a good feeling
by Bella Rum
This nasty business of being sick for… Can it be six weeks? The most difficult part was the doctors’ inability to diagnosis the problem. They could not figure it out. Figuring it out, apparently, is not always an easy thing to do.
After four or five weeks of difficulty breathing, my heart went out of sinus rhythm and began behaving erratically. The big question? Did my heart cause the lung issues or did the stress from not being able to breathe cause my heart to go out? They definitely affected each other, but they believe an antiarrhythmic med I was taking contributed to the lung craziness. The med exacerbated the entire lung infection, turning it into something much bigger. That’s probably why I kept relapsing. Then the weeks of stress from all the lung issues affected the heart. It was a vicious circle.
Last week was a week of more steroids, breathing treatments, adjusting and changing medications and a cardiac catherterization that was performed when I was already very debilitated from fighting this thing for weeks. Everything went well and I’m finally home again.
It’s been a scary week. How do I know this? My brother drove up to visit me in the hospital and stayed for hours. Small spaces are very difficult for him. My son also arrived and stayed a couple of days. Friends I hadn’t seen for a while showed up in my hospital room and flowers were received. I felt very loved but tell the truth. Doesn’t it make you a little nervous when people start paying too much attention to you at your bedside. 
I’m very depleted, BUT I can breathe, and this is the first time in over six weeks that I actually feel like they may have gotten this thing right. I don’t even want to write it here (for fear of jinxing it), but I do have a good feeling about this.
Thank you to everyone for your comments and support. I followed your comments, and when I couldn’t, H read them to me. I appreciate them so much.
I am thanking God right this moment, for your recovery!!!
Heart and lungs are tied so closely, who knows which came first to cause the problem. Rest up and take it slowly!
Thank you, Judy. You know it’s the truth. If the lungs are in distress for very long the heart feels like it has to get in on the act or vice versa. I don’t think I ever gave it much thought, but now I do.
So, so glad that you are feeling better and that THEY seem to have a handle on what has caused all this. During this last year of strange health conditions, I realized that doctors really are ‘practicing medicine’. There is SO much they don’t really know, and so…they begin the process of tests in an attempt to come up with answers.
I think we are both lucky to have doctors who keep looking until they find an answer.
And yes, it would make me VERY nervous if, all of a sudden, I got too much attention at my beside.
T-Shirt,
I’ve thought the same thing a couple of times recently – ‘practicing medicine’ is just the right term for it. It’s a process of ruling out things sometimes. I hope your health issues are resolved soon. It’s so frustrating.
Dear Bella, I am SO glad that you are feeling better and that you are home. And most of all, that they seem to know what’s going on and are finally taking action. I thought I knew how scary sick was, but I don’t think I really do, compared to that. Having a team that is active, persistent and aggressive is so important, and it sure sounded like in the end, you did. And yes, if I start to seeing my out-of-town cousins or long lost friends at my bedside in the hospital, I’ll start to freak out!
Welcome back. Lay low. You deserve it!
Jeanie,
Thank you. I suspect that you have a real understanding of this kind of situation. It’s such a relief that they seem to have run it to ground now. That was the most frustrating part. We all would like a quick answer. I am taking your advice and laying low. It feels good.
Soooooooooooooo glad you’re home.
Please stay there this time.
Hi, TC. Thank you. I’m very glad to be home. It’s nice to know you’re still out there.
VERY scary! And yes, I think I’d be pretty nervous too. I’m glad you’re home & that it seems like they’ve figure it out. I’d like you to stay well for 2013 – ok?
I’m very glad to be home, Bug. I do believe they’ve figured it out. Fingers crossed but very hopeful. 2013 must improve. MUST! for all of us.
So glad you’re home and feeling better! Six weeks is an awfully long time to feel crummy.
Hi, Deirdre. I am feeling much better and happy to be in my own house. We cannot ever underestimate the power of being where we’re most happy.
I still remember the year my aunt and cousin decided they’d like to come visit and spend a month. Mom was about 91 or 92 at the time, and still pretty sharp. When she found out they were coming, she fixed me with that look and said,”Is there something you’re not telling me? Are they staying so long because they think this will be their last visit?”
I’m awfully glad to see your post. I was thinking about you yesterday, and was pondering how long it has been since you’d posted. I had a sense there’d been a little blip. I’m awfully glad you’re home, breathing and still have a bit of a sense of humor left.
I was going to leave you a link to a get-well card, but everything I found was so schmaltzy I was afraid you’d have a relapse. So – no kitties, balloons or funky flowers for you! Just heaps of good wishes!
Linda,
See. Your mother and I have something in common. We become suspicious when folks become too attentive.
You were right. Things got a little dramatic for awhile there, but I have a good feeling now. Funny how breathing can make a person feel so much better.
Thank you for your good wishes. They seem to have worked.