I'm Connected!

Connected, it's one of those fashionable words with a positive feel. I am experiencing another side of the word (connected). Here I am in the hospital looking back at the past week. I am really connected. I am connected to a IV containing my antibiotics, a two-way catheter which is flushing my bladder, I am connected to the TENS machine and perhaps I will receive a blood transfusion this weekend. What happened?

Two days before my radioactive iodine treatment we found blood and blood clots in my urine. Seeing as I had been using a catheter , the nurses weren't too alarmed. Blood samples were taken on a daily basis and by the time I got to the Department where my iodine treatment was to take place the doctors were alarmed. My blood-work showed that there must be an infection somewhere. Before they could treat me with the iodine they needed to make sure that it was safe to do so. They asked me if I had any idea what it could be and I told them that the only new problem was blood in my urine. When I told them about the blood clot and it's size, they figured that it couldn't be a problem in my bladder but that it must be a problem in my kidneys. To be on the safe side they had a sonogram made of my kidneys. In one of the kidneys it seemed as if they were three kidney stones. However, there was no obstruction. The doctors decided to go ahead with the treatment.

Mom came in with me to look after me as I have not mobilized yet. This meant that she was going to catch radiation, something I was not happy about but the doctors assured us that she would be fine and she chose to go ahead with it. What moms do to help the kids! I was feeling under the weather and went from bad to worse. By Sunday evening I felt so bad that the doctors came to check me out. I was administered antibiotics and diuretics as my lungs had fluid in them. Blood samples were taken, but the doctors believed that I had pneumonia. Everything else went okay with the iodine treatment and mom and I came out on Monday afternoon. I went to a brand-new department 4B , yet a new place to get accustomed to. We were off on a bad start. By day 2 it became apparent to me that no department was willing to admit me due to my radioactive treatment. It seemed as if the nurses had no idea why I was here and even the Doctor asked me why I was in her department. My patience was really tested when they forgot my antibiotics. Marcus had mentioned this to them and when I tried to reach them in the evening it took me three hours to get their attention. The, I think was a Russian one, nurse finally came to my room after three hours of waiting. I told her that I had not had my antibiotics that day. They had checked it off administration and refused to give me a daily dose. I told the nurse that I wanted her to sort out the problem and that it is not a good idea to stop taking antibiotics once one has started the cure. She told me it was my problem and my frustration and that she wanted to go home. I said, "I beg your pardon?". The nurse went ahead and repeated what she had said. I was livid! It took another nurse to calm me down. I went to sleep without the antibiotics and in the morning I addressed the matter. In the course of the week, because I had threatened to make a formal complaint, the nurse made her apologies, the nurse who had made the mistake acknowledged it and the Doctor got with my program.

So what else happened this week, medically;
· I got pneumonia.
· I got kidney stones.
· I turned anaemic.
· And my white blood cell count dropped.
To top it all off, the pin in my right arm needs to be replaced in a new to the scheduled surgery. It was not a muscle that had torn. Thanks to Doctor Lips an x-ray was made to check was wrong. Further strain could have caused a lot of damage.

I'm sure you can imagine that this week has been an all time low, emotionally and mentally. It has taken everything I've got to crawl out of his deep deep valley. For the first time in three years I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I have always been so afraid of infections. This weekend however it looks like I'm going to get over this.
Like I said earlier I had my iodine treatment last week. That means that I couldn't see Kiara for 10 days. I get to see her tomorrow, what a treat! How do you even start to tell your 10-year-old daughter the above.

Lots of suprises too though this week, my sister bringing me food, and Twitter friends helping out, like Henk who came by to bring my bed outside. The first sunlight in a month. This stuff kickstarts recovery, not to mention all the people working on my house!