I have been feeling ill every since CW went in the hospital, partly because of stress and partly because of lack of sleep. I even teased that it would soon be my turn to go to the hospital . . . little did I know it would come true! I have been sleeping more and more each week and finally on Tuesday I just couldnt go anymore so I called work and acted like Emily was sick so I could sleep all day. I dragged myself to work on Wednesday and around 2:00 I hit a brick wall and couldnt go anymore. I felt dizzy like I hadnt slept in years and had a headache like I hadnt slept. I finally called Wanda and told her I wasnt feeling well and that I was going to the doctor. Before I could get to Solantic, I decided it would be best to go to the emergency room since they could do bloodwork quicker. By the time I got to Florida Hospital Altamonte, my face was burning and so was my chest.
Once in triage they quickly took me back for an EKG which was normal but showed a very fast heart rate. In triage my pulse was 107, BP was 156/93 and my temp was 100.1. They were able to get me back to a room fairly quickly where they drew blood and put me on a heart monitor. My white count came back as 18,000. My doctor said a high count is normal for someone without a spleen but that she didnt feel comfortable sending me home with a high count, high pulse AND a fever so she admitted me.
The next day the cultures they took in the ER came back negative so they decided to just keep me on Rocephin (antibiotic). Friday my white count was up to 19,000 and given how tired I always am, I asked them to run a mono test (plus Amy at work has mono). The mono came back negative too so since no one can find the source of the infection, they decided to just leave me on Rocephin for 3-5 days and send me home. Well, my body had other plans! Friday night CW helped me take a shower and afterwards we took a walk. On the third lap around the floor I got a horrible stabbing pain in my back. We got back to the room and immediately called the nurse. I was shocked the doctor would do anything since I came in for another reason but he ordered an x-ray of the lumbar spine, IV Toradol, and Flexeril pills. Saturday the doctor said he wanted an MRI of the neck and back. I begged to be put to sleep but was told that if I have infection in my neck and they try to move me while sleeping that they may paralyze me. I opted for liquid Valium instead!
The rest of Saturday is a little blurry probably because of the Valium. I know my white count was 20,450, that I have a herniation at C5/6, a reherniation at L4/5 and a pocket of fluid at L4/5. I also know my C Reactive Protein Inflammatory Screen and Sedimentation Rate came back high. C Reactive should be 5 and mine was 14.5 which indicates infection/inflammation.
So that brings us to today, Sunday. I saw a hematologist although Im not sure why, an infectious disease doctor who doesnt do diddly, a hospitalist (who thinks I should go home) and an orthopedist who stuck a needle in my back! The ortho said there was no obvious infection based on the needle puncture but that he would like to compare the MRI done in December post surgery with the one done yesterday. As I understand it, if the fluid sac is bigger, then that is the source of my infection; if it is smaller then ortho will release me to follow up with Dr. Broom to figure out what to do about the two herniated discs.
I honestly dont know what to think. I dont like that my white count is going up, I dont like hearing I have two herniated discs and I feel like shit! My best guess is that they are going to cut me loose tomorrow since I dont have a fever. I want to get some answers as to why I feel so sick. Forget the fever – I feel like shit!
Oh well, I had Percocet at 11:00, Dilaudid at 11:45, and Vicodin and Ambien a few minutes ago so I had better close while I can still spell close. LOL