BEING HOME IS GRADUALLY GETTING BETTER.

I am gradually getting better, now having picked up the ability to move from bed to bedside commode to wheel chair using a slider board.

Since my bedroom is going to be remodeled with new flooring and new doorways, I am temporarily using a hospital bed in the living room.  The hospital bed is most uncomfortable, in which I get stuck and unable to move, especially my legs were are like a ton of weight!

The home health nurse is still dressing my left cellulitis leg every other day.  Physical therapists and occupational therapists are now coming out two to three times a week.

At least I can move around my house and get into the kitchen and computer study with my wheel chair.  There is still talk of of a powered wheelchair.

Biggest job at the moment is removing clutter, which has always been one of my handicaps, but now is a necessary challenge

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 

A Bit of a Setback this week . . .

With a return of the infection, I have been back at NHRMC for a week now.  Today, they inserted a PICC line for the continuing IV antibiotics.  So I should be returning to Silver Stream Rehab tomorrow.

A Health Update For My Friends

It feels so good when my blogger friends reach out to find out how I am doing, as the cajun just did!

_____________________________________

the cajun said...

Hi David, with no other way to reach you, I wanted to reach out agin. Please continue to post updates when you can. We're all anxious to hear your news.
We're all going through something and it's always good to let it out and share your feelings with others. That would be US!
Take care, my friend. and do write when you can. Think of it as therapy. I do and it works. I get feedback from folks like you who know what I am talking/writing about.

Cheers.
Here's to Silver Queen!

___________________________________________________

(PS: my email is david at ladyslippercove dot com. You know how to change it to the correct format.)

Silver Stream Entrance Sign

Well this is day 39 in Silver Stream Rehab. and I am still not ready to go home, although I want to so bad!  Progress on the walking with a walker front: today I walked 180 feet with a therapist  holding on to me and a wheelchair following closely if I suddenly need to sit down.  I am doing leg exercises with weights on my ankles, plus a lot of arm exercises.

Front side of Silver Stream Rehab

Two major concerns continue:  The ulcers (lymphedema/cellulitis) on my left leg are just not healing.  My  doctor just came in and said they are trying to get me to a lymphedema specialist on the outside to treat and dress the wounds daily.  The other big concern is standing up from anything lower than bar stool height.  To that end, we have begun investigating a power wheelchair that has the the capability of raising the seat height as much as 12 inches, which will make transfers easier.  As a result, I am also investigating having a wheelchair ramp built onto  my front porch and raising the porch floor level to be even with the interior floor level.  Again, the power wheelchair seems like a favorable idea from my doctor's point of view, especially since the LGMD will only progress over time and my muscles will get weaker.

Existing front porch and steps

Thanks to all of you for the many cards and well wishes.  My spirit gets a boost with each one!

Where I have been . . . .

in a word -- the hospital.  New Hanover Regional Medical Center [NHRMC].

21 March: to the ER for the cellulitis in my left leg, but was not admitted.

25 March -> 2 April: Cellulitis.  Irregular ventricular heart rhythm noted. 8 days.

14 May -> 30 May: Admitted with a heart rate of 171 bpm and had to be shocked [cardiac conversion].  Then had pacemaker/defibrillator implanted in my left chest wall.  16 days.

3 June -> 20 June: Severe infection in left leg with sepsis - staph. Admitted to CCU.  Became delirious for several days.  First PICC line had to be pulled due to blood stream infection.  IV antibiotics given via second PICC line for 14 days.  17 days.

Total NHRMC days so far this year = 41 days.

20 June -> present:  Silver Stream Rehab

When I was admitted to the hospital on June 3, I was ambulatory with my walker and able to get around inside my house using my chairs which are elevated.  Now with the help of two therapists, I can stand from my bed when it is elevated to a very high position.  Still cannot take any steps.  Very discouraged! Lost a lot of strength while in the hospital and my limb girdle muscular dystrophy seems to be taking over.

One Man PITY PARTY!

Well, I have been rather down and feeling sorry for myself.  Left leg has been terrible with cellulitis/lymphedema.  Admitted to the hospital for eight days, where they investigated more problems with low blood pressure (down to 70/30), shortness of breath (better known as SOB, yea it is a son of a bitch), cardiac arrhythmias, etc.  Worse of all, the muscular dystrophy weakness in my legs has increased making ambulation even more difficult!

So this past Saturday, I held a "pity party" for myself and decided I needed something from my more youthful days to cheer me up.  When I graduated from high school and was attending college, madras clothing was all the rage.  Our high school graduation dance and party was held at the old Washington Duke Hotel in downtown Durham and madras clothing was seen in abundance. Guys wearing madras shorts and/or shirts.  Gals wearing madras shirt-waist dresses.

Madras cotton fabric is woven in Madras, India and is often known as "bleeding madras" because as it is washed, it slowly fades and the colors tend to run together.  When in high school, I had two madras shirts similar to these, especially the yellow one and the other was more green/blue in hue.  So imagine my surprise, when Googling madras, I came across these beautiful shirts for sale at Ralph Lauren in my size!  The yellow shirt was made in India and the red shirt was made nearby in Sri Lanka.

Cheer up, David.  Wearing them and pretending to be in my youth again.

Selfie wearing new Madras shirt!