Mama admitted to Hospital

O' the news ain't terrific when I have to admit that I was installed as a permanent display at the hospital for having pneumonia. Yes, that makes three of us now having fallen to pneumonia. On Monday night my asthma, which is pretty insignificant usually, kicked in and I felt like I was trying to suck air through a wet sponge. After suffering through the night trying everything I could to bring relief my Beloved took me to the doctor. He and all the kids stayed in the car. The doctor took my blood oxygen level and as it around 90 he said I should go to the ER right away.

Well, I didn't because I have other people to think of besides myself. We all went home and my friend came to my house and took me to the ER, leaving everyone behind tucked in at home where they could rest the day and not be around a lot of other sick people. My friend, SuperV, did a great job once we hit the ER waiting room to make sure that I was not overlooked and brought it to their attention that perhaps I would do a lot better waiting-to-be-seen if I could wait with some oxygen on. They tested my blood oxygen and found it to be 86 and agreed. Breathing in that rarefied gas was a delight to both my lungs and my senses as parts of my brain started to come back alive. We had a very long wait as the place was over crowded and other more pressing emergencies had priority. I did get an xray while I waited and it verified that I had pneumonia in my lungs.

Once I was called into the emergency room things started to fly quickly. Blood was taken, medicine given and finally the long awaited breathing treatment. Ahhhhh, it felt so good to feel those stiff lungs open up again. Then came the not so great news, but one we all had discussed in anticipation before going, I was being admitted to the hospital..........do not pass go, do not collect $100, do not go home! After only a brief wait I was told they had a bed for me in the critical care center, the place a step down from ICU but up from the general population floor. I was delighted for the bed but discouraged to be admitted due to having drug resistant pneumonia. They slid me on the bed down the hall 50 feet and through some doors and then stopped at the end of the line. I did not know there was a unit on the ground floor adjacent to the ER but there is. They were to give me a window slot so that I could still be hooked up to oxygen and use the bathroom on a long line. When I went in I immediately saw in the corner of what previously appeared to be a windowless room, a window. I went over and saw that it was accessible from the ground and that this was a big blessing. Now my family could come and see me rather than having to abide by the rules of the hospital restricting all potentially ill visitors.

So, my family came over to see me in the window and I got to see them stand out in the cold and dance around for 5 minutes before heading back to the car. But it was such a blessing to be able to use it the days I was there. One morning I held court there and used the hospital socks as sock puppets to entertain the kids. Glad they kept me well supplied with props. I just kind of wonder what all the ambulance crews who watched in the distance thought of our merry band of window peekers and their severely deranged mother trying to amuse them? I just hope we don't see this on that funny video show someday!

I was in for 3 days and my heart was yearning for home. I was concerned for Sweetpea and her need for me. She did not do well that first day and really wanted me. Yet God was so sweet to allow us to comfort each other over the phone and that she accepted my comfort and assurances and calmed down over the phone amazed me. After that first day she found her stride and hung in till I was home, but boy is she glad I'm home now!

My Beloved is still struggling under the burden of the pneumonia. It is just not letting him out of it's clutches. While I was in hospital I was treated with 5 separate antibiotic treatment layers. I felt the stuff wipe out everything in me. I was never even as sick as my sweet guy and so I think he should go for a stay in the old hospital ward for his own antibiotic cocktail and see how fast we can crank him over back to health once more. I'll keep you posted as more develops.

I am home today and hit the ground running. The girls and I cleaned the kitchen and then started tackling the laundry. The two little girls dusted everything they could reach and a few things they couldn't. We turned off the heater and opened every window in the house to get as much fresh air in as possible. I sprayed everything down to disinfect it and overdid it a bit in that department. Tomorrow we tackle changing every bed in the house and washing the sheets. Never fear as recruits are coming in to help so that fresh made beds will be enjoyed by all come the evening. I mean to drive this plague from our land by sweat, steam and stubbornness!

God is so good. I would not have ever foreseen a stay in the hospital as being one that would bring so much fruit from so many directions but that is what appears to have happened. We have been blessed with amazing friends who have served us by coming by to take out the trash, to clean the kitchen, to bring us meals, to do our shopping for us, to hover over us and pray for us. This is wealth not measured on any index. God is just so amazing in how He is doing it all.