So, I took another hiatus.

Let’s get real.  It wasn’t that I “took” a hiatus.  It’s that my body took the hiatus and I was dragged long for the ride.

And, this is really a warning about too many doctors and not enough oversight.

Most of you know I have been recovering from necrotizing fasciitis.  Where a bug (in this case, Klebiella aeruginosa) decided to take residence in my right leg.  And, devoured a slew of my tissue.

Over the course of treatment, a few sloppy details arose.  Like the doc not securing the casts on my leg.  So,the casting fell down, strangling the circulation in my leg- which led to an episode of acute renal failure, cardiac failure, and respiratory failure (toxic shock syndrome).  The wonderful firemen of Alexandria hospital scooped me up and transported me to the local hospital.  Where I spent some 60+ days.  When I was stable enough, I was  shipped  off to a nursing home.  (Let me tell you- the stories about why you don’t want to spend to rest of your life in a nursing home are absolutely true,)

Once I got released, I worked hard to recover my strength and endurance.  And, was well on my way, until the combination of drugs in my regimen led me to develop renal failure. (This hadn’t been detected yet.)  It didn’t help that my blood pressure (always on the low side, around 118 mm Hg) was now teetering in the mid 80s.

That blood pressure is not sufficient to pump fluids through the kidneys or to keep my body fully oxygenated.  After a routine blood test indicated that my BUN (blood urea nitrogen) had jumped to over 100, I was hospitalized and had a whole new drug regimen applied.   Once I was stabilized, I returned home- for two hours,

Climbing up the steps, I realized I was about to pass out.  I stuck out my hand to provide a “pillow” for my head should I fall.  And, collapse I did.  I was so weak, I couldn’t get up.

I called one of my three best friends who came over immediately and tried to help me up and into bed.  But, I was  a lump of oatmeal and couldn’t be moved,  So, we had to rely on our Alexandria Fire Department friends again.

This time, my clinical team was deciding if I needed to undergo dialysis.  My youngest and middle child were at my side.  (Thank you both for being there!)  But, just on the day a catheter was to be inserted (to afford dialysis access), my BUN levels finally began to drop.  Four days later, I was allowed to return home.

But, this time, I am much, much weaker than before my last hospital episode. Forget about walking a half mile- 200 feet is a stretch.  Standing for long periods is tough.  That’s because high urea levels cause uremic myopathy. This manifests as muscular weakness, muscle wasting, limited endurance, exercise limitation, and easy fatigability.  Yep, I have that in spades!

And, then there’s uremic encephalopathy.   That fancy term describes the fact that high toxin levels in the blood garbles your brain. You don’t think straight, your memory evaporates, etc.

Well, that describes the past 45 to 55 days pretty well.

I am in the normal range clinically now.  But, I am on a long path to build up my strength and endurance.  I am also trying to recover some lost memories.

But, I am also trying to restart my blog.  To continue our conversation.