Boy, have the last
few days been interesting – to say the least!
I am home and on the mend. As it
turns out, I had two bleeding ulcers.
Since they started me on protonix in the ER, they had already crusted
over and began healing by the time my gastroscopy was performed on Saturday
morning. Apparently, any time that two
body parts are sewn together and rejoined, the area receives less blood flow
because of the scar tissue or nature of the way it has healed. This can cause perforations and ulcers. It is not unusual, but not so much as common
as people would think. This is what
happened to me. I had one ulcer in my
stomach and one right after my stomach in the intestines. Dr. Sharon said that the surgery itself
looked fabulous and that Dr. Z. did a great job, so that was awesome to
know. So, it was good that I came in
because I could have kept bleeding for a long time. In fact, I had lost quite a bit of blood and
my levels were just over eight; normal is 11-18 from what the nurse said. Therefore, I had to have a blood
transfusion. I was allowed to eat full
liquids at that point, which was nice.
My hubby came to visit for a bit before heading home to take care of
Cira. My Mom, brother, and nephew
visited, too. Glenn came back that
evening and we played some Scrabble and hung out in the hospital. He brought me a yogurt, too. :-) Yummy! Best thing I ate in the hospital, outside of the popsicles that I ate
whenever a nurse would give me one, LOL!
The vampires took my blood a few more times, and Dr. Sharon came in at
6:00 Sunday morning to tell me that my blood level was up, I could eat regular
food, would take protonix for the rest of my life, and that I would be going home that afternoon! Woot!
I feel better, but am still
extremely tired. I have been home the
past two days and trying to catch up on work.
Tomorrow is a full day, but I am going to try to keep my to-do list in
check. It is just pretty difficult with
school and courses. I refuse to be a bad
student or a bad teacher; both of those take a huge amount of energy and time. I spent some time yesterday running errands
and doing things around the house, but that means that today I am trying to
catch up even more so. It is such a
catch-22. I know that my health is
important, but who do I let down in order to take care of my health? My family? Friends? Students? Professors? Myself?
Of course, I alerted my professors,
and one has given me an extension. The
other has not responded to my questions about assignments as of yet. . .
although, he did wish me well. He never reads an entire email or answers
questions. It’s so infuriating! So, I guess at this point, I am going to
press on with the help of my friends and family, and my wonderful hubby, and do
what I can. PhD classes end on the 14th,
so I can take a minute to breathe and enjoy the holidays at that point. Over the holiday break, I can focus my efforts
and try to accomplish a few things to make life a bit easier in the second half
of the internship.
Thank you to everyone for your
thoughts and well wishes over the last few days. Believe me, seeing that blood loss was pretty
scary. And, although I was so furious
about being in the hospital and the other things before, I do know that it was
best for me to spend the time that I did in the hospital getting it taken care
of. Now it is back to work until
tomorrow. . . .
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