LIVING WITH MCL

Followed by the worst night of my life. Things did not go as planned yesterday. I didn't even get the chance to worry about getting Edie up the 4 steps into the house after having her blood coagulation levels checked yesterday. On the way to the car, Edie stumbled on the first step,  fell backwards, and hit her head on the ground.  She didn't hit hard, but................ I read in the Coumadin manual, you have to be concerned when you hit your head, due to possible bleeding. So after she managed to maneuver herself to the edge of the porch and stand, I got her into the car, and just took her straight to the ER for evaluation. Long story short, the CT scan was negative, and 6.5 hours later Edie was in a skilled nursing facility. She is just too weak for me to take care of. Words can’t explain how devastated I am. I barely got an hours sleep last night dreaming of nightmare scenarios, and she doesn’t have her phone, so I can’t call her, and visiting hours don’t start un...

Past experiences have taught me my first instincts are usually correct, but like everything else in life that isn't a guarantee, and after this first night and morning, I'm starting to have some doubts. Edie was well enough to be released from the hospital. Her oxygen saturation levels are stable, and while they do drop some with exertion, she recovers relatively quickly once at rest. The problem is she fatigues easily, and compound that with the severe neuropathy in her legs, it's a struggle just getting up from the seated position. Today should be the test.  She scheduled to have her blood clotting levels checked at the infustion. I'm pretty sure I can get her there without a problem, but getting her up the 4 step, and back into the house maybe a challenge. Stay tuned. I may be asking some of you for help! :)

That's what Kaiser calls the unit Edie had been staying in for the past week, but since she's been making such good progress, yesterday they've moved her to a Telemetry Unit. Last night they took her off the IV Heparin (it's Coumadin alone now), and she was even able to sit upright, in a chair, last night to eat dinner. I only wish I could say I was doing as well. Yeah, I know any discomfort I may be experiencing pales in comparison to what Edie has endured this past week, or even these past several months, but that doesn't minimize my situation. Trying to maintain a semblance of normal life, while driving back and forth to the hospital to visit Edie, picking up her best friend, who flew in from Ohio, at LAX on Friday (and taking her back this morning), all while continuing to worry about Edie, is starting to take it's toll. I just can't seem to relax. Sure I can sit back, lie in the recliner and watch TV, but my mind doesn't follow suit. Ridin...