Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Sickness

My week from hell started the weekend before last. I was lethargic and so exhausted. After spending a week in Vegas, I thought I was just run down and needed sleep....precious sleep. Until I started to experience chills. So I continued to sleep some more. My typical answer for when I am sick = sleep. I just sleep til I feel better. Well, problem was I wasn't feeling better with the huge amounts of sleep I was getting . In fact, I was getting worse. I had a high fever, my body ached, my head pounded, I lost my appetite, I was this limp pile of flesh in bed. Things went from bad to worse on Wed. I was so miserable I couldn't turn over in bed. I was in too much pain. So first thing on Thurs morning, Chris calls my doctor. From my symptoms, they told me to come in right away. I remember thinking in my head, "Oh crap I am gonna have to get my blood drawn"...which I hate. But by this point, I felt so horrible that I was surprisingly ok with the thought of it if it would help figure out what was wrong with me. So I get to the doctor and in the lobby and in the room....I looked pathetic. I couldn't sit up. Every chair or table is for me to lie on. I was so out of breath from walking and being up. The doctor doesn't take long to order me to get chest x rays and blood work done. As soon as that is done I was back in the docs office waiting for the results. At this point I am thinking Swine flu maybe. But no, doc comes in and says, "You have pneumonia!" She then goes on to explain that I may die if they don't get it under control. She explains to Chris that he will need to be taking care of me for the next while since I will be too sick. Then she says I have to get a shot in my butt. I wasn't happy about that. Swine flu would have been a much easier thing to deal with than pneumonia. Oh well. Atleast now I have antibiotics and all kinds of medications to drug me up. The doctor tells me I might not be back to normal until the end of August! Holy crap that is a long time. She said to get used to being in bed which is so true. I have very little energy. And my nightmare wasn't over. I got a call the next day from the doctor saying that my blood work came back "abnormal" and they wanted me to go to the ER immediately for more tests. Funny thing was, when I got to the ER, they were waiting for me. I had no wait!!! As soon as I walked in, they had my name at the front desk. They immediately put me in a wheelchair and took me to a room where a doctor and 3 nurses were waiting for me!! That got me nervous! In the ER of all places, they were all ready to pounce on me when I got there. I was iv'd, given oxygen, hooked up to tubes, all in a matter of minutes. Then I got a ct scan on my lungs. They thought I had a blood clot but turns out I didn't. So off I went. A false alarm but probably a good thing to make sure. I just keep thinking what my medical bills will be from that. I bet the darn socks they gave me were $50. Now that I know I am ok, I cringe at what my bill will be. I haven't gone to the hospital in so long so I am not sure what my insurance covers and doesn't. I am depressed thinking about it.... The co-pays alone were over $175.
Dr. Martindale has been doing a fabulous job taking care of me. I haven't left the house in over a week other than the ER and doctor. So Chris has been errand boy and working boy and everything for me. He has been so good. I am very lucky.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my gosh! I am soo sorry you were so sick...you know, it is possible you had influenza and it went into pneumonia...I wouldn't be surprised...I am so sorry you had such a rough go of it, but so glad you were well taken care of by your medical staff at the hospital and at 'home'...remember when you were in the hospital in long beach for that damn infection on your shin back when you were at scats? scared the doo doo out of me..
    love you!
    b

    ReplyDelete