I can’t believe it’s already been two weeks since I’ve been discharged from the hospital post surgery! The first week was nothing short of amazing, I went out for a short walk everyday, and Sasha and I went to a few cafes. I even rolled in my wheelchair to a store by myself to buy a toque and scarf because staying warm has been really important to keep my muscles relaxed. In addition to all of this, I carried dirty laundry down the apartment hall to put it in the machine myself…I don’t remember the last time I did laundry. Thrilling.
After all this excitement came time to start weaning off my pain medication (this felt particularly important because my breathing had gotten worse while on it all…likely connected to some of my preexisting heart challenges). I started feeling beyond horrible and assumed it was my body going through medication withdrawal alongside the general stress of everything that’s been happening. Then I started feeling extra awful last weekend. A few days ago things got to the point where we were unable to manage symptoms at home anymore and we were preparing to head to the emergency room to do more investigation when my surgeon had one more idea: he got me in for an emergency consultation with an incredible cardiologist and gastroenterologist who got to work immediately figuring out what was happening, as well as a treatment plan that would help me stay at our apartment. I still have a PICC line (central IV catheter running into my heart) placed which makes out of hospital treatment so much more feasible…Sasha and I have become medical professionals checking vitals and managing medications and IVs.
The verdict at this point is that I actually ate something in that wonderful week post discharge that caused a bacterial infection in my stomach, and my body has been too weak to fight it off. Because of this it’s caused my heart to run wild (with premature ventricular contractions and tachycardia). The combo of all of this has made for a very, very ill Bethany.
It’s always hard to look back and compare symptoms when things just feel so awful in the moment, but there were points over this past week where I was convinced that I was feeling worse than I did in the ICU after surgery…things got rough. Sasha (and my parents via texts) kept supporting me and reminding me that I was going to get through it as I let out tears that I emotionally needed to, but physically couldn’t handle. Despite still feeling pretty rotten today, I find myself writing this paragraph in past tense which is encouraging – I’m confident that I’m through the worst of this current hurdle. The fact that I can physically type this is a huge win!
I’ve started antibiotics now, and my heart medication has been adjusted. These things are part of a pretty extensive treatment plan that I’m feeling hopeful about.
At this point, we are so ready to be home and my doctors here are doing everything possible to try and make it possible for us to catch our flight on Monday. Whether that will happen or not is really just a waiting game to see how I respond to the current treatment. We have until 2 hours before our flight to make changes, but I’m feeling optimistic that we won’t need to adjust our travel plans again.
My parents and I have shared the same five words with each other more times than I can count over the past year. They feel like appropriate words to end this post with…one day at a time.