Our last posting carried us through the 4th of March and indicated that we had been out of commission for one reason or another. That article ended with this statement:
Hopefully, next week both Ken and I will be fully recovered and can go out and PLAY AGAIN!!!
Well, I'm here to tell you, it did not turn out that way!!
I guess this picture will explain why we have not been on the Blog for quite some time!! I ended up in the hospital in Wauchula, FL for ten days (March 31 - April 10) with PNEUMONIA!
Ken took this picture of me in the hospital bed! Unknown to me!! Looking pretty bad!!
Ken and I both had been feeling poorly for awhile -- a lot of coughing, no energy. Then I developed aches and pains. Thought I had the flu. Finally Ken insisted that I go to the Emergency Room at the Hospital in Wauchula. They immediately did chest X-Rays, contrast MRI, blood tests, etc. All of these tests told them I had Pneumonia! I have had Pneumonia before, but this time they said I would have to be admitted to the Hospital!
Later, when I met Dr. Kathy Lee, a really nice Asian doctor, she said in her Asian accent: "You have really bad Pneumonia. Really bad Pneumonia!! You have Pneumonia in both lungs! I will have to treat you for TEN days!!"
Wait a minute!! Did you say I have to stay here for TEN days!! YES!! What could I do?? I settled in for ten days in the hospital. But things were not too bad!
That afternoon, Ken brought me a beautiful potted plant.
Ken's daughter Tracy sent flowers the next day.
And my daughter Stasia and son Barry sent flowers the day after that !
All of the beautiful flowers brightened my days and the staff enjoyed them as much as I did! In fact, I left them for the staff when I checked out. They were still beautiful. THANKS ALL OF YOU!!
The staff took good care of me. The food was delicious, too! This is my lunch salad one day!
For four days I was on IV for fluid 24/7 and antibiotics every six hours. And for those four days I guess I was pretty sick. The doctor said after four days I would be transferred to Rehabilitation.
Transferring to Rehab was something I had difficulty wrapping my head around! First, they removed the IV for fluid, so I only had to have IV for the antibiotics every six hours. Then, still in bed, I signed some papers discharging me from the Hospital. Another set of signed documents transferred me into Rehabilitation!! It seems Wauchula Hospital has a Swing Program whereby they can "swing" you over to Rehab! Same room, same bed, same doctor, but now I was in Rehab! It was all a matter of paperwork changing the way Medicare would be billed. In other hospitals I would probably have to go to an entirely different facility! Lucky me for Wauchula's Swing Program. I just stayed where I was.
I was able to move around at will. Therapists took me to physical therapy to build up my strength two times a day. I could check myself out for a few hours to have dinner with Ken, so I did that a couple of times.
I had planned to go with friends Lois and Gene to see "The Story of Noah" at the Cattleman's Arena in Wauchula on Friday, April 4. Instead, they came to visit me in the Hospital on their way to the play. They brought a beautiful fruit basket but unfortunately I lost the pictures of their visit. One of my therapists said the husband of her best friend had written the play, The Story of Noah, and composed the music! Small world!!
I finally got out of the Hospital on April 10 and am slowly recovering. Thanks to all of our friends and family who helped us through!
Sidebar: It is now September and I still have residue of Pneumonia in my lungs. The doctors are not planning any additional treatment. Guess I'll have to live with it unless it heals itself!
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