Day 2: Rocephin and Misc. Stuff

As I said, I will blog my progress on the daily IV. But, I also intend on blogging what else is happening in my life. So, if you personally don't want to hear the IV stuff... skip over and enjoy the rest.

Thank you goes out to all those who have expressed concern and compassion for my current difficulties with Lyme. This has been a very trying time and I really do appreciate the encouragement.

Ok... onto day two of Rocephin. Last night, the cat decided that my arm needed "cat love". She decided to work on the bandage and IV tube while I was sleeping and had the tubing almost uncovered by morning. Lucky for me, the IV was still in place. But, to be on the safe side, they still decided to change my IV. After the tech working with me dug the first one for about 2 minutes with no success, she called in another nurse. This one dug another 3 minutes in another spot. THEN went back and dug at the first spot for another 2 before moving onto my left arm. When she saw where yesterday's IV was located, she made the comment, "Oh, yes! This is going to be a difficult one." Then, she proceeded to put in a IV about 2 inches above my yesterday's IV and root at it for about a minute or two before she finally got it. I really was working hard to stay calm... but the pain was overtaking my desire to remain calm, cool, and collected. I asked if we were going to have to do this at least every three days if this would make me a good candidate for a PICC line. The nurse agreed I would be... but warned me that PICC lines come with their own "bad things". I am not saying I really want to be attached to a PICC line... but I am saying with great certainty that I cannot go through being jabbed in the arm multiple times with IV's for 28 days straight. Just think... what if this goes LONGER than 28 days??? NOooooooooooo! Anyways... the treatment went well with minimal burning. I still have a killer headache and my muscles hurt and burn like I hope to never feel again.

I then had a CT scan, by orders of the new infectious diseases doctor, Dr. Shah. The tech decided he wanted to try to make me smile. After I assured him that I was "old hat" at the CT thing and that I was going to get "a little warm" all over... and if I had problems breathing, let him know. He smiled and had me sign the paperwork. The next words out of his mouth were, "Just remember, when you get warm, you may feel like you are need to go to the bathroom. That's normal. It is even normal to feel like you are releasing urine. Although, if you start to feel liquid running down your legs, you probably just peed. That's not normal and we'll have to call in the hazardous waste janitor." Then gave me a killer grin. I had to laugh. He then smiled and said he was so glad he made my day brighter. I had to smile at him again when he was injecting the dye. I thought about what he said when I started to get that "flash warmth" and had to chuckle. So, the CT scan went well and hopefully we will have results soon.

I'd like to take time now to give a virtual hug to some of my family. They had to put their 16 year old cat down. She was a very sweet, loving, friendly cat and my heart goes out to the family. Anyone who has had to put a beloved animal to sleep knows how hard it is to do and how selfless one has to be to stop the animal's suffering when all you want is your little buddy making you feel as happy as they do on a regular basis. I hope, with time, they will be willing to open their hearts to a new kitten or a shelter cat. There are too many animals out there who just need a little love and they have so much love to share.

One last thing... last night, Jane and I decided to sit down and watch a "classic" movie. We chose The Prime of Miss Jean Brody with Dame Maggie Smith in the lead. I can understand why Dame Maggie won the Oscar for her portrayal of Miss Jean Brody, the misguided, eccentric, liberated educator of the 193o's Scotland. Her portrayal makes you both feel love for her character at the same time you realize that, no matter what she thinks she is doing, she is poisoning the minds of her students she is trying to enrich. You can see an educator who, at one time, was the end all to end alls of teachers. The kind of teacher who gives her all to teaching. The problem is... she is no longer at her prime. She is spewing propaganda and exercising loose judgment and poor moral values. She seems to miss the fact that, no matter how much she wants to mold society and the youth of today, she is also suffocating those whom she takes under her wings and trying to control destiny... something that no one has a right to do for another person. I absolutely loved the movie and look forward to viewing it every once in awhile. I have to say, I see a little of Miss Jean Brody in Dame Maggie's portrayal of Professor McGonagal from Harry Potter. I wonder if that is intentional???