More On My Illness

If you have had the opportunity to read the first article on my illness, then you will have some idea about what happened to me in the beginning of this year. http://tecumsehcityblog.blogspot.ca/2015/12/my-one-year-anniversary-coming-up.html

Sure a year has gone by, but I'm still deep in medical care that has helped me so well with the conditions that I'm suffering from. I expect a lot of time is going to be required next year to continue my recovery.  From my own perspective, there are still a lot of things that I must do, in order to improve physically and mentally. 

Much has happened during the year to get me better but I'm still in the process of learning more from others about what happened during the first 6 weeks of the year when I was 2 weeks in the hospital being looked after and treated and then 4 weeks at home being helped to get over some of the problems that I was under from a physical perspective.  Again, if you will remember, I have absolutely no memory about what happened in that time frame. Anything I know about it, I was told by other people, especially from my own family. 

What has been so important during this year is being treated so well, notwithstanding an illness that I have learned not very many people in the medical profession in North America and elsewhere know about. They did treat me because they knew a little bit early on but I was very fortunate about that. Thank goodness for the care that they gave me once they were given proof of what my illness was because I'm in such a good condition now that it is amazing. Had they not done so, well, who knows whether I would be alive in terrible shape or dead today. Serious illness happens so quickly because of it and immediate action must be taken. 

To start with, I had various ladies who helped me deal with my physical issues. I never knew that I would be in need of what is called a PSW – Personal Support Worker.  In fact, they started several days after I returned home, not a month and a half later, as I originally thought. Apparently, I did not treat them so nicely early on because I was suffering mentally, but that didn't bother the women who were working with me because they were trained well in handling situations like this. They ignored any unpleasantness that I had and always came in with a smile. A lot of it changed once I became more in touch with reality after the middle of February and became more pleasant.

Then there was the high cost of medications. One that I had to be on was called Acyclovir, which comes with its own terrible side effects, but is pretty much the one drug that is most effective for this particular illness. I do not remember much of this. I was told that most days I just slept. There were times where I also would not eat. I would have a bite of a vegetable and feel that I was “too full.” It was a very scary time for my family because I had lost so much weight and I was continuing to lose more because I could not eat very much.  I was very stubborn too, so there were times when my daughter would actually go and try to feed me because I was too weak to even hold up a utensil. I think the medication made me lose my appetite and feel nauseated all the time. It was very potent, but in order to be effective, it cannot come without problems. It is also a drug that is very difficult to get. The medical team had to call around to many locations to see if they could get a supply so I could go home. Otherwise, I would have been stuck in the hospital bed for many more days. I can tell you the range is in the thousands for this medication.  Thankfully, this cost was covered and so one less stress to worry about for my family.  I was told that a home-care nurse came in to administer the medication.

You can tell then that the initial 6 weeks was a time period in which I have no recollection whatsoever and can only repeat what I was told about it. Most of what happened during this period seemed to be dealing with the immediate medical treatments, and no one really could provide answers whether I would recover or not. It was a “wait and see” approach.  This news was distressing, but it is the way life is sometimes. 

Obviously, my physical side was the most important matter to deal with and so arrangements were made to do so through a number of different medical organizations and groups, including Community Care Access Centre (this organization is terrific, if you have ever used them for your needs or for your loved ones.) They have 14 locations to choose from when you click on their link.  I was assessed on a regular basis, according to my wife, and there was a PSW coming in daily, a nurse a few times a week, and as I started to recover, I was able to see a counsellor and an occupational therapist.  Being stuck in a bed all the time was very bad for my circulation and so I learned many great techniques and exercises that I could do eventually once I got some of my strength back. This lasted for quite some time and I am so thankful that even though there are some problems with on-going cutbacks to many of these organizations, they do their best to help. I am still getting a nice PSW coming in, just a few times a week though, to help me with my daily needs. I can honestly say that up until now, I never even knew this organization existed. Meetings are still held with the various specialists, so they can assess my needs accordingly and work together with me to make sure I am doing well.  

Let me stop now.  In this piece, I was able to discuss more about the physical issues that I was dealing with early on and still today. 

I will discuss next time around my condition after this first initial period and what I had to do to improve myself both physically and mentally on a regular basis.  I think you'll be surprised on how I live my life now.