CELEBRATING MY BIRTHDAY IN THE HOSPITAL

Hello, friends!  First of all, thank you so much for hanging in there with me through this terrible sickness I've had.  It's only been a week, but it feels more like a month.  I have been truly touched by all your kind wishes, thoughts and prayers.  You brought a tear to my eye and you will never know just how much you all mean to me.  I am not over being sick yet, but I am better. 

Last Sunday was my birthday.  What a celebration that was.  The day began with a lot of fog.  Here is a view of the battleship New Jersey which is docked in the Delaware River and you can't even see it or New Jersey in the background.

 

After church I was at a restaurant with Joe when I began experiencing chest palpitations.  Not my heart.  But my chest was actually vibrating and you could see it.  I felt as if I were going to pass out and had to leave immediately.  We had gone to my favorite Chinese buffet which is near to my house.  We like it because it specializes in a low-salt menu.  I even said to Joe, this soup needs salt!  I had eaten only half of my first plate of food when all of this started.  It was so good too.

The egg roll was good but I thought rather bland.  The potstickers were good and the egg and honey custard was to die for.  I had just finished the honey chicken when all of this started.

I thought I could go home and lie down and drink water and it would be OK but it just got worse so I left the rest of my food on the plate and Joe and I headed for the E.R.  I really thought I might be having a heart attack.

By the time we made it to the hospital I could barely walk.  He had to help me into the Emergency Room.  Then it took awhile for them to get to me.  I was given an EKG and put in a room in Emergency where they hooked me up to all kinds of monitors.  As soon as I laid down, all the palpitations stopped.

After tests and x-rays the doctors determined that my heart was fine but my blood pressure was through the roof.  At one point it was 212/88.  Various things were tried and it would not come down.  It would come down a little for a bit and then go right back up again.  So the doctor told me they were going to keep me overnight for observation.

Joe was such a gem and never left my side.  He went once to the Starbucks in the building to get a coffee and bagel but that was it.  He stayed the entire night with me watching the TV.  Finally in the morning I made him leave so he could get his medicine, feed the cat, and get some sleep.  Our friend, Carole, came to pick him up and took him home.

That day the doctor changed the dosage on my medication and the pressure slowly came down.  It was still high but he let me go home that afternoon.  He said that being in the hospital was stressful and I would probably be better at home.  But my pressure had to be low enough to leave.

The doctors and nurses that took care of me were so excellent.  I was really happy with the care I was receiving.  But I just wanted to go home.  I kept thinking of all the things I needed to do.

About 5:00 p.m. Joe and Carole walked into my room.  I was sound asleep and Joe woke me up.  I opened my eyes to Carole telling him, "Don't do that! Let her sleep!"  He asked what was going on and I sent him to the nurses' station.  He came right back with the news that the doctor had just signed my discharge papers and I was on the way home.

I drove home and Carole followed us to make sure we made it OK.  I felt so much better, but it has taken several days to get my pressure back to where it is supposed to be.

To make matters worse, the day after I got home I got a stomach virus which I still have.  Fever, nausea, stomach rumblings and diarrea.  It never ends.  So glad I didn't get it in the hospital.  I had no change of clothes (Joe brought a change with him when he came back with Carole) and it would have been bad.  Joe has been doing wash non-stop for days.

BUT... I am on the mend.  I am so much better, but taking it very slowly.  I have a doctor's post-hospital appointment tomorrow so we will see what she says.

So much for my New Year's Resolution to do a massive clean out of the house beginning January 1st!

Thank you all so much for hanging in there with me.  It really, really meant a lot.  Thanks to all of you that follow me on facebook, also, and have been keeping up with my daily little sentences.  You have made me feel so much better. I hope to be back posting several times this week.  Keep hoping and praying.

Until later...
Kathy