The Other Side of This Life

On September 29th I had my orientation with Roswell and then went back into the hospital for IV meds right after.  I was having a very hard time breathing and needing oxygen all day long.  Even with the oxygen on I couldn't walk ten feet without becoming winded. Thankfully I was able to get through the orientation and that went good.  There was about twenty of us and we all sat through a slide show and learned what was expected of us as volunteers.  We were all given a health assessment that we had to fill out.  One of the things on the list was getting two PPD's.  I had one done earlier in September so all I had to do was get one more and have my doctor fill out the form.

When I got into the hospital, they accessed the port which was great compared to a PICC line.  I wish I would have gotten this thing sooner!  They put cream on it to numb the skin and put a needle right into the port and covered it.  That was it.  It was so nice not to have to go down to radiology and get the PICC line put in, be sore for a day and then be uncomfortable with this tube hanging out of my arm.  I had PFT's done and they were down to 22.  This is very low for me.  I normally go in about 32 and leave with high 30's low 40's.  I don’t know what to expect to leave with this admission.  I can tell that I am getting sicker because things are getting a lot harder. I don't have energy to do much at all.  I get winded even from a shower.  There is so much I want to do, but I just can't get through it and I hate it.  I am hoping after these antibiotics will help get me to a comfortable level, at least for a little while.

While in the hospital my doctor gave me my second PPD, filled out the Roswell paperwork and tried to get the ABG drawn. Wednesday she came in and went in my right wrist.  It was a little painful, but she got the draw and sent it down to the lab. The lab called back and said that it wasn't enough blood to get the level.  So she tried again on my left wrist.  It was bleeding, but very slowly.  She finally got enough and sent it down.  The lab then called up and said that there was too much air in the sample and it clotted so they couldn't use it.  Both of my wrists were really sore, especially on the left side, where she poked me twice and had to keep moving around to keep it bleeding.  She decided it wasn’t a good idea to put me through that anymore and said we would try again on Friday.  When she came in on Friday she went into the right one again and it did the same thing the left did.  It was bleeding super slow so she had to stop and go into the left again.  This time the left didn't even bleed.  I think it wasn't working because she tried too soon after the first attempt.  She said no because she went into different spots, but obviously it was worse off the second time.  I am suppose to have it drawn the end of this week after my wrists heal, but I don’t know, I think I am going to wait till my next clinic appt in a month.  I don't want this done again if it isn't going to work.  They are painful and then the wrist remains sore for days.

I am home now on IV meds.  I left the hospital Saturday morning.  On Friday I had my week PFT's and they are up to 25.  I am feeling better and off the oxygen during the day, but still having a hard time moving around without getting winded.  I was sent home with some portable oxygen tanks so I can take them with me in case I need them when I am not at home.  I am going to be looking into getting a portable concentrator because these tanks are big, bulky, heavy and not user friendly.  I am also going to talk to work about working from home.  I don't want to bring oxygen into work with me if I don't have to. I have an appointment at the end of the week to see what the PFT's are up to and if we should continue one more week on IV's or not.  Until then..