Wednesday, February 15, 2017
UPDATE: I Have Experienced My Mortality Face to Face
I just discovered this draft from 2011. Not too dissimilar from what I just went through, Feb. 2017.
I have just returned home from a stay in the intensive care unit at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. I experienced a number of infections that caused my heart rate to rise to as high as 155, a white blood cell count of 30,000 something and a blood pressure that was 50's over 70's. I just returned Sunday (today is Wed.),and it's just hitting me how very sick I really was. Much of my family was at my beside. I heard today that my home health aide nurse was told I might not be coming home. Bottom-line: I was dying.
Medical Update and Popsicles
So much for blogging more once I got voice-recognition. But here I am now.
Last Wednesday evening, February 8, 2017, shortly after going to bed, I started to cramp terribly in my lower abdomen, followed by bowel incontinence, and the dry heaves. Initially I thought I had food poisoning, but after about six hours I finally called the ambulance.
I found out later that my first blood pressure was fiftysomething over 25. Not so good. Once they got me stabilized, they had to send me to a different hospital because ours was full. I chose St. Cloud hospital over Abbott Northwestern Hospital and I'm very glad that I did, for the most part. They were very thorough. They have a unit there called Medical Progressive Care Unit. The care is partway between a regular medical surgical floor and intensive care unit. They watched me closely and were very gentle with my overwhelmingly painful body.
The final diagnoses, after some varying conjectures, was an antibiotic resistant E. coli UTI that had gone septic (in other words the bacteria had gotten to my bloodstream). I was a pretty sick little girl.
That was one week ago tonight, February 15, 2017. I'm still pretty tired out, but I'm here and getting stronger every day.
Last Wednesday evening, February 8, 2017, shortly after going to bed, I started to cramp terribly in my lower abdomen, followed by bowel incontinence, and the dry heaves. Initially I thought I had food poisoning, but after about six hours I finally called the ambulance.
I found out later that my first blood pressure was fiftysomething over 25. Not so good. Once they got me stabilized, they had to send me to a different hospital because ours was full. I chose St. Cloud hospital over Abbott Northwestern Hospital and I'm very glad that I did, for the most part. They were very thorough. They have a unit there called Medical Progressive Care Unit. The care is partway between a regular medical surgical floor and intensive care unit. They watched me closely and were very gentle with my overwhelmingly painful body.
The final diagnoses, after some varying conjectures, was an antibiotic resistant E. coli UTI that had gone septic (in other words the bacteria had gotten to my bloodstream). I was a pretty sick little girl.
That was one week ago tonight, February 15, 2017. I'm still pretty tired out, but I'm here and getting stronger every day.
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