I will be returning to work on the third of June, whether I feel up to it or not. Been sitting (and lying) with my eyes closed - or open '...but not engaged in any activity requiring them to focus or concentrate' for the better part of the last two weeks.
Can you say boring?
Headaches, double-vision, and naps have been near-constant companions, and I believe returning to work so quickly after leaving the hospital was a mistake. Two full days of staring at and comparing numbers on labels, and working at my computer, did more harm than good. No job is worth my vision, it is too precious to lose.
Contrary to popular belief, this was not a vacation, it was a period of recuperation - and no, I am not fully functional. I am now instructed by the GP to begin weaning myself back on to a diet of eyes open, looking at the telly, reading a book, and using my PC to answer email, etc., to get my eyes used to what is to come after a long break from use.
Holy crap, people, take care of your health. Oh, and is there anyone out there on Atorvistatin? Are you experiencing any issues while taking the medication? I have to admit I feel a little ill at ease at the thought of taking it once I read all of the possible side effects.
5.31.2019
5.26.2019
Well, that's me, then
May 19th... the day I had my heart attack. The day my unstable angina sat up and proclaimed its power. It was rude and sneaky and surprising, and not my favorite way to spend a morning - or that night - and on into the next day.
Once I arrived at the ER, blood was drawn to measure troponin levels, and that carried on every few hours. Yes, every few hours throughout the remainder of the day AND all that night. I must admit to having a favorite phlebotomist through it all, though; I detested when her shift ended and the replacement appeared. Even when the preferred vein closed down and she had to move to a new location, Elizabeta made the procedure a piece of cake. The replacement was horrible, and created way more holes than she ever managed to siphon blood from.
Ah, well. Water under the bridge.
When I fell, though, at home (I passed out trying to walk to the living room), Karl did his best to keep me from hitting the floor (no mean feat, that). I managed to hit my head twice, however.
The first blow resulted from a rollicking bounce - I impacted his bedroom door frame with my left shoulder, then slammed backwards unexpectedly into the other side of the frame... and met that with my head. Karl's description of what happened immediately after is a little chaotic, but he says I continued to shuffle forward, becoming more and more wobbly.
Somehow the migration to the front room carried on in a somewhat forward fashion, until I seemed to crumple in his arms. Karl said he heard what he took for snoring coming from me, until he smelled something like vomit and realized my head was bent in an uncomfortable angle to my neck and shoulders. That's when I slipped through his arms and 'found' the floor. Yup, you guessed it, my head hit another wooden surface, and Karl needlessly apologized several times (after I came to) for that accident. He tried to soften the blow, but I was a lot of human heading to the ground with gravity on my side.
Soon enough he realized I wasn't breathing "well," and forcefully jerked me to a sitting position when rolling me to my side didn't work. It wasn't long thereafter that I came to and we discussed what had just happened... because I 'wasn't there'.
Just so you know, I don't hold Karl responsible in any way for the concussion - which went undiagnosed by the ER team - and everyone on the Cardiac Unit - despite my descriptions of the bizarre auditory occurrence (thousands of locusts loudly buzzing... while on fire), the louder than usual ringing in my ears, the non-stop headache, the room pitching madly whilst I am still, being light-headed, and a very steady double vision in my right eye.
You should also know this all may have happened due to a good deal of stress over the recent results (just the week before) of a CT showing an "apple core" shape in my ascending colon.
Oh, yeah, probably should do a little filling in. Re-cap of the untold:
- Had significant, escalating discomfort for a couple weeks which felt like a hernia (not an unfamiliar sensation);
went to doctor.
- Told by physician it was not a hernia and most likely appendicitis;
was sent for CT scan to see how inflamed appendix was.
- CT showed long appendix, but no issues there (and no hernia); but
doc overly concerned by "apple core" appearance, so sent for GI consult and colonoscopy.
All of this had me on the edge of my seat - but more about the pooper chute stuff another time.
I feel God is using the universe as a two-by-four to get my eyes open wide, and to get me heading in the direction I have been side-stepping/avoiding/ignoring/wasting time by denying for far too long. I can only imagine Him sitting up there, shaking His head in disbelief and smacking His forehead in frustration, while I continue to avoid my destiny in cunningly stupid, and innocently disbelieving ways.
Maria, we need to talk. For now, I need to stop this typing and shut my eyes again. I am supposed to be resting them to try and get a handle on the healing process from the recent brain injury.
Once I arrived at the ER, blood was drawn to measure troponin levels, and that carried on every few hours. Yes, every few hours throughout the remainder of the day AND all that night. I must admit to having a favorite phlebotomist through it all, though; I detested when her shift ended and the replacement appeared. Even when the preferred vein closed down and she had to move to a new location, Elizabeta made the procedure a piece of cake. The replacement was horrible, and created way more holes than she ever managed to siphon blood from.
Ah, well. Water under the bridge.
When I fell, though, at home (I passed out trying to walk to the living room), Karl did his best to keep me from hitting the floor (no mean feat, that). I managed to hit my head twice, however.
The first blow resulted from a rollicking bounce - I impacted his bedroom door frame with my left shoulder, then slammed backwards unexpectedly into the other side of the frame... and met that with my head. Karl's description of what happened immediately after is a little chaotic, but he says I continued to shuffle forward, becoming more and more wobbly.
Somehow the migration to the front room carried on in a somewhat forward fashion, until I seemed to crumple in his arms. Karl said he heard what he took for snoring coming from me, until he smelled something like vomit and realized my head was bent in an uncomfortable angle to my neck and shoulders. That's when I slipped through his arms and 'found' the floor. Yup, you guessed it, my head hit another wooden surface, and Karl needlessly apologized several times (after I came to) for that accident. He tried to soften the blow, but I was a lot of human heading to the ground with gravity on my side.
Soon enough he realized I wasn't breathing "well," and forcefully jerked me to a sitting position when rolling me to my side didn't work. It wasn't long thereafter that I came to and we discussed what had just happened... because I 'wasn't there'.
Just so you know, I don't hold Karl responsible in any way for the concussion - which went undiagnosed by the ER team - and everyone on the Cardiac Unit - despite my descriptions of the bizarre auditory occurrence (thousands of locusts loudly buzzing... while on fire), the louder than usual ringing in my ears, the non-stop headache, the room pitching madly whilst I am still, being light-headed, and a very steady double vision in my right eye.
You should also know this all may have happened due to a good deal of stress over the recent results (just the week before) of a CT showing an "apple core" shape in my ascending colon.
Oh, yeah, probably should do a little filling in. Re-cap of the untold:
- Had significant, escalating discomfort for a couple weeks which felt like a hernia (not an unfamiliar sensation);
went to doctor.
- Told by physician it was not a hernia and most likely appendicitis;
was sent for CT scan to see how inflamed appendix was.
- CT showed long appendix, but no issues there (and no hernia); but
doc overly concerned by "apple core" appearance, so sent for GI consult and colonoscopy.
All of this had me on the edge of my seat - but more about the pooper chute stuff another time.
I feel God is using the universe as a two-by-four to get my eyes open wide, and to get me heading in the direction I have been side-stepping/avoiding/ignoring/wasting time by denying for far too long. I can only imagine Him sitting up there, shaking His head in disbelief and smacking His forehead in frustration, while I continue to avoid my destiny in cunningly stupid, and innocently disbelieving ways.
Maria, we need to talk. For now, I need to stop this typing and shut my eyes again. I am supposed to be resting them to try and get a handle on the healing process from the recent brain injury.
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