Hello, friends! I'm taking the small moments of time when I feel better to write some posts to catch you up on things. Each day is a little better than the one before. At least I'm not getting worse as I was last week. Let me tell you about New Year's Eve.
I had come home from the hospital the day before. I still was not feeling 100% with my pressure still elevated, so I decided to not do anything. That's right. I laid on the sofa or the bed all day. I watched some TV, read some and slept. What a way to end the year! But I needed it. I got up at one point and made myself a scrambled egg but almost wasn't able to do that. I was wiped out when I sat down to eat it.
I forgot to say that the night before Joe had made me a huge plate of scrambled eggs for dinner which we shared (including Jack the cat). Joe makes the BEST scrambled eggs in the world. He said he learned how to do it when he was a cook in the Marine Corps. I do the same thing he does and mine does not turn out tasting as wonderful as his does. So I was trying to recreate it, but just couldn't get there.
For dinner I had taken out some breaded flounder to cook. We usually have fish on New Year's Eve. Joe ended up cooking that too. He did a great job of it.
After dinner we have our devotions. We are still working on our 25 days of Christmas. So many interruptions happened this year. But Christmas is not relegated to one day, so we are just going to plow ahead and read it. Then I read aloud another portion of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." As I finished, Joe said, "The book is so much better than the movies." It always is.
We watched a couple of TV shows I had recorded. "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown" was cute. I don't remember seeing it before. And then an ABC special on 2019 in review. By this time it was getting late, so I went into the kitchen, got a tray, and put together a snack for us from the things my sister had put in that huge basket.
Six different kinds of crackers, salami, three different kinds of cheese, mini chocolate Santas and peppermints in the gingerbread boy jar. The white glass is a candle scented sparkling champagne which I thought was appropriate. The little bowl is a few cat treats for Jack. After all, he couldn't be left out. At this point I was feeling pretty good and wanted to surprise Joe because he has been doing pretty much everything around here.
We snacked, talked, and watched the ball drop in New York City. At midnight we kissed and said 2020 was going to be a great year. Little did I know that in less than 24 hours I was going to be sicker than I've been in many years! But that's a story for another day.
I took a selfie to show you fine people that I was doing good and still in the land of the living,
Yep, that's me. Just 8 hours before disaster struck and I had an intestinal virus.
What have I learned in all of this? That ultimately God is in control of things. We can't see the future, but the future is in His hands. I prayed in the hospital, believing He would answer me but I don't think I really trusted that He would. I have learned a big lesson on believing God. I wonder how many more times I will have to learn it because I'm pretty dense when it comes to that.
I went on Dayspring.com and took a quiz to find my word for the year. It gave me "Abide" which is a great word, but I think the word I really need is "Trust". It is something we as humans really need to learn. God has already gone before us so we can trust Him because He knows what's ahead.
And with that I am going to get off of here and do something with my day. It may be just clearing off a table or emptying the dishwasher, but it is going to be SOMETHING.
Hope you all have a wonderful day! Enjoy!
Kathy
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
Hello, friends. Thanks for staying around. I got very sick and ended up in the hospital for a couple of days. I am doing better and hope to be back very soon. Thanks for your understanding and any prayers would be appreciated. I'll tell you the whole story when I get back. And show you some new socks too.
