Monday, November 17, 2003
I'm Baaa-ack - Part Deux
It's 1 a.m. I can't sleep. Michael gets up in a few minutes. If I go to bed now, I'll wake him up before his alarm goes off. That's not a good thing when you have to get up at 1:45 a.m. I'll stay up until he gets up, then I'll crawl into bed and hope to get some sleep before my day officially begins.
Since my last post, I've been back in the hospital where I received a PICC line (peripherally inserteted central catheter) which is basically a two-foot long IV that goes straight to the heart (or just outside it). I've been receiving all my nutrition through that. That line became infected, so my home health nurse (Margie... a saint), put in a mid-line PICC (it only goes just past the shoulder). Three days later, it became infected, so out it came. I spent that afternoon at the hospital receiving IV antibiotics, morphine, and little pats on my head by my nurses and surgeon. I can officially pass as a pincushion. The good thing in all of this has been that I don't have to be tied to a feedbag for 14 hours a day. Unfortunately, it all ends tomorrow.
In my last post (over a month ago), I mentioned acupuncture, bloodletting, and my dentist. I never investigated the acupuncture. And just try to find a doctor willing to do bloodletting. But, in just over seven hours, I return to my dentist for a root canal. Although it won't improve my ability to eat -- in fact, it will further hinder my ability to eat -- it will reduce one source of pain in my always-aching body. Eight hours later, I go back to my surgeon to find out whether he wants me back on the "feedbag" (aka TPN - Total Parenteral Nutrition).
I am going to try to start blogging again on a more frequent basis. After getting caught up on a few of my favorite blogs, I realized how much I missed this. Plus, I realized that I do this more for me than for anyone else. So expect to see at least a post a week. Maybe more.
I also haven't touched the book that I promised myself I'd read (see previous post). I'm not an avid reader. I'm an avid skimmer. This book isn't intimidating... it's pretty thin (I judge a book by its thickness). So I'm committing to taking 30 minutes from watching something on BBC America and investing that time in reading that darned book! And yes, I'll even do my mini book reports like I said I would.
These are promises to me... not to anyone else who might stumble across this.
So... see you soon.
It's 1 a.m. I can't sleep. Michael gets up in a few minutes. If I go to bed now, I'll wake him up before his alarm goes off. That's not a good thing when you have to get up at 1:45 a.m. I'll stay up until he gets up, then I'll crawl into bed and hope to get some sleep before my day officially begins.
Since my last post, I've been back in the hospital where I received a PICC line (peripherally inserteted central catheter) which is basically a two-foot long IV that goes straight to the heart (or just outside it). I've been receiving all my nutrition through that. That line became infected, so my home health nurse (Margie... a saint), put in a mid-line PICC (it only goes just past the shoulder). Three days later, it became infected, so out it came. I spent that afternoon at the hospital receiving IV antibiotics, morphine, and little pats on my head by my nurses and surgeon. I can officially pass as a pincushion. The good thing in all of this has been that I don't have to be tied to a feedbag for 14 hours a day. Unfortunately, it all ends tomorrow.
In my last post (over a month ago), I mentioned acupuncture, bloodletting, and my dentist. I never investigated the acupuncture. And just try to find a doctor willing to do bloodletting. But, in just over seven hours, I return to my dentist for a root canal. Although it won't improve my ability to eat -- in fact, it will further hinder my ability to eat -- it will reduce one source of pain in my always-aching body. Eight hours later, I go back to my surgeon to find out whether he wants me back on the "feedbag" (aka TPN - Total Parenteral Nutrition).
I am going to try to start blogging again on a more frequent basis. After getting caught up on a few of my favorite blogs, I realized how much I missed this. Plus, I realized that I do this more for me than for anyone else. So expect to see at least a post a week. Maybe more.
I also haven't touched the book that I promised myself I'd read (see previous post). I'm not an avid reader. I'm an avid skimmer. This book isn't intimidating... it's pretty thin (I judge a book by its thickness). So I'm committing to taking 30 minutes from watching something on BBC America and investing that time in reading that darned book! And yes, I'll even do my mini book reports like I said I would.
These are promises to me... not to anyone else who might stumble across this.
So... see you soon.
