If you ever have to have an extended stay in Health Sciences Center I suggest you try and sneak up to D6 and spend your time there. The nurses are amazing!!! They are so positive and upbeat all the time. It takes a special type of person to have an attitude like that in an environment where so many negative things happen.
The numbers on my white board this particular morning were as follows: platelets 41, hemoglobin 87, and white blood cells 0.4. My numbers were dropping as a result of all the chemo being pumped through my body. With my white blood cells being so low my immune system was in a very vulnerable state so my visits were limited exclusively to immediate family, although the visitors continued to show up only to be turned away.
The medications and chemo treatments were taking a toll on my body. On this particular day I had an onset of very bad diarrhea (I'm not ashamed to talk about it...you lose all shame when you're in the hospital for that long.) Since my bowel issues were so sudden and came without warning I wasn't able to make it to the toilet in my room. After a few bed/gown changes it was decided that I would have a commode brought into my room. A commode is a toilet on wheels that looks like a chair.
This is a deluxe commode, mine was not that glamorous but you get the idea.
I spent about half of the day on the commode. Not such an easy task when you have little warning and have to manouevre off the bed with a catheter in place, IV tubes, IV pole, tube in my nose and a wobbly leg as a result of the stroke. Looking back now I would have loved to be a fly on the wall to watch the pure chaos that took place in those tense moments! I eventually gave up and just sat on the commode to watch tv and visit with my family. They understood.
I made an agreement with the doctors and nurses that if I attempted to walk and move around a few times a day that the evil Heparin shots every morning would eventually come to an end. I liked this agreement, I felt like I was finally in control of something for the first time since being admitted to the hospital.
So on a bright note my foot brace and walker arrived on this day. Time to get moving!!! With the assistance of my walker and 2 nurses I managed to walk the length of the hall and back to my room. There was not a dry eye on the floor. Every nurse on the floor was standing in the hallway crying and smiling at the same time. My Mom was no exception to this either. This would be the first time I smiled in 12 days!! I was so proud of myself. I felt like I finally made some progress and the fact that I may no longer have to get the daily Heparin shot contributed to this smile. I couldn't wait to get back into my bed, I was exhausted. I also could not wait to tell my Dad and brother who had stepped out for a little while. I napped for a couple hours and when I awoke Dad and Dale were sitting there anxiously awaiting the news I had for them.
This was a huge day for me as a couple days before this I secretly whispered to my Mom that I was afraid I would never walk or play hockey again. You take the little things for granted, a simple walk down the hallway was the most amazing thing that happened to me in 12 days!
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