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Oct 12, 2014 - 09:39 AM |
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Update..? Sorta? |
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tl;dr - Tai is sick.
May not be able to attend Meet X
As a bunch of you already know, I am pretty broken. (Broke too, but that's another point altogether.) This summer has been a flurry of illness, hospital visits, and basically just a whole lot of Not Fun.
Just before Meet, I did something (not exactly sure what, it's been a while) and pulled or strained a muscle in my left shoulder. Over the course of Meet, it developed into pneumonia (cause apparently I wasn't breathing properly due to the pain)--as most of you saw. I was in pretty rough shape. A few days after coming home I wasn't getting any better, so I went to the ER. LAST TIME this happened to me, I lost part of my lung and I definitely didn't want to go through that again. I was only there overnight. Got antibiotics and some painkillers. Pneumonia went away.
In mid-July the pain in my left side was STILL THERE (even though x-rays showed the pneumonia was cleared out and gone). I was feeling pretty shitty in general. Exhaustion, and such. As a result I wasn't eating properly and got pretty weak--then started puking my guts out. Not quite literally, but I was vomiting blood. A lot of it. I don't know if it's just because I was throwing up so much that I caused a bleed (this is most likely the case) or something else, but I ended up having to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital, as I was too weak to even call a cab to take me over.
This was my first time REALLY being in this hospital. It's only just over a year old, and is actually pretty nice. Something like 85% of the rooms are singles, so you don't often have to share with someone else, which is great. And the food isn't terrible--when they actually get your order right, heh.
Anyway, the hospital was more focused on making the bleeding and vomiting stop than also-important things like my blood sugar and insulin. Hospitals still don't seem to understand how to deal with diabetics and it's really frustrating. A quick run-down would be... I eat (counting carbs), and take insulin accordingly. Blood sugar is also a factor (if it's high, add x amount of insulin). What THEY seem to do is completely negate the fact that I'm eating (not giving insulin--therefore causing a blood sugar spike) and then at the NEXT meal, seeing said spike and dosing with extra insulin (cause a "low spike"). Frustrating. BECAUSE of this, I went into what they call ketoacidosis, and got sicker. Good job!
After a while they eventually listened and let me dictate how much insulin I should be getting, and the numbers went back to normal. I just wish they'd do this right off the bat instead of waiting a week (and wondering WHY the spikes) every time I end up there. Three weeks later they sent me home. I was (mostly) better. The doctor said I had pleurisy/pleuritis (a swelling in the lining of the lungs I think?) left by the pneumonia, and that was causing the pain. It would eventually pass on its own.
That was the beginning of August. It's now mid-October, and the pain is STILL there. Ugh.
In mid-September, long story short--I ended up at the hospital again. This time, with kidney failure! Over the 3 weeks I spent there, they did biopsies, tons of blood tests, urine tests, and all that fun stuff. They don't know what CAUSED this to happen, if it was acute or something chronic that has been there for a while (and just happened to suddenly "break"), or even if it would get better on its own. They at least made me comfortable (as one can be in a hospital, I guess) with pain meds and the like, and I had the freedom to walk around or go to the cafe in the lobby if I wanted to get food/drink. What sucked is that I had to have two rounds of hemodialysis--which involved having some tubes surgically inserted right next to my groin (uncomfortable), and sitting there for four hours doing almost nothing. Thankfully I had the Smash 3DS demo to keep me semi-occupied. After the two treatments, they said I shouldn't need it anymore, and took the tubes out a couple days later.
The doctors were constantly changing though--but there's one that's still following me, and I actually REALLY like him. He's a great doc so far, he seems to care. He even sat down with me in my room for a good half hour while we talked about things--granted, mostly about my condition(s)--but also asked me some tech stuff (like how to fix his computer). It's something I don't see in a lot of doctors lately. He has gone over the biopsy with me, and has pointed out a couple 'oddities', but the conditions associated with them are extremely rare. I'm STILL doing bloodwork and such tests for him and will (hopefully) know more on Wednesday. He HAS told me, however, that he may need to do another surgery for a more "permanent" access for dialysis. I do not like this idea. I mean, if I have to do it, fine. My life will change, I'm sure, and it's gonna suck. But if I get better? Then cool.
I'm still on dilaudid. At (up to) 4x the dosage they were giving me in hospital. Kidney area (lower back, flanks) are in a LOT of pain still, but I'm a trooper.
ALL THIS BEING SAID (and this is the most important thing for me right now, aside from getting better)... If this dialysis thing actually has to happen, it may mean that I can't go to Meet. Typically dialysis treatments are 2-4 times a week. I'd probably be able to do it at any hospital or treatment centre, however... most likely not in the US without having to pay tons of dollars out the ass. I'm trying not to think too much about that, though, cause I really WANT to go. I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.
At least, for now, I have a whole lot more energy lately. The past two or three weeks I've probably been more active than I have been all summer. So that's a start.
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