Sunday's Air

[jaminkw]

Morning All! Am at home in my coach at least and it sure feels good. Not bad spending the first day here. It's a lot easier to get from here to there or anywhere in the RV. Everything is pretty close.

Yesterday was a nightmare. We waited all day listening to the problems about the oxygen that made no sense. Then is was you have it, now you don't game. By near 8 pm Wendy and I had sadly resigned ourselves to staying another night. We were really pissed. Then I got a call. They were delivering everything I needed for a home health set up. Say what? I was supposed to get a portable unit to get home and then get set up for home. When they delivered the stuff including four big tanks I nearly lost it. While they were loading and taking it to Wendy who had gone for the car, my anxiety soared. I thought I would vomit and by the time I got to Wendy at the car I lost it and could stop sobbing. It had all been too much. A day and a half waiting for a portable unit and then getting loaded down with all this stuff.

Am o.k. now but it feels strange yet. Stan is, of course, helpful as usual but I was glad when he had to go out shopping. We had to send him to PSL to stay with the kid and the dog and cats so that meant he didn't go through all this with me making it a little strange/strained for me. It's got to be weird for him taking his wife to the hospital running a temp and having her come home on oxygen. Truth is after a host of tests and labs, they still don't know why. Our best hope is what the Pulmonologist said: It could be pneumonia (didn't show on xray but am still taking antibiotics) or it could be an allergic reaction to the medications they were giving me. I'm hoping for the latter.

That's it. This was too long but needed to get it all out so I can hopefully get back to my old self--o.k. my old self but with oxygen up my nose!

Have a great day.

Judy in Port St Lucie (they have internet, yeah!)

[Annette]

Well if they really don't know what is causing the shortness of breath then maybe getting home, relaxed and into your normal routine will solve everything. You have to admit running up the east coast this time was super stressful.

I know I am just down right now running back and forth to the hospital - having my mom awake and talking then coming back 3 or 4 hours later and not being able to wake her - today makes day 7. Even though she doesn't have lung cancer her "problems" are similar because of the asthma and COPD. It may seem like I'm cussing but this almost makes me want to exercise. (Almost - I figure I will come to my senses before I do anything serious like sit-ups or walking or what exactly is exercise again.) I need something to strengthen my lower back.

I hope that the DC gang forgive me for not making it up - but when the Doctor called Friday morning and told me mom had a heart attack during the night - I guess staying close was best. I hate that I missed it.

Time to head over to the hospital.

Annette

[eric byrne]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Well dont expect many of you dropping in today,probably still on your way home from a super weekend at W.D.C.

Hi JudyKW,Now I feel things are getting back to normal with you opening the morning air,welcome home,missed you,seems like ages since I have exchanged a word or two with you.Well I appreciate things are not quite back to normal for you,but progress is being made.I am so sorry for all that you have gone through recently,I am really pleased you have managed to get out of hospital and back at least to your RV,I am absolutely shocked that you and Wendy were left to manage the oxygen bottles etc home yourselves,surely they could have supported you better than they did.

I do hope and pray that you are now well on your way to a full recovery and all the breathing paraphenalia can be dicarded,just make sure this time the hospital arrange its picking up themselves.

Quite day for me today,weather really nice,sunny and warm.ABC this morning read the Sunday Times this afternoon.Yesterday was fun,the church had organised a walk on part on the West Highland Way,Tyndrum to the Bridge of Orchy,its a world famous walkway-starts just North of Glasgow up to Fort William 84 miles if I remember correctly,our section was just 7 miles,just it seemed like 70 miles,didny think I would make since the first quarter of a mile was fairly steep walking,I just couldnt catch my breath,well I struggled on,fortunately it levelled out and I seemed to develope a second wind,the rest of the walk was a daudle.Weather wise is was cool thankfully,some light drizzle (do you use that word in the USA?)it really made for comfortable walking conditions,met a lady doing the walk with her young nephew,asked me if I would take her pic with the stunning Glencoe Mountains in the background,well with her accent I knew she wasnt from Scotland,so I enquired where she was from-Virginia USA she replied,from a town called of all things,Orange,asked if she knew Annette in Richmond-no I didnt only kidding.We shared the walk to-gether,she tells me she is walking the entire route-wow- but not only that,when she gets to Fort William,she is going to do the Great Glen walk up to Inverness,boy she is keen.

Well dinner time,I may drop by later this evening,to see if anyone else has visited,hope you are comfortable just now Judy,bye.

[eric byrne]

Oh Hi Annette,

You have sneaked a post in by me,sorry to have missed you,wishing your Mum god speed with her recovery.

[paulette3]

Good afternoon all. I am home from DC - had an awesome weekend!! It was great meeting everyone and hearing their stories and making friends. Got home to a wonderful lunch. My hubby baked a ham and made potato salad and deviled eggs. I think I'll keep him!

Judy - it's great to see you here. I hope you keep improving and feeling better.

Annette - we missed you in DC but understood why you couldn't make it. I hope your mother gets better. How's the nephew?

Eric - a walk up a steep incline?? Are you exercising for us since Bud was in DC?

Paulette

[jaminkw]

Going to duck in now because I have a minute alone. Also, this is the time of day I start sliding downhill and Wendy is bringing Dominick over for a visit. We are leaving in the morning.

I hope the breathing issue will resolve as easily as we all hope it will. Wendy explains that shortness of breath is not the same as low SATS. Also, she says it's not caused by stress. That's why we're hoping I may have had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic and will gradually return to normal as it leaves my system. I also thought about the special airflow in my hospital room-can't remember what it's called but designed to blow the air out of the room in the event any bacteria is trying to enter. Wild huh?

Katie is in DC I know, and Bud, and Paulette and Judy in MI. I'm sure you all had a great time Paulette and that husband of yours does sound like a keeper. Annette, so sorry things are still not going well for your Mom.

Eric, great job on the walk. Sounds like finding a lady to chat with was just the ticket. And yes, we do use the word drizzle and in just the same manner. Imagine that lol.

Have a great evening everyone.

Judy in Port St Lucie

[lilyjohn]

I am finally back on line after 3 days without a computer. I can get online with my phone but it is hard reading. My eyes are growing weaker.

I am so glad to see you back Judy. You have been in my thoughts and prayers. I hope that soon the breathing issue will be solved. If it is from a medication let's hope they find it soon. I have always believed Johnny's started when they took him off of Theophlyn without doing it slowly.

Annette I hope your mom is well soon. I know the stress of having someone in the hospital and trying to be there and everywhere else at the same time.

I have been trying to walk everyday. It hasn't been easy this past week. During the rock a thon there was never a shortage of rockers so often I was either standing or sitting on some metal folding chairs. Anyone that has had any experience with sciatica will know what that does to you. I use the cane and keep going but sometimes I wonder if I will make it home. Just can't give up hoping it will be better in a few days. I sometimes walk a mile and sometimes two and once in a while one and a half. What ever the mood strikes me and what direction I go determines how far.

I had hoped to be able to go out to the luminaria ceremony last night in Anderson but was stuck here waiting for ATT all day then they called around 7 to say they wouldn't make it. I was really looking forward to that because I have never been to one. I couldn't go because I would have had to park about a mile away and walk up hill. In the evening with my leg like it is there was no way. My neighbors had gone earlier because Karleen could get just one car in to park with the teachers team. I missed out on that. Probably would have had a hard time sitting that long anyway. Pray I get to do it next year.

Well I hope you all have a good and safe evening. I will try to drop in now and again. Trying to read some and not sew or cook but other things still seem to keep me busy.

[Joppette]

Hi friends,

You all have been on my mnd for the last 4 days. Judy, I"m so thankful that you are doing better. I pray the antiobiotics take care of the rest of the problems.

Annette, we missed you so much. We all looked so forward to meeting you, but we understood. Family must be top priority. You are in my prayers.

DC was good. But we are not exactly a partying group for sure! LOL. Friday night we had dinner and I think most of us went to our rooms for sleepy time after that. If they didn't, then I was not "in the loop". LOL

Saturday was a great day of brainstorming, hearing stories, and sharing. We went to a fundraising event that night for Lungevity, and we all pooped out around 9:00. We headed back to the hotel.

From a picture I see on Facebook, some others stayed out for a bit more? Not me. I was pooped!

My flight back today was interesting. Washington DC to Atlanta was uneventful. But Atlanta to GR was very eventful. The whole flight was turbulent to the extreme. The flight attendandents were not able to serve us at all, due to the up and down bumpies. It was not a relaxing event in any way. Then when we were outside GR, the plane started to move in circles, with the wings up in an extreme way, over and over and over. I knew we were circling and wondered why.

Turns out there was a plane on the ground on fire. They diverted us for 20 minutes until they got that situation under control. The pilot told us to not panic if we saw fire engines on the tarmack.

Whew.

But we landed and I got home and am just now winding down form a wonderful weekend, and meeting new friends.

Judy IN MI