Friday, September 23, 2011

Release and Home Healthcare

As Saturday came and went I continued to improve and regain strength. One thing that happened was that my red and white blood cell count dropped to a concerning low. They believe it was another affect of the Zosyn allergy but couldn't be certain so retesting had to be done on Sunday and my going home hinged  on what the tests revealed. Early Sunday morning another blood draw was taken to the lab while B and I waited to see if I could go home.

Going home would entail continuing my IV therapy under the supervision of Home Healthcare. This is a benefit that is provided to me thru my Social Security benefits, thank goodness at very little cost to our family.  The HH nurses come out to 'teach' the proper techniques for infusing all my medications as well as to ensure proper sterilization is being done. There are many infections that can occur when having a Picc Line and not following all the necessary precautions. Things like hand washing, drying hands with paper towels instead of dish cloth, cleaning the Picc Line cap with alcohol prep pads for 30 seconds, etc.

Around 1pm the test results had come back with no change. The cell counts were still down and the doctor gave us our options and what each could possibly mean for us. One option was to go home, repeat the blood work on Monday and depending on those results re-admittance maybe needed. Should I be re-admitted I would be looking at having injections to boost my bodies ability to produce red & white blood cells or worst case scenario a blood transfusion.

B and I decided to go home. If they didn't feel those treatments where needed now then I wanted to go home even if it was for only 24hrs. Upon getting home around 3pm, it was time for my first IV doses at home and as promised my HH nurse arrived just minutes after we did.

We quickly converted my kitchen table into a small IV station and began my training. Since I have been doing HH care since the early 1990's I am pretty secure in my ability to carryout the treatments. However, over time things do change therefore I need to be caught up to speed. The HH nurse was there for about 1hr and would be returning the next day for the blood draw.

IV Station 

My medication schedule is Tobramycin every 24hrs (3pm) and Meropenem every 8hrs (4am, 12pm, 8pm). This is in addition to all my regular treatments. It's a lot to do, its a lot to remember but its completely totally worth it to be home. To eat dinner with B, to get up in the mornings with B before he heads off to work, to just simply be home with my little family is sooooo soooo much better than the hospital.

Tobramycin (tall bottle w/ light blue top) Meropenem (small bottle w/ dark blue top)

These bottles are super cool. Instead of bag of fluid like most people are probably used to seeing, these have a rubber ballon of sorts that is filled with the medication. When it's released the pressure forces the infusion of the medications. I have to say these simple little things make life so easy. I can wear a sweat shirt with a front pocket and no one knows I am hooked up. I can even put them in my pants pocket if the pants are loose enough. This allows for me to do what I want. Go to the grocery store, fold laundry, do yard work..... all because there is no pole needed to elevate the IV bag but rather a pressurized balloon.

Tuesday morning the blood test results came back that showed a small improvement. Yes! The plan was to continue daily blood draws to ensure that things were continuing in the right direction and for me to continue all my medications for a total of 14-days. I have a scheduled doctors visit on Friday 9/23/11to find out if we can stop the IV's or if I need a few extra days on.

Today is the day. I am so hopeful that I can reclaim my kitchen table, I can reclaim my left arm and shower without holding my arm above my head to keep it dry. I am hopeful that today, as my Nana says, my batteries will register as fully charged!

~Doodlin'


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