Mood:
don't askNow Playing: Day 903-The Final Road To Survival
And so the story goes...
What comes during head infections? Why of course, seizures! I won't mention the question, "When can I catch a break?" in fear I might just add a few more days before I really can get a flippin break. Irritated yet? Oh yes. That is an understatement. One thing I can say for certain is I haven't been on this many different types of medications in years. What I do know is if all these drugs can keep me from getting into any further trouble then I will more than happily take them. ALL. What we both forgot was the information on my release paperwork from the hospital which clearly stated, "Frequency of your seizures are possible until head swelling subsides." I assume maybe we forgot or just over looked it.
After 48 hours of rest, rest and more rest followed by various alarms set to take this pill at such time and that pill but don't forget to take this pill at least I had some company over for a bit in order to keep my mind off the head pressure. That of course didn't last. Around 8pm I did my best fighting off the pain, nausea and out to sea boat feeling but it didn't work so we both took a short nap. Around 9:30pm an extremely wicked pressure feeling in the back of my head jolted me up followed by the urgency to puke. I didn't make it to the bathroom nor did I get any seizure aura warnings which are typical with my seizures. Eric was in the back of the house but even I didn't have time to get him because the wicked pressure went right into a seizure. The scariest part was I had little to no warning. Seizures are one of the most scariest things your body can do and the worst part is most seizures you remember although you can't control actions during the seizure. Eric was even more surprised since this was the first time I didn't experience any pre-seizure auras. Two minutes is a long time to go through any seizure and its not any easier for the person who has to stand back and wait until the brain calms itself back down. I ended up having two seizures in 24 hours which won me another round of medication. Eric luckily has plenty of vacation and sick time saved up from the past 14 months. You can't be home alone when seizures flair up and its extremely important to have someone with you for the next 24-48 hours. I can't have anyone who is not educated on seizures staying with me so Eric decided to get an educational paper together over the next few days for anyone who volunteers to stay with me when my seizures are in an uproar.
With it being back to school time and people working its tough getting help. Worse is trying to find someone to stay with me because my specialists do not want me being home alone until the head infections and inflammation ease up. This also means help. Eric has asked around with no luck so for now he will be doing it solo over the next week or two. Looks like that vacation and sick time he has saved up will be coming in handy! 
down
Maybe I just need to stick with my pessimistic ways because every time I start thinking positive things back fire. Same with "thinking" I will be catching a break soon. HA! Think again!!
By 1am it went all down hill. By 2am I had my fill of suffering and I met my limits. Instead of going to the typical hospital where most of my specialists practice I went to the hospital where my Oncologist/Hematologist's main office is located. This was a very smart decision on my part! Since I am under his care the emergency department doctor/Oncologist made a few phone calls and I found myself in process of the quickest ER visit of my life. Thankfully the doctors were wise to place me in the vacant wing of the emergency room department seeing I am a "SPECIAL" patient meaning I have the worse immune system possible and my body can no longer fight off infections like most normal folks. After a few exams they were able to make contact with my specialist and ordered a cat scan of the upper portion of my body-chest/head as well a few tests on my blood to figure out why I am getting so darn sick. It wasn't even two hours before all my tests were performed including my cat scan. Once both doctors came back into the room we were told some good and some bad news. Of course the good news first. I was SMART to take advice of others and head up to the hospital because I was in dire need of some serious antibiotics because things internally were getting much worse. Then we were told the cat scan results in which they said, "You have some issues going on with two infections, enlarged lymph nodes located posterior-back of your head and lymphatic system." 
GEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
There were things we both didn't know about the flu, viruses and other germs that were very important for someone like myself with a damaged immune system to know. At this point I feel like some of the people on Extreme Home makeover that are stuck at home and need a 24/7 bubble surrounding them. Not to be funny at all because my doctors take these new orders very seriously. Wearing masks was always important but now even a tiny bit of any ego I have left must now be put aside. Its a matter of life or death. All I could think of was all the festivities coming up next month and how the heck could we go with me being sick and who knows how long 3-4 weeks they estimate for me to be 100% better. I still have to get my Oncologist/Hematologists blessing in two weeks which means all lymph nodes will need to be rechecked and that dreaded scan is now inevitable. 
Heeheeheehee... No lie when told one hour I could be up and the next hour back down. I just need to get past the one hour mark then things might finally get a bit better. 
At least I am happy to say no vomiting today although can't say the same for the nausea and pain in my neck. Literally. I am still dealing with some really angry lymph nodes so its no wonder my specialists are demanding that cat scan. As for myself? My mind still says, "When things are at your breaking point you will know." The bad part of that is I can take A LOT! Pain? Oh, more than you can imagine. Off the charts tolerance of pain which thankfully through out the years has worked to my advantage. 
With being sick and locked in my house-jail comes boredom which has even started getting to Eric. Need something fixed? He's your guy! Errands? Yep, he's got the keys in hand. The ole vacuum literally got run down to its last wheels after they actually fell off this afternoon. Hahahaha! He went to lift the vacuum up and the under piece of plastic that holds the front wheels cracked. Not only did I end up getting a new vacuum cleaner but LuckyAutumn kitty got a new play toy. She sure LOVESSSSSSSSS the vacuum cleaner box! Its like another new kitty playground ride to her while the other fur gang watch. From a distance of course. So far only Pumpkin and BearKitty have started to accept her presence in the house. LuckyAutumn will be going to her new home later next month and you just never know....Maybe the other gang might warm up to her soon!
As for myself...my couchbed, ice pack, heating blanket and heating pad will be my best friend until my angry insides decide to give me a break. Then its time to "GET THE HECK OUT OF THIS HOUSE!" AMEN to THAT! We would love to go to a few haunted houses this year but since my immune system is causing me major problems my specialists have advised me to once again stay away from large crowds, shopping during the day and always wear a mask when out in public. GEES! What fun does that leave me? This is a great example of why moving out west to Henderson, Nevada outside of Las Vegas was such a great idea. At least there us VAMPIRESSS can go out and find something to do while the rest of the world sleeps. 
CHEERS TO THAT!
not sure
Same with this irritating fever. I spoke to two of my specialists today seeing one wasn't sure if they should over ride the other but after conversing it looks like once again I got the scan-scolding and how important it is for me to get things scheduled. They did call me in a stronger anti inflammatory to see if it will help keep my fever better controlled. Nausea and vomiting? I was told to allow myself to get sick because things would be worse if they called in medication to stop the vomiting. As for myself and the scan-scolding? I am 50/50 on the issue. 50% of me agrees because the last scan showed more than a few issues going on internally including problems with two different sets of lymph nodes that are located in my GI tract. My last check up showed worsening with the same sets of lymph nodes which flagged my specialist to check on one tumor located lower right bowel and possibly now others. HOWEVER the other 50% of me says, "Enough is enough and since they can't do any surgical procedures seeing I am way past that point why bother? What good will it do me to find out what I already know which is things are that much worse because truly there is no turning back and I have already come to accept reality quite awhile ago." Its a tough decision because I am not making it based solely on myself but I have Eric to also take in consideration. He understands the situation at hand but at the same time respects my decision even if its not what he wants to see happen. He knows how much I have been through and even with three different treatments and therapy its still not helping my unique medical situation. One thing he does know is I am giving it 110% and my brain is still strong but my body is tired. I am just looking forward to a free day so I can get out and enjoy life! Amen. Note to self: Remember, this too shall pass!
I not only woke up to a brand new and very nice heating blanket with three adjustable settings and automatic turn off timer but also guess what? STARBUCKS DECAF SKINNY PUMPKIN LATTE! WOOHOA!! Talking about two great things to wake up to and even Oreo agreed! The entire fur gang have been taking turns sharing the super nice heating blanket with me through out the evening. LuckyAutumn kitty would much rather lay on my green robe but soon enough I am sure she will be joining them. heeheeheehee...
d'oh
I can only drink decaf low fat or fat free and I used to just LOVE LOVE LOVE pumpkin spice skinny lattes. What WOULD had been a great way to give my favorite drink a second attempt turned out to be a trip of DENIED. Seems once he placed his order through the drive thru he was told, "We are out of pumpkin spice coffee and won't have any until later in the week." UMMMM?...
Littleblue is finally home and we are all breathing a huge sigh of relief! The animal hospital staff were very compassionate and extremely helpful through out Littleblue's stay and her Veterinarian called this afternoon to check up and see how she was feeling. Littleblue will be on various medications for quite awhile as well a permanent change in her diet. Treatments will vary depending on how she is feeling or if there are any future problems. We were warned she can rebound so its important we keep a close eye on her. Poor BearKitty and Littleblue have just been having one heck of a time lately but I am so glad they have each other and are best fur buddies. BearKitty has been napping next to Littleblue and both keep Mommy warm at night sleeping by my feet. Fur kid love is the best! Littleblue is a true survivor and beat the 10% odds. She is a very lucky girl!
My last treatment hasn't been too kind to this gal. It not only hit me hard but once again its doing a toll that my doctors fear on my damaged immune system. I have been spiking a fever the past few nights along with vomiting and the wicked sweats. I ended up falling asleep earlier this evening with the ole famous puke pan on one side of me and ice pack on the other. I'm shocked it hasn't started snowing in the living room yet since I have to keep a window cracked at night in order to keep the room cool. If things don't ease up my specialist wants to see me back in his office tomorrow. I am doing my best to tolerate things for the time being because I know there aren't many "if any" bandaids left to get through this battle. Its a MUST I do the ole Drano aka Hell-In-A-Jug treatments because my intestines don't work therefore it can quickly cause toxicity but now the wicked treatments are causing further problems with dangerously inflammed and damaged lymph nodes. I didn't get a chance to schedule my complete scan for tumors today because I have been too busy just trying to keep my head above water on top of doing my best still moving around for gravity/GP sake.
Maybe instead of Drano the makers of Hills Science Diet should make a human version of their GI food. Heeheeheehee...
Sure beats the you know what I have to go through. AMEN. Eric now has his hands double full with both of us this weekend. Me enduring this wicked, blastin treatment and Littleblue when she comes home keeping a very watchful eye on both of us. 
Santa, if you are reading this please add a new electric blanket to my Xmas list. For now its two pairs of socks, a long sleeve shirt, sweatpants and three blankets for this gal. 
Littleblue got to come home late this evening until her next treatment tomorrow and the fur gang were all SUPER EXCITED to see her! Especially Oreo. Make that ALL OF US! Sadly she ended up not feeling very well with a rapid heart rate so back to the hospital for my poor girl. Hopefully they can send her back home until her next treatment because she is greatly missed by all! Keeping fingers crossed! We will have to put any trips on hold until next year seeing Littleblue's hospital bills have so far racked up to over $600.00 but we both agreed she is worth every penny and I would save her over and over again no matter what the cost. My fur kids are my children. They have always protected me and remained by my side while being sick through out the years. In return I will always do the same for them because sometimes fur kids show more love and compassion than most human beings. True fact.
sad
I got a total of about 3 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours while Eric is working on only 4. Sadly I have learned today just how quickly life can change in a blink of an eye. Also I still ponder in my mind while typing this why pets sometimes sacrifice their own life for their owners. Today makes two times now that my shadow fur kids have ironically come down with the same exact medical problems as I suffer from and it even has our Veterinarian scratching his head. My beloved Crystalblue Angel passed onto Heaven over 4 years ago after being diagnosed with and suffering from seizures. This was two weeks after I was diagnosed with seizures. My Crystalblue passed away October 2008 in her sleep, two weeks after her seizures were diagnosed. 
This photo was taken before Littleblue's first procedure. Her little paw still has the IV in so they could hook her back up and was told she was a very good girl! (To make a very long story short because this one could be very long) Littleblue was admitted around 9am after her health continued to decline and so did the hemorrhaging from her bowels. The Veterinarian which was the owners Son was very informative during each test and then we were told to head home to get some sleep because they would need to keep her and run additional testing. By the time we got back home the phone rang and it was our Veterinarian who told us Littleblue definitely has internal bleeding going on and was suffering from acute Canine hemorrhagic gastritis. UMMMM?....Yes, this is what I am currently being treated for minus mine hasn't gotten that severe to where I have internal bleeding in which the Veterinarian began to explain the seriousness of the situation. I'm not sure how I have kept so calm through out the entire day and after many trips back up to the animal hospital. Littleblue has gone through a few various procedures and will remain in the critical care part of the hospital. We got to go up and visit her for a bit this evening. I felt absolutely horrible for Littleblue and told her, "You need not to take suffering from Mommy like Crystalblue did but instead you need to get better because Mommy needs her couchbed buddy to come home soon." Eric was an emotional mess all day because he has gotten very attached to the entire fur gang and knows just how much they are there for me when I am sick so its to no ones surprise that I will be there for them every step of the way. 
