Besides my normal convalescing, I have been nursing a bum left arm since I left the hospital. They had IVs going in both forearms. The line on the left became a hot mess shortly before my discharge. It continued to hurt after I got out, and it turned nasty. Right now, it's hot, swollen, red, and extremely painful.

I finally threw in the towel and went back to the ER this AM. Morphine has not been able to touch the pain. They've tried several anti-biotics before admitting me. I'll be in a couple of days while they get on top of the problem.

The good news is that I could send 'HillChick out for Popeye's for dinner. I'm not limited to the slop from the food service. After she leaves, I've got a penthouse view stretching from Dayton Ohio out to the Indiana line. There are bound to be some good fireworks displays.

Hope they get the issue with your arm relieved, hang in there man. Wishing you the best.

You always see the best in everything Shaman! Speaks volumes. You get better and get your butt back home. Glad you went in to get treated! Godspeed.

Sloan-Kettering Hospital?

Be well brother.
Just a little bump in the road again.
You'll be back to your normal routine in no time.
I'd come visit just to chat if I were closer.
Your angel is with you.

The good news, the antibiotics should clear up any lingering social diseases from your youth.

Silver lining.

Hang on friend.
Prayers for a short stay and quick return home.

I'm at U.C. Westchester, close to Mason. My view is to the north and west.

Best wishes on this new problem!!

Hang in there brother, I know it sucks. They'll have you fixed up in no time.

Shaman,

Prayers lifted. Sorry to hear about your situation. But, not surprised. I've had two significant surgeries in the past two years. And had a "Do Over" on both of them. Hang in there. You will overcome.

Take care...

You’re the definition of perseverance.
Heal up quick Shaman.

You’re always in my prayers and while I don’t always comment on your threads I do follow them as I continue to send good vibes your way.

You have a FANTASTIC attitude. I don’t think there’s anything that you can’t overcome…..your attitude is inspiring.

Praying for your complete recovery. Hang in there.

Godbless you. You’ll beat this easily tooo

Prayers for healing and better days ahead and soon. Stay strong, hang on, persevere. Love your positive attitude.

Early this AM, I was awakened by deep itching in my forearm, That sure beats intense pain. It looks like the infection got bested. Indeed, the arm is beginning to return to normal. I still have some redness and pain by the wrist, but nothing like what it was.

The fireworks last night were cool. They stretched out into the distance. One display was only a couple of miles off, but I could see little pinpoints of light clear to the horizon.

Great news Shaman, Keep on keeping on, you'll kick it's ass.

Glad to hear your arm is healing..stay strong..

I am familiar with those iV burns. They change mine out every other day, the vein plays out.

Start one iV at the hand and work up the arms toward the elbow. Arms black and blew after a week.

I had one iV started started to blow out the expected morning they were to release me. Hospital policy requires you have a functioning iv until youre rolling out the room in a wheelchair.
Yup, they sent the team to come place another one. 😱

I usually require “IV Specialty” come up from another floor to do me. After 2 or 3 floor nurses take a stab at it. I’m always a hard stick

IV Specialty is usually some 79 year old lady with shaky hands and ant burner glasses. If not her, it’s the 333 lb Puerto Rican guy with the Winnie The Pooh neck tie and 5X lab coat Oh swell

Be in their making deals with God, like if this IV holds, I’ll quit picking on Varmint Guy

Guess it didn't hold, eh?


Anybody know how long they can keep a shaman in captivity? Don't they eventually bust out??

When I’m ready to leave, I get up and walk out. Against AMA.

They try to scare you and say your insurance won’t cover costs on an AMA. BS

blue cross called me the next day, I told em my wife could take better care of me at home. They said OK 👍
Cheaper too 😃

Yeah, wife has to have the Swat Team too. I have had to show my azz a couple of times at Vandy when she would wake up with the Cellulitis, all they could give her was Vancomycin, which is hard on your veins, I would tell the ER doc what she had and they needed to get a bag of Vanc doing stat, they would try to get a little vein going for it and it would blow in 30 minutes, bring in Swat, they would use sonar or some chit to find a deeper one. Then the next morning the culture would come back and they would do a PIC line, a month of little balls of Vanc.

The rumor is that I'm going to be sprung later today.

I still have a hot patch on my left wrist, but the rest of the arm is pretty well back to normal. The pain is manageable with Vicodin. A CT scan yesterday revealed no abscesses.

This has been a miserable detour.

Hope your recovery goes well. Warm compresses, 3-4 times/day for 10-15 minutes generally help with circulation and healing. I've been doing IVs for 44 years, and (fortunately) have seen no infections from my sticks. Have had them blow, but you have to recognize it now! and get it dc'd and changed, unless it's just saline for hydration/maintenance. Even then, they're very uncomfortable. It's when the drugs infiltrate that you get inflammation and necrosis.

Jesus wasn’t white.

Keep a close watch on that arm and report anything suspicious. Your own Red Flag law.





P

I'm getting thrown out late.

The blood tests came back with dramatically low readings this AM, so they decided to hold onto me and get me 2 units of whole blood.

The vein I was having all the anti-biotics tossed in decided to give out, and they were having trouble finding another. Finally somebody decided to go in through my chest port.

I'm on the 2nd unit of blood now. 'HillChick is driving up to get me and bringing me a milkshake for dinner. I should be home in my bed tonight.

Get home and enjoy some needed rest and home cooking! I wish you all the best shaman!

Keep swinging.

Home is always better.

Flashbacks - after surgery, I always crave a GOOD chocolate malt, for some reason.
Even if I'm still in 'n out!
Prayers renewed, shaman!

KYHillChick finally got me home around 2300

They didn't hang the second unit of blood until after 1930. Mind you, when she left home, the plan was for me to be released by 1900. She was not a bit happy, and having a mad hillbilly stewing on the couch certainly put a spring in everyone's step.

Kudos with large peanut butter clusters to Moose and Angus. They cleaned my bathroom, bedroom and office before my arrival.

she lit a fire under the nurses station WTG KYHC

There is a poor Indian nurse that probably had bad dreams about my girlfriend after she came off shift last night.

Sent a prayer for you this AM. looks like I'm in the same boat as you as I started chemo yesterday. Not looking forward to all the fun.
Paul B.

Trust in the Lord and the docs and the averages. It will work itself out.

Also: when they say to stay on top of your anti-nausea drugs, they mean it. Understand that you are going to experience stuff that has no vocabulary associated with it. They call it nausea and indeed, actual nausea can be a part of it. However, what kept me on regular doses of the anti-nausea drug was a burning hellfire in the pit of my being. I made the mistake once of trying to gut through it, because it didn't feel like nausea. That was about 3 hours of my life that I wish I could do over. I finally took the anti-nausea pill and it went away.

Don't worry about how brave you are while the chemo is going on. The real fun starts after the round of chemo ends.

I don't know what your regimen is like. However, I can tell you I was having direct effects of the chemo up until the night before I started the next round. I'm on a 1 week on/ 2 weeks off schedule. Round 3 was a MF'r. The 4th round was supposed to start on Tuesday, but I was flat on my back in the hospital. Round 4 would have killed me for sure.

I’ve had the screamin’ pukin shîts and nausea last 3 days.

Pulling weeds and this heat ain’t friendly to the situation either.

Ondensetron hardly helps anymore, promethezine puts me to sleep. I dont wanna crap while passed out

I’ve not been within 5 miles of a booger king or arbys in 2 weeks. Might be the potassium binders and girl scout cookies. Errr…dollar gen’ral girl scout version

Had a nurse practitioner tell me..”hon, it’s better you just barf it all out and dont medicate it and keep it in”

Thing is…

Another doc would come in, “if you keep barfing we’ee going to have to put an NG tube in”😱💀