Very quick update
I’ve been MIA all week, sorry. I actually have a lovely post to write about Tuesday, where I got to have a day of concentrated nurturing from Steve and my girls, but that will have to wait.
Yesterday, I took John to the ER — he had shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, was shivering uncontrollably and was peeing about twice an hour. We were there all afternoon and into the evening, where they did a battery of tests on him. His brother came about 8:30, and I went home at 9:00, because I was running on fumes.
Diagnosis — because of the enforced inactivity, due to that damn plantar fasciitis, John developed two blood clots in his lungs. Unrelated to that, he also has a UTI. He is now in a regular room and they have him on massive blood thinners, antibiotics, and oxygen. The good news is that the repaired heart valve seems to be doing well. He will be in the hospital until tomorrow or Saturday, and on Tuesday, he has a podiatry appointment. I am going to make damn sure he’s better monitored this time, after he goes home. Basically, the first three weeks he was home, he didn’t improve, just stayed the same. It nearly sent me to the funny farm.
More later.
Erica Scott: Life, Love and Spanking 
Hang in there, Erica! I’m so sorry that John is having some complications. He is very lucky to have you with him, and you are doing a wonderful job! 🙂 Love you both!
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Jay — thank you. It’s been insane. Hope you’re OK.
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I’m sort of taking it one day at a time. Some days are a challenge and some days are great. My emotions can be all over the place. One day I will be able to look back and be amazed with myself for all of the stuff I’ve dealt with…
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Hi Erica — So sorry this is happening to John 😦 Wishing him a speedy recovery. You are doing a GREAT job taking care of him 🙂 Sometimes things happen that don’t make much sense 😦 We may never understand why 😦 They say things happen for a reason,I wish we knew the reason.You both are in my thoughts and prayers. Stay strong Erica. Much Love and hugs to you and John.From naughty girl Jade/Emily Jean
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Jade — thanks. Yeah, I don’t really see a reason for all this nonsense either.
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That’s upsetting news, Erica! I’m awfully glad you were there to get John back in an make sure his recovery stays on track. I’m also glad you have people supporting you and sharing the burden! Sending my love!
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Wolfie — I don’t know what I’d do without all the wonderful support.
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That was really good of you, Erica, to take him under in hand 😉 to the ER and have him thoroughly investigated. Fortunately, it is a well remediable thing, and it may make it easier for him to accept some caring attention to his body’s responses.
And the good news about the valve is really good to hear.
Up to full recovery! – and looking forward to that other post. :-))
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That is good news about the valve. Looking forward to hearing about Steve and the girls. Best wishes to you both. Joe.
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Thanks for the update. Sounds like he is where he needs to be. Grab the reins tightly there’s likely more uneven ground ahead.
Anon E. Mouse
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MrJ — I just wish it weren’t so damn hard to get him to pay attention!
Joe — thanks; hopefully I can write that soon.
Mouse — oh, don’t I know it.
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He’s a real brat! ;-))
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Erica: About your very real worry about John: “This too shall pass.” (I send you a warm hug and my wish that this be true.) The corollary is: “Not soon enough.”
There are a couple of very important lessons hidden in your post. First, yes guys, we men get urinary tract infections (UTI’s) too. Second, the average woman has at most two UTIs in a life time, so if you are having that many in even a few years … please go talk to a doctor who listens. [No, I am NOT a doctor or anything medical. My avocation does bring me in contact with lots of people in their 40’s to 60’s with medical problems. Many un- or under-diagnosed.] Sorry for the rant Erica.
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Jon — I’ve had more than two UTIs in my lifetime, and there isn’t anything wrong with me. Women are simply more prone to them, and post-menopausal women, even more so.
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No, no, no. I didn’t mean to imply anything was wrong with you or anyone else with multiple UTI’s.
It came as a surprise to me in my 40’s to discover that my belief – that women were subject to “frequent” UTI’s (I had no idea then what “frequent” meant) was erroneous and typical male ignorance. This wake up came as a result of talking to a client (about all of her medical conditions) who experienced several a year.
Too many women (based on talking to several hundred over the next few years) have a belief that an average woman’s lifetime UTI’s are much more frequent than 1-2. Then I discovered this: too many of the women with MANY more than 1-2 UTI’s had no idea that their experience was different than most women. I had expected, wrongly it turned out, that these women would have researched UTI’s or at least received information from their docs. Erica, my random and informal statistical sample group may be totally inaccurate, I do realize.
I’m assuming that many men have no idea how painful UTI’s can be. We lump it into the category of women’s issues about which some ignorance is bliss. (How many men say endometriosis, let alone know how the condition can be very painful in the worst cases.) However, if one realizes how painful UTI’s can be, and then encounters someone for whom they are common, the level of empathy should be – it damn well better be – higher.
Erica, I’m a child of the Our Bodies Our Selves generation. Information is power and it just seems that information about UTI’s, like that about sleep apnea, should be more widely known than it is. If I’m patronizing, I’ll live with the accusation.
Jon
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Erica, I hope John is home and on the road to recovery. Plantar fasciitis can be very painful so I hope the doctor can help him. An orthotic can be a big help, it helped me.
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Kaki — no, he’s not home yet. We’re hoping tomorrow or Wednesday. I had to reschedule his podiatry appointment.
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