First of all , thank you everyone! for all the nice comments. They mean a lot to me. My apologizes for the self pity thing in the previous post. I guess even us butch super hero types carry a bit of the drama queen gene. I don’t care how many times I go through this, I always feel worse during the first 5 days following a hospital discharge. The medical establishment tends to release you as soon as there is clinical evidence that you’ve “turned the corner” , but not necessarily when you’ve started to feel better. There’s a huge difference.
Anyways, this time is no exception. Two days out of prison and I feel like hell. On top of steroid withdrawals, I picked up an horrendous cold/and or allergies ( I’m not sure which) , my lungs are still tight , and all those needle pokes I received in the hospital are finally starting to ache. Believe it or not they put IVs in my knuckles ! I have no decent veins left, so they had to use the tiny ones in my thumb and first finger knuckles. Ouch!
That bit about trying to convince some of the doctors that I was an asthmatic, was probably a result of mild hypoxia , mixed with a little hypercapnia, and some steroid induced psychosis sprinkled in. Geese, they must have thought I was some kind of a lunatic or something. Last time I was in the hospital , I felt the need to convince everyone that I was indeed a 4 time marathon finisher (that probably got a lot of laughs too). It’s amazing how a combination of IV steroids and heart -pounding, sleep depriving drugs can make you paranoid.
Each severe flare-up and subsequent hospitalization, takes a little bit more of the fight out of me. And though I sometimes complain that I will never put myself through it again, the reality is , when you can’t breath , you’ll grasp at anything you think might help. It’s probably because of my high level of physical conditioning, that I’ve been able to endure so many of these severe exacerbations. Sometimes I wonder if everything I do to try to fight this disease is really worth the hassle. But I suppose as long as the good days out number the bad, it is.
OK, time to put this latest episode to rest. All I wanna do now is get well, so I can plan my next adventure. I haven”t been outdoors in almost 2 weeks, and it’s driving me batty.
Here are a few grainy pictures I captured with my phone while in the ICU. I don’t think they’re worthy enough for a slot in my “Gross Hospital pictures ” album , but they capture the moment.
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Hi Stephen!
I am home recovering from a flu of sorts when I had the first heavy duty asthma attack I've had in years. Turns out I've been taking a cough expectorant that had a suppressant in it, too. Been so sick already, I missed that on the lable- or grabbed the wrong bottle or something. Now I'm on steroids and an inhaler and seem to be improving, so haven't walked into the ER. Could happen anyway. It's hard to stay in bed- especially since we've already been sick for a good stretch and I've got a little guy raring to go. I just really appreciate all the postings you've put up. You are reminding me why it's important to slow down and stay there right now, as well as all the medical processes and misery and things to keep in mind. This is a great blog. Thanks
Thank you Andi! Sorry to hear that you were sick.