Today is my 18th day in the hospital since Dec. 1.
This is the third visit overall, necessitated by extreme dizziness and shortness of breath Sunday night. I had decided to lie down about 1 p.m. Sunday. I'd just gotten out of Palmetto Health Tuomey on Wednesday. I had been diagnosed with flu, mild peritonitis, enlarged spleen, bronchitis, cardiac ischemia, hypokalemia (high potassium) and sinusitis.
I was still trying to recover.
I woke up about 4 p.m. and walked to my bathroom, and could barely stand up. I made it to the living room. I couldn't see. I couldn't make out faces or read anything on my phone. I talked with my parents and we called 911.
This time around, I've had the added diagnoses of pneumonia, sepsis (from the peritonitis) and thrombocytopenia (something about excessive bleeding).
I was supposed to have my peritoneal dialysis catheter removed Thursday. Complications moved that to Friday. Thursday night, I had a nose bleed. They're fairly common for me. But because I'd had so many blood thinners, the blood wouldn't clot. I bled for four hours until they came up and packed my nose. I now have an apparatus on my face that makes it difficult to talk and breathe.
Hence the lack of updates.
I have been mostly sleeping. I appreciate everyone who has called, texted, sent notes, cards, etc.
This has been one of the most physically taxing things I've ever gone through. I don't know when I will be finished, but I pray it is soon. I have been absolutely miserable. I am generally congenial about these issues and make jokes about everything, but right now I'm just so tired that I'm honestly angry. I'm not one of those "why me?" people normally, but right now, I am wondering, "Why me?"
I appreciate my coworkers stepping up and putting together two newspapers without me. I don't know what the future holds. This is something I normally wouldn't say, but I can't feed into denial anymore.
I have serious medical issues, and it's time to take care of me.
I don’t even want to think about the massive medical bills.
I hope to see you all soon. I had wondered whether to do this as a column on manninglive.com, something I consider by baby, or as a post on Facebook, but I decided to come here because some people may not be on Facebook.
Here's where things stand: I have to have two days of platelets to help clotting Saturday and Sunday. Monday, the peritoneal catheter will come out.
They have placed a temporary hemodialysis catheter in my neck, and I am doing that dialysis every other day at the hospital while here. When I get out, I will go to the clinic every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for dialysis for four hours.
I am on five different antibiotics for all the different ailments. I will need to follow up with an ear, nose and throat specialist to deal with this nose stuff. One of the longtime doctors said it was the worst bleed he'd ever seen.
Well, a nurse just came in to take blood. It is 5:59 a.m. I have been really doing nothing much than sleeping. My hours and days are all mixed up.
Please continue to pray for and think of me.
