2023....What a Year! I Had No Idea

When I posted my 2023....What a Year! blog on January 15, I had no idea what was ahead for me. 

Today, I celebrate my 48th birthday and I am very happy to see this day. 

Brief summary of 2023:

• 01/04: Mayo Acute Care Clinic for testing because I did not feel well and could not shake it
• 01/05 to 01/10: Back to Mayo to be admitted for a blood infection and UTI; during this stay they removed my port because they were afraid it was the cause of the infection - it wasn't
• 01/10: Released to Home Health Care so I could administer the remainder of my IV antibiotics
• 01/30 - 01/31: Excruciating pain hit sent me to the ER, which turned out to be a kidney stone and kidney and blood infection; they admitted me
• 02/01-02/02: I was admitted to Hospital At Home, which is a program where you are still a hospital patient but the nurses come to your house and the doctor videos with you (it seemed like a good idea but with a catheter and IV, it was very challenging)
• 02/08: Met with urologist to remove the catheter and talk about a plan
  
• 02/14: Lithotripsy to remove the kidney stone; urologist only got one stone because she said, "My kidney was gunky and the stent was crusty." Instead of admitting me to the hospital, she sent me home and went on vacation telling me to go to the ER if anything gets worse
• 02/20 to 02/26: It got worse....back to the ER and admitted with a severe kidney infection, UTI, and blood infection
• 02/26 to 03/02: Released to Hospital At Home, again
• 03/02: Went back to the urologist who still did not have the culture results from the Lithotripsy; she said she wanted to wait eight weeks before she did anything else to give my body time to recover
• 03/03 to 03/05: Released to Home Health Care so I could administer the remainder of my IV antibiotics
• 04/01 to 04/21: At midnight, I was in terrible pain but I wanted until 6 AM to reach out to mom (big mistake) to go to the ER; after a series of events I ended up on a ventilator for two weeks followed up by a week in the hospital (there is a lot to this story, which I will add later) and then rehab for a week because I was so weak; while on the ventilator the urologist released me from her care because she said, "I was too complicated"
  
• 05/04 to 05/12: Back to the ER with another UTI and blood infection; evidence of a possible internal bleed, which GI will follow-up with by doing an endoscopy and colonoscopy at the end of August (yes, end of August - no urgency)
  
• 06/03 to 06/09: Back to the ER, admitted to ICU (there is a lot to that story too) with a UTI and kidney infection

To recap: 5 ER visits, 6 hospitalizations for sepsis/septic shock, 2 weeks on the ventilator, 1 week of rehab, countless tests....I could never imagine when I started feeling ill around Christmas that I would be close to the end of life because of a kidney stone, kidney infection, and/or UTI. My cancer is literally the least of my issues - it remains stable. 

During this time, I also lost my grandpa. He was an amazing man. Separate post to come.

The cats were not sure what to think with me coming and going. They did not love me being gone for an entire month. They definitely are definitely happy that I am mostly home again.

Fortunately, my oncologist and his amazing nurse worked with Mom and I to get a consultation at Mayo and I am now in the hands of several specialists (nephrology, urogynecology, urology, infectious disease, cardiology, endocrinology, oncology plus GI and primary care locally and my wonderful psychologist), to figure out why I cannot shake the infections (they are different types of bacteria each time) and go into sepsis so quickly. 

As I celebrate my 48th birthday, I am so grateful to be alive. I am thankful for 

• My mom who is always with me. She advocates along side of me and for me when I cannot. 
• My family who shows up to support me through all of this. 
• My friends who are always there sending me positive thoughts, visited me in the hospital, rehab, and at home, as well as sent flowers, cards, and treats for me to enjoy.

This has been my hardest year of my life but I am confident that we will find a solution. To celebrate my birthday, my mom and I went to see Barbie. It was nice to do something that was not medical. We laughed a lot, which we have done a lot of that this week. It feels like we might be turning a corner this year...

For tonight . . . I'm just sayin' XOXO