Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far awa--no, wait, that was this galaxy--I had chemo. Now chemo medications are mostly poisons that kill off cells in your body. And while they can do great things to nasty cancer cells, they can also cause harm to healthy cells as well. Fast forward to about a year ago when i started noticing I was tiring out more and more often and unable to function as well as I used to. I thought it was the fibromyalgia which causes a lot of fatigue in the people who have it.
Not so.
Fast forward again to a month ago when I developed pneumonia that got better and then got gradually worse. Unfortunately the pneumonia triggered that nasty side effect they warned me about, which was apparently already manifesting itself in my body anyway.
So my dr agreed with Dr. Jerk's expensive tests and sent me to the ER in Fond du Lac to meet with the pulmonologist and be evaluated by him. Thankfully he sent me home after his assessment but unfortunately that nasty side effect will be with me until the day I check out. The one side effect I really feared was congestive heart failure. And that's what all this has been. Initially it was the pneumonia, the pulmonologist agreed, but now it's not.
He assures me I will have a full life ahead of me but it won't be as active as it used to be as I now have limitations due to a weakened heart muscle. On more meds now and hopefully this will get rid of the excess fluid in and around my lungs.
I'm going to have to stay in bed for a while and then gradually get up and about, walking and such but no strenuous exercise and no really physical work at home. At least for quite a while.
I'm still processing this emotionally but for now I'm going to bed and take a nap.
Not so.
Fast forward again to a month ago when I developed pneumonia that got better and then got gradually worse. Unfortunately the pneumonia triggered that nasty side effect they warned me about, which was apparently already manifesting itself in my body anyway.
So my dr agreed with Dr. Jerk's expensive tests and sent me to the ER in Fond du Lac to meet with the pulmonologist and be evaluated by him. Thankfully he sent me home after his assessment but unfortunately that nasty side effect will be with me until the day I check out. The one side effect I really feared was congestive heart failure. And that's what all this has been. Initially it was the pneumonia, the pulmonologist agreed, but now it's not.
He assures me I will have a full life ahead of me but it won't be as active as it used to be as I now have limitations due to a weakened heart muscle. On more meds now and hopefully this will get rid of the excess fluid in and around my lungs.
I'm going to have to stay in bed for a while and then gradually get up and about, walking and such but no strenuous exercise and no really physical work at home. At least for quite a while.
I'm still processing this emotionally but for now I'm going to bed and take a nap.
4 comments:
Oh Kathy, I am so sorry for you. However, now you have a diagnosis and you and your family can face it together. Let Tom be your rock.
Susie
Thanks, Susie. It will take some adjustments but I do think eventually I'll get at least most of my life back and be able to do things again. :)
Yes, you will. It make take longer than you want but you will get your life back. :)
Yep. It probably will take longer than I want.
Post a Comment