Days 5-6

Monday was a busy day. That nice lady who came to talk to me about that Specialty Hospital came back for me to sign some papers.  I signed a paper for her to seek insurance approval. Still, the seriousness and suggestion that I needed long term hospital care didn't register. 

I was excited about gaining some independence. Brushing your teeth in the bed with a huge tube coming out of your nose is exciting when you've been unable to do it up to that point.

 I was beginning to miss drinking. Eating wasn't even on my radar. Ice chips are insulting after 5 days!

Physical Therapy came back to visit. Monday was a nice lady named Mary. She took me for a walk.  She had the best personality. She was witty and sarcastic. I loved every minute of it. I had an awesome walker, a ton of tubes, and a crappy IV pole that wouldn't roll well. I looked 85 years old, but I walked! 

Mid morning, I got approval to move to a different room. I was so excited. The care in 'the unit' was fantastic, but the rooms were tiny and the constant monitoring was exhausting. I had my first bed bath in that unit.  A precious nurse named Holly cracked up when I told her as long as I was alive, I insisted on 'crotch cleaning'.  I'll tell you, going from a healthy, independent person to total helplessness is an humbling experience. Those precious ladies cared for my physical needs as well as my emotional needs. 

I had several visitors Monday evening. I also had a meltdown when I had to tell my mom not to bring Blake to see me on Tuesday. I missed her terribly, but I just wasn't feeling up to her visit. Monday night was ROUGH. I could not get comfortable in my new bed. I was burning up. At 1AM, my precious husband went to Walmart and bought me a memory foam mattress for the bed. Then he stood and fanned me for 1/2 an hour. He's a Saint, and I'm glad he's mine!

Tuesday started out as a good day. I had unexpected visitors. 

I felt pretty good. It wasn't a wound vac change day. 

Susan and Jessica hung out for hours and helped pass the time. 

I went on a couple of walks. 

Tuesday was the day I had 'the great realization'. Dr. Markowitz came in to talk to me about my care plan. He told me that I was approved for the Specialty Hospital. Guys, I finally realized they were talking about ME staying in the hospital for 2-4 more weeks. I asked him about home health. I knew many people who had IV meds and wound vacs at home. He looked me right in the eye, pointed at my IV pole and said, 'Have you looked at that? YOU are not even close to home health worthy!' For the very first time, I realized that I had a ton of medicine running through me in addition to TPN. I knew I was getting medicine. I knew I was getting TPN. I knew I had a wound vac. But I had no idea that I had about 15 different bags of crap running through my veins. I was devastated. I couldn't even process staying in the hospital for a month. 

I learned that Wednesday would be 'the day' as far as determining if my perforation was repaired and no longer leaking.