Hospital Stay

Soon after I finished my blog last week, my life totally took a turn.  About 2 p.m. on Sunday, 6/17, I started chilling, followed by diarrhea, vomiting and a fever of 104.8.  This progressed on for a while. I called my nurse friend who thought I needed to go to the ER.  I decided to call Dr. Rob and get his opinion.  He was happy to help and said he had Dr. Kohn's phone number (my oncologist) and he would check with her.  She said I needed to go to the ER at St. Luke's East and gave me a list of tests she wanted them to run.  We arrived there around 10 p.m., and although there was a room full of people waiting to be seen, I got right in.  It was a very long night of tests, chest x-ray, CT of abdomen, putting in an IV, accessing my port, giving me nausea medicine and IV fluids and along with who knows what else.  It was decided about 2 a.m. after they had checked with the oncology doctor on call that I needed to be admitted - problem was there were no rooms.  I stayed in the ER in the very same room for 18 hours before being moved upstairs to a room.  They knew I had an infection but did not know where it was coming from or why.  They ran two blood cultures, one with blood from my port, one with blood from my IV in the arm.

Amanda showed up about 8 a.m. and stayed with me until 1 p.m. when she had to go to the airport to fly to Washington DC and then on to Puerto Rico on Wednesday.  She offered to cancel her trip, but I told her ghat was not necessary, Ron was there with me, and it would just be a lot of sitting around.  They started giving me two IV antibiotics that were general to help with any kind of infection.

While Amanda was there, and since they said I would be there a couple of days, Ron drove to Clinton to pick up some things for both of us.

Once I was transported to my room, it was much more comfortable but I was still pretty sick.  We had no sleep Sunday night and very little Monday night, as they were in there doing something with me every hour.  My blood pressure was low.  Heart rate was 122 so I had to wear a heart monitor.  My fever continued but was more like 101 to 102.

By Tuesday, I started feeling better and sat up in a chair part of the day.  The hospital food was not very tasty, so Ron went to get us McDonald's for lunch.  A plain old hamburger tasted good.

By Wednesday, the cultures had had 48 hours and grew nothing.  They still did not know anything about the infection, but my white count was 24 when I came in to ER (5-10 is normal), and it had gone down progressively the 3 days from 16 to 13 to 8 on Wednesday.  The infectious disease doctor said I could go home on Thursday with two different oral antibiotics.  They thought earlier in the week I might have to go home with IV antibiotics administered by home health.  Glad that didn't happen.  I felt a lot better on Wednesday and sat in the chair all day.  We walked the halls a couple of times just to move around and get out of the room for a while.  I was weak and tired.

Home looked pretty good Thursday when we got home - even though it is still in a shambles.  Charlie Engelken, our handyman, had taken care of things all week for us and kept the work going.  We went to Sieger's for dinner - green bean casserole, one of my favorites.  But, we were able to go home to sleep - we could tip toe around the mess and get to our tiny house TV room and our bedroom.

The dry wall guy was going to sand on Friday, so they did not want me to be here.  When they arrived, I went to Sieger's to hang out for the day.  Debbie made me homemade pimento cheese for lunch, and she fixed us dinner of brisket and baked potatoes.  Charlie called around 3 p.m. and said he had the house all cleaned up and I could come home.  The kitchen was uncovered so we could use it. The floors are still covered in cardboard, and the furniture is covered in plastic, but we have our tiny house front room - we moved the other recliner in there - and we are liking it.  I'm sitting here right now watching the rain hit the pond across the street - I love watching out the front.

Saturday morning I was feeling better, so we both had a "list" of household chores.  I had been up since 5:30 a.m. working on mine and was almost done at 9:30 a.m. when Ron went to the door and said we had a surprise.  I figured someone was stopping by with food.  Then Peyton bee bopped in and yelled surprise!  Made my day.  We played Crazy 8's and Trash, played ball in the basement and had a great time.  A friend from church had called earlier and said she was bringing us lunch, so it worked out great - we had food to feed Amanda and the kids too!  The table and chairs are covered in plastic, so we were thankful it was only 70 degrees for us to eat outside under the umbrella.  It was actually quite nice.  They had to get back by 3 p.m. for Garrison to play baseball, so they left about 1:15 p.m. - he put on his uniform here so they could go directly to the ball field.  It was so nice having them here - what a nice surprise.

Sunday was a quiet day at home.  I was craving fried chicken, so Ron went to Walmart to get us their $10 fried chicken meal deal - 8 pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and rolls.  And - we have enough left for probably 2 more meals.  With the leftover Shephard's Pie and the leftovers Debbie sent us, we should have plenty of food for the week.  We have been so blessed.

I hope I can make it to 2 pm. and beyond feeing good.  It's only been a week since the disastrous Sunday last week.  The painters and Charlie will be here at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow to discuss the painting project which is to begin a week from tomorrow if everything stays on schedule.

Feeling thankful for doctors and hospitals and medicine that can make us feel better when sick.  God is good - we are blessed.

Father's Day Week/Weekend

I finally figured out on Monday that perhaps the nausea issues I was continuing to have - which were typically gone by that time - were gastritis/ulcer issues, and once I took a couple of Prilosec, things started looking up quickly.  I felt much better on Tuesday and by Wednesday was feeling well enough to go out for lunch and to have Deb Mills over for coffee.  Whew - it was a long 8 days or so of not feeling well, but all is well now.

Progress was made on repairing the house this week.  Who knew that we would consider insulation a luxury - but - without it for a month, we definitely are doing the happy dance that we once again have insulation in the house, and our air conditioner is thanking us.  It is actually able to keep us cool now and is not running non stop to keep it at 80 degrees.  It actually shuts on and off now in the afternoons too!!!!   The sheet rock is up - although primitive - but it is keeping the heat out.  There is probably 2 more weeks of work - dry walling, painting, etc.

We moved the Smart TV and DVR into the front bedroom along with one recliner (there was already a love seat in there), and we now hang out in there to watch TV - we call it our "tiny house" experience.  It is tiny, but Ron lays on Peyton's day bed to take his frequent naps, so it all works out.  I'm enjoying watching out the front windows.  Since we live in the back of our house, I did not know how much traffic goes by our house - all times of the day and night.  I can see the still waters of the pond across the street and the golfers teeing off on #17.  See lots of people going to the mailbox.  A whole new world!  Who knew?

On Thursday I went with Debbie Sieger to KC to the dentist, and we stopped at Kohl's (bought a new hat) and Sam's Club before coming home.  Ron took a vacation day to stay home with the repairmen. He helped Charlie move the piano to the dining room area.  Charlie put cardboard all over our floors. All the furniture is covered in plastic.  Before that, Servpro sent two boys to pack all our crystal and china - in boxes in the basement.  It took them 5 hours each.  What a mess.  We still have use of the kitchen at this point, but we will probably have it covered a couple of days next week.

On Friday, we went to lunch with our investment people from Springfield.  Nice to escape from the mess and noise of the workers at the house to have lunch out.

We left early Saturday morning for a day in Overland Park.  We found shade to sit in - even if it was on the opposing team's bleachers - to watch Garrison play baseball.   I wore my new hat which is cooler on my head than the wig and had my personal fan, and at 9 a.m. with a slight breeze, it was comfortable.  We enjoyed getting to watch him play.  He was so happy we were there.

After Coach Todd and Garrison had showers after the game, we all went to Joe's Kansas City BBQ for Father's Day Lunch (Ron's choice).  It was tasty.  Amanda, Chad and Peyton went to look at a new vehicle, and we took Garrison home.  We were back in Clinton around 2:30 p.m. - a nice day with the family.  We are blessed.

Chemo #7 (next to last) will be Tuesday - Ron will take me.  I hope my side effects are a little more manageable and tolerable this time - fingers crossed.  I've been blessed with a pretty good experience over all.

Going to church this morning.  God is good - we are blessed!

Amanda's 37th Birthday

I had a good early part of the week - health wise - felt good on Monday - worked my volunteer job at the church, met with painters for the repairs on the house.  On Tuesday, Debbie Sieger took me to chemo - #6 - and I felt good that day.  Amanda surprised me and spent a couple of hours with me at chemo and joined us for lunch.  It was so nice to have her there.  Wednesday, I also felt good - met with the dry wall people on the repairs on the house.

Thursday and Friday - felt pretty rough.  Those are typically my most uncomfortable days after chemo, and they were again this time.  Nauseous, constipated and pain in my bones/muscles.  I probably felt the worse on Thursday.

Friday night, Amanda and Peyton to the rescue - they brought their smiles which was the best medicine I could have and spent the night with us to celebrate Amanda's birthday a few days early.  We had Pizza Glen pizza and salad for dinner as they arrived around 6:30 p.m. and just had a relaxed evening.  By Saturday morning, I was feeling better - they really are miracle workers!

Grandpa and Peyton went to The Donut Palace to get our breakfast - yummy maple long john for me.  Amanda helped us with our tech issues (we always have some) - we played Spoons and Trash and War (card games) and just enjoyed each other's company.

I had a pan of Amanda's favorite baked chicken wrapped in bacon on chipped beef in the freezer ready to bake, so we had that for lunch along with mashed potatoes that she and Peyton peeled and asparagus.  Chocolate pie for dessert.  Amanda suggested she go get us cherry limeades from Sonic to drink to vary my beverages from water all the time, so she, Peyton and I went and they were delicious - nice break from 64 ounces of water every day.  They hit the road around noon to get back to OP for Garrison's baseball game at 1:30 p.m. - then I had took the opportunity to rest.

Amanda and Peyton were the best medicine I could have had for the last few days - having them here is always wonderful, especially when I don't feel well.

We are waiting on estimates for the repairs to start on the house - ready for it to be back to normal.  Utility bill was 3 times the amount of last month's bill - yikes.

We are blessed.  Happy 37th Birthday Amanda on June 11 - you are our sunshine!  God is good.

Nightmare Continues - Bright Spot = Peyton and Garrison visit Cinton

In regards to the water damage issue, the bad news is that the soffett had to be completely taken off over the sink and that section of the kitchen, including the dry wall and the plywood.  I convinced him to put up some plastic to try to keep out as much of the west sun heat as possible.  No insulation there either.  The good news is that  all the Servpro fans and dehumidifiers left our home on Tuesday afternoon - it was SOOOOOOO quiet and stayed cooler.  The afternoon still warms up without insulation in the ceilings/attic, but we at least can use our main floor now to watch TV, etc.  My heel is feeling better without so many trips up and down the steps.

On Friday, we left Clinton at noon - stopped in Belton to eat at Freddy's before we went to OP to pick up Peyton and Garrison to spend the night with us in Clinton.  They were very excited to see us - and we were very excited to see them!  When we got home, I told them I had a surprise to show them.  Miss Esther was outside when we arrived, so they went down to invite her for the revealing.  There are baby robins in a nest in a bush in front of the house.  They loved seeing them.

We had stopped at Papa Murphy's to pick up a $5 large pepperoni pizza, so the kids had fun adding toppings and preparing it for our dinner.  We played Trash and had fun with games.  We managed to get to bed by 9 p.m. - a little late, but it took a while to clean up all the bubbles Garrison created in the jacuzzi tub - we had to turn off the jets!  Peyton made the best sundae ever and then Garrison had one too when he got out of the tub.

Saturday morning, they counted their money in the pigs we keep on the counter to put our change in, and they had money from memorizing some addition tables.  Grandpa took them to the bank to deposit money in their bank accounts there - Garrison wanted to keep some of his at home for easy access!!!!  More games of Trash, Candy Land, etc.

We had ham, mashed potatoes, corn and cantaloupe for lunch before taking the kids back home.  Plan all week had been for Grandpa to attend Garrison's game, but because it was so very hot and humid, I planned to stay at the house.  Amanda and Chad fixed a delicious dinner for us - early before the game - and then we all went to his game at 6 p.m.  With the storm going through, the temperature was 79 degrees and no humidity - it was a lovely evening for the game, and so comfortable in the covered stands in the shade with a light breeze.  Garrison played great and was happy we were there.  I wore a hat instead of my wig (it's like wearing a heating pad set on high on my head), and it worked good except for the time the wind caught it and blew it off my head.  I had to chase it down with my bald head - embarrassing.

We came on home after the game.  Went to church on Sunday.  Having Supper Club (dessert only) at our house at 5 p.m. so did a little cleaning after church.

Chemo #6 is tuesday - then I will only have 2 left.  Blessed to be feeling so good for the past few days - God is good.