Sept. 2011 After the procedure was complete, I must have fallen asleep 'cause the next thing I remember was being in something of a groggy/twilight, am I here or dreaming kinda state. I was taken to the Intensive Care Unit and brought into a dark room with only small overhead and hospital monitor lights glowing. As I slowly awoke, I had a better idea of where I was and recognized that I had seen this environment in a dream and didn't realize what was going on and why, weird I know.
The staff who were caring for me were awesome! I'm awful with names or I'd say, anyway, they were saying things to me like "it's been about a year since you were here" or "haven't seen you for a while." I was puzzled since I didn't recognize any of them yet I wanted to be polite so I kinda went along with it. The more we talked, I realized they were actually thinking I was my sister Tara who's been admitted to Cleveland Clinic more times than I can count.
The nurses did all they needed to get me settled in and as comfortable as possible, then I went back to sleep. Monday morning, my neurologist's residents came to see me. I was told they still were unable to tell what kind of fluid had collected and why...more testing was needed, plus I would need to have my shunt(a tube in my head used to help flow of spinal fluid) externalized to prevent or stop any infection from occurring. This is where my memory of exact order of events gets a little off. I believe it was this day they inserted a PICC line in my arm to prevent the need for so many needle sticks to do blood tests and IVs. Also, they did an MRI to make sure I had no blood clots....well I did. That had to be taken care of first.
Since I needed surgery for the shunt, I couldn't be put on meds to heal the clot, so Tuesday I had a filter inserted to prevent the clots travel from my groin to my heart or lungs. While in this procedure, the Dr's removed another 2.5 liters of fluid from my abdomen making the grand total Five Liters. This was a lot to handle in only a few days....I was exhausted and upon returning to my room...I Slept! Mom came almost daily, bringing mail and well wishes from friends and family. I also had my phone with me so I was also kinda able to stay connected through Facebook and Twitter. At this point, I was nervous yet still somewhat confident that answers to how, why and what to do were going to be found so I did my best to be calm and trust that God would see me through this.
The next day, I was scheduled for the shunt externalization surgery. I was prepped and sent down to the pre-op waiting area. I was asked all kinds of questions: "Do you know what's happening today, who's your Dr.", questions like that. Finally, someone came and I was wheeled right outside the operating room across from a wall that was mostly window. I remember how beautiful the sky looked and how happy I was since I hadn't really been able to see outside in awhile. The Dr. came out, talked to me and shortly thereafter was wheeled in. After being lifted to the operating table, they began hooking me up to the IV. Wouldn't you know the PICC line got clogged and Wouldn't Work!! I was so angry and panicked. I'll have any operation you tell me I need, but I Hate having IV's started. They had to do one in my hand, the most painful place in my opinion. In minutes I was off to sleep. Surgery successful, I awoke about an hour later in recovery. The Dr. mentioned that he didn't believe the fluid buildup was from shunt malfunction, so that made me happy. A little while later I returned to my room. And wouldn't you know, The PICC Line Started Working...Joy Joy!
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