did you miss me?

Hi all I've been gone a while and just checking in...here's the long and short of the story. Left my house with 4 co-workers on 11/4 for a nursing conference cruise that left port 11/5. I was a little sea sick in 11/5 but aftere that had a good time (also 2 friends from GA met us there) then on the way back on 11/8 in the evening I started getting sick then sicker then sicker by midnight I was in the infirmary got some pain med and sent back to the room then an hour later back to the infirmary got IV bolus and more medication and was ok for a couple of hours then got worse yet. Ship docked at 7am and the ambulance picked me up and took me to the hospital where I sit right now. .....it started as a gallbladder attack that turned quickly into pancretitis making me look 9 months preg and not be able to breath and hurt more then labor (3 kids with nothing before my c/s on the 4th). Anyway I've and sono;s, CT's, x-rays. My white count is still up even with big antibiotics (through a PICC) still run fever a couple of times a day, hardly have any bowelsounds but it is less swollen. Have a little lung stuff going on now too :( Don't know how long I'll be here but it's now been 9 days. Friends had to get back to their families and jobs but my husband flew down here the first night and he has been sitting with me and just goes to the resort he got a good deal on around 10pm and comes back in the mornings. My 7 yr old is with my parents. Dont know how much more I'll post the connection here is slow and I've got all kinds of test plus the walking, IS etc then the fever and pain medication...and a good time was had by all :) The cruise was fun till the last day though.

OMG! So sorry to hear about your pancreatitis and associated ailments. An Angel Hug expresses sincere emotion and comfort for someone in time of need...

That's why I am sending you this Get Well Angel Hug with a simple prayer of Health and Happiness for today, tomorrow and always.



Get Well Soon!

Hi Cass,

You sure know how to have fun on a conference cruise... It sounds like you're in the right place for now. Thanks for getting us up to date. I hope and pray for a speedy recovery. Keep us posted.

R

that is horrible!

I will keep you in my prayers.

Keep us posted on how you are doing!

still in the hospital my white count finally came down today into the 12's it had been hanging out in the 17-19 range. They started giving me a restricted regular diet which is ok but makes me crampy and the pain worse. Temp hanging in the high 99's with a couple of spikes to 101 per day instead of the base was around 100.5 then lots of spikes up to 103 with the tylenol not helping much. Midline went bad last night so got a new IV. I have 4 antibiotics, pepcid and pain meds. I have had to take phenergan twice since starting to eat. Got thrush now too so asked for and got diflucan and swish and spit yesterday that's getting a little better today.....still don't know when I'll get out of here but will have to get a flight (fun thing to do the last minute at Thanksgiving) but might now be out till after the week is up basically don't know yet. If we don't do the surgery here then I'll go in the hospital at home and have surgery. It's kind of gone back and forth as to where I'd have surgery and what would be the point to call it so we'll see :)

Hang in there & keep us posted.

:)

MagRedC5 wrote:Hang in there & keep us posted.

:)

well....white count is now normal and temp hanging at 100. Doc switched me to SL today but still have 3 antibiotics. Able to eat a little but still crampy and get pain med a couple of times per day. She says we're "getting close" to getting out of here but couldn't narrow her down to what "close" is but NOW I have a blood clot in my arm where I had my midline until Sunday. Had a US of the arm late yesterday :( So stopped the sq heparin and went to lovinox. The other doc talked about a heparin drip and I said something about still having to get a plane home so he went with the lovinox instead....one of the girls at home talked to a Dr there that we all know and trust and he said he wouldn't get on a plane with a new clot and he'd have gone with the drip. If we'd drive I'd still have 13-14 hrs so would have to stop often and I'm not a good rider either I'm the driver :) So all in all it's still a wait and see. I wish I was with the docs I know though and closer to home but what you gonna do?

Hey Cass,

Sounds like things are coming along. Better to wait until you're clot free before travel, that's for sure. I suppose it's too late to get on a heparin drip now. I've never heard of using Lovenox for DVT treatment, only prophylaxis. How can you be sure you're in theraputic range with sc administration? Anyway, glad to hear that you're able to eat a little now, too. Will you be having a lap chole when you get home and after your temp is gone?

Take care,

R

I'm doing the lovinox and coumadin I'll have PT & INR tomorrow. We had an accomidation certificate for a resort down here that's good next week so if I do get discharged we can stay there next week. I'll have to talk to the doctor more tomorrow about how/when to get home. I am lucky my husband is retired and can be here with me and that my parents are nearby and can take care of my 7 year old (who will be 8 on 12/3 so have to get home by then). Once I get home I'll see my regular doc (who isn't my regular because he just left and I left my records with the office mate who will be my doc now) I'll take copies of all the tests to him and he'll just refer me to the surgeon who I already saw 2 years ago so then it'll be up to him if we have to do open or can do lap or when to do it...will depend on how much inflamation is still there. We'll see :)

Hi again,

Sounds like you got it covered. I'm glad too that your family is with you and parents nearby to help with the little one. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be hospitalized away from home and family too.

Keep smilin,

R

Well Hello there!!!
I don't even know you and I miss you too, ha ha. I have been reading about your bad luck and it seems to be one thing after another. I really don't think things could get much worse so you have to be on your way down the mountain and on your way to health.

From here on out

May all your weeds be wildflowers

Take care on your way home and good luck. Sincerely Denna

well I'm still hanging out in the hospital. No IV now got stuck 5 times and couldn't' get it. My good veins have gone away. Changed to PO and IM antibiotics. The IM gets mixed with lidocaine but it really didn't hurt. Felt pretty yucky again yesterday. Just got made NPO going to have another ABD sono today maybe get out of here soon then just to find that plane which could be the bigger problem.

Oh, cass....I feel so bad for you; I know illness takes no vacation, but this is ridiculous! Get better soooon!

'Cat'

what in the world!!!???

Keep hanging in there! We are keeping you in our prayers.

Please keep updating us.

--Aaron

Hey Cass,

It sure sounds like it's time to head home. Hope you are up for the flight. Maybe it would be good to get another PICC before you go anywhere. Any reason why the doc didn't order a new one especially since you've had so much trouble with access? You would be that much safer in an emergency especially with planned air travel, poor tolerance of PO intake and a high possibility of becoming acutely dehydrated. Consider too that you will probably end up with one home anyway. BTW, How's the DVT?

Good luck,

R

Don't mean to be such a downer- just very cautious.

I'm sitting at the Orlando airport right now waiting on a flight to Chicago that will connect home then 45 minute drive but should be home around 8 tonight. didn't get another line but had another US on Thanksgiving day and Friday he said it's going to happen again get out while ou can so after waiting on a bunch of paperwork and a mix up on the scripts got discharged last night, checked hubby out of where he'd been staying and went to a hotel by the airport and took pain medication and went to sleep. I'm sweating like a stuck hog but the temp is better just nerves and some pain I guess. The belly pain is much better though because I can tell the tailbone is worse :)

Cass, just take it easy, OK? Focus on getting well...that is all I ask of you. :) Hope you get some sleep when you get in.

'Cat'

My fingers are crossed and I'm sending up prayers...

I hope you are now safe at home!

:)

I got home about 9pm Saturday night. I had an appt with my family practice MD yesterday really to get the surgeon referral but I already had the as one of the OB's I work with talked to the surgeon and asked him to get me in ASAP so I have an appt with him tomorrow morning. I had lab work yesterday also which looked good (had my co-workers look it up) had a little low grade temp yesterday just still worn out....I wanted to lose weight so dropped 20# in the 2 weeks I was in the hospital but not a good way to do it so I'm gonna have to get to lifting weights :) Not having much real pain now in the belly but I can tell I have the broken tailbone now. I'm thinking we'll get the gallbladder out next Tues or Thurs (surgeons scheduled days) and the OB is going to throw in a tubal while we're at it I said I would only have surgery once :) The OB isn't mine he's at another hospital but oh well. Haven't had a Diet Coke since 11/7 and I used to drink lots of that so maybe I'll stay away from it now we'll see.

Hi again,

Relieved you made it back home safely. It must feel good to be in your own place again. Good luck with appointments and surgery.

R

Here's the final .....going in first case 7am Friday morning having a tubal (because I can) and that doc will take about 5 minutes then hopefully a lap GB and not have to open then be fixed up then back to work after Dec 29. I just can't get sick tonight or tomorrow. I'll be back better then ever next week :)

Hi Cass,

Glad you have things ready. Stay well and good luck. We'll look foreward to hearing from you again soon.

R

all went well. I got there right before 6 (we stayed in a hotel in town since we were getting big winds and they said sleet/snow but only had the wind) they got an 18 in my bad veins without problem so hopefully the veins are coming back. I went back right at 7 and was on my way home by 10:30. Just a little sore and crampy none of that gas in the shoulder pain... what a way to get out of work for the rest of the year :) Good diet plan too. Feeling better then I have all month.

"Feeling better then I have all month."

OUTSTANDING!

Hey Cass,

Good news! Hope you're on the mend good and fast now.

R