Hospitalized! This Was a Surprise

I got sick while I was in Omaha last week, and then a couple of other things went wrong after I got home, so when I went in to see Dr. Lee for my appt. yesterday, he listened to my whole list of woes and then said he wanted to put me in the hospital for some tests.

Lots of tests. 

Because I was feeling so crummy, and still am, truth be told, I agreed without putting up a fuss. This is only the third time I've been hospitalized in 11 years of cancer treatment: First, for my mastectomy, in October 1998. Then in January 1999, for a week for clinical depression. And now, this time. 

Hospitals have changed a lot since I was last a guest at one ... a room service menu ... Wifi at my bedside ... A computer terminal next to my bed, for doctors and nurses to input info ... and a bulletin board and white board on the wall across from my bed that lists the names of my nurses on the present shift, the day and date, and other info about my care. 

What Happened? I flew to Omaha on Monday last week, and a man in my row had a wet, snotty cold. He was coughing and sneezing all over the place, and even though I had two bottles of hand sanitizer and a cold mask (which I wore for most of the flight), I still got sick.

I woke up with a cold Wednesday morning, so I stayed in bed at the hotel all day. Then, my neck started hurting at night, and Thursday morning when I woke up, my tongue was numb. 

I've had trouble eating ever since, because I'm afraid I'm going to choke on my food. 

I spent my first day at home, Saturday, in bed, sleeping and reading, and then got up on Sunday and puttered a bit with my jewelry. 

Then, to top it all off, I blacked out in the bathroom in the middle of the night on Sunday, and gave myself a bloody nose and a goose egg on my head on the way down. 

Dr. Lee's Orders I laid all this out for Dr. L, and he said he'd like to put me in the hospital to do tests. I went straight from his clinic to the oncology floor at NW Hospital, in a wheelchair.

Last evening, I had a chest CT (check for pneumonia), and MRIs of my brain and neck (to check for new tumors, among other things). Then, just as I was thinking about settling down to sleep, Dr. Lee came back to my room and asked if I would do the spinal tap last night to check for cancer in my cerebrospinal fluid, and also for infections, like meningitis. 

Somewhere in there, the neurologist also gave me a thorough exam. 

Waiting So now, on day 2, I still have a few more tests to go. An angiogram with contrast this morning. And I had a session with a "swallowing specialist" who watched me eat scrambled eggs and pudding. 

What else? Im wearing a heart monitor, and I had an EKG this morning, plus blood pressure and other checks every hour or so. 

I don't really mind being here, because I didn't feel safe at home, but this hospital routine is NOT restful. BP and vitals check between midnight and 3 a.m., and the first blood draw of the day at 5:30 a.m. ...

But I'm being a good sport. And I feel like I'm in excellent hands with Dr. Lee and the rest of my team. 

You're probably wondering how serious this is, and the answer is, I don't know yet. It could be serious, or I could have just been overly dehydrated. Although that doesn't explain the tongue. 

Feel free to e-mail me if you like, but please understand if I'm not able to reply individually. I will post new info as I have it. 

@ Jeanne Sather 2009.

Comments

[Tina Christiansen]

Thinking of you Jeanne. It's great that there is WiFi instead of signs saying no cell phones!

[jessica]

i hope the food is palatable, at least? or is swallowing still giving you trouble?

due to the nature of my health care choices, i've not spent much time in hospitals but always, when visiting others, noticed just what you're talking about: hardly a system that facilitates rest and recuperation. and if it isn't your own poking and checking that's disruptive, it's someone elses.... ah, well. the nature of the beast, i suppose :)

caring thoughts being sent your way, j.

[carver]

Dear Jeanne,

I am so sorry that you are in the hospital, but it sounds like you're in good hands. I'll be sending a ton of good thoughts out for you, Carver

[Cathy McDonald]

Wow. That stinks. Sorry to hear you are having to go through all this, Jeanne. Although it sounds like you are in good hands with Dr. Lee. I hope you are able to get a teeny tiny bit of rest while in the hospital. And, yeah, having Wifi beats the usually crappy TV reception/selection!!
Cathy

[Carla Carter]

Dear Jeanne,
Hope you get some good news soon. I check in on your posts quite often. I just read about your depression hospitalization as I am extremely depressed and have been for months. I am going to University of Michigan on Friday to meet with their psych/counseling team. I am also stage 4 breast cancer for more than 3 1/2 years. I'm afraid too many traumas with this cancer journey have taken its toll and I've gone over the edge. You give me hope. Looking forward to you being back to yourself.
Carla

[Joanna Moore]

I hope you get some sleep so you can restore your strength. It is really good that they hospitalized you so you can get a handle on all of this.

[amy]

Poor Jeanne. Are you bored or just sick and unhappy? I could send you bad magazines.

[lisa-diane]

Oh my goodness Jeanne - so sorry to hear that your sickness landed you in the hospital. Ughh flights are the worse for germs! It sounds like you are in good hands though. I will be sending up some extra prayers for you.
Hugs

[Megan Jones]

Jeanne -

I'm glad you're getting to the bottom of these symptoms, but hope you don't need to stay in the hospital much longer! You ARE a good sport. I hate the hospital. Last time I was there I got labeled "sensitive", as in nurses talking to me saying, "Oh yes, I heard you were sensitive". I think from their point of view I asked too many questions. I was being The Assertive Cancer Patient, and they just wanted to "manage" me with meds and get me to shut up. But sounds like you have a great team, so hopefully none of that!

Sending good thoughts your way for a speedy recovery from symptoms, non-scary test results, and a quick discharge from the hospital!

[yvonne]

I hope you're feeling better. -Yvonne

[Helen]

Thinking of you

[Lindsay]

Sounds like you’re a really good patient. Unlike me – I pestered the docs constantly to let me go home, until they were glad to get rid of me.

I’m thinking of you and hoping you get to go home soon :-)

[jeanne Sather]

Thanks, Everyone!

I'm feeling better today, and I've gotten some answers.

I have pneumonia.

I have C. difficile, which causes bad diarrhea.

I'm anemic.

And I have a new tumor in the back of my skull that is pressing on one of the nerves to my tongue, causing the problem I've been having.

All the test results are in except for the final results of the spinal tap, and I should get those later this afternoon.

All in all, not as bad as I was fearing. I will probably have to have radiation to the new met, but at least it is in the bone and not in the brain (trust me, that is good news).

I'll probably be here for a few more days, to treat the pneumonia and the C. diff. I'm getting a blood transfusion this afternoon.

Oh, and one complaint: The hospital Wifi is too slow this afternoon to allow me to post to my blog. It will let me leave comments.

[Amorette]

kick some ass, take some names.

[carrie s]

Jeanne, thinking of you. You are being way past a good sport. I'm sorry things are hard. All the best. Love, Carrie

[Chris Baskin]

Keep up your good spirits.