In Case You've Been Wondering Where I've Been . . .

To go back to last weekend, I wasn't feeling great - Bruce had to do everything for me. It was a chore even to walk a few feet. During the day, I would plan out in my head just how far I'd have to walk, then what I wanted to do. Climbing the stairs was out of the question. By Tuesday evening, I told Bruce that I thought we'd better go back to the doctor. Bruce called the next day and made a morning appointment. At the doctor's, I told her how I felt, she admitted that she was at a loss as to what was wrong since my lungs were clear. She wanted me to get another chest X-ray, use my Advair Inhaler twice instead of once a day, get a pulmonary test and have blood work done. I had the blood work done immediately since the lab is next door to the doctor's office.

The next morning, the phone rang around 8:30 - it was our regular doctor. He had received a call from the lab the night before at eleven since the results of my test were so serious. I had only about 1/3 of the blood in my body that I should have. He wanted me to meet him at the hospital to have more blood work done to make sure the first test results were correct, also wanted a bone marrow test and then wanted to give me blood transfusions.

After our initial meeting with the doctor, Bruce and I walked down the hall to the lab where the nurse took out about four sticks of blood. At this point I asked for a wheel chair to get back to where our doctor was waiting to do the bone marrow test. He had previously explained it all to me - a needle to numb the area, then they stick another needle into the breast bone and I would only feel slight pressure as they took out the bone marrow. Well, that wasn't the case - I let out a scream then proceeded to moan until they were done. Thank goodness they got a good sample.

Getting dressed was a chore and after I finished, I laid back down on the table to catch my breath. The nurse came in at that time and told me I could rejoin Bruce who was waiting in the hallway. In a few minutes, the nurse informed me I would be brought upstairs to the day room for my transfusions. She asked if I wanted a wheel chair. Since the room was on another level, I quickly said yes. In the wheel chair and waiting at the elevator, I felt really bad and terribly dizzy. I heard someone yell "Stat" and I thought they were bringing me to another elevator. As the nurses were helping me onto a table and pulling my clothes off, I looked up and saw a saline drip - I thought to myself "that doesn't look like a blood transfusion." I had little stickers and wires all over me, oxygen in my nose, then someone put a warm blanket on me since I was shivering. I heard Bruce say, "if you're going to pass out, the best place is in the hospital." Pass out? Me? Of course I didn't believe him. But at that moment my BP was 84/35. After they had stabilized me, the nurses disconnected the wires then pushed the ER bed up to the day room where a nice young man, Brad - a male RN - was waiting for me. He explained what he was going to do, hooked up the unit of blood and also attached a BP cuff. One unit of blood would take about two hours to drip into me and since I was scheduled for three. I'd be there all afternoon - it was now about 11:15a.m.

Bruce was with me all this time and of course was a nervous wreck. I told him to go home since I'd be there all afternoon. He left, but came back in about an hour with a hot cup of soup and roll for me from Tim Horton's. YUM. He stayed with me for the rest of the time and read every magazine he could get his hands on.

At 3:30p.m., the day room closed so I was brought to a room in the ICU where there was room for my ER bed. With another great nurse, the third bag was hooked up. Late afternoon, our doctor stopped by to see how I was doing, he explained to us that he'd have the bone marrow test results back around the middle of next week and mentioned other tests that he planned to do.

On Monday, I have to get more blood work done - I guess to see how everything is progressing. We left the hospital at 6:45p.m. - by then we were starving. We made cold cut grinders, then settle in to watch TV. AND I couldn't believe the difference in how I felt. I now had color in my face and lips, energy, etc., and I wasn't gasping for breath after a few steps.

Today, plans are to grill a couple of Alberta steaks - and maybe whip up a salad. It's a bright sunny day!