February 13, 2012
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A Problem I Hadn’t Foreseen…..
TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM
Today was a busy day. First, trying to eat quickly before we had to leave for my HyperBaric Oxygen therapy (aka HBO). I got the biscuit and gravy the Beast had bought for us both down and half of my large cup of coffee and out the door I ran. I was worried about getting there a little before my appt. so that I could get into my gown and have my vitals taken before the HBO therapy started. That’s ideally what they want. Today, I could have slowed down a little and enjoyed my breakfast more. Apparently, the 8am people were BOTH late so when I got there, I sat around with that stupid gown on and nothing on underneath in a chilly room for about 15 minutes. That’s AFTER I had changed and had all my vitals taken. Once I was able to get into the tube, I asked for a blanket so I could sleep. I was still tired. But, the oxygen is heated slightly in the chamber and lends itself to sleep. It took me a while to warm up but I DID fall asleep. In fact, when I heard my name being called in an effort to wake me, I was shocked that the time had passed so swiftly.
The bad part was that the Beast had waited until I got out of HBO to run up to the Tobacco store. I needed tubes and tobacco both. First, a trip to the bank for cash since the Tobacco store only takes….get this! CASH AND CHECKS!!!
I watched a newscast here on people that wrote bad checks and the police roundup one weekend. It was amazing and I wouldn’t have wanted to be among their number. They really don’t like people that write bad checks and then don’t repay the money or show up in court when they are supposed to.I got to talk with Bratfink for a bit early in the afternoon. We commiserated over our various disabilities right now and wished each other the best and fastest healing. She’s still very deaf from the oxygen and, guess what? Because I was asleep during decompression, I woke up to being very deaf in my left ear and slightly in the right!
I could have kept the tube open if I had been awake with yawning or swallowing. I’ll take care of that tomorrow.The poor Home Health nurse came here at 12:30pm expecting me to be done with my HBO and found no one here. I called the office when the Beast found her note and she was here within 15 minutes. I swear, I have my vitals taken twice a day and it’s amazing how different the results can be. My BP was very low at first at the Wound Center when the HBO nurse took it (64/45) but a few minutes later, it was 90/48. When I was done with the HBO, it was 144/80. Strange, huh?
When HH got here an hour later, it was 110/60 which is more like my normal BP. They both take my temp, check my sugar, take my BP and ask a jillion questions, including if I moved my bowels. Surprise, surprise, I don’t always do that on a daily basis because I’m taking pain pills, people! So I get advice….eat more vegetables, salad, yogurt, drink a lot of water….sheesh!
Oh, I told the Beast to pick me up some Greek yogurt. I admit it, the commercials for it just made me curious. I figured he would pick me up one or two. Nope. Six. However, HE was just as curious. I like it. It’s thicker and more filling but not TOO filling. I think it would be great if you were dieting especially. Eat one of those and then your meal. Since you feel a bit fuller, you eat less. Plain and simple and easy. So far, I’ve eaten it with pineapple and peach. The fruit is already in it but at the bottom (why do they do that?).
I found out it’s the oxycodone that kicks my ass and makes me fall asleep. Once it kicks in, I’m a goner. I MUST lay down. I was kind of switching between the two pain killers I was given (Oxy and Percocet) but Percocet doesn’t kick my ass. At least now I know because I put the Percocet out of reach of my desk so I would be aware of which pain pill I took. I’m still leaking fluid from the incision in my crotch area. The pants I wore today was light blue in color and you could see the wet area after just 20 minutes. It’s about a foot long and five inches wide on these heavy cotton pants and I have a folded terry rag underneath the pants in that area. I keep changing the rag and I even smell it to make sure it doesn’t have a bad aroma. It’s clear, not even yellowish and damn near no smell at all. That’s what puzzles me. What the hell is going on. I’m going to have to collar the doctor on Wednesday since this is HIS doing and I want answers!
Love you all. Have a fantastic, if cold, week. I’ll stay in touch.
