Hooray For Clean Blood

Dana Hunter

I don’t have to go live in the hospital after all – my blood came back clean, so oral antibiotics will finish the job nicely. In fact, I’d be feeling almost myself again if it wasn’t for 8 liters of IV fluid swelling me like sausage. Oy.

I visited our UW Urgent Care down the road so they could make sure I wasn’t gonna die of pulmonary edema, and get advice on how to make this wretched fluid leave me. It was gratifying to hear the doctor talking to the nurse in the hall before he came in, incredulously repeating, “Eight liters?”, which words have been my mantra whenever I look at my incredibly ballooned abdomen, my bulging ankles, my bratwurst legs, and my lil smokie fingers. He determined that my lungs and heart were holding their own despite the reduced room, so all we need to do now is let nature take its course. We’re not trying drugs because my poor kidneys are already unhappy enough, so it’s best not to antagonize them. We’re going to check them again on Friday, and if they’re recovered but I’m still Water Balloon Woman, we can drug the fluids out then.

Good thing I don’t love salt, because he recommended I keep my sodium low. I’ve already cut back drastically, because carbonated sodas and I aren’t currently on speaking terms. And I don’t salt my food, so I’m basically free to eat what I want. Now if I can only free up enough abdominal space to eat lots of it…

I managed a trip to Target all by my lonesome, and was able to haul everything upstairs without total collapse, so it’s Dana’s Independence Day. B would’ve done all that, but he’d been awake all night worrying after I sent him home for rest and didn’t sleep until I emailed at 4am to let him know mild fever all gone. Then he slept through the morning, and his brother took the car, leaving him stranded. It was a nice, sneaky way to force him to take the day off, really, and he needed it. If I’d needed help, there are other people I can tap, but I don’t think he quite believes that. That poor kid is getting so much TLC from me when I’m fully functional again.

So now, it’s just a matter of tottering around on swollen pins, and grazing throughout the day rather than having meals, and trying to be patient while the last of the infection is murdered and the excess fluid goes away. I anticipate long periods of napping. I’ll probably take several days off from the blog now, unless one of those suddenly-better events happens, in which case we’ll get right back to it. And, of course, either B or I will update you if anything goes wrong. So don’t fret at radio silence.

I love you, my darlings, and can’t wait to be really-for-reals back!

Image shows a cat face-planted on a bed. Caption says, "I will nap... HERE."

 

 

 

{advertisement}
Hooray For Clean Blood

About the author

{advertisement}

12 thoughts on “Hooray For Clean Blood”

  1. rq
    1

    Yay for the good news! :) Glad to hear all is well.
    May the fluid find a rapid way to exit your system, bloated tummies and swollen joints is no fun. :P
    ♥

  3. movablebooklady
    3

    Wow, what an ordeal! I have “water on the knee” occasionally and just barely imagine what that would be like all over. Glad that it’s coming to an end. Take all the time you need; we’ll be here. And kudos to B for doing a great job tending to you.

  5. Funny Diva
    5

    *kermit arms*
    Yaaaaaaaaayyy!

    glad you’re firmly on The Road to Recovery (I’m sure that’s one of Bing and Bob’s “Road” movies that somehow the imdb has overlooked!)

    Hope the fluid keeps making its way out. Though I have to say the image of your “li’l smokie fingers” cracked me up a bit. Sorry. (been there…couldn’t tie my shoes over the edema after a 5-night hospital stay back in 2002…it does eventually go away.)

  7. psanity
    7

    Oh, that is good news! Keep up the good work, Dana — I hope the excess fluid leaks out pretty quickly. You are not meant to be a water balloon; your destiny lies elsewhere, as a shimmering, glowing star in the literary firmament (lit. allusion: Singin’ in the Rain, a nice movie to watch while half asleep).

  10. Onamission5
    10

    What is the deal with hospitals wanting to make patients into water balloon people? After my lst extended stay I didn’t even recognize myself I was so bloated up with fluids. The nurses eventually removed my IV after I started to complain, at length, and then it took a week for the excess fluids to drain well enough for my hands to function properly.

    I am very glad to hear the news about clear bloodwork! Hurrah!

  11. Trebuchet
    11

    I have horrific memories of having fluids pushed into me by IV while I was in the hospital. And prohibited from receiving anything by mouth until my GI system stopped functioning in reverse. “NPO” is a sign you do NOT want to see over your bed. And did you know IV fluids do NOTHING about thirst?

Comments are closed.