Author: UncleLar

so said my doctor at my checkup today. He assures me that the coughing fits are normal, nothing to worry about, and should go away soon. I had a series of breathing tests today that I evidently passed with flying colors. When he listened to my breathing he said things sounded much much improved from before. However, he added that it will take the lung about six months to recover even though I’ll feel fine in another month or so (he did add that I wall always have some scaring on the lung and to be sure to tell any other doctor who x-rays my chest about my surgery so the scars don’t alarm them).

As far as my general health was concerned the results of my blood work and heart stress test that I had done previously came back even better than could be expected. He made a couple of comments about how strong my heart was (specifically saying something about my right ventricle still being able to do x,y,z which is unusually for someone my age). That’s when he tossed in the “you’re going to live for a long time” comment. And, Marilyn, to address your comment on my other post – it appears my general health is fine so I must be doing something right.

On the other hand, I also had an appointment with the dermatologist. I was overdue for a checkup on my skin cancer (my dermatoligist retired and left town, so I had to find a new one) plus my whole body itches and I’ve been scratching like crazy. I got a clean bill of health on the skin cancer checkup but not so when it came to the itch. The dermatologist handed me a checklist of things I could do to address the itching and it turns out that I’m doing them all wrong.

Here’s the complete list:

– Don’t take hot showers – use comfortably cool water (I take showers as hot as I can stand).
– Keep showers brief – no more than ten minutes (I like long hot showers)
– Use unscented soap substitute like Dove, Oil of Olay, etc. NEVER use Ivory or perfumed deodorant soaps like Irish Spring, Coast, etc (I use Irish Spring).
– Use a bath oil (I don’t take baths).
– Pat skin dry. DO NOT rub briskly with a towel (I always rub myself down with a towel).
– Lubricate your skin with a moisturizer (I never use one),
– Consider a humidifier especially during winter months (nope – don’t have one).

Looks like I have some habits I’m going to have to change.

I figured I was probably overdue for giving everyone an update on my progress.  I’m fairly pleased with the way things have gone the last ten days or so.  For the longest while, I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere but things have definitely improved recently.

In a way it’s kind of funny.  I measure progress in my ability to do normal things that people take for granted. It was about ten days ago when I was first able to take a shower, shave, brush my teeth, and get dressed without having to take a break between the activities.  This past Friday was the first time that I was able to do my grocery shopping all in one pass.  Previously I couldn’t walk all the way through the grocery store without having a huge coughing fit so I’d have to do half the shopping one day, half the next.

I actually made my first pass at regaining a social life a week ago today.  I went downtown to pick out my Santa grab bag gift last Monday evening and decided to stop into the Tavern and see the folk there (had my first beer since the last week of September).  As it turns out, that was probably a little premature.  I don’t get to talk much sitting home all day and I discovered at the Tavern that trying to carry on a conversation was enough to occasionally set off a coughing attack.  Just talking also weakend me enough that when I went out to put money in my meter (about a 100 foot walk), I suffered one of my major coughing fits (I define a major fit as one that triggers a gag reflex).  

That little experiment made me retreat back to my cubby hole for the rest of the week.  By the end of the week though, I was feeling pretty good.  I was no longer having a daily major coughing fit that would end up in my throwing up (that had been going on for almost a month and I am quite pleased that it ended).  I was starting to regain my appetite.   When I would cough I would no longer cough up a bunch of sputum (I went through a dozen or so boxes of Kleenex in my first month back – I now have four boxes strategically placed around the house and they will probably last me a couple of years).  And I was generally feeling pretty good. So good, in fact, that I actually checked on airline fares for Xmas (my great rate was still available which got me thinking).

Those thoughts ended Friday night.  I made a major shopping excursion to the supermarket, one that required four trips from the car to the house to lug the groceries in.  That walk is only about 100 feet but I really could feel the exertion on each trip.  Sure enough the final haul triggered a fit.  Halfway down the walk I’m gagging and throwing up.  That gave me images of me walking through O’Hare carrying my luggage and suddenly having an attack in the terminal.  Suddenly the trip didn’t sound like a good idea (the reality is the biggest problem would probably be the exposure to all sorts of oddball germs on the plane – my resistance to any sort of infection is probably pretty low right now and the last thing I need is to catch some sort of respiratory bug).  

Still I have been starting to regain a normal life bit by bit.  The one thing that I have been doing all along is going to Penn State basketball games.   There was one Saturday night and I actually met some of my buddies for a pregame beer for the first time.  I still had a bit of a coughing problem as I tried to carry on a conversation but it was good to get out.  I also had a first in the five games that I’ve been to.  My seat is in the lower part of the arena and i have to walk up about 30 steps to leave.  At the previous games, I would have to stop and rest after hiking up the steps before continuing out to my car (I park about 100 yards from the arena).   This time I was able to make it all the way (although it did trigger a coughing attack – still getting there all in one phase was an accomplishment).

I’m suppose to meet some friends for lunch on Wednesday so I’ll get another chance at carrying on a conversation this week.  I’ll let all know how that goes.

P.S.  One further thing to report.  My weight continues to remain around 170.  While I have regained my appetite some, i.e. I no longer have to force myself to eat, it’s easily satiated so the portions that I have been eating are smaller than they used to be.  I suppose that’s good.  Since it appears that my weight isn’t going to rapidly return, I actually went out and bought a new pair of jeans.  I’m sure I could fit into a size 34 but I decided to get a 36 with the expectation that SOME of the weight is bound to come back any day.  I’ve measured the difference in the belt holes that I’m using and I’ve taken eight inches off my waist.  That’s consistent with the size 42 pants that I was wearing the summer before last.

I had really wanted to give everyone more frequent updates on how I’m doing and more background on the whole incident but the recovery process just hasn’t allowed it.  However, I’m starting to have a couple of moments where I’m semi-functional so I’m going to try and catch up over the next few days.

First of all, the important thing to remember is the more normality that I can bring back to my routine the better.  Sitting in bed and having someone take care of me would be the absolute worst thing.  Doing things will help me regain my functionality – having things done for me will not.  Pretty much doing anything is exhaustive but it’s all part of the physical therapy process of recovery.

Having said that, “normality” is a long way off – and I’m talking simple, normal things like showering, shaving, brushing my teeth, making a meal, etc.  I  can’t do any of the above like “normal” (well showering perhaps but it still exhausts me for a half hour or so).

Another thing that’s strangely disruptive is trying to have a conversation (which is what makes this blog a real help in letting all know what’s going on).  I can’t really carry on a conversation in public. (trying to talk to someone who can’t get a full sentence out without breaking out in a cough doesn’t lead to much of an intellectual exchange).   Lying in bed having a phone conversations is better but anything longer than 5 minutes or so is starting to push it.  The good news is that there’s no real after effect from talking on the phone. It’s not like I have to rest and recover afterward.  It’s just annoying that I have trouble getting full sentences out.

With that as background, my daily routine can be described pretty simply.  The worst part of the day is when I wake up in the morning.  I feel like crap, I’ll undoubtedly have a coughing attack or two right away, and the simple effort of getting some nourishment in me to start the day becomes a bear.  The rest of the day becomes a series of trying to do normal things around the house, like getting dressed or taking out the trash, each of which might be followed by a 15 minute or so rest or nap, and occassionally even venturing outside of the house to run an errand or two – those can last from 30 minutes to a couple of hours and usually result in serious downtime, maybe 3-4 hour naps, when I return home.  All of which strangely seems to lead to a brief period at the end of the “day” where I feel semi-normal for a bit (I put “day” in quotes because even though it’s about 5 am Sunday morning, it’s still part of the Saturday “day” for me).

I should have explained earlier that I constanly have a low grade fever (i.e. under 100).  The doctors have explained that that’s normal during the recovery and nothing to worry about unless it starts jumping over 100.  So part of my feeling like crap is dealing with this low grade fever.  Everyone’s familiar with the feeling of being a little under the weather, where they have a slight fever, they often feel clammy, and they sometimes break out in a cold sweat.  That’s me constantly.  But in these moments at the end of the day where I feel good, the fever seems to break for a bit, and I can be a little bit normal for a few minutes (for example, I just got up, went downstairs, grabbed a soda and an ice cream, and came back upstairs and got back on the computer without anything happening – no coughing fits, no need to rest for a couple of minutes after my excursion – I was able to get right back on the computer as if I hadn’t even left – that’s usually not possible). 

So now here’s a very much more specific breakdown of today.  Today was going to be a “full” day for me. There were three must-do items on today’s agenda.   One, I popped a lens out of my glasses when I didn’t realize they were under the covers with me when I got in bed last night so I had to make a trip to get them fixed.  Two, I had to watch the PSU/Iowa football game at 3:30 EST.  Three, my antibiotic perscription ran out today so I needed to get it refilled.  

Now if I could somehow find a way that have my feel good moments occurr in the afternoons rather than the middle of the night, things would be a lot simpler.  But they don’t, so my external errands all need to be run in moments when I’m not feeling particularly well – and that’s not very helpful.  I had hoped to be able to combine both my glasses and perscription errands into one run in early afternoon so I could relax and watch the game in the afternoon.  Didn’t quite work out that way.

I woke up about 10 am and knew early on it wasn’t going to be a fun day.  Things started out with a couple of nasty coughing attacks each of which resulted in my collapsing back in bed to rest for a half hour or so. It wasn’t until amost noon that I was able to drag myself downstairs to get something to eat – and that process took about another hour.   So now I’m sitting at 1 pm and I realize I’m probably not going to find a good moment to run the errands and am just going to have to force myself.   I call the pharmacist to make sure I won’t have to wait while the prescription is refilled and the pharmacist tells me that they can’t have it done until 4 pm and that they close at 6 pm.  Oops – that means I won’t be able to combine the two errands No big deal and as it turns out doing both would have probably been two much anyway but it does mean that I’ll have to break away from the PSU game at halftime to pick up the refill – but with TiVo that’s not a real problem anyway.

 

To be continued…

 

I had hoped to get the whole story of today out in one post but I’m starting to feel tired (not exhausted tired, sleepy tired).   Even when I’m in feel good mode it still takes an abnormally long time to get things done. I’ve been sitting at this computer for almost three hours typing this.  Probably a good idea for me to go to bed and get some sleep.   More to come when Sunday’s feel good period hits.

After a two week hospital stay fighting pnuemonia complicated by an ecoli infection, I was finally allowed to go home yesterday.  I’m feeling better but have a long way to go (heck, it took me 24 hours before I even got to the computer – still haven’t turned a tv on).  The docs say to expect it to take 6-8 weeks before I even start to feel close to normal – that doesn’t bode well for my making Chi for xmas.

When I’m feeling up to it I’ll provide an update on exactly what happened – at least to the best of my knowledge.