I Want To Go Home

The last time I was in my home was June 3!  That was the day I went to the Emergency Room due to a cellulitis infection, ended up in the Intensive Care Unit, very delirious and almost died. The month before I was in the hospital having a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted.  So, since June 3, I have been a patient at New Hanover Regional Medical Center and/or Silver Stream Rehabilitation.  Almost four months and I want to go home soon.

The good news is that the cellulitis ulcers and wounds are really beginning to heal nicely, but I still have  to have my left lower leg wrapped on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I am still very wheelchair dependent and can walk only short distances with my walker.  At least I can make transfers now  between bed, bedside commode, and wheelchair pretty independently.

Anticipating going home soon, I have had a 35 foot wheelchair ramp built that goes from my front porch down to the driveway which includes two 90 degree turns. After the treated wood has dried out, the ramp will be painted green to match the house trim.

No doubt I will also have to make some modifications inside the house as well, such as widening doorways.

PICC Line comes out today as last dose of IV antibiotics are given.

Selfie sitting in front of the mirror in gym.

It is 4:00  pm on this Friday afternoon.  The last IV antibiotic was administered

 and the PICC line pulled out just after that. 

Tomorrow I start taking the same antibiotic in pill form twice a day.  I am hoping to have more energy and feel better now that is over.

In the window are my orchid plants here at Silver Stream as I attempt to take care of them.

Silver Stream Stories

It seems that I had my own 9/11 disaster this week, which in retrospect would have been funny enough to win $50,000 on AFV if it had been video recorded! This past week physical therapy obtained an UpLift seat for me to use.

UpLift seat in a chair

 It gives me a boost to lift myself from a low chair to grab my walker and make a transfer and works great -- well a little to good in this case.  At 6:30 in the evening after dinner, I was straightening up my room.  Needed to add some distilled water from a gallon jug  on the floor to my CPAP reservoir.  Put the reservoir on my bed, and then rolled to the side in my wheelchair to grab the gallon water.  Remember that I am in my wheelchair on the UpLift seat and the wheels of the chair are not locked!   As I leaned down to pick up the water, my weight on the seat shifted enough for the lift mechanism to go into action.  It ejected me, the wheelchair moving backwards, and I landed sitting on the floor.  Thank goodness, other than a sore bottom, I was not hurt.  In reach was my nurse call bell, my room door was open and I yelled "help" and the nurses were quickly  in the room.  They got the Hoyer Lift to get me off the floor and into bed.

Hoyer Lift machine

The next morning, I had an appointment with my infectious diseases doctor, whose office is also located two blocks away on Silver Stream Lane.  The attendant arrived and tried putting me in my wheelchair in the back of the van that they have for transport.  BUT my wheelchair was an inch or two too  wide to fit on the lift mechanism.  So deciding that she needed the exercise to lose weight, Kim pushed me on foot to the doctor's office.  After the appointment was over, she hoofed it back to get me.  I got some sun and fresh air and Kim got some exercise!

Dr. Berthold was pleased with the progress of my healing leg cellulitis.  She said that the IV antibiotic

IV pump at work

would run for another week via the PICC line.  Then the PICC line

PICC line where it enters my right arm

would be removed and I will start the same antibiotic (Keflex) by mouth.

Left leg cellulites unwrapped on 9-12-2014