New day, same old story; I was back in the hospital again Monday for IV fluids. It's getting old, I know, but what's a girl to do when she is dehydrated and can't stop getting sick? This time I had a much more pleasant experience at the hospital, I had my doctor call ahead and pre-register me for a room in Labor and Delivery so I just showed up and went right in. Why Labor and Delivery, I don't know, maybe to scare me a little, because that's what happened.
My sister Liz took me to the hospital. I was really doing badly on Monday, I hadn't been able to keep anything down for a few days and was on the verge of passing out everytime I got sick. Liz dropped me off at the main entrance to the hospital and away I went to Labor and Delivery on the 4th floor. Just to point out how pathetic I was my sister dropped me off, parked her car, got directions, and still caught up to me before I made it to the registrar. Sad, sad, sad.
I got to Labor and Delivery and the nurse checked me in and I was lying in a hospital bed within 10 minutes of arriving, key information when you have shaky legs and you are out of breath from walking 50 feet! My nurse was awesome, I wish I could remember her name because she deserves a letter or card from me, she was in immediately, put in my IV and checked on me so much you would have thought that I was in labor. Nat arrived from work about 30 minutes after I checked in and we sent Liz back home to finish washing windows, secretly I think she was happy she got a break!!
After about an hour we got a visit from Sue, the nurse midwife from our doctors office, who explained that I had a ton of protein in my urine (sorry) and that until that corrected itself I would be parked in the hospital. I figured they would have to get a bag of fluid, maybe a second and then I would be on my way. But in the end it took almost three bags, 1000 ml bags, to clear me out and since this was my third visit with the IV fairy they decided to just go ahead and leave the pick line in. My parents ended up coming in around dinner time to sit with me, they brought Nat some food and sent him home for a break. While they were there I had a roommate that was just in the beginning stages of labor and the whole scene seemed so frantic to me, a little concerning.
Finally around 7pm my specimen was deemed protein free and I was allowed to go back home to my own bed. Nat was just getting ready to leave the house to come back to the hospital so luckily I was able to catch him in time and my parent chauffeured me home. Nat's parents offered to stop at the grocery store and grab some jello and bread for me, my food staples, and drop them off at the house. So once again our parents to the rescue, thank God, which made it possible for me to come home and plop right in to bed.
Yesterday I woke up feeling a little better, at least a little more hydrated, and put a call in to my doctor about the exciting day I was about to have. Yes friends there is never a dull day here! I was told that I would now be getting daily IV therapy from the VNA, visiting nurses association, and today around 3pm I would get my first visit. First I would have my supplies delivered by the hospital and then the nurse would come by later and hook me up.
I decided it might be best to have someone else there to watch what this lady was going to do to me, I'm not a very good listener as of late, so I called my mother and asked her to come witness this process just as my back-up. Mom agreed and said that she would come by around 2:30pm and sit with me until the nurse came. Well little did we realize that the time given to us was more of an estimate or a fun suggestion than and actual time, we waited and waited, then Nat came home and decided to call the VNA and we learned that it would be sometime after 4:30pm. Oh. We asked mom if she wanted to go home or stay and all she said she was going home to was more cleaning so she decided to stay. So we waited and waited some more until finally at 5:35pm our nurse showed up.
Finally.
She was busy, you could tell, and she was in speed mode so she explained everything really fast and hooked me up to this gigantic 2000ml bag that would take 12 hours to empty. Now if you are doing the math right now let me stop you, the bag would empty out around 5:45am and I would be responsible for disconnecting it and flushing the port. I got this fun little backpac to put the bag and the drip machine in that I had to sleep with and carry to the bathroom everytime I got up. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it was pretty quiet and there was enough of the IV line that I could roll around in bed and not get caught. This morning I woke up early and made Nat stay home until the machine went off right at 5:45am.
It was a good thing that I made Nat stay home because I was worthless using only one hand, I couldn't do anything. The line screws in to the port and that turning motion is impossible with one hand so Nat, once again, saved me from frustration. We got the thing closed off and cleaned and off he went to work and off I went back to sleep. Now I am just waiting for another visit from the nurse, who will hook me up again and keep me hydrated!!
Well that's been my exciting life for the past few days, never boring. It's all actually been a good thing and a blessing, I feel better, I have been able to eat and the pick line is no bother at all, you forget it's there. I am back to the doctor tomorrow for another check-up and to see if they are going to continue the IV therapy, which I am going to beg for! I'll update with some pictures tomorrow, show you how I'm now half human, half machine. Hehe!!
Here's my PICC line, currently in my left wrist but they have to switch it today, I guess they only leave it in the same place for up to four days.
This is my cool little bag that carries my actual IV bag and my machine that controls the drip, Joan help me out here? It's very nice and compact, not too bulky, which is good because I have to sleep with it in bed!
