This past week was pretty cruddy....tons of yucky stuff. But through it all...what stood out was how blessed I am to have some pretty amazing people in my life (including some strangers). Here's the recap.
Monday:
Woke up with horrible back pain that radiated into my chest. I called Eric at work and asked him to come home and help me because I was having a hard time moving. Kaiser, being, well, Kaiser, wouldn't see me...they just said, "go to the emergency room". So we went to SW Washington Medical center. The tests came back "mildly-positive" for a blood clot...so from that point on it was a full day of morphine, nitro, tests, and "wait and see". I have to say every experience I've had with the ER staff at SWWMC has been amazing. They are compassionate and caring and they take your health very seriously...they're the stuff they make TV medical dramas out of (I'm serious...these guys rock!). Anyways, after a full day in the cardiac unit, my second set of tests came back negative..they couldn't find a clot. The cardiac doc gave me a pretty strong warning to get more exercise, and insist that my regular doc put me on cholesterol medication. They gave me some muscle relaxers for my back pain, told me to take daily aspirin to thin my blood and sent me on my way to rest at home for the next few days.
All through this very, very, long and sometimes a little scary day....Eric was by my side. I'm sure bored to tears while we waited but he never complained once. He held my hand. Talked to me, made me laugh, made phone calls for me. Nothing, but nothing, calms me or comforts me more, than having my husband stroke my hand or hair and smile down at me. He had called all my girls to let them know what was going on (even though I didn't really want him to). The girls checked on me throughout the day...so sweet and caring.
Tuesday:
Woke up still with back pain, but a bit better, but now I had a cold. But somehow, this cold just felt more intense. Spent the day in bed, with my sweet dog Liberty by my side....sleeping, sleeping, sleeping.
Wednesday:
Cold worse, back still hurt, tired of sleeping, feeling disconnected from the world, I sat on the couch coughing, blowing my nose, thinking I missed being at work (weird, huh?). I am a creature of habit and routine and I actually like my job and the people I work with and I felt bad being a home when I knew there was so much to be done at work. By this point, I had lost my voice completely and my head was pounding non-stop. The pain medication I got at the hospital wasn't seeming to do much. I emailed my boss to let her know I wouldn't be in again. She told me not to worry...just get better and she'd see me at the end of the week.
I wasn't feeling well enough to tackle the dishes or the piles of dirty laundry staring me in the face. Being sick...sucks...I'm just too impatient for it. Poor Eric had been taking care of me for three days now, so I was also feeling like a bad wife. I tried to rally enough to actually cook a dinner for him....I managed some boxed pasta, frozen meatballs and bagged salad. Sweet guy that he is, he said it was great (I know it can't have been all that good). Sitting at the dinner table, I said, "I'm going to work tomorrow." "Ok, dear", he replied.
Thursday:
I woke up and dragged myself into the shower, got dressed and headed to work. Still no voice, and feeling really tired, but I felt like I had been home long enough. Within an hour of being there, I realized I still was just not well enough to work. What a big whimp I am! I chastised myself for being such a big baby all the way home. I called Kaiser to see if I could see a doctor...I needed to get better! They said they'd have someone call me back (which by the way they never did). I crawled into bed and fell asleep.
A few hours later I was awakened by the phone. My niece was calling to tell me my sister, Karen, had a stroke that morning. She was alive, but it looked pretty serious and she was paralyzed on her left side. I hung up the phone, fell to my knees and just sobbed, and sobbed. My cries made my throat burn, and as my shoulders shook, my back pain returned. How could this happen to her at only 52 years old? Memories of my Mom's stroke that took her life a little over a year ago flooded me...and I sobbed some more. I finally got myself together and called Eric, my brother Chad, my girls and squeaked out the news to them on the phone.
Chad, an RN, double-PhD, university professor, and a neurological specialist, told me the first few days would be the worst for Karen because of brain swelling. My sister's family had requested no visitors yet, but Chad and I were going to go the hospital the next day to meet with the family and her doctors to see what her prognosis was looking like.
I emailed my boss again to let her know what had happened. Again, she told me not to worry. To take care of my family and she'd see me next week (she's pretty great that way).
Friday:
I woke up and called my brother while I was still in bed to arrange a time to meet him to go to the hospital. I got up and turned on the shower. I realized I was feeling "not right" so decided to lay back down for a few minutes. I prayed for God to make this dang illness I'd had subside, at least for the morning so I could go and visit my sister. I slept for about an hour more and then got up again. Again, I turned on the shower, but was feeling a bit shaky. I stepped into the shower, reached down to get the soap and the next thing I knew I was laying crumpled in the bathtub, staring up at the shower. I was confused for a minute wondering why I was taking a bath with the shower on, when I realized I must have fainted. I lay for a few more minutes feeling too weak to move. I reached up and turned off the shower and tried to get up, but my feet wouldn't hold me. I managed to crawl out of the tub and grab my cell phone off the bathroom counter to call Eric to come and rescue me (again!). I was feeling nauseous and limp. Eric rushed home, helped me put on some clothes (that must have been a funny sight to see) and took me back to SWMC. I wanted to just go to Kaiser...but they have no urgent care, and since they never called me back from my appointment request from yesterday, to the hospital we went.
So again, Eric sat by my side in ER, holding my hand, stroking my hair, telling me I wasn't being a big drama queen. More tests, more waiting, two IVs full of fluids. After all that, the doctor's assessment...I had bronchitis and was dehydrated. My thyroid showed it was off and that might have also contributed to it all. So, they sent me home with more medications and instructions to rest, drink lots of fluid and follow-up with my regular doctor. On the way home, I told Eric I was NOT going back to the hospital anymore!
Saturday:
Still feeling nauseous (good news is I lost 5 lbs. this week) with a lingering cough, I felt better enough to go to visit my sister (if she was up for visitors). We arrived at the hospital and found her room in ICU. I could see my brother-in-law and my niece standing by Karen's bed...they were smiling and talking to Karen.
I entered the large room. Karen's bed was in the full sitting up position. I held back tears as I approached her. I leaned over to kiss her cheek, and she said, "Don't be scared. I look bad, but I'm fine." So like Karen to want to put others at ease. She was speaking surprisingly well, her color was good, her eyes clear, though sleepy. My niece told me the good news that she had moved her left arm a little and that she was able to swallow on her own now...both really, really good signs. Although Karen's speech was slurred, she was still the Karen we all know and love...sassy, loving, funny. She talked with me, in and out of her morphine haze. Although at times she looked like she was sleeping, even snoring a little, she'd chime in with a comment, surprising me that she'd heard what was being said around her.
Things were looking much better for her. She'd move to a rehab center on Monday, and there was hope she'd be able to have some mobility back. It will no doubt be a long and frustrating road for her, but recovery looks possible. I silently thanked God for giving our family this blessing.
My brother-in-law was happy, almost elated. When she first arrived at the hospital he didn't know if she'd die, or if she lived if she'd be able to talk, be herself, or move...and today, he had his wife back, and he was joyful and full of hope for her recovery that had already begun.
So, ugh....what a week. But one that has touched my heart with what love and kindness can do. My family, my sister's family, my co-workers, my friends, the doctors and nurses at the hospital, the paramedics........well, it just makes you feel good about the human race. I am..... thankful.
I thought you guys were going to call me if she wanted visitors?????? Why didn't you call me?
Posted by: Jessica | March 14, 2010 at 02:16 PM