Hospital Stays

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but for those of you who know what have been going on can understand why. I'll go into that on the next blog. After the first and second round of chemo I had the normal side effects of the mouth sores, digestive issues and fevers. After the third and fourth rounds those side effects got to the point where I needed to be hospitalized.

I went to St. Francis Hospital for both stays, and unfortunately the first one wasn't very good. The first time I was hospitalized I went to the St. Francis Hospital in Franklin which just opened. Unfortunately they didn't have inpatient care at that point so I was transferred to the normal St. Francis Hospital and put on the cancer floor. The nursing care I initially received was HORRIBLE. I had a nurse who had been working there for four months! She had never drawn blood before and had me sitting in the room for 4 hours without even being hooked up to an IV!! I also asked for a pain pill at 8am when I arrived and didn't get it until 3pm! The only reason I got it is because my friend called the nursing supervisor to complain. Thank you Lisa! I was released from the hospital a couple days later and sent home. The doctor said that he should knock my chemo down by 25% but because I am 28 (seems to be working more against me than form me) he was going to give me the full amount of chemo and that I would probably be in the hospital again.

The second stay, was again at St. Francis. I was at my pre-op appointment with Dr. Mikkelson and looked so horrible that they decided either they were admitting me or Dr. Domke was going to admit me to St. Francis. I went through the ER at St. Francis and I wanted to scream! The ER doctor ordered a rectal temperature that made me scream bloody murder due to some of the side effects that I still had. So after Morgan took a half hour to get me to stop crying they put me in a negative pressure room because my white blood cells and red blood cells were so low. Once the results from all my tests came back it was determined by the ER doc and the hospitalist that I would go into ICU because my heart rate was over 130, by blood pressure would go from 99 over something, to 134 over something, back down to 88 over something. Plus my white blood cells and red blood cells were so low. Once I got to ICU, I couldn't love St. Francis more! The nurses there were outstanding! My only problem was that the doctor hadn't ordered any pain medicine for my throat which was one of the main reasons I had gone to the hospital in the first place. I was so frustrated with my situation that I finally hit rock bottom. I got back into bed and started crying and telling Morgan that I couldn't handle it anymore. I was done with treatment, that no matter what I did I felt worse and worse, that nothing was making me feel better. I couldn't do it. Morgan sat over me holding my head and rubbing my head for over a half hour. By the time I was done crying, the nurse had gotten an order for pain medicine which put me to sleep finally.

Once I got the pain meds, and I was in ICU for a couple days I got my second blood transfusion. Those freak me out pretty bad. I figure that my odds are pretty crazy to get IBC at my age that my odds of getting some disease from a transfusion are pretty good. Luckily, I haven't gotten anything from the two transfusions. I was also then moved to the heart floor where my friend Lisa was working. It was fun with her up there because she would come and hang out in my room with me. That had to be the most fun I had while in the hospital ever! Thanks Lisa! I was finally released from the hospital on September 1st. I still haven't gotten my appetite completely back, but hopefully that will come in time.