Yet another update thingy
Feb. 19th, 2011 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreOn April 11, 1890, Joseph Carey Merrick (better known to the world as the Elephant Man) was found dead in his room at London Hospital. Merrick had ben forced by his deformities to sleep sitting up. It is theorized that in an attempt to be like other people, he had gone sleep laying down, resulting and a dislocated neck and asphyxia.
I know how he feels. Right now my biggest problem isn't so much my breathing, it's that I am constantly producing amazing amounts of phlegm. Being constantly stuffed up when you are dependent on an oxygen feed running into your nose is annoying, and the last time I tried to sleep lying down? I had to call Kirsten out to help me. I was literally on the verge of choking on this crap. Doctor has cleared me to use anti-histamines to try to improve things. They help... some.
On the good side I now have Kaiser Home Care. The clinic that monitors blood-thinner patients requires frequent blood draws to track levels, and it's such a hassle to get me out the door on the portable tank, put me in a travel chair, yadda, yadda, yadda. waste of time for a blood draw that takes about three minutes to do. So now I have a nurse that comes to Offhand Manor whenever I need a draw.
We may finally see some movement from EDD. I now have my very own social worker (Jim the Biped) and a person in the medical secretary's office pounding away at them. I will be applying for SSDI. Because even the most optimistic recovery scenarios leave me unable to do the sort of work I've been doing for the last 20 years, and the more reasonable scenarios have me on O2 for the rest of my life with varying levels of activity.
Other than that, not much going on. I'm napping a lot, trying to move as much as I can, and doing my damnedest to remain optimistic. Spring Training has begun, which makes life better. But just about everything tires me out easily, so whatever I do during the day, I need to do it moderation.
There is one horrific note... I'm now required to avoid garlic until I'm down with the blood thinners. No garlic? Oh, the pain.... I've also been told to not shave unless I really have to. The results are scary:
I know how he feels. Right now my biggest problem isn't so much my breathing, it's that I am constantly producing amazing amounts of phlegm. Being constantly stuffed up when you are dependent on an oxygen feed running into your nose is annoying, and the last time I tried to sleep lying down? I had to call Kirsten out to help me. I was literally on the verge of choking on this crap. Doctor has cleared me to use anti-histamines to try to improve things. They help... some.
On the good side I now have Kaiser Home Care. The clinic that monitors blood-thinner patients requires frequent blood draws to track levels, and it's such a hassle to get me out the door on the portable tank, put me in a travel chair, yadda, yadda, yadda. waste of time for a blood draw that takes about three minutes to do. So now I have a nurse that comes to Offhand Manor whenever I need a draw.
We may finally see some movement from EDD. I now have my very own social worker (Jim the Biped) and a person in the medical secretary's office pounding away at them. I will be applying for SSDI. Because even the most optimistic recovery scenarios leave me unable to do the sort of work I've been doing for the last 20 years, and the more reasonable scenarios have me on O2 for the rest of my life with varying levels of activity.
Other than that, not much going on. I'm napping a lot, trying to move as much as I can, and doing my damnedest to remain optimistic. Spring Training has begun, which makes life better. But just about everything tires me out easily, so whatever I do during the day, I need to do it moderation.
There is one horrific note... I'm now required to avoid garlic until I'm down with the blood thinners. No garlic? Oh, the pain.... I've also been told to not shave unless I really have to. The results are scary:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 19 Feb 2011 23:51 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Feb 2011 01:52 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Feb 2011 01:55 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20 Feb 2011 06:34 (UTC)I had a miserable case of bronchitis that required me to try sleeping while in a seated position and it was very unpleasant. That was for 2 weeks. I hope you have less of that than I did.