It’s been ages since I gave you all a medical update. It’s been a very rough winter and spring. My nutrition is abysmal, and it’s catching up with me. I have had 3 iron infusions, and some extra B, and that has helped a lot. The winter and spring were kindof unrelenting on the Health front. Unfortunately I now have an infection around my port. I finally hit their threshold for being sick enough to be admitted.
I’ve switched hospitals, which is what I should have done ages ago. I’ve always been concerned that making a stink could make things worse, and retreat to a position of safely. But I hit my max, decided that something had to change, and if I lost access to the limited resources I have, well, then, tough beans. I have to at least try to improve the situation.
There was a brief situation when I got here, the cab dropped me off two blocks away- a long walk for me at this stage. I was ignored for 2+hours, because I couldn’t walk up to the desk. After that, I couldn’t transfer to a wheelchair- just didn’t have the strength to do so. I was told to do it anyhow, at which time I stood up and my knees promptly buckled. I was humiliated to my core- a floor in an ER? Smack in the middle of the hallway…? I was on the floor for 15 minutes, being told that if I had walked into the ER, I can get off the floor. I couldn’t. It was two hours after I got there- I was exhausted. Finally an elderly lady helped me up. We activated our ‘full court press’, sending messages to each of my docs, asking for support from the lovely TMS nurses, and hubby came from work. My treatment turned around, and things have gone well since. In fact, they’ve gone exceptionally well. The ‘culture’ in this hospital is so very different. I get the strong impression that the medical staff here believes in caring for patients, truly caring. I don’t get the vibe of ‘my job would be so much easier if it weren’t for all the patients’. 😁
I do have a staph infection around the port, and it has become systemic. (i.e. septic). I’m in hospital, I got my first dose of antibiotics today,and I am already seeing improvement. The Infectious Disease doc will drain the pockets under the skin today, which I am very eager for. The swelling is pinching muscles and nerves in my neck and collarbone, and it hurts like stink! The port will definitely have to come out, but I already have a PICC line, so as long as I have a functioning central line of some sort, I’m not too worried about that aspect. Once my chest wall has healed we will likely put in a tunneled hickman (a different kind of central line).
Oh, and where is that silver lining? This hospital has one of the best views in Vancouver. Kinda foggy today, so there wasn’t much to get a good photo of, but it will give you a sense. (It’s an awful photo…).
If you have to be in hospital, a view like that makes it much easier.
FIngers crossed that the antibiotics do their thing, and that I don’t start reacting to them!