The Rest of my Hospital Stay

So they eventually let me move to a regular room on another floor. I was on a floor with a lot of old people.. the nurses said they were surprised to see someone so young there. They said i was so quiet and they had to check on me sometimes just to make sure i hadnt tried to escape or something ;-) Anyway, when i got to the regular room it was nicer b/c it was a lot bigger and I actually had a bathroom instead of a bed pan! They actually let me go to the bathroom.. but then it was straight back to the bed.. I was on bed rest the whole time i was there. I think i was only allowed 2 showers the whole 8 days I was there? Boy i felt nasty, haha. It was a loooong 5 days. I could finally have as many visitors as I wanted, so Arnold tried to come by whenever he could with the kids. Brooke kept saying I didnt feel good, i was worried about how it would affect the kids to see me laying there, and not being at home with them :( I had several friends, family members and church members stop by over the course of the week, some bearing edible treats or gifts, so it was nice :) I also had my laptop and the TV to keep me busy, but that was about it. It got to be real old, real quick. And the hospital food got old too! I had people bring me in "real food" a few times that I was there. Funny enough, I lost 7 lbs while I was in the hospital, and i know it was because of the icky food. :-P It sucked so bad... Sunday night was the Skynyrd Concert I was supposed to be going to for my birthday, with my Father-in-law. Since i was in the hospital.. I gave my tickets up to my brother and his girlfriend. hey, at least someone got to enjoy the concert, but BOY did it hurt letting those tickets go :( I tried to keep my mind occupied that night so i didnt think so much about what I was missing.


Anyway, a DR would come in ever day and check on me and he could never give me an estimated day that I would be able to go home, so that really stunk :( The nurses came in periodically to check on me or give me meds, but for the most part I was all by myself. I was able to get some rest, at least.. and I wouldnt have been getting much rest at home with a newborn! :-P



Then the magical day finally came-- the DR came in and told me since I was healthy aside from the bloodclots, that he thought it would be fine to release me from the hospital. He gave me a whole list of warning signs to look for, and told me to get an appt at my family DR. I didnt have one since getting married, so I finally got on at Arnolds' Dr, which is MTN View Family Practice. I have been seeing Dr Lutz and Dr Hoover and really like them both. He told me id have to go in every few days to get my Proton levels checked... they had to be between certain numbers to make my blood level "theraputic" which means not to thin and not too thick, but just right. (I was put on Coumadin, a high-powered blood thinner to decrease my chances of getting another blood clot.)



So the next evening I started packing up all my stuff and finally got up and got dressed.. it was crazy.. after laying on your back for 8 days straight you feel pretty lousy! My body ached and i felt lightheaded, but thats to be expected. I actually didnt get discharged until late that evening.. Arnold came and picked me up and we got out of there around 1o pm. It was SO nice to see the outside world again! Wow, i never realized how much i took things for granted, like good health and the outdoors.. Ill try not to from now on! But anyway, we got home and the bigger kids were already in bed, but Rachel wasnt.. and she saw me.. and SMILED! It was her first smile ever! Its like she knew I was home and everything was going to be ok. Wow... i will remember that moment forever. My MIL still loves to tell that story to people. That was definately God working his wonders :)