The Creek and Prunes

So, I got out of the house and down to the creek. I was really surprised at this one section of the creek. The difference from February 25th to March 9th was pretty incredible. First shot March 10th. Second shot February 25th.

So how thick was this ice?

Thick. I tried counting the layers. There were over 10 layer lines of ice. Yes, that ice was really quite thick.

Charlie walked alongside of me while I was standing in the creek bed. The ice had grown tall over the water seeping below the ice. The height from the rocks to the ice was about 2 feet.

How does that form? The creek holds secrets that I may never figure out.

I couldn't help but stop to admire last fall's moss on one of the logs that stretches across the creek.

Of course, I had to take Mini Me and Charlie along. 

We also found a wild strawberry leaf!

The real life Charlie got quite muddy and wet. It didn't bother him at all. He was so happy to be out after days of being left alone in the house for hours on end and no humans to tell him what a treasure he was.

A word about our nurse from Hospice. We know each other. It was pretty funny when he asked Rich if he'd eat prunes to help with ... well you know... and Rich made a face.

I jumped up and brought out some Prunes that I have that are individually wrapped and tossed two down on the table.

The nurse picked one up and dared Rich. Rich picked it up and made a huge face.

Of course I commented "Come on Rich, you were Army, are you going to let a Navy man show you up?"

When you do a Double Dog Dare between two Service men things get done.

 

Well that was fun.

 

Woke up with a nagging pain in the sternum area.

I did chores and hubby started getting after me for his coffee, for this, for that. Nag, Nag, Nag...when I didn't feel like getting nagged.

I didn't really feel that great and knew something was off.

So I grabbed the BP cuff and did some measuring. Wowzah! Off the charts!

After an hour or so of trying to 'calm' down and using all the tools in my basket [breathing, quiet, meditation, and so forth] nothing changed and I still felt quite off.

I grabbed my keys and shot off a text to Olive to ask her if she could drop in on Rich if I get held up going to Urgent care.

She zoomed down and picked me up and took me to the ER. The triage nurse asked what the issue was and I replied that my BP was very high and wouldn't come down. My sternum was painful as was my upper back. 

She said, "You said the magic words and suddenly I was whisked into a room and hooked up with a dozen leads with so they could look at my heart." I glanced over and it looked quite normal. Next came the vampire to draw blood...she was excellent and cheerful. 

The nurse started and IV on the other arm. A job nicely done.

The doctor came in with a dozen questions and said my heart looked normal and proceeded with the 100 questions he had to ask. When he gave me a chance to speak I told him I 'think' this is really just an out of control anxiety attack. My worry was my BP which is normally 102/77 raging at 167/88. With all the poking it went higher.

X rays, and more tests and then he came back and said it all looked good. I pointed to the BP and the fact that I was trembling and asked what that was all about. He shrugged and talked about the labs and I had to repeat in an hour.

He did ask what I normally took when I was 'anxious'. I wanted to be a smart ass and say Jack Daniels [I don't], but was honest. "I go for a hike. I go for a walk, nice long walk in the woods, or go work out at the gym."

He asked 'what can I do for you?' I said "Give me something that makes me feel like I'm not going to blow a head gasket?"

His answer, "I can give you Nitro and that should bring it down and will probably cause you a headache." --- It gave me a headache and the pressure went up.

Then the nurse brought me baby aspirin. Then they all left. I chatted with Olive and told her I was going to go into my Head Zone and practice my relaxation breathing along with some mental calming.

My BP dropped, still a bit high, but it dropped.

Then another person came in for more blood. It SHOT up. Go figure!

Next the Doctor glanced at the unimproved high pressure and told me I was good to go. No immediate life threatening issues were found. Go home and see your PCP.

Seriously. He was doing his job and all the protocol was perfect. He explained that he was looking to make sure I did not have a LIFE Threatening Condition. 

[Maybe not to him!]

One of my gym pals is a NP, she saw me and walked in to chat. She listened to me, offered comfort [as Olive did], she actually gave me some hope that I was NOT crazy. She and I did discuss the fact that the Prolia med has caused me to be ultra tired and unmotivated to be able do what I normally do. Was the high BP part of it? 

Was it a wake up call to something else? Would it hurt to no longer take the med and do what I've done before? More confusion that answeres.

All heavy questions, but questions I needed to talk to a health professional about. 

I walked out of there exhausted with a last BP reading of 171/90.

I ate when I got home, and took a long nap.

After a simple supper, I sat down with hubby and took my BP. 119/82.

When I woke up? 102/77. After chores? 106/76.

I will be the very last to admit it. But let's just call a spade a spade.

Anxiety Attack.

You know there is little out there that is helpful for a person in a full anxiety crisis. 
See a mental health professional. Breathing exercises. Do a group therapy thing.

Seriously. It does not stop those things in the moment. What is there to stop that crippling moments that lead to more crippling moments?

This is my first time with this serious of an issue. Being me, I will investigate and get myself some answers.

However...

And that is that.

The discharge paper included 'stress' and 'anxiety'. Funny how the doctor never seemed to be able to acknowledge those exact words to me.

The Turn of Events Or Two Tests

This is an update to the previous post and I hope to give some folks some hope.

The Rapid Test was Negative.
Rich's classic symptoms screamed Covid. So much so that the doctors felt the test was wrong and asked for another more complicated test. Covid protocol came into effect. Of course now most every hospital I think practices some very strict PPE. 

However they did treat him as an infected person and therefore I was an infected person most likely.

I had to return to the hospital twice for things they needed. The CPAP and then a list of medications. Yeah ... this is why the person who is the CareGiver should be present.

Also they should know how to use the VA's 'Veteran's Health Information Exchange' to look up his meds and current health notes. I will not judge them for these two issues because I know our tiny hospital is over run. So I printed out a copy from his Pharmacy list and took it to them with how he should take the meds. 

The nurse called me later in the afternoon as they are very busy. She said 'We are going to remove the Propranolol from his meds and cut back on another med.'

I said to her that Propranolol was removed by his PCP a year ago because of adverse side effects, it drops his heart rate severely. This too exists in the VHIE [electronic health records].

She said 'Well it was prescribed in the ER.' 

OK. One more reason to have someone who does CareGiving there for the patient. 

Again, not really the nurse's fault, but a fault of the overburdened system right now. They probably thought it was prudent at the time. I told the nurse of my husband's health history. The Cliff Note version. 

I discussed the pain med that they were withholding. It was prescribed for his Major Depressive Disorder or MDD. 

She told me that Rich never could tell her exactly what hurts but everything hurt so bad. I said Bingo! MDD! You have a patient with severe depression and by withholding that med it causes him pain AND withdrawal pain.

See me visually smacking my head with one hand while trying not to get angry.

Test #2 finally came back. He is not Covid-19 positive. But he is a perplexing case. Wonky heart rate -- so much pain, not able to get enough 02, and some other things. 
She remarked that he had asked for a DNR order and it was noted. 

I told her I wanted a clear picture of what was his diagnosis. They get a bit hesitant with that stuff so I told her to look at the HIPPA Consent form under Richard's Living Will paperwork she had on file [in his chart].

I wanted to know if he was stable enough to come home even if he had to stay in bed. Did he need an IV for fluids? Were his lungs clear? 

She made notes. She couldn't give me an answer.

I was polite and professional. The poor woman started her rounds in our little hospital at 7AM. She got her break to call me at 2PM.

Humans are odd creatures. My husband is one such creature. I've been his personal health advocate for 24 years. I even have a degree in Billing and Coding and nearly switched over to Pharmacology. I have a background in commercial and health insurance, billing, and coding. I am very serious about taking care of my husband at a hospital that is really not equipped for what he needs. Again, not their fault. I do believe it is an excellent facility.

It is not staffed with people who understand veterans with Mental Health issues. The best place for him is to be surrounded by vet nurses and veteran staff, but that hospital is full.

My course of action is to hope that a bed opens up for him soon or he becomes stable enough to come home.

The nurse said he was pleasant and she really liked him. 

About 15 minutes later she called me back. She had the pharmacist with her and needed to go over a few things with me. I pulled up my chart and read off the answers for her.

So in conclusion, they are treating him for symptoms that parallel Covid symptoms. But don't have a clear picture of what is going on. His fever is gone.

At first yes Covid, then not Covid, then similar to Covid.

The only good thing to know after all of this ... is that all my extreme precautions have been working. 

Another observation. When I brought his CPAP and later his meds to the hospital, I did wear a mask and tell the person in reception that I came from a home of a suspected Covid-19 patient.
That poor girl's eyes went deer in the headlight white and she went back for gloves and a Bio Hazard bag to put my chart in.

I was a Witching Pariah, or something to that effect.

We are living in a very strange world right now. 

Last but not least I am starting a Suck Box. More on that later.