The Sick House!

I apologize for not posting recently, but for the last week or so our place has seemed like a quarantined house! After 5 days in the hospital, I suffered a relapse of my pneumonia, though a revisit to the ER couldn't get me past the nurse practitioner to see a real doctor. I suspect it looks bad on their records to re-admit me for something they discharged me for a week earlier... I had a huge hematoma (clot) somewhere alongside my lung that made it impossibly painful to cough or even breathe deeply, and blood tests showed my pneumonia hadn't fully gone away. So I got another round of a different antibiotic with some great pain pills and a medicated inhaler to help open up and keep my lungs clear. I'm also supposed to keep using "Melinda" my incentive spirometer (see above post) on an hourly basis. It has been another 6 days and I'm finally starting to feel better, and have gone in to work now a couple hours at a time. I still tire easily and heaven forbid I need to cough or sneeze, which still registers nearly a "10" on a scale of 10...

Melinda has been extremely tired and nauseous, with other symptoms not usually discussed in mixed company. After her old chemo, which she had been getting since her diagnosis in August 2013 stopped working, her oncologist started her on a new one for her, Topotecan, which she is supposed to get weekly for 3 weeks, then a week off.  Today was supposed to be her 3rd Wednesday of treatments, but her platelet count was too low, so only got some anti-nausea drugs and a liter of fluid, her next treatment put off at least a week if her platelets allow. Interestingly, she said she woke up this morning feeling the best she has in weeks. Hopefully with the week off she'll feel even better in coming days.

Fortunately, with all our physical limitations lately, our friends have stepped up to care for us!  Karen from the Mirror Lab has cooked several meals for us, Erica, former Mirror Lab and now a nurse at UMC (!) visited me in the hospital, then stopped and took care of Melinda on her way home... Our friend Donna came down from Phoenix to help care for us weekend before last, then Melinda's niece Kathy came down for a visit from the Midwest for a week before just leaving a few days ago. Fortunately, we didn't have to feel guilty for not entertaining her, but her exploration of Arizona will have to wait for her next visit.