How Easy it is to Become Bedridden

i should have titled this entry "my lost summer of 2015."

I talked about my first pressure sore in the entry called Forewarned is Forearmed last June. What I didn't say was what the aftermath of it was: 14 months of NO WEIGHT BEARING AT ALL, orders from Dr. R. Sadiq, my wound care Doc.

The result of this was that I lost all muscle mass in my legs. And a year later, especially after I had the Summer from Hell (2015) during which I entered the hospital on July 17 because DH noticed that I was sounding confused. Off to the ER we went; after a complete workup I was admitted and sent to ICU on the 2nd floor.

I was delusional for several days. (BTW, I still don't remember any of this.) Apparently it was touch and go for a few days before the IV antibiotics kicked in. The diagnosis at that time was "sepsis of unknown origin."

They discovered the cause -- necrotic tissue of my baby toe and my fifth phalange bones. On July 24, I went to the OR where Dr. R. Fish amputated and rebuilt my medial and distal phalange and scraped the dead tissue off the proximal one. He then re-attached the skin including the toenail so it looks good as new! Not everybody can say that they got a new toe for their Birthday!!

Since I have "pediatric veins" it was decided to put in a PICC in my right upper arm. When I was about to be discharged on 7/26, Dr. Shively, an internist who saw me in the ER came t see me before I was discharged (she was probably the admitting physician). from the foot of the bed she noticed that my right arm, just above the picc line, looked larger than it should. so they brought in a bedside sonogram machine and discovered that it was indeed a blood clot. so that is why i stayed at st. joe's for another week - to regulate my coumadin levels. when she came in to discharge me she was literally jumping for joy at my progress, then went out to the nurses station and told them "we almost lost her, and look at her now!"

i was discharged 8/1 to spend the month in a rehab facility. i chose orchard park. there i received pt/ot twice a week - such as it was. pt basically did ROM, and the ot guy seemed happy just to talk, often forgetting to keep count. i remember him for his laugh which was highly contagious. pt was far less memorable.

so please, people, pay attention to your bodies.

good night, ttyl, and be well,