Seventeen Months Of Silence

Seventeen months of silence on this blog…where did she go you ask, grab a drink and she will share all. On August 22, 2021, I shared Silence And The Man In The Chair. Friends, by late September 2021 most appointments were taken care of and the kids and I had gone on a couple fishing trips to their father’s favorite fishing spots just so they could be in familiar surroundings.

October 2021 came along and I took two trips with my dear friend. We went to Arkansas and to Branson. That was amazing and I can’t wait to finally share photos with you on the Travel Portfolio gallery. Then Halloween came and I went out with my grandson for a really fun night!

During the month of October, I coughed and we all figured it was bronchitis once again. By November 2021 I felt worse, with cough, fever, and oxygen numbers changing dramatically.

A Scary Lonely Holiday Season:

Saying things were changing dramatically just might be an understatement. In November 2021 just 11 days before Thanksgiving I was hospitalized with covid pneumonia. As I fought for my life in TCU on forty liters of high-flow oxygen, (I was never on a ventilator), there were times I was afraid to fall asleep unsure that anyone would realize that I was just resting and not dying. Other times I just prayed to God to let me wake up and I quit fighting the rest my body so desperately needed.

Well, I did have a Thanksgiving meal, in the hospital, and all alone. A few days later while on the independent floor trying to get ready for coming home for Christmas, My right lung collapsed. Yes, collapsed, they called rapid response, so many people and pieces of medical equipment enter my hospital room you had to focus on one persons directions to avoid extreme anxiety, and then they sent me back to the TCU for Christmas.

I ended up with two chest tubes in the right lung and one in the left by Christmas time. I got yet another holiday meal in the hospital but my daughter actually got to be there for that meal. I was only allowed to have one visitor per day after I got removed from isolation with the covid. By the time Christmas came and went we knew I would not be home for New Year’s either. That is correct, I had to face rehab before coming home.

Rehab For 2022:

I entered rehab after the final chest tube was removed, first week in rehab there were no visitors allowed due to a covid scare on that floor. Unless someone wheeled you to the workout room and back, you did not leave your room for any reason. You ate your meals and kept yourself busy reading and watching TV inside this room. In the second and third weeks, visitors were allowed but most people were living their lives. Those closes to me made an effort to visit or call.

I finally returned to my cozy condo February 1, 2022. I needed 4 liters of oxygen and home health for a few weeks and I experinced very high anxiety for two weeks. Anxiety was so bad that I could not sit in my livingroom to watch a movie. My daughter and the home health team focused on my anxiety first before exercises. By the time the Superbowl of 2022 was airing I could enjoy my pizza and watch the entire game. I continued to get stronger and stronger.

Here we are just about one year later and I only sleep with a half liter of oxygen and although I deal with some long covid symptoms I really have no restrictions.

Seventeen Months Of Silence Coming To An End:

Seventeen months of silence is hard for a writer, the good thing is that I still did my journaling and I have pictures to share in future stories. Pictures of traveling and of the covid experience.

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