Tuesday, March 15, 2011
For whatever reason, the antibiotics and prednisone have suddenly decided to take a break and allow this infection to take over again. I woke this morning feeling pretty rough. My peak flows were low, but not terrible, the problem was the feeling I had – the feeling I knew. It was pain inside my chest and back. It was a familiar feeling that brought back very bad memories and instant frustration. The thing was that today we had a much anticipated field trip to Safety City & it was already 4:45 a.m. I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to do according to every doctor across the country to “get better” so maybe I was just tired and I would feel better when the meds kicked in. The doctors know what they are doing and they just told me yesterday that I’ll be okay I just need to give the meds more time. So I tried to suck it up, buck up, and go do my job to create a wonderful memory for my students.
By 2:30 my suck it up was out of suction. I was pretty positive that my morning pep talk did not hold true. I called Joelle, my respiratory therapist to ask for advice. She talked with the pulmonologists and they wanted me to come over immediately for a spirometry test. As soon as my last student was gone, I headed to the office. I was sure they were going to help me feel better this time. When I went to hand the receptionist my co-pay she said, “Oh, the doctor isn’t going to see you. They just want the spiro results. You don’t have to pay! J” I was crushed. For the next forty-five minutes I waited with quiet teary eyes in the corner of the lobby thinking about how sick I felt and that they weren’t even going to help me, but just do a lung test. I knew I wouldn’t even be able to do a spiro at the time – I was way too congested. Nevertheless, I was there, and I try to believe that the best will come of doing what these doctors ask.
I was called back and failed miserably at the spiro several times while the lady politely told me that I was not doing a good job and need to think about it and try again – ha! Finally, I coughed at a convenient time that made the result sufficient enough to take to the doctor. Minutes later, Kristy, the PA, was in the room with me totally concerned. HELLO! I told the receptionist, the therapist, and the tech that I was sick – did they not tell you?????? My temp was 102.9 & the lung function was so low they insisted on admitting me to the hospital.
By 10:00 p.m. I was in the hospital bed after a nightmarish experience with two lab techs digging in my arm for blood cultures, IV trauma, shots in the stomach, and more other meds/treatments than I’ve ever had in one hospital stay. Dr. Thompson was treating me for the pneumonia I knew I felt this morning, possible H1N1, asthma exacerbation, and dehydration.
I know now tomorrow will be a better day.
