the wires and tubes coming out of me to get me more mobile. They also had me start using an Incentive Spirometer to help get my lungs back into shape and make sure I’m not at risk for pneumonia. Apparently with all the shortness of breath I was having, pneumonia was a real complication. That actually scared me into using it. I’m still not where I need to be, but it’s become a game. I told the kids it was a game Mommy had to play to get better. They thought that was the coolest thing ever. The goal is to get the dial to 2000, I’m finally hitting 1000 consistently while at home. I was 500-750 all day on Tuesday. By the way, I had to look up the name of this thing because I can never remember what it’s called (I had to look it up for the blog). I keep calling it my breathy-inney-thingy. Scientific. I know. Here’s a picture! 
Okay, so that morning went pretty well. Larry stopped by shortly before lunch to say hi, and then John arrived just before Larry left. After lunch, which still didn’t consist of much more than broth and a couple bites of other things I thought might go down, but were not appetizing at all, we went for my first walk. The doctor had said to go half as far as I thought I could. Did I listen to him? No. I went 3/4 as far as I thought I could because I’m an idiot. By the time we got back to the room, I was exhausted. I crawled into bed and started having more pains again. By 2 pm I was breathing short again and John convinced me not to be a hero and to take more pain medication. He was right. So, another round of Dilaudid. Another couple hours of dozing off.
Around 3 pm my Mom showed up, and she was a very welcome visitor as I was starting to feel a little lonely. We talked family history, she got into a great conversation with my nurse, and we just chatted for a long time. Oh, and she brought me a bubble tea from Indigo Tea Co. Apparently, she didn’t know what kind to get me so she showed the lady there my picture and said, “My Daughter is a customer of yours and usually gets a bubble tea, but I don’t know what kind. Do you?” And the lady knew exactly who I was and what I usually get. So awesome. I haven’t visited as much lately, but I’m glad they at least still recognize me.
The bubble tea was the first thing that tasted good to me in days. It was a life saver. During the two hours that Mom was there, I perked up a TON. I felt the effects of the morphine dwindle away and I finally started feeling like myself again. The pain was only there when I had a random spasm or burp or quick breath, and even then, it wasn’t as bad.
Mom left around 5, just as I was getting word that John and the boys were on their way over. I told them not to worry about my dinner. And then…I ordered real food. I wanted real food. I ordered the Butter Crumb Cod, Buttered Noodles, and a Salad (to get me moving, because..narcotics!). The boys came with their Happy Meals and were upset to get another Lugia Pokemon, and I got to tell them all about my new breathing game and talk to them and play with them, and boy was it lovely. They rode on the bottom of my bed, and then finally had to go as it was after their bedtime.
Once they were gone I pulled out my Jamberry Nail Wraps and went to work. I’d been waiting to be coherent enough to do this for a whole day (that’s a long time in the hospital) and was glad to be feeling good enough. Just before I did my nails, though, my nurse came in and explained that the Doctor had changed my orders and that I’d have to be on Lovenox for a while as I transitioned to Coumadin. Lovenox is a shot, and one they fully expected me to give myself on my own, and at home. Oh boy. I’ve never really been good with needles. But, if my friend could do it her entire pregnancy, then I could do it for a few days, right?! (Thanks for the encouragement Tara! You didn’t even know you did it!) So, I got to give myself the first injection and talk about all the fun restrictions while being on blood thinners.
At that point, the nurses basically left me alone. It felt weird to not have people stopping in all the time. I got my nails to the point where I needed my rice bag warmed up, but no one came in. So, I started blogging. Then I finished the blog. And still, no one came in. I went for a walk. Everyone was busy. I felt so selfish pressing that button to have someone heat up my rice bag for a beauty need, but I’d already gone forward and couldn’t go back. I finished my nails, cleaned up my room a bit, and went to bed.
The night was relatively calm. Shift changes happened and I had a hard time getting comfortable. I woke up a couple of times but otherwise slept soundly.
The morning shift change was when I was told I would be going home for sure. That was at 7:15/7:30. They didn’t know when, but it depended on when the doctor could stop by. Low and behold, 8 am rolls around and there he is! He apologized for not stopping back the night previous, but explained his reasoning behind the meds he chose to give me, which I agreed with. We talked about the dietary restrictions, who to follow up with this week (primary care) and later on (hematologist). Then, it was just up to the nurses to disconnect my IV, and send me on my way. It all happened within an hour. In fact, it happened so quickly, we got a phone call from my surgeon on the way home who had stopped by, hoping to catch me. Oh well.
So now I have a follow up on Friday for the meds, I have a follow up with the surgeon on Monday for my breast reduction, and then I’ll go ahead and figure out when to connect with the hematologist.
And now I’m home and it’s wonderful. A few days of rest, then back to work on Monday. Thank you for all the encouraging words over the last few days. My phone just completely blew up, buzzing constantly on Monday morning and I was so grateful to hear from every single one of you. Here’s my messy but so welcome view:
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