Charmed Life, Meet Cancer

When Life Hands You Lemons, Write a Blog - by Michele Mann

  • Home
  • Videos & Publicity
  • Past Posts
    • The Story Begins (1st Post)
  • Camp Mann Fundraiser
  • Contact Me

45 Hours

April 26, 2015 By Michele Hundley Leave a Comment

Every time I get ready to pick up where I left off with my “reality show” of cancer segments, something else happens that just begs to be written about instead.  I swear I’m not doing this on purpose.  I’m going to now tell you a story which will make you cringe, laugh, possibly cry, and hopefully be thankful and count your blessings that this isn’t your life.

Thursday April 16, 2015

If you remember back to one of my previous blogs, Shit Happens, I mentioned my birthday coming up and how I wasn’t feeling that well.  On top of that, my best friend that was suppose to visit that weekend from North Carolina ended up having a house full of sick people so she had to cancel her trip.  It was ok though, we made it work just like we always do.  She rescheduled her trip, no one in her house was sick and she was due to arrive on this night.

Vicki’s here!  This is me commenting on the thickness of her hair.

Words can’t express how excited I was for our girls weekend!  Do you have that friend where you can just talk and talk about you don’t even know what but yet the hours float by?  It’s quite amazing really.  She’s been my best friend since we were in middle school and nothing has changed.  We stayed up until about 11:30 (way past our bed times) and called it a night for the next day was going to be a busy one.

Friday April 17, 2015

I had today all planned out.  We started by getting our nails done at the Marilyn Monroe Spa on Mills.

Interestingly enough, since cancer introduced itself into my life, I have loved pampering myself more now than ever.  Something as little and simple as having my nails painted makes me smile.  Clearly don’t have the money to get regular manis and pedis so I do my own mostly.  I feel it’s important to always be the best representation of yourself that you can be.  Not fake.  Just take pride in your beauty and flaunt it.  You only live once.

Ok, got off track there for a minute.  Girls Day.  Yes, my wonderful mother/caregiver was with us the whole day and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  (Dr.’s orders plus I can’t drive just yet.)  We go over to Park Ave and eat at Paris Bistro.  I highly recommend this restaurant.  If for nothing else, the ambiance alone.  We sat on the inside/outside portion right at the tree and it was just perfect.

Lots of walking, browsing, shopping, going in some stores – looking at prices – and immediately leaving said stores, and the best of all which was spending quality time with two of my favorite ladies in the world. Alright, it’s been a long day and we were lucky that it was a good day for me.  I lasted up until 4pm!  Went home, had dinner, and laughed our asses off to the movie ‘Horrible Bosses.’  What a great day.

Saturday April 18, 2015 – “Well that escalated quickly.” Ron Burgundy.  Smart man.

I woke up feeling a bit tired and nauseated.  However, this is a norm for me so I didn’t pay much attention at first.  After breakfast I decided to take a nap to see if that would help me feel better.  Two hours later I wake up.  Nope, no better.  Felt worst actually.  “Oh no…I’m going to have to cancel our reservations at my favorite restaurant, Hillstone, and just stay in all day.  Ugh, why is this happening with my best friend here?!”  Of course she was understanding and we were just going to make the most of it indoors all day.  I only wish that is where the story ended.

Everything happened so quickly.  It was different from all the other times I’ve been sick this past year and a half.  I started vomiting around noon and couldn’t stop.  That was followed by diarrhea…while still vomiting.  I could no longer hold my own head up or walk.  I could barely talk.  I was going in and out of consciousness.  If all that isn’t scary enough, my eyes started rolling in the back of my head which made everyone freak out.  You have to remember, my immune system is still weak so whatever this was it was very hard for my body to fight.  I’m the furthest thing from a normal person right now.

I’m in an ambulance 

You can ask anyone in my family, I will do anything to get out of having to go to the hospital.  They’ve tried taking me when we’ve had scares in the past and I didn’t allow it.  This day, after my eyes rolled backwards, I managed to mutter the word “ambulance.”  It’s 3pm.  Scott, my husband, made his first 911 call ever and they were there within 4 minutes.  It was crazy.  I was still on the toilet, crying, I hadn’t had a shower since the morning before, and I was scared.  I should mention that while on the toilet, my mother was having to hold me completely up so that I wouldn’t hit my head on the back or slide off the toilet.  My body was totally limp and I was pretty much passed out while sitting there.  On a funny note though, I later found out that my mother was asking for someone to hand her a wet wipe.  My husband handed her the canister of clorox wipes instead.  You can imagine what she needed a wipe for therefore when she noticed what he was handing her, she slapped out of his hand and corrected him in the nicest/frantic way possible.  Ok, back to the story.  I felt like the only thing that could help me were the fluids that they would get in me immediately.  Did you know that a firetruck always comes along with the paramedics?

They really strap you in.

There were at least 6-8 emergency people on site, mostly muscular men.  (Hey, I could barely keep my eyes open but they were at eye level with all these muscular arms carrying me around.  I noticed.)  They wheel me out in an awkward looking wheelchair then put me on a stretcher in front of my house.  People watching?  I didn’t care, last thing on my mind.  They put an iv in me as soon as I get in the ambulance and start the fluids.  We’re on our way.  Is this really happening??

This is just terrible…remember how Vicki had to cancel her trip last month?  Well she felt bad she missed my birthday so while I was napping before the horrible chain of events that followed, she decorated my dining room and had a gift waiting for me.  I was suppose to have a cupcake, blow out my candle, unwrap my gift, and celebrate my birth this day.  Needless to say, none of that happened and this is what stayed in our house for the days that followed while I was in the hospital.  As my husband put it, saddest birthday party ever.  We just were not mean’t to celebrate my birthday together this year!    

ER

Well, here I am.  Back in the hospital.  The paramedic that did my iv overheard me tell my allergies to a nurse.  He then proceeded to tell me that the main bandage over my iv on my right arm is tegaderm, which is one of the allergies I have.  Great.  We’ll see how that looks in a few days.  I’m now in a temporary room in the ER.  They take my blood to start many blood tests, chest x-ray, EKG, abdominal ultrasound, and those are just the tests I remember.  I was still out of it for the most part.  And so cold…bone chilling cold.  Due to the fluids and dehydration I guess.  At one point, I had 8 blankets on me.  It was 7pm and I started to feel better.  I was hungry and so very thirsty.  Both good signs.  Scott went to the cafeteria to get us dinner and I fell asleep once again.  I wake up at 8pm.  No food, no water, no nurse, and no husband.  The bed I was in didn’t have a nurse button and I couldn’t find the controller.  I was physically stuck.  I started saying “help.”  I kept getting louder, well as loud as my weak voice could go.  I kept that up for 20 minutes before I wiggled out of bed almost unhooking my lines.  Of course by the time my husband gets there with food, my nurse shows up.  Thanks a lot guys.

Transitional CTU or as I like to call it:  Purgatory

I was transferred to a room in a new unit at the hospital called Transitional CTU.  Only been there 6 months.  Now I’ve had many nurses at this point in my journey.  Some amazing and unforgettable.  Some not so amazing and you question why they would choose nursing as a career.  I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the staff at the BMT Unit which is where I’ve spent most of my days along with my nurses at the clinic where I have my regular checkup appointments.  Unfortunately though, hospital visits like this, I get stuck where ever a room is available.  It’s been a long and hard day.  I try and sleep but for anyone that’s been a patient in the hospital, you know that’s almost impossible.  Vitals getting checked every hour and more blood being taken.  This is now my third stick at 2:30am.  
Sunday April 19, 2015
For all intents and purposes, we’ll give my nurse in TCTU the name Betty.  How can I say in the nicest way possible…her mouth didn’t stop and you could not get a word in edgewise.  She was one of those people that made you nervous and your heart rate shoot up when she’s around.  Other weird thing that I’ve never had a nurse do.  Nurse Betty would talk about her other patients to us.  It was the strangest thing.
Since this was Vicki’s last day, she came to spend it with me at the hospital with my mom until she had to leave.  Alright, I’m feeling better.  Have an appetite.  I’m drinking on my own.  I’m pretty much ready to go home but because of my history, they want to keep me at least for another night and until most of the test results come back.  I was ready for a shower.  But guess what?  On this strange floor, they need a doctor’s order for a patient to take a shower.  5 hours later, I finally got that shower.  
You make the best of a bad situation.  There were many laughs on this day in the hospital.  Mostly, we should thank Nurse Betty for the entertainment she provided.  We get word I’m being moved to a room on another floor.  Now for some reason, it takes about 30 minutes to get from the 4th floor to the 9th floor.  Such an adventure it was.  Between Nurse Betty and the transporter (who just happened to be working her first day) bickering the whole time, us riding the elevator up and down multiple times, and getting lost (multiple times)…it was a fiasco.  My mom, Vicki, and I just kept giving each other the eye.  We finally made it to my room.  Thank God Nurse Betty was no longer my nurse and I hope that poor little transporter gets more training.  

No TV…Really??!

We’re in a new room and I have a normal nurse.  But we could not stop laughing at what had just transpired.  Laughter truly is the best medicine.  We’re not in there long before another nurse shows up to take my blood…again.  Now, when you’ve been in the hospital as much as I have, you can just about tell the nurses that are going to be good at getting a vein and those who are not.  Unfortunately I have little veins that like to roll.  And, very unfortunate for me, I called it.  The nurse killed me with the first stick that did not take.  So she had to go down to my hand and I hate those!  Five times I’ve been stuck in less than 48 hours.  
Scott leaving. My thoughts, “All by myself.  I don’t
wanna be
…all by myself anymore.”
It’s now time for goodbyes.  Even though it was out of my control, I felt so bad about our very unexpected and unplanned weekend.  What luck.  After Vicki left, we quickly find out that the tv isn’t working.  What??  No tv?  This is terrifying.  Shortly thereafter, we find that the nurse button isn’t working either.  Does anything work in this room?!  Nurse fixes the button and puts a call out to engineering.  My husband comes by that evening and we watch a few episodes of Daredevil on his iphone.  (Awesome Netflix Original btw!)  He goes home and I’m all alone.  My family and loved ones have spoiled me greatly with how much they stay with me so to be by myself in the hospital is strange.  Yes, I know how very lucky I am.  More so than a lot of patients.
An engineering guy comes in at midnight to fix the tv.  Yes, midnight.  Needs to be replaced.  (I could have told him that.)  An hour later he comes back with a fresh new tv.  Other than the lateness of all of this, I had a tv at least.  But since it wasn’t programmed with a controller, one would have to stand on a chair to work the tv and channels.  Haha, so many things wrong with that one.  No sleep again.  I think you could call me an ideal patient.  Ever since 1/20/14, I have never refused anything or said “No” to a nurse or doctor.  I did this night when my nurse wanted to stick me again for more tests.  I had no veins and no blood left.  Sometimes you just have to say No. 
Please Let Me Leave
I feel totally fine and am ready to go home.  My Dr. visits at 9:30am and wants me out immediately.  I mean think about it.  Hospitals are probably one of the germiest places that exist and I was in an un-sterile room.  No good.  It was the strangest discharge I’ve ever experienced.  Even though my Dr., the Dr. that I’ve had from the beginning, signed off for me to go home and the nurse had all papers ready to go, they couldn’t discharge me because they couldn’t find the admitting Dr.  Finally, 3 hours later and after having to get the charge nurse involved, we were packing up and heading out.  
But wait.  There’s more.  My transporter wheels me outside with my dad by my side while my mom ran to get the car.  I wanted to yell “FREEDOM”.  For all you Braveheart fans, I’m referring to that infamous Freedom.  There are several lanes in front of the hospital.  The one closest is for pick-up and drop-off.  Makes sense, right?  We see our car pull around but the security cop was not allowing my mom to go in that lane.  We saw her explaining and the lady was just rude.  We even started yelling saying, “Ma’am, we’re right here.  That’s for us.”  Nothing.  Rudest cop or whatever she was I have ever seen.  The transporter even ran down to her and she wouldn’t listen.  So we just went into lanes of traffic for me to get in the car.  (You better bet, that lady got a complaint from me the following day.)  We just wanted this day to be over with.  I know I say to not sweat the small stuff and it’s something I have to work on myself every day.  But man there were a lot of small things that happened and made me question what I had done to make God so angry at me.  Or who I had offended for this bad karma.  Even with horrible traffic on the way home (due to a wreck) and crazy drivers, we make it there in one piece.  HOME.
I took this picture as soon as I walked in the house.  This is
what I look like after the last 45 hours.  So confused, disappointed,
and sad.

Happy Endings

I’ve spent the better part of this week recovering from my lovely hospital stay.  But where there is darkness, light always follows.  I got my kitty back!  So many mixed emotions; excitement, nervous, happy, sad for her foster mom, but overall just tickled to death.  (odd choice of words there)  Stay tuned to hear about Lucy’s ‘Welcome Home’ Party in my next blog.  
Now I know in the beginning I mentioned that once you read this, you’ll be counting your blessings and glad it’s not your life.  A lot happened in a short amount of time and we hadn’t been that scared about my health in a while.  Even without a clear diagnosis of what happened, I am still counting my blessings.  I’m still here.  I’m still alive.  I get stronger every day.  I make mistakes and learn lessons on a daily basis.  I’ve laughed until I cried.  And my life continues to be filled with love.  Nothing’s perfect no matter how much planning you try to do.  I guess that saying really is true…when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.  Thanks Vicki for making this possible.  You don’t like that saying?  Then you could do either of the following:

    
    
  

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Fighting Cancer

About Michele

I'm a makeup artist and cancer blogger. www.BeTheMatch.org saved my life. Before I got sick, I didn't even know the organization existed. After I got sick I found out there was no adult donor in the registry anywhere in the world that was a match for me (a riskier cord blood donation was my last chance). Please visit their website and join the registry for free to save a life like mine.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home ·

Copyright© 2023 Michele Mann except where images where borrowed· Powered by WordPress on Genesis. Thanks to Highforge for your gracious assistance.