The ICU

The first thing I remember about the ICU was Jared my new nurse using some kind of board to roll me onto this incredibly comfortable bed. I was still being hit with a flurry of questions from every new person. Mostly I could not speak and Anita was appointed to answer the queries. They kept hanging more bags of saline. I felt terrible still. I was hooked up to a monitor that kept my heart rate blood pressure, but I could not see it well as I had not brought my glasses from home. I do remember my heart rate was at 130 when I arrived and I was watching it now at about 5:00pm at about 110. Blood pressure was stabile at about 110/65. They kept hanging bags. I think at about 6 litres, I could feel a little saliva.
My parents arrived soon after I was in the ICU. My mom came in first and was very distraught. She could see I had a big fight about me tonight and was praying hard that I would win that bout. Next my dad came in. He took a look at me and had to turn to the window. "I'd ask you how you are doing, but I can see it." he said. He placed his hand on my chest and slowly walked out. I could tell my look was more than he could handle.
Tony came back in and stayed for awhile with Anita. She never left. They kept hanging bags.
At 7:30, I met the infectious medicine doctor. She came in with my new nurse Nancy. The doc asked many good questions and really was a comfort when she thought it was still an allergic reaction from the Augmentin. That would be much better than bacterial infection. She ordered every hard hitting ab into my IV's. Vancomycin, doxycycline, gentamycin. And more bags of saline.... when she left, I felt a little better about my chances although my fever was not agreeing. Nancy checked it at 104.9 and climbing. I knew full well that the brain and organs start to cook at about 106. I had about 1 degree and was closing. Now came the fight. They hung more bags and shot me with steroids. Nancy placed a bag that blew 50 degree air on me that I would wear until my temp would fall below 102.
Everyone except Anita had gone now. My parents went to take care of Byron, and Tony went home. I lay there shivering watching the clock and what I could see of my monitor. I was hoping for some Tylenol at 9:30, but none came. I just shook uncontrollably. I had the extreme shivers from the fever and the blanket poured cold air on me relentlessly. Anita struggle to get comfortable with two chairs together. I knew I would not sleep this night. I remember watching every minute tick by hoping I would quit shivering. I hated the blanket although I knew it was saving me. It still was bitter. I fantasized about drinking a glass of coke with ice right to the top. I promised I would have one when I was out. It was 1:10 am I would look at anita. she was asleep. I would wink at her. She slept. 1:15 same/and so on for a long time. About 2:20, Nancy checked my temp. It had dropped to 102.4.
"Next time i come back it could be below 102 and you can have the blanket off." She said.
It was not to be...I started shivering hard for an hour straight. I knew that was my fever spiking again. she came back in an hour.
"I know it went up," I said.
"103.5?" I asked..
"Close. 103.3....shoot, she said. I was hoping we would be below as we were steadily dropping.
Yeah, shoot. more time with this infernal blanket and a fever setback. Will I ever even out.
A miracle happened about 5:00am. my fever went to 101.8. The blanked was off and I slept instantly for about 3 hours. I had made it through the night.

Into the ER

My magical face(meaning dark purple and distended) apparently was a quick ticket into the er and into a treatment room. We were attended to very quickly by a couple of nurses who tried to get some IV's put into my arms. They mosly failed. I could not understand this as my veins are usually very easy to get to. "I don't think he has any blood in his peripheral veins, they may all be locked down." said a nurse. That was the first time I thought this may be worse than I thought. I strained to look at my arms...they are dark purple and distended like pictures of the dead and bloated.
They wheeled me quickly into the traditional er room and began to place more IV's. They all looked worried. My er doc was a japanese woman who mostly took direction on how things work from the nurses which did concern a man looking up at the blue hatted people that have your life in their hands. She began to place a central line. ( I don't recommend one for fun). The thing is big a long and gets placed into the subclavian vein (which is just above the right atrium of the heart). The first couple of jolts to the heart let me know I should be afraid. I widened my eyes. "your arm hurts?" they asked....no, I sputtered, my heart isn't beating.... "Oh, they said, he has gone arhythmic." Great, I am thinking, poor Anita out in the other room and I die with paddles on in this one. (it was right about at this point I realized I was now fighting for my life. I had heard enough about sepsis and endotoxins and the state everyone was saying I was in and how far gone I was that life started to take a different look for me. I think I will always look back to right here, under the er lights that my life was in the balance and things and priorities needed to be sorted out. what is really important to me and what is all the hoo ha that gets in the way and clouds my mind.) She finally gets this sheath in place and begins to insert the line that goes into it and it won't fit. She cannot figure out why. No one has a clue......maybe it's the wrong kit, maybe it is bent maybe a new instrument....I have never used one of these before says the Doctor obviously making me feel much more secure in my ability to survive. Has anyone used this thing? Apparently nobody knew a thing. "Put some traction on it maybe" says the nurse. Yeah traction I am thinking....doesn't that just mean to try and jam it in? So she does.....it doesn't work. Finally a call to the internal medicine doc for help. He comes down all calm and sits down. Get me a mac 7 kit.
he says.
That is a mac 7 Er Doc says.
No it is not...get rid of these things. I need to pull all of this out. And he does.
He calmly placed a new central line stitched it in cleaned up and was done....I never saw DR. ER again....thank you.
Tony showed up a couple of minutes after they had placed the Foley catheter. That also is no fun, but not really worrisome. I thought I peed a bunch in there, but only a bit of brown sludge....not a good kidney sign.
"not much there," said Todd, the nurse.
"and the wrong color" said tony.
finally after a couple of bags of saline there was a small trickle. Bag after bag of saline was being hung on all five ports as far as I could tell. The bags were being pumped into me. My mouth still was parched. No saliva.
"that's a better color" tony said.
Todd looked over... "sweet" he replied.
Tony face showed plenty of worry as had his arm around Anita. I could see tears in his eyes.
We waited for a long time in the er for a room up in the ICU to get ready. Tony and Anita thought it was cold there, I was still hot and parched. They just looked down on my purple distended face and body with much concern. I just wanted more saline.
Finally the call came and we could go to ICU.
Off to ICU

There and back again

It all started on a beautiful Monday afternoon. Anita and I took Byron around lake of the isles and stopped in the dog park. One very big aggressive adult dog took offense to B and put him on his back to show dominance. Another piled on and thought more aggressive thoughts started tearing at Byron's neck. I, instinctively, pulled the latter off of Byron, stopping the fight, but my finger was lashed in the meantime. It hurt, and we left (not getting all the dog's info like dummies.) I called my bro and he talked to the head of em at hcmc. He said on the safe side I could take augmentin 875mg bid for a week. I thought, yeah, I better be safe than sorry. I fill the script and took a pill. We hung out that night watching some ball and took a second pill.
That night was the start of my long and fairly scary journey. I started shivering at about midnight. It was a violent shiver, but I passed it off as the start of a routine fever (not that that would be fun either). I shook most of the night and could not get out of bed the next morning.
Anita wanted me to see the doc. Of course, I did not want to see the doc, but I went anyway. Almost too tired to stand up I huddled up next to the counter at the check in and finally sat down on a bench. The welcoming person implored that I get a wheel-chair, but I would not....today.
We went up to the second floor to see Dr. Abulla from family practice. A very nice older gent who concurred that it probably was a drug allergy brought on by the Augmentin. I had already stopped the drug and was on Tylenol and benedryl. We went home with the thought now that it will just be a bit of time and the allergic reaction will stop. I slept better that night, but it was a fever filled, hallucinating night and that is never fun. The next day everything was extreme effort. Anita was getting more and more worried and I was getting more and more exhausted. Just rolling over was extreme effort. Anita brought me some grapes and oranges, but I could not feed myself. She would feed me a grape, I would eat it and then proceed to huff and puff like I had sprinted 100 yards. I could only eat a few before I was completely done. Wednesday went on like this the whole day. The night was different. I was insatiably thirsty. I downed bottle after bottle of water with no relief. My tongue actually got stuck to my teeth and tore on the bottom. I woke up feeling immobile and emmaciated.
Anita had come home early on Thursday from her research project and said we had to see the doc again. I was really too tired. I really resisted, but she was now boss and had made an appointment and we had to go now. I struggled and had her help me to the car and we went back to see Dr. Abdulla. This time I took the wheelchair and they rushed me upstairs (I must look bad, I thought) See, I had never looked at myself in the mirror because I was too tired to do so. They rushed me right in to see the doc. He took a look at me and said he was going to call the mercy er and they would admit me. I told Anita I really just wanted to go home....that would not be an option for a while as I would find out......Off to the er.

before after

lots of time and effort put in by my parents, Anita and me.

basement

finishing the basement bath...finally.