I'm here after crawling and clawing my way back to the land of the living. Seriously people the way I felt the past few days is so extremely horrendous, you have no idea. Now in saying that let me recap what you've missed because I know you are all waiting with baited breathe to hear about my recent illness. (You should all seriously look into getting a hobby, I'm not that interesting.) Anyway, for those of you that need/want to know, here goes. Beware this is a long post so don't say you weren't warned.
You will remember that on the last episode of (Tony Falls Crook) I was about to go see the doctor. Well when he saw me the first thing he said "Wow you look awful". Thankfully we don't have to pay for doctors visits here because if we did I sure wasn't going to pay for that brilliant diagnosis. After acknowledging his medical expertise I felt it best to fill him in on just how bad I felt to get me look so awful. He then proceeded to do what doctors do with the poking and the prodding. Next some lab forms with all sorts of blood test on them were handed to me and he also wanted me to have a CT scan of my abdomen and my lower back where I had recently had back surgery if you remember back in July.
So off I hobbled to the X-ray/Imaging facility down the block. Oh here's the best part I had to walk about two blocks and wouldn't you know it but it just so happened that winter had decided to make a grand showing on the same time with freezing temperatures, rain, sleet and snow all at once and all on top of my head. Guess who didn't have an umbrella? Anyhoo, I made it to the imaging place and handed the lady my forms. She in turn told me that this would take about an hour and a half and to have a seat as she would be right back with a nice little drink for me to ingest. Now you know as well as I do that this lovely concoction was far from lovely. It was not only tepid but it looked like pee and tasted like a mixture of lighter fluid, formaldehyde and lemonade (not that I've ever tasted such a combination before but I'm guessing that would be what that combination would taste like). I was to drink this concoction slowly over the next 30 minutes. I finished gaging my way through the entire 8 ounce glass just as she came out to get me to take me in for my scan.
The scan was harmless and pain free. She did initially want to inject me with the common iodine solution that they use to get a better picture. I had to tell her that she would not be able to do that as I am allergic to intravenous iodine because I tend to have an anaphylactic response to IV iodine and then I die. So we both decided it would be best that we didn't go down that road. Besides what the hell was all that crap I just drank for the past 30 minutes? As I said the scan was a breeze except for the cocktail. I got the pictures from the scan and headed to my next adventure on Ton's big day out.
I was off to the vampire's lair otherwise known as pathology to give them fourteen tubes of blood and two small bottles. Not only did I feel like shit but now they were going to attempt to take every last bit of life giving blood from my body. The people that take blood almost always hurt me. It wasn't always that way. Before 2000 I was a smoker and I weighed between 160 and 165. (I know, can you believe it?) and I had veins everywhere so getting a sample from me was easy. After 2000 I quit smoking and unfortunately I gained a little weight and a lot of my veins disappeared under a newly acquired layer of fat. (No I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh now) The blood letters now tell me it's difficult to find a vein. My husband you remember the one who works in the Emergency Department and save peoples lives every night, tells me that I have great veins and that they are just either lazy or bad at their job. Anyway, blood was taken, I was hurt and by now I was already to call the funeral home myself because I felt so over the whole ordeal.
James took me home I collapsed on the couch. Five minutes later the phone rings and it's the doctor wanting me to come back down to his office right then. I drag myself off the couch and off we go down to his office. As a side note the weather has not gotten any better by this time in fact it's gotten colder and the combination of what was falling was getting heavier, but I digress. We find a parking spot and get to the doctors office where he tells us the results of the scan. It seems that there is a lump of some sort that has developed next to the area that I had recent surgery. They believe that it is a collection of fluid and they need to stick a needle into the area to drain off some of the fluid. They then can send the fluid off to see if it is infected and if it is it would explain the temperatures and everything else I had been feeling. At the same time by draining some of the fluid and releasing some pressure from the area I should get some relief from the pain coming from my back. On the other hand it might be possible that the growth could be something entirely different and that it might mean I would have to have surgery again to remove it.
By this time I'm beside myself as I'm not good with people stick big needles into me and stabbing around hoping to hit the right spot. I agreed to do the procedure as it had to be done. My doctor had a look from the outside and then he said he wasn't comfortable with finding the right spot and he didn't want to cause me any unneeded pain. He said it would be best to have the fluid/sample removed with the help of an ultrasound to locate the exact spot. Once again forms were filled out and appointments were urgently made. It was 4:00 at this point. The appointment was made for 5:30. James and I went back home so I could lay down for a bit before we headed down to the ultrasound. The test was performed with no pain as they numbed the site and the sample was taken however there was no fluid to be found. ??? Instead we ended up taking a small sample of gelatin like substance over to the after hours lab and then went home to collapse.
To make a long post short. every test has come back normal. We are still awaiting a few result from the sample taken from my back but at the end of the day everything is pointing to some type of viral infection. I am going to Sydney next week for a review by my surgeon and my neurologist. We hopefully will get some more information up there in reference the thing that has developed in my back. As for me currently all of a sudden as quickly as it came 7 days ago what ever attacked me left and I'm feeling fine. As I said they will still need to decide what to do with the growth and I imagine that they may require another MRI. All I know is right now I feel fine except for the fact that my fingers hurt from typing this post. I will now put this to an end so that you may tend to your bleeding eyes.
You will remember that on the last episode of (Tony Falls Crook) I was about to go see the doctor. Well when he saw me the first thing he said "Wow you look awful". Thankfully we don't have to pay for doctors visits here because if we did I sure wasn't going to pay for that brilliant diagnosis. After acknowledging his medical expertise I felt it best to fill him in on just how bad I felt to get me look so awful. He then proceeded to do what doctors do with the poking and the prodding. Next some lab forms with all sorts of blood test on them were handed to me and he also wanted me to have a CT scan of my abdomen and my lower back where I had recently had back surgery if you remember back in July.
So off I hobbled to the X-ray/Imaging facility down the block. Oh here's the best part I had to walk about two blocks and wouldn't you know it but it just so happened that winter had decided to make a grand showing on the same time with freezing temperatures, rain, sleet and snow all at once and all on top of my head. Guess who didn't have an umbrella? Anyhoo, I made it to the imaging place and handed the lady my forms. She in turn told me that this would take about an hour and a half and to have a seat as she would be right back with a nice little drink for me to ingest. Now you know as well as I do that this lovely concoction was far from lovely. It was not only tepid but it looked like pee and tasted like a mixture of lighter fluid, formaldehyde and lemonade (not that I've ever tasted such a combination before but I'm guessing that would be what that combination would taste like). I was to drink this concoction slowly over the next 30 minutes. I finished gaging my way through the entire 8 ounce glass just as she came out to get me to take me in for my scan.
The scan was harmless and pain free. She did initially want to inject me with the common iodine solution that they use to get a better picture. I had to tell her that she would not be able to do that as I am allergic to intravenous iodine because I tend to have an anaphylactic response to IV iodine and then I die. So we both decided it would be best that we didn't go down that road. Besides what the hell was all that crap I just drank for the past 30 minutes? As I said the scan was a breeze except for the cocktail. I got the pictures from the scan and headed to my next adventure on Ton's big day out.
I was off to the vampire's lair otherwise known as pathology to give them fourteen tubes of blood and two small bottles. Not only did I feel like shit but now they were going to attempt to take every last bit of life giving blood from my body. The people that take blood almost always hurt me. It wasn't always that way. Before 2000 I was a smoker and I weighed between 160 and 165. (I know, can you believe it?) and I had veins everywhere so getting a sample from me was easy. After 2000 I quit smoking and unfortunately I gained a little weight and a lot of my veins disappeared under a newly acquired layer of fat. (No I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh now) The blood letters now tell me it's difficult to find a vein. My husband you remember the one who works in the Emergency Department and save peoples lives every night, tells me that I have great veins and that they are just either lazy or bad at their job. Anyway, blood was taken, I was hurt and by now I was already to call the funeral home myself because I felt so over the whole ordeal.
James took me home I collapsed on the couch. Five minutes later the phone rings and it's the doctor wanting me to come back down to his office right then. I drag myself off the couch and off we go down to his office. As a side note the weather has not gotten any better by this time in fact it's gotten colder and the combination of what was falling was getting heavier, but I digress. We find a parking spot and get to the doctors office where he tells us the results of the scan. It seems that there is a lump of some sort that has developed next to the area that I had recent surgery. They believe that it is a collection of fluid and they need to stick a needle into the area to drain off some of the fluid. They then can send the fluid off to see if it is infected and if it is it would explain the temperatures and everything else I had been feeling. At the same time by draining some of the fluid and releasing some pressure from the area I should get some relief from the pain coming from my back. On the other hand it might be possible that the growth could be something entirely different and that it might mean I would have to have surgery again to remove it.
By this time I'm beside myself as I'm not good with people stick big needles into me and stabbing around hoping to hit the right spot. I agreed to do the procedure as it had to be done. My doctor had a look from the outside and then he said he wasn't comfortable with finding the right spot and he didn't want to cause me any unneeded pain. He said it would be best to have the fluid/sample removed with the help of an ultrasound to locate the exact spot. Once again forms were filled out and appointments were urgently made. It was 4:00 at this point. The appointment was made for 5:30. James and I went back home so I could lay down for a bit before we headed down to the ultrasound. The test was performed with no pain as they numbed the site and the sample was taken however there was no fluid to be found. ??? Instead we ended up taking a small sample of gelatin like substance over to the after hours lab and then went home to collapse.
To make a long post short. every test has come back normal. We are still awaiting a few result from the sample taken from my back but at the end of the day everything is pointing to some type of viral infection. I am going to Sydney next week for a review by my surgeon and my neurologist. We hopefully will get some more information up there in reference the thing that has developed in my back. As for me currently all of a sudden as quickly as it came 7 days ago what ever attacked me left and I'm feeling fine. As I said they will still need to decide what to do with the growth and I imagine that they may require another MRI. All I know is right now I feel fine except for the fact that my fingers hurt from typing this post. I will now put this to an end so that you may tend to your bleeding eyes.
5 comments:
Awww Tony, what an ordeal. And those people are just hell bent on poisoning you with iodine aren't they? I swear.
Well I'm glad the problem has been located.
Wow, this could be made into a mini-series! I don't envy you and send along my continued good thoughts and prayers.
I can't imgagine what you have been going through. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
stinko
i haven't been on line in a few days and all this happens.
I hope you mend well; nothing like fluid in spaces that should have any to make you feel awful.
Hang in there, please
I swear you have all kinds of challenges. I'm glad you have someone with you and that your feeling better.
Why is it so hard to beleive your having winter? Hang in there.
Post a Comment