At this point I was in serious need of a diagnosis. What could cause this in someone my age? It was not pleasant going through the process of getting a blood test every 6 hours, and my arms were getting pretty bruised up from all the poking around. Not to mention the constant IV feeding into the back of my left hand. I didn't take a single shower on my own the entire time I was in the hospital.
One day was so much like all the rest that it got to be hard to keep track of time. I was at least happy to be able to choose my own menu each day from the offered hospital food, which was pretty good! I got quite attached to their vegetarian chili. Mmm!
The constant battery of tests kind of got to me too. MRI's, an ultrasound that I slept through and didn't even know about until later. One afternoon I had my normal 1pm vial of blood taken out, half an hour later they took 3 more vials, and 15 minutes after that another vial. I was not in the best mood by the time that third nurse came by with the little rubber tie-off for my arm... The next thing I found out was that I was going to have a bone marrow aspiration. Now I'd heard about those ones. They drill into your hip and take a chunk of the spongy stuff inside your bones out, and I'd also heard it was not a nice experience. So the days went by and finally the doctor came in and did what she could to freeze where that huge needle was going, which by the way was NOT enough! Longest 30 minutes ever! Now I know I'm a wuss for pain, how on earth do I think I'm going to handle having a kid??? Well anyways when the ordeal was over with I was telling J how I'd love to see what the bone marrow looks like, since I had to go through all that just to get it out. A nurse heard me and gave me a quick look, this little brownish twig in their tube before they rushed it off to get tested. So that was that fun day.
While waiting for the results of the bone marrow, I was given the news that on Christmas Eve I'd get a day pass to leave the hospital. I was off of the Heparine IV and taking warfarin tabs by that time, so I just had to be back by 9pm to take that pill. I was pretty excited about just getting to leave the hospital, BUT the nurses had a surprise for me first. They wanted me to load up on laxatives on the 23rd, so I wouldn't have a real upset stomach the day I got to go out. So I took what they gave me and... nothing. So they gave me more. Still nothing. So they tried a different type... Still nothing. Took some more. And again, nothing. Went to sleep that night and didn't feel any different in the morning, so they gave me some more... and finally I felt 'something'. Darn those different shifts the nurses have to work: I had probably taken around 5 doses of different laxatives, and then when they finally started to kick in I took off for my first Day Pass. SOOOOO... we kinda stuck around the hotel that day!
Still, it was nice just to get out and see differently-colored walls for the first time in nearly 3 weeks.
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