Our Terrible Finish To 2022: COVID, Two Hospital Stays, and Close to Demise By Saline

Y’all! I can’t consider it’s been two weeks since I’ve been right here, and it’s even more durable for me to consider that we’ve already arrived at 2023. To say that these final two weeks didn’t go as deliberate can be the understatement of 2022.

It began the Tuesday after I posted our closing grasp toilet earlier than and after on Monday, December nineteenth. I had deliberate to spend Tuesday gathering the entire bills and sources for our toilet in order that I may submit that information for you on Wednesday. Then Friday, I deliberate to wrap up 2022 with my customary year-in-review submit. After which I’d spend the subsequent week stress-free, watching tacky Christmas rom-com films, consuming, napping, and gearing up for the brand new yr.

Nicely, clearly, that’s not what occurred in any respect.

Issues began to veer off target after I awakened on Tuesday the twentieth with my head pounding, and my total face, neck, and shoulders aching like I had been in a automobile accident. I didn’t suppose something of it, actually. I assumed I had simply slept flawed, so I took some Advil, waited some time for that to kick in and among the ache to go away, after which tried to go about my day.

However issues actually took a flip when Matt began feeling unwell. Once I get sick, that’s one factor. However when Matt (my husband who has M.S. and offers with total muscle weak spot and fatigue as a traditional a part of life) will get sick, that’s a complete totally different ball sport. And because the day went on, he obtained worse and worse, till round 4:30pm, when he was so weak that he couldn’t raise his arms, couldn’t open his eyes, couldn’t preserve his jaw closed, and subsequently, couldn’t converse.

I ended up calling the ambulance to return get him and take him to the emergency room round 5:00pm on Tuesday, they usually handled him within the emergency room till 2:00am. I stayed with him the entire time, whereas additionally beginning to really feel actually sick myself — extra aches and pains, chills, and many others.

They lastly admitted him at 2:00am, and after about half-hour of “numerous paperwork and questions” (because the nurse put it), I used to be lastly in a position to go residence, handle our canine Cooper, seize a blanket and pillow, take a ton of dietary supplements, nutritional vitamins, and Tylenol, and head again to the hospital. I returned about 3:30am, and was in a position to sleep till about 7:00am when the physician got here in. By that point, I used to be feeling wonderful, except for a stuffy nostril and a minor dry cough.

That they had run all types of checks on Matt, however couldn’t discover what was making him to be so weak. He had scary hypertension, however Matt’s blood stress skyrockets because of illness, not as a reason behind it. However nonetheless, all checks got here again destructive. No COVID. No UTI. No nothing. They stated that he had simply gotten actually dehydrated, so after just a few extra hours, and Matt seemingly doing a lot better, they discharged him and we went residence.

After we obtained residence on Wednesday night, Matt appeared to be fairly okay. However on Wednesday evening earlier than we went to mattress, he was scared and didn’t need to fall asleep. He stated he was petrified of getting sick and having to return to the hospital. I assumed he was simply overly drained (hospitals aren’t nice locations to get relaxation, in spite of everything), and wanted sleep. So after sitting by his bedside, praying with him, making an attempt to be encouraging and calming, till about 2:00am, he lastly determined he was able to attempt to sleep.

Thursday morning, we each awakened early, and issues appeared regular. However as soon as once more, as they day went on, Matt obtained actually weak. Then he obtained higher. Then he obtained weak once more.

This curler coaster went on for the subsequent three days, and by Saturday afternoon, he was virtually again to the purpose the place he was on Tuesday after I known as the ambulance the primary time. He was nonetheless saying that he didn’t wish to return to the hospital, so understanding how a lot IV saline helps him when he will get like that, I made a decision to name and make an appointment with a neighborhood cell IV remedy place.

The nurse obtained right here at 4:30pm (inside 90 minutes — spectacular for Christmas Eve!), however when she took Matt’s blood stress, it was too excessive for her to offer him an IV. (They’ve sure parameters for blood stress numbers that should be met earlier than they may give an IV.) Matt was feeling even worse by that point, so he was extremely disenchanted that he wasn’t going to have the ability to get the IV saline.

By 6:00pm, he was proper again to the place he was on Tuesday, so I known as the ambulance once more. And as soon as once more, they got here and obtained him, and took him to the hospital. We had been within the ER room for a number of hours whereas they had been giving him IV saline and making an attempt to deliver his coronary heart charge and blood stress down, whereas additionally working different checks.

Simply earlier than 11:00pm, the physician got here in and stated that Matt had examined optimistic for COVID, in order that’s most likely what was making the entire weak spot and mind fog. They had been going to confess him, however they wanted to get his blood stress to a sure level earlier than they may try this.

So that they gave him a unique blood stress remedy, and virtually instantly, he had a response to it. His face and arms obtained beet purple, his blood stress and coronary heart charge elevated to scary ranges, and his pores and skin felt fiery scorching. I sat there watching, feeling fully helpless and freaked out, whereas watching him have this scary response to remedy, and whereas the nurses appeared fully unfazed by it in any respect. Matt was scared and depressing.

They lastly admitted him, made a observe of the allergic response to that remedy in his data, and gave him extra saline. It took about an hour for the response to that remedy to put on off. After that, Matt appeared to quiet down a bit and begin feeling higher. I stayed in his room the entire time, and by the point we went to sleep, he was feeling a lot better.

Once we awakened on Sunday morning, Matt appeared wonderful. The physician got here in and advised us about his therapy plan. He was going to modify Matt from regular saline to one thing known as lactated ringers. He was going to proceed the blood stress meds (not the one he had the response to, clearly). He was going to start out him on a course of steroids to assist him breathe higher. He was going to offer him Tylenol for his slight fever. All of it appeared fairly customary, and all day Sunday, Matt appeared like he was virtually again to his regular self. He ate each chew of meals that they introduced him, and whereas he was nonetheless feeling a bit weak (that means that I needed to feed him and assist him drink water), he was speaking, laughing, joking round, and many others.

I figured he was out of the woods, and was in good arms, so because it was Christmas Day, I felt snug leaving for a few hours to have Christmas brunch with my household. Once I obtained again, Matt was nonetheless feeling good. The remainder of the day was fairly uneventful. He ate each chew of each meal they introduced him. We each napped a bit. After dinner, I obtained us a snack out of the merchandising machine, and we watched Frasier till we went to sleep that evening. I figured he was doing so properly that they’d most likely ship him residence the subsequent day.

Then on Monday morning, the whole lot modified. I woke as much as the nurse coming in to test Matt’s vitals. I heard her asking him questions, however he wasn’t responding. That appeared unusual to me, so I sat up and checked out him, and he was virtually fully out of it. I imply, in a close to catatonic state. He couldn’t transfer, couldn’t preserve his eyes open, couldn’t preserve his jaw shut, couldn’t transfer his tongue in any respect (and subsequently, couldn’t converse in any respect), was having labored respiratory on the exhale. His face and entire head had been beet purple and fiery scorching to the contact.

I used to be freaking out. How may he have gone to mattress the evening earlier than feeling simply wonderful, solely to get up feeling and looking out like this???

My thoughts instantly went to the response he needed to the blood stress remedy. I knew this wasn’t COVID. This was a response to one thing that they had given him.

However when the physician got here in, he brushed it off fully. He wrote the entire thing off to “that is simply what occurs with COVID.” That was fully unsatisfactory to me. I knew it was a response to one thing, and I used to be so livid that nobody appeared in the slightest degree fazed by his sudden in a single day change.

I requested the nurse about all of his medicines, and she or he went over the whole lot that they had given him. I advised her to cease the blood stress remedy and see if that might make a change as soon as it labored its method out of his system. After just a few hours, nothing had modified. He was nonetheless the identical near-catatonic state.

Matt saved making an attempt to talk to me all through the day, however as a result of he couldn’t transfer his jaw or transfer his tongue, I couldn’t perceive something he was making an attempt to say. On three events all through the day, I did handle to make out what he was saying. And every time, he stated, “Will I die?” Discuss ripping my coronary heart out! As a result of fairly truthfully, I didn’t know.

He stayed in that near-catatonic state all day lengthy, with me quizzing the nurse about this remedy and that remedy. Round 5:00pm, I discovered that that they had put a drugs patch on his arm. I known as the nurse and requested about that. It was one other blood stress remedy, so I ripped that off and advised her no extra blood stress remedy!!!!

It doesn’t matter what I did, I couldn’t appear to get them to know that what they had been seeing in him — this sudden change in a single day — was a response to one thing, they usually wanted to resolve it. However it doesn’t matter what I did or stated, all of them appeared fully unfazed by his situation and his sudden change.

This went on all day and all through the night, as I used to be racking my mind making an attempt to determine what the heck had gone flawed, and what he was reacting to. By that time on Monday night (after I ripped the remedy patch off of his arm), I had made them cease all medicines, and the one factor left was the saline.

That’s when it dawned on me that the physician had advised us he was switching Matt from common saline (which Matt at all times responds properly to) to one thing known as lactated ringers. Matt had by no means had lactated ringers earlier than. And as I used to be sitting by his bedside, praying and hoping that I may determine the issue, that’s when it lastly dawned on me that not solely was his entire head beet purple and fiery scorching to the contact, however so was his left arm. His total left arm…the place the IV was going into his arm!!

I known as the nurse on responsibility and had him flip off the IV instantly, after which requested him to offer Matt some common saline. He turned it off at 10:45pm, after which got here again half-hour later with common saline.

Inside half-hour of beginning the common saline, the redness in Matt’s face and arm began to go away, and the temperature of his pores and skin started to return to regular. Inside an hour of getting regular saline, Matt was talking in full sentences that I may truly perceive him (for the primary time that total day).

And by 1:00am, he was laughing and joking round with me. And he additionally cried. He cried loads, as he advised me that he was positive he was going to die that day. He knew he was having a response to one thing, however he couldn’t converse and couldn’t talk in any respect, so he was satisfied that it was going to kill him.

After we each cried and rejoiced in the truth that we found out the issue, we had been each exhausted and able to get some sleep. On Tuesday morning, Matt was completely wonderful (apart from his blood oxygen being a tad bit low and needing supplemental oxygen for a few days as his physique recovered and obtained stronger), and he was completely wonderful the remainder of his hospital keep.

Matt was lastly discharged on Thursday, and ever since then, now we have been stress-free and making an attempt to recuperate from the entire hellish ordeal of those final two weeks.

Matt has nonetheless had some residual weak spot, however every day, he will get just a little stronger. He’ll get there. Daily is just a little bit higher than the earlier one.

So suffice it to say that the top of the yr didn’t fairly go as we had deliberate. And I really feel so NOT prepared for 2023. I don’t really feel relaxed. I don’t really feel prepared. I don’t really feel excited and able to get issues began.

I really feel exhausted, and I wish to hibernate for per week. I really feel emotionally and mentally drained. This isn’t fairly how I wished to start out the brand new yr. However I’m grateful. I’m so grateful that Matt is doing higher now, and he’s virtually again to his regular self. I’m grateful that we found out what was making the issue on the hospital. (The nurse actually advised me that if I hadn’t been there, and if I hadn’t figured it out, Matt would most likely nonetheless be in that very same catatonic state, and they might have simply thought it was a extremely dangerous case of COVID.) I’m grateful that we’re again at residence the place we will relaxation from our two-week ordeal.

However I’d want one other week earlier than I can really feel enthusiastic about 2023 and leaping again into home-related initiatives. 🙂 I’m not fairly there but.

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You may be taught extra about me right here.

I hope you’ll be a part of me on my DIY and adorning journey! If you wish to observe my initiatives and progress, you may subscribe beneath and have every new submit delivered to your e mail inbox. That method you’ll by no means miss a factor!