Tag Archives: Hospital

Living with CML

17 Wednesday Jul 2019

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Let me introduce you to a friend of mine.  Her name is Tiffany.  She is currently in her third year of remission.  The above picture is the day she was admitted into the hospital for a month long round of treatment for CML.

Her story is a little different than mine.  She claimed that she had trouble taking her meds. She had terrible reactions when she took her meds and therefore quit taking them. Her CML advanced into something else and her doctors had to take more radical steps in treating her.  She was only treated for about a year with oral meds before she had her bmt.  Her Instagram account is full of pictures where she shows tubes running out of her nose and later being put in her chest.  These are pictures that I look at and put concern in my heart.

I’ve been put in the hospital before for different reasons but only for a short time.  I think the most I’ve ever stayed in a hospital is five days.  I can tell you that I like to have went out of my mind after staying in the hospital that long.  One thing that I know will be different, after about the third day, I felt pretty good.  Good enough to go home.  I doubt very seriously that after three or four days I’ll feel like going home.

There is still a lot that I don’t know about having a bmt.  I do know that before anything happens a donor will have to be found.  That could take a while even though I do have three siblings that could be a match.  I also found out that I could be having some kidney trouble.  This too could also slow things down I suppose.  I have an appointment with the kidney doctor next week.

I’m a person of worry.  I worry about everything.  The main worry I have right now is that once treatment starts I won’t be able to leave the hospital.  That means that all my family better stay safe.  I can’t be leaving the hospital to go to no funerals.  Things that get broken will have to stay broken until such time as I feel like repairing them or I can get someone there to repair it.  I may get someone that I used to work with to check on my wife from time to time to make sure nothing needs repaired.

Life is an Adventure Part 1

17 Wednesday Jul 2019

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Life is certainty an adventure.  One that rarely disappoints.  That is, if you life long enough to live through it.  If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you should know by now that I am cursed with the dreaded “C” word, Cancer.  I have what is known as CML.  Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.  I was diagnosed with CML back in February, 2014, Valentines day to be exact.  Since my diagnosis, I have been on three different types of oral medications, the preferred form of chemotherapy for this type of Leukemia.  Each one with it’s own faults.  With each medication, it would start off working but for some reason the med would stop working and I’d be left with months of trying different dosages trying to find a happy medium.  When this last drug bit the dust, my oncologist gave me the dreaded news that he would be deferring me to another oncologist, one who specializing in bone marrow transplants.  At this writing, I have an appointment this Friday with an oncologist at another hospital.  However, this doctor is not part of the transplant team.  So, I’m somewhat concerned as to why I’m seeing him.

This is the end of Part 1.  Part 2 will come after the meeting with this new oncologist.  If things go according to the way I think, I will be going through the transplant soon.  I’m not sure when but I know it will be soon.  Donors will have to be found,  tests will have to be run and so forth.  I will keep this blog going as long as I feel like blogging.  Pray for me during this time._2TH1271_tonemapped

Update 12/17/2016

17 Saturday Dec 2016

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It’s been over a month since I’ve been in the hospital.  I count that as a good thing.  I’m still very fatigued, short of breath, these nitro patches are giving me headaches and I get fairly dizzy when I stand up from a sitting position but other than that I’m feeling pretty good.  I have all my kids home at least for a little while so that’s making me real happy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.

Another Visit Part One

13 Saturday Aug 2016

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I knew it was only a matter of time before I ended up in the hospital again.  This makes the third time since January.  This time it was a little more serious than all the others.

I went and saw my cardiologist this past Wednesday and it was decided that because my breathing was so bad he would admit me to the hospital for a heart cath.  I was under the impression that the procedure would be done Wednesday afternoon after i was admitted but all they did was blood work. The next morning a heart cath was performed where they found the left artery 75% blocked.  Two stents were installed and I just knew that would help my breathing.  It did not help at all.

After returning to my room I started talking to my cardiologist and he informed me that he had called a pulmonologist in to see me.  A little while later I got carted off for several tests in which one was a breathing test and the other was a sniffing test.  Both of which I failed.  The pulmonologist came in later Thursday evening and basically told me that after seeing the results he had no idea what was causing my difficulties.  All he could tell me was that my diaphragm wasn’t working.

Friday morning I was carted off again for a CAT scan of my lungs.  After returning to my room I was told that I would have a procedure known as a Thoracentesis,  a procedure to remove fluid around my lungs.  At 2pm they removed 2 liters of fluid off my right lung.  I was told that the procedure wouldn’t be painful.  They lied.  I sort of reminded me of my bone marrow biopsy.  Maybe it was the way they did it but it was in the top ten as far as pain.

I never got to comfortable last night because of the pain but as long as I stayed still it didn’t bother me too bad.  I had to hook up my CPap tonight and the pain was still there.  I’ll be taking some pain meds tonight before going to bed.

My daily medicine count has increased by five.  That makes 17 pills that I have to take on a daily basis.  As long as they keep me alive and my insurance holds up I’ll keep taking them.

Time to Vent

03 Friday Jun 2016

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November 2015 I caught the flu and spent 5 days at home.  December 2015 had kidney stones in which I spent another week at home.  Last week of December, 1st week in January 2016 I spent 4 days in the hospital with some sort of chest infection in which I was off a total of 2 weeks off from work.  With all that time off from November 2015 to the first week in January I used all of my vacation time.  From January to now trying my best to build my time back up which meant for every hour I spent at the doctor’s office I had to spend an hour working overtime without pay to make up for the time lost. I have vacation planned for week after next and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to take off because someone came into work sick with the flu and I caught it.

I had finally built my time back up to 77 hours but I got sick with the flu and pneumonia and had to spend a week in the hospital and another week at home recuperating. This was very costly not only money wise but I missed some things that I’ll never get back.

While at the doctor’s office Monday a week ago, I passed out because my O2 levels were so low that  I had to be carted off to the hospital via ambulance.  That within itself is quite costly.  Two weeks of vacation time gone, my vacation to Disney is in jeopardy because I won’t have the time to take off and the most costly of all was the fact that I was not able to go to my daughter’s graduation from high school.

I have the most inconsiderate co workers that anyone can have.  They always come to work sick and in most cases, I end up catching whatever they have.  They don’t care either.  All they want to do is brag about how much time they’ve got accumulated.  This is twice in six months that I’ve used up all my vacation time being sick and I’m so mad right now that I could take these guys and beat their face in with my fist.

Thankfully my wife and kids have not gotten sick from me being sick.  While I was in the hospital they took all the necessary precautions by wearing a mask and disposable hospital gowns.  I’m better now but easily get out of breath when doing the least little thing.  I’m scheduled to go back to work on Monday.

Rant over.

The above picture was taken after the graduation was over by my son.  I think he’s got a hidden talent in photography.  He did an awesome job.

 

It’s Been a Challenging Year.

26 Friday Feb 2016

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On February 8th my mom and dad were heading to pick up my 11 year old nephew from school when out of nowhere this car veered over into their lane and hit them head on.  Both mom and dad suffered many broken ribs, fractured sternums, collapsed lungs and many cuts and bruises.  Dad also suffered several fractured vertebrae and along with a collapsed lung, he had a small hole in one of his lungs creating fluid to build up around his heart.  The first hospital they were rushed to could not handle dad’s injuries so they decided to ship them to UAB trauma center which in my opinion is one of the best hospitals in the southeast.

For nearly three weeks, both mom and dad were laid up in the hospital, mom in TBICU and dad in TBU. As of this past Saturday they went to stay with my brother until they can learn to do things for themselves.  They are still on oxygen and having to use a walker to get around.  They are doing much better but they have a long way to go.

For these three weeks my siblings and I have taken turns spending time with my parents trying to help them the best way we know how.  Both my parents are in their late 70’s and even before the accident, were having difficulties getting around.  Now, it’s doubtful that they will ever get back to where they were before the accident.

365 Day Photo Challenge 242/365 “Mom is Home”

28 Friday Aug 2015

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Mom is home but not any better.  The doctors performed the test this morning but the test was inconclusive.  They still don’t know if it’s a tumor or a clot. They sent her home with instructions to contact her doctor to make arrangements to have a MRI done at another hospital.  They are leaning on the side of a tumor but this tumor is over 2 cm.  My mother is upset that they didn’t go ahead and do something other than just run tests.  I’m not at all happy at the moment myself.  Hopefully, her doctor will expedite things so she can be more at ease.

“Life Goes On!”