One Week Off

I had a pretty full week feeling wonderful before I had to submit to surgery.  After 3 1/2 weeks of going to the ER every 12 hours for treatment for this crazy infection (that's 48 IV treatments and enough hours there to count as a full-time job) they set me free.  Woohoo!  Although there were still some hot, bruisy looking places to the side of my knee, there was no more redness and they hoped the rest of the infection would go away with oral medication.  The last week of treatment I was comfortable enough to drive myself to the ER (which was a huge help) and my knee was bending well so I could get around pretty good--which included watching Luke by myself.  By the time they turned me loose, though, my arms were pretty hashed from switching out IVs every 2-3 days and drawing blood.  Some of my veins had reacted badly to the medicine and actually felt like bee stings.  So, since my knee was feeling better, my biggest concern started to be Where on Earth are they going to put the Next Needle?  (I had resorted to reciting the United States Presidents in order while getting poked to keep from getting the cold sweats.  Once I only got to Madison, usually to about William Henry Harrison, once I got all the way through twice--student nurse.)  At one point I threw up an offer in my prayers, that if I could just have the week off--just one week--from the IV, I would be okay if the infection relapsed and I had to come back in.

Here's what happened.

Last Friday I "quit" my hospital job after my last IV treatment.  I came out of the hospital and the sun was shining.  Mark kind of wanted to take me out on a date but I told him I had already been asked--the Elementary school was hosting a Mother/Son Superhero party.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but the boys and I got dressed up and went.

 It turns out it was a dance.  We had a blast and I loved the irony of going out dancing after getting released from the hospital.  I also thought the DJ was brilliant to bribe the boys with candy bars for the best dancers, also to throw in a few songs that the moms would respond well to--my sons have now danced to the Spice Girls.  Since most of the time the boys sort of ignored me while they were dancing, I took lots of pictures and videos.  Pretty hilarious I think. 

Sorry that last one is upside-down, but it's the funniest.

On Monday I met with the regular doctor who agreed that my infection was shrinking so slowly that I would probably need more than one round of meds.  Frustrating.  That night, however, he called and said that he wasn't comfortable with the way the knee was looking and that he wanted the knee doctor to take a look at my MRI.  Great.  Whatever it takes.  Thursday he looked at it ultrasound and pointed out several pockets that had basically sealed off and were not getting touched by the medicine.  (It looked like a flattened sponge.)  I was hoping that it would just be one pocket that he could drain with a syringe or something, but he said I needed surgery the next day to clean it all out.

So that day I did some major spring cleaning, checked several things off my to-do list, went shopping and attended the Blue & Gold banquet for scouts, also a Young Women's activity with Leslie.  I was extra privileged that night to speak with a mom-to-be who is expecting a baby with birth defects, and since I've had a couple of those, I hope I was able to put to rest some of her fears.  That night as I lay in bed I was thinking about her instead of my surgery, also how much the Lord had blessed our family through those precious previous experiences.  One thing I had mentioned to her was to look for ways that the Lord prepared her for this particular trial.  I hadn't thought very much about that for myself in light of this surgery, but there were a few things, the biggest was that I had already told Leslie that she could play hooky Friday from a dumb field trip, so I had a babysitter all lined up and ready!

Friday made it one week exactly for my break from IVs.  And listen to this:  I KNOW that HE deals with us with SUCH a light touch.  I do have to be on IV treatments for two more weeks, but this time they gave me a pic line that just stays in so I don't have to do ANY more needles.  Also a huge bonus is that I don't have to go back to my job at the ER--the home health nurse is handling it, and even she only has to come every few times because Mark or Leslie can handle hooking me up to the medicine--which means I can be home with the family in the evenings. Another huge deal is that this time I have a stop date so I don't mentally feel like I am in bondage to the treatment until some unknown date in the distant future.

Surgery went well and I was surprised to be in very little pain when standing on my bum leg.  I do have to have it in a brace for the next two weeks, which is annoying and means no driving, but I can walk on it.  Although I would rather not be such a drain on the neighborhood (again) I am excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  In a good way.