New Normal For Awhile

SO

It took me 2 months to get an appt 

with new primary care provider.

My appt was at 8:00 Friday morning.

I had been quite sick, OK very very very sick all week,

so it was fortuitous that I already had appt. 

The Dr and her nurse walked in and both said,

"You don't look good"

I replied "I feel bad, coughing for 6 days non stop, 

fever, short of breath..."

10 minutes later as they're taking multiple

 blood pressures as my oxygen levels were low...

I had an "Incident" and 15 minutes later

 I was on a gurney being loaded into an ambulance.

Where I spent the day in emergency being treated so

well by the staff at St Rose as they tried to figure out

heart, lung, infection what????

They could not get oxygen stabilized 

with treatments, oxygen, x-rays, blood work etc 

so back and forth back and forth. They decided to admit me

which I resisted. Years of childhood trauma

 with parental illness and hospitals I suppose.

 After a lot of hours and a wonderful ER Dr,

he agreed to let me go home with oxygen.

Since I no longer required Iv's I said it is cost effective,

and since your waiting room is crammed full, 

I'll give em my room.

Diagnosis and I quote "extreme bronchial infection"

An hour later my wonderful nurse walked up to my glass

door, put on a mask and closed the door completely and 

said you are highly contagious- you also have a strain of flu.

Then she put a large contagion sign on the door. 

No wonder I felt like crap.

AND if I had not had that appt, the Dr said...

"ya know you would have been in real trouble within hours."

scary-would I have known in time I was in trouble?

I never go to the Dr except when things are broken,

so the two month wait was worth it after all. 

Thank you guardian angels.

At shift change, all the folks I had encountered, 
stopped by my room or waved goodbye
 as they left, course now they had masks, 
after me hacking near them all day. 
Felt so bad about that.

The paramedics were in several times that day

 and even they stopped in.

Of course I'm an entertaining kind of gal

 and had them all laughing.

My Dr's office was across the street from the hospital,

so to avoid me from having my bestie Annie

drive clear across town to get me a block to my car,

after I was discharged

security drove me there in a golf cart!

St Rose rah rah rah

I'm still not A-OK but I'm home with Howie.

Seems I'm gonna be dragging a tank around for a while.

My kids both almost flew home,

they love me...

and I have the dearest pal in Annie. I alerted her around noon

 I might need her so she came over to my side of town

 and hung around until 6:30 and then drove

 her mom all the way back home and was going to drive back.

My phone had died in hospital. I called her back

 from home, just in time.

Other pal Sue is already offering whatever I need.

Makes me all weepy.

 Maybe later I'll tell you all about full, droopy, boobish, exposure

 to 5 hunky paramedics, 1 xray tech and three passers by in hallway.

ANYWAY 

I'm going to take a break for a bit and catch my breath

literally 

and rest up.

If I'm not back in time to wish you a merry merry,

please know I love all you little buggers,

and I say that with pure, unadulterated affection.

Z