The stitches came out without a hitch and I am on a speedy road to recovery! I have been bicycling and walking alot in this lovely southern California weather and am feeling wonderful. I still have a lot of restriction in my breathing but I can't complain.
Next month I am to go in and get a chest CT scan and they will look at both lungs and make sure that the left lung is not in need of the same procedure. "We want it gone boys!" is my motto!
Now that things are looking better healthwise we hope to get some much needed "sailing therapy" going. This benefits not just me but all of us. There is nothing like cruising out in the open sea, only the wind pushing you, no other noise but your own, peaceful, serene.....oh I could just go on and on...anyway...
Neil is doing well. His therapy starts soon and he is back on his much needed pain medication..Phew! We are hopeful that this fall will bring about some serious progress.
As always, in the meantime we will take it one day at a time, and make each day count!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
a week's worth of progress
I am amazed at how much better I am feeling within the last two days. I am only taking pain medicine at night and have gotten my bicycle out over the last few days and am able to get around, albeit rather slow, but around nonetheless. I still feel like I am breathing through mud half the time, but I can feel the healing taking place.
I want to say thank you to all of our friends, especially our family on good ole F Dock, for your kind words and prayers. Thank you for the cards and emails too. It has made us all feel so blessed.
The update on Neil is we are back to square one. He is back in with another good doctor only this one is company based. This doctor wants to do as much "other" as he can before resulting in surgery. This is a bit of relief to Neil as he is not wanting surgery unless it is absolutely necessary. So hopefully he will start a strict regimin of physical therapy with somewhat of a personal trainer. I know that he was progressing before they cut him off with the physical therapy and chiropractor visists, so we are excited.
The kid's are getting ready for their school year to start up again. We stick with the northwest starting time of just after Labor Day. They are just thrilled to death, haha!!
The summer has blown by, but we are looking forward to the typical "Indian Summer" that tends to happen every year here in southern Cal. We hope to take a road trip at some point back north to visit family and friends, and this time Katie can drive part way! (I will be white knuckled in the back seat...haha...no she is a good driver!).
Hand Full is overdue for her haul out so we are hoping to do that this next month. Over a year on anchorage has given her more battle scars from crashing dinghy's into the sides( some from us, but mostly from others...these guys just aim and crash land into you I swear!!) more than pulling in and out of the slip in high winds! It's definatley time to paint. This time the kid's will have to pitch in a lot. I hope to be well enough to do so myself, and Neil will be the cheering squad!
I want to say thank you to all of our friends, especially our family on good ole F Dock, for your kind words and prayers. Thank you for the cards and emails too. It has made us all feel so blessed.
The update on Neil is we are back to square one. He is back in with another good doctor only this one is company based. This doctor wants to do as much "other" as he can before resulting in surgery. This is a bit of relief to Neil as he is not wanting surgery unless it is absolutely necessary. So hopefully he will start a strict regimin of physical therapy with somewhat of a personal trainer. I know that he was progressing before they cut him off with the physical therapy and chiropractor visists, so we are excited.
The kid's are getting ready for their school year to start up again. We stick with the northwest starting time of just after Labor Day. They are just thrilled to death, haha!!
The summer has blown by, but we are looking forward to the typical "Indian Summer" that tends to happen every year here in southern Cal. We hope to take a road trip at some point back north to visit family and friends, and this time Katie can drive part way! (I will be white knuckled in the back seat...haha...no she is a good driver!).
Hand Full is overdue for her haul out so we are hoping to do that this next month. Over a year on anchorage has given her more battle scars from crashing dinghy's into the sides( some from us, but mostly from others...these guys just aim and crash land into you I swear!!) more than pulling in and out of the slip in high winds! It's definatley time to paint. This time the kid's will have to pitch in a lot. I hope to be well enough to do so myself, and Neil will be the cheering squad!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
And now for the rest of the story....
For those of you who want to scold me for "waiting too long" to go to the doctor, I must say that I did everything a good little girl is supposed to do.
The week before I "checked" in, I went into the ER and was diagnosed with the early stages of pneumonia. They gave me a shot in the butt (ouch..this needle could have been used to put down elephants...I am just saying...) of antibiotics and sent me home with a five day prescription of more antibiotics and such in order to oust the bug. On day three, Stewart and I returned to the ER, this time for him as he got stung badly by a stingray just feet from the shore line.
He said he felt it when he stepped on it. (we always shuffle our feet when walking the dinghy to shore) He thought at first he had stepped on a crab. When he lifted his foot it reared up his stinger, poked him hard, and quickly swam away. Stewart said it was probably about 2-3 feet wide. It didn't hurt at first. He got to shore ( the tide was out so it was about a 100 foot walk in the shallows) and than he saw blood, he lifted his foot, than PAIN!!
He came back to the big boat immediately with Katie and another friend. A neighbor told us to soak his foot in hot water...we did so but my baby boy was in so much pain, I decided to take him to the ER just around the corner. They sent an ambulance. His first ambulance ride, lasting less than a half a mile, to the ER.
The cure for a sting? Soak your foot in hot water! The proteins from the sting break down in the hot water. It will hurt like Hell untill they break down. Than like a light switch, the pain is gone. All you have to do is just dress the wound until the gash heals.
Two days later, I return to the ER, my chest feels crushed, I have a fever, barely a cough, and look pale as a ghost because I can't catch my breath. I have full on pneumonia. It is in the right side now. They run a few tests, a few x rays, and they tell me they are admitting me and I will have to have surgery.
The surgeon comes in and tells me he is going to go in with a scope, and suck out the "gook." It will not be invasive. A small 1-2 inch cut, unless there is something "horrible" going on. I am being given morphine and at this point am ready for them to just take it all out.
I wake up from surgery, (my very first on record) to find out that it was "horrible." My little incision turned into a 6-8 inch cut. The doctor has cut pieces of lungs out. I had holes in my lungs. I had a lot of damage. He was invasive. It was now a major surgery.BUT, it should all be gone.
I had a chest tube in for a few days. I lost a lot of blood. I had to have a transfusion. I had a lot of pain killers, breathing treatments, and more blood drawn than I have ever had in my life. I did this for 8 days.
I came home on Saturday. I am feeling more like myself for the first time today. It is hard to get comfortable when I sleep. I have to constantly move around in the daytime...but this will pass soon and I am happy to be feeling so much better within less than a week.
I am to have a lot of follow up work. They are going to run tests to see why I have had this rare repeat of the same ailment. They are going to see if maybe I have a genetic reason for getting sick like this in my "old age" that stemmed from a childhood sickness, or a weak immune system from that also.
I know that I don't have much of anything, since they ran my blood for practically everything under the sun. I will be going to UCSD for this. I am kind of excited about it. I never want to go through this again, EVER! so I am all for the tests.
I have to have the stitches in for the next 2-3 weeks, than they can remove them. I have my first follow up on Friday. I am breathing well, but still very short. I am doing my breathing exercises and glad to be down to only taking half of the pain killers they prescribed. I think this time around it will end up better overall. I will be on some harsh antibiotics for the next two weeks.
I hate being laid up. I am not happy about the whole ordeal. I still have no explanation for it, yet I am happy that the hospital was within walking distance. The kid's saw me everyday, I was so close I could see the water. Neil was by my side every day and night. He is a great man. The kid's did a great job taking care of the dogs and the boat and each other. Have I mentioned that I am glad to be home yet?
We never know why things happen, but I must say I feel that God has been watching over me, has helped heal me in half the expected time, and I am thankful to have such great family and friends around me. I thank you for your prayers for me and my family, and your continued support.
Sailing Hand Full may not have a lot of sailing adventures going on this minute, but adventures nonetheless.
It's never dull, that's for sure!
The week before I "checked" in, I went into the ER and was diagnosed with the early stages of pneumonia. They gave me a shot in the butt (ouch..this needle could have been used to put down elephants...I am just saying...) of antibiotics and sent me home with a five day prescription of more antibiotics and such in order to oust the bug. On day three, Stewart and I returned to the ER, this time for him as he got stung badly by a stingray just feet from the shore line.
He said he felt it when he stepped on it. (we always shuffle our feet when walking the dinghy to shore) He thought at first he had stepped on a crab. When he lifted his foot it reared up his stinger, poked him hard, and quickly swam away. Stewart said it was probably about 2-3 feet wide. It didn't hurt at first. He got to shore ( the tide was out so it was about a 100 foot walk in the shallows) and than he saw blood, he lifted his foot, than PAIN!!
He came back to the big boat immediately with Katie and another friend. A neighbor told us to soak his foot in hot water...we did so but my baby boy was in so much pain, I decided to take him to the ER just around the corner. They sent an ambulance. His first ambulance ride, lasting less than a half a mile, to the ER.
The cure for a sting? Soak your foot in hot water! The proteins from the sting break down in the hot water. It will hurt like Hell untill they break down. Than like a light switch, the pain is gone. All you have to do is just dress the wound until the gash heals.
Two days later, I return to the ER, my chest feels crushed, I have a fever, barely a cough, and look pale as a ghost because I can't catch my breath. I have full on pneumonia. It is in the right side now. They run a few tests, a few x rays, and they tell me they are admitting me and I will have to have surgery.
The surgeon comes in and tells me he is going to go in with a scope, and suck out the "gook." It will not be invasive. A small 1-2 inch cut, unless there is something "horrible" going on. I am being given morphine and at this point am ready for them to just take it all out.
I wake up from surgery, (my very first on record) to find out that it was "horrible." My little incision turned into a 6-8 inch cut. The doctor has cut pieces of lungs out. I had holes in my lungs. I had a lot of damage. He was invasive. It was now a major surgery.BUT, it should all be gone.
I had a chest tube in for a few days. I lost a lot of blood. I had to have a transfusion. I had a lot of pain killers, breathing treatments, and more blood drawn than I have ever had in my life. I did this for 8 days.
I came home on Saturday. I am feeling more like myself for the first time today. It is hard to get comfortable when I sleep. I have to constantly move around in the daytime...but this will pass soon and I am happy to be feeling so much better within less than a week.
I am to have a lot of follow up work. They are going to run tests to see why I have had this rare repeat of the same ailment. They are going to see if maybe I have a genetic reason for getting sick like this in my "old age" that stemmed from a childhood sickness, or a weak immune system from that also.
I know that I don't have much of anything, since they ran my blood for practically everything under the sun. I will be going to UCSD for this. I am kind of excited about it. I never want to go through this again, EVER! so I am all for the tests.
I have to have the stitches in for the next 2-3 weeks, than they can remove them. I have my first follow up on Friday. I am breathing well, but still very short. I am doing my breathing exercises and glad to be down to only taking half of the pain killers they prescribed. I think this time around it will end up better overall. I will be on some harsh antibiotics for the next two weeks.
I hate being laid up. I am not happy about the whole ordeal. I still have no explanation for it, yet I am happy that the hospital was within walking distance. The kid's saw me everyday, I was so close I could see the water. Neil was by my side every day and night. He is a great man. The kid's did a great job taking care of the dogs and the boat and each other. Have I mentioned that I am glad to be home yet?
We never know why things happen, but I must say I feel that God has been watching over me, has helped heal me in half the expected time, and I am thankful to have such great family and friends around me. I thank you for your prayers for me and my family, and your continued support.
Sailing Hand Full may not have a lot of sailing adventures going on this minute, but adventures nonetheless.
It's never dull, that's for sure!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
back in the hospital
I have had another bout of pneumonia only this time it is in the oposite lung and more of it. I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 8 am at the Coronado Hospital. Neil has been by my side since I checked in on Thursday. I will give more details later. Please keep me in your prayers. Love to everyone. Tiffin
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