Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Got Kind Of Ill

index

My most recent post is dated 11 April 2017. I don't know what happened. Have kind of been out of it This is the first time my mind has been focused enough to post on blogger. Almost died once... am sure of it. Yet will whittle everything into place and slowly get re-organized. Even took a couple of photographs. Yaaaay. Have done some cleaning and ate a well-rounded homemade meal.

My hips have fallen into a poor state because I have been housebound. Will begin the ole therapy regimen. Sure am glad that I have this spot on blogger... to note recent events.

UPDATE: 18 October 17: Am thinking the way I feel this day, is the best I have felt in quite a long while. I cannot remember how poorly I felt prior to my first fall on August 24-25. I do know how I have felt since then. Miserable. Extreme excruciating pain... everyday all the time with my only relief, blessed sleep On August 24-25 my right foot got caught as it always used to when getting up out of my computer desk chair. That night my left foot hit a droplet of water or coffee when landing on it. My left foot slipped out so fast that my head hit the ground... straight on, full blast.The doctor, Dr. Salt, asked if I was unconscious or had a seizure after I fell,... said,"I don't know. And how am I supposed to know if I was unconscious?" That's how hard I hit my head.

UPDATE 18 October 17: Continued. Am writing this blog for the whole world to know I have found someone... At this time we are using the hangout feature on gmail to communicate... which is limited with constraints when texting (similar to Twitter). So I decided to construct this written synopsis for her. Am going to include her photo(with permission) and you will see why. Including this photo, the limited conversation we have had on gmail, I have seen many important things. The lady has a very warm personality, and manners. Wouldn't mind going to a fancy sit down dinner with her because she probably knows how to eat in such a setting. She could be wearing her best alongside my best. Wow. Am worried about our age difference.Thirty-five years old?? Have an image I will share if I get permission. Would like her telephone number so I can call her. She asked for mine. Would like one of her e-mails, also. This isn't too much to ask I think. Have to make sure she if aware of how old I am compared to her. I think she is trying to protect her privacy. I have given her my contacts. This should be enough to give her strength to trust me.

That said, after my first fall, I sat down for a while and collected my thoughts. Telephoned for an ambulance, went to the Emergency Room. Gosh, I couldn't walk. Even with my cane it was quite dangerous. When I got to the hospital, they put me in a bed to monitor me. Thank goodness, I think Valley Hospital is the best. Ended up waiting quite a long time and no one checked on me (4.5 hours in my opinion) so I left and came back home. At home it was very hard to manage myself. Quite a bit of difficulty reaching the bathroom. Used my walker. Had food in the pantry and refrigerator. Ended up calling for Emergency Room help on the 27th. The ambulance came, they were quite worried because I was not well. They gave me oxygen and my breathing was quite fast. Doctor Salt wanted to keep my overnight too. They put me in an observation room with a nurse right beside me the whole time.

The staff at the hospital observed me a number of hours, took a blood test, and loaded me up on potassium. Apparently, I had lost my potassium,... similar to working out in the sun and sweating too much without replenishing your supplies of salt and potassium. While I was observed a Humana Insurance rep came in and made sure I got my prescribed meds. I thank him for this.

Below, in block quote, is the draft of an e-mail I was preparing to send to Charles my brother. The letter describes my first fall and the second fall with the physical and social ramifications as of 7 October 2017. The draft of the unsent letter is archived in his folder on gmail.

Am really fucked up bro. I am trying to keep a positive outlook. It seems that at night (dark) the pain level increases. Am having discomfort in all the normal places, just a lot worse than the pain before I fell. It has been over one month since the original fall on Thursday the 24th or Friday the 24th. When I wake up it is either a high level of pain or the pain is okay. One or the other. And as the day wears on the pain stays the same as it was when I woke up. Yet, either way the pain level increases at night. When I go to bed at least I can sleep okay. Haven't noticed a problem with my sleep (thank God!!!) I have had sleeplessness before and it is just plain no good. At least with my medicine the pain is bearable too.
I seem to recall after my first serious fall (not the second time on the 11th) on the 24th or 25th of August, the pain had reached my level of tolerance. This is the first time I went to the E.R. The pain and disorientation on the 27th of August forced me into the E.R. again which is how they discovered my low potassium level. During my visit on the 27th the docs gave me a pretty good workup. Did a scan of my brain because of the fall hitting my head. They gave me a bunch of chest and blood workups because my heart was acting weird on the 27th too. So after they learned of my potassium level being low my landlord brought me by some bananas at my request, and I had my neighbor drive me to the primary doc for an unscheduled prescription pick up on the 29th of August. (with morphine which is a opiate-not an opioid-i have to physically turn in a written prescription each and every time).
When I picked up the prescription, I was scheduled to have two more blood tests which I missed due to transpo. issues on the 31st of August and the 7th of September. Those blood tests were to check my kidneys, yet eating bananas I knew my potassium level would be okay. A home nurse was prescribed by an insurance company doctor, and this nurse came over to my apartment on September 4th. Alongside all of this I was scheduled for a primary doctor's appt. the 13th of September. On September 11th I tripped, making it my second fall. So the following morning I cancelled the doctor's appt. and the transportation I had scheduled for the Sept 13th docs appt. The problem being that for the past 2 weeks my major concern was walking. Walking took so much of my fortitude, the actual action of walking was all consuming. Getting to the bathroom was a problem because walking took everything I had... getting to the bathroom caused me to be afraid that I would go to the bathroom in my pants on the way to the bathroom. This is on the 11th of September and is the reason I did not go to the doctor. I couldn't bend my legs up nor bend over to change my socks and tie my shoes. Much less put on a reasonably clean pair of pants, socks, and undies. I certainly couldn't worry about a docs appt too. Sheesh.

As I sit here after walking just a small amount my left knee is starting to hurt. But I must admit overall, the pain today is at an acceptable level.

And then there is the issue of chores around the house, and food in the refrigerator. And somewhere in this mess, either August 24th or September 11th I torqued out my right wrist and left knee to the maximum. I was so sore after August 24th I might not have noticed my wrist and knee. I think possibly my wrist and knee were hurt Sept 11th. Not sure. My parts and pieces of my body hurt all the time, so I just blow off odd pains. I wake and say,"looks like my wrist and knee hurt today. Oh well." And that is just the way it is, everyday all the time. I wake up and stand to go take a pee in the morning when I wake up. My left foot has been broken so many times, and my right foot is screwed up too. When I stand up in the morning sometimes I say, "Looks like my feet hurt today. Oh well," 90% of the time I don't fall when I get up. 90% of the time... the pain does not cause me to sit back down. So I just blow off the pain. And my doc gives me medicine to help me through the days. It's just the way it is, and I am used to it. Yet anyway, I haven't walked anywhere for groceries in over a month. Minimart, 7-11 burritos for dinner have destroyed my budget. And I haven't cleaned my floor. Hygiene is taken care of for health and safety. The kitchen and bathroom are managed just fine. The trash is never over-filled. A lot of times I don't check the mail.
In addition to not being able to shop for food, I was afraid to use the stove. After the fall on my head I was confused and forgetting things. Like leaving the stove on by accident. Not completing the transaction register calculating my checking account. Forgetting appts. and people's names, et c. Just little things Iwas forgetting. I forgot to file my paperwork with the State of Nevada to supplement my insurance premium and co-pays at the docs. And my $15 a month in food stamps. The paperwork was due the 5th of Sept. while I was dealing with the first fall (like a chicken that just was beheaded for our dinner). Yowzers. This could have been disastrous except the care worker at my doc's office was able to fix it on Sept 22nd. All is well. By the wayside my doc's name is Mary. The care worker's name is Melody.
I started this last night, Thursday, 5 October 2017, and today, Friday I cannot walk very well. Made it to the convenience store for dinner and cat food. Barely made it home. Something has to be wrong. Will study... may need to exercize, but am afraid of damage to the areas that are sore. Dang, would be nice to figure this out. Will complete this e- mail tomorrow and get it to you.