Surprise Visitor

Hello World!

So I'm still in the Hospital. Great time, haha. I have developed lovely mouth sores from all these heavy duty medications. Not the first time this has happened so I expected it. This time it has seem to hit with a vengeance though! I'm talking my whole mouth and creeping down my throat. It was so bad Sunday night I couldn't even eat whole foods. Brightside though, My main doctor is back tomorrow and I'll get to see him. I don't really dig the random attendings that I have to see when my guy has days off. The selfish side of me wants to make my doctor be there every second I have to be there. He can have days off once I'm out and feeling better. Too needy? Too demanding? O well, Its how I feel on the inside.

I got a lovely suprise visit today from my FAVORITE Respritory Therapist. Now, I hate, er dislike most of the Respritory Therapists. Just because of their jobs, not really because of who they are. I HATE vest therapy, I HATE nebs, I always have and always will. I know they are good for me, I know they help me fight CF but still, Total social interruption! I just don't dig them. SO the people that come to administer the nebs and babysit me while I shake all about in my vest are not my favorite people. They wake me up early in the AM, disturb me from my visitors in the afternoon, and keep me up late in the PM. They never come at a convenient time.

Well last fall (2009) I had to be intubated for almost a month. Once I came off the vent I had some extreme anxiety about being able to breathe and getting enough air. Well this Respritory Therapist named Vicki basically became my breathing coach. She is an amazing woman!! She is the one who had to intubate me intially and happened to be there the day I wa taken off the vent too. She was there when I was introduced to the BiPap mask, Which I don't remember but hear it was quite an ordeal. She was also the very first person to take me out of the ICU. Most people were too nervous to take me anywhere. They wanted to keep me in that little ICU room, close to the docs, close to the monitors, Which is understandable. But I was going stir crazy!!!

Vicki came in one day and just saw that I was bummin hard about being stuck there and she just said "You want to get out of here?" I basically jumped out of bed and said yes! She said she would check with my doc and if he gave the OK she would come back later and get me. This was in the morning. Well the whole day went by and I was beginning to think the doc said no and it wasn't going to happen. Around 7pm, Vicki shows up wheelchair in tow and says "You ready"

O man was I ready! At this point I still couldn't walk on my own. I had only even stood up with help and it was shakey. So after about 15mins I finally got into the wheelchair. Then came all the extras we had to bring. A pulse oximeter, oxygen, blankets, masks, some purple thing thats used on people if they stop breathing. But we loaded everything on the little wheelchair and off we went!

FREEDOMMMM!!!!!!

We wheeled all over that hospital. It was great. The last memory I had it was Septemeber and pretty warm out. Now it was November and freezing! I got to smell fresh air! Nothing has ever smelled so good in my life. Vicki was officailly my favorite person in the hospital. She took me out several other times while I was in the ICU. Once I moved from the ICU to a regular floor I didn't see her anymore. It was sad but also good. That meant I was doing better.

So today, Vicki popped her head into my room to say HI and see how I was doing. So great to see her. I owe her a lot. She helped keep me sane. She probably helped me more than she will ever know. Good Lady. And good at her job. So glad she came by. :)