On April 8th I came down with a monumental bout of diarrhea. SO BAD! By that evening I could tell I was getting dehydrated, and so I did a quick run to a nearby Walgreens for Imodium and Gatorade. It's only 5 minutes away and I failed to make it home without a problem... Monday the 9th I administered Imodium and drank a lot of fluids--to no avail. Tuesday I called my doctor and given my inability to make it to his office, he prescribed me an antibiotic and a serious anti-diarrhea drug of some sort. By midday Wednesday, things were settling down, but I was wiped out. I rested on Thursday and went back to work on Friday. But I felt exhausted. Felt tired over the weekend, too. I told myself this was normal given the purging that I had just endured.
Going back to work the following week and things just continued to feel off. I was not only tired, but I was becoming strangely ambivalent and lethargic. I wasn't eating and I wasn't even thinking about eating. I had no desire to cook or do much of anything. I woke up Friday morning and called in sick again. All I could think was "I just can't do this". Friends at work were worried. The weekend was a blur. I don't think much happened. Not even Romeo could motivate me, and yet somehow on Monday morning I awoke and managed to drive myself to work. This is no small feat. It's 23 miles to work through rush hour traffic around the infamous DC Beltway and then up a major expressway before taking a series of local roads. I was so out of it I hadn't even combed my hair, and I just pulled on the clothes that were laying on the floor at the side of the bed.
I no sooner entered than my closest friend took one look at me and said, "What the Fuck is going on?!" She grabbed me and took me to a nearby walk-in clinic. They were not busy and I was seen quickly, but they couldn't tell me much after three hours of mostly waiting a few tests except that my BP was very low.
My friend got another person at school to drive my truck and she drove me home in her car. They dropped my off around noon, and I thanked them. Went inside. Climbed the stairs to my bedroom. Fell soundly asleep. I did not wake up until the next morning when the police were literally pounding on my door.
I stumbled down the stairs and opened the door. The young officer said that my work had called them and was worried when I didn't show up or answer my phone. I thank him. He asked me to call my work. I said I would. I closed the door... I stood there. What was I doing there? Why was the officer at my door? What was happening? I heard the phone's answering machine kick in and it was my friend from work screaming at me to pick up. I had to think, where was the phone? By the time I got it, her call had ended. I picked up the phone and tried to dial it...but I couldn't remember the number. I've known this number for 25 years. I stumbled on my laptop and finally found my school's website with the number. Still, looking at the number and trying to use the phone, it took me a good 10 minutes to get the sequence right and make the call.
She said, "Mister. Either you are calling 911 or I am. Now put your big boy pants on and tell me what hospital they're going to take you to and I'll meet you there." We agreed on the hospital and then I couldn't remember the number for the ambulance, and I completely forgot about 911...so I went out, got in my truck, and drove myself to the hospital.
I arrived at the same time as my friend through some cosmic coincidence. She took me to the emergency entrance and admittance. After that she took over. She saved my life. I was aware, but pretty useless. I couldn't read a clock. I couldn't remember the name of president or the day of the week. And the tests started: BP, vitals, blood work, urine. The bloodwork surprised them. Off for a ct scan, for x-rays, for a sonogram! I had doctor one, doctor two, doctor three and then finally a room in the ICU ward. Tubes everywhere, IV, catheter, EKG monitors, BP cuff. What had happened?
My Creatinine level was at 23. Normal is 1. At my April 2 check up (three weeks earlier) was 0.93. It'd never been an issue. I was suffering from Acute Acidosis of the Kidneys (a.k.a. Kidney failure). Now that the drama is over, I'll shortcut the rest. Spent 4 days in ICU and 2 more in ICU lite getting pumped full of mostly minerals and fluids. My kidneys restarted and over the course of the each day improved dramatically. After 24 hours my creatinine level had dropped to 9.8, 48 hours 6, 72 hours 3.6...and on. Most of my faculties returned within those 6 days as well. I was dismissed with orders to rest and meds to continue to take and follow-ups with my primary physician and the Nephrologist who took the lead on my case at the hospital. One side effect, my feet swelled up pretty bad and took several weeks to return to normal. I spent 4 weeks at home recuperating.
I visited my primary care doctor two days after leaving the hospital and he assumed primary status for my continued care, and I engaged a nutritionist on that day. She was already a acquaintance of 5 years and has been very involved in my process of recovery. When I left the hospital, I had gained about 3 pounds! The surprise was that I hadn't eaten much and had forced myself to eat what I could and as I was allowed. But the food was hospital food. I colleague from school and I played around with the menu on the second day I was in ICU. She helped me identify things that the hospital couldn't really screw up like Rice Crispies and hard boiled eggs. I have such good friends.
When I did go back to work, I did so with feet that were still hurting. I had come to the place where I realized that you can rest to heal for only so long, and then you have to exercise to strengthen, or you're just not going to get better. My return was met with a lot of good wishes and glad tidings, but I could also tell that my hobbling around had everybody wondering if I should be there yet. I let it go. Yes, I ended every day at home in pain, but it was gone by the morning and with each day I felt stronger.
Now from the beginning of my home stay I made some small, but important changes to my diet. I cut back on processed carbs. I upped both fruit and vegetables. And perhaps most important, at my nutritionist's advice I increased my consumption of purified water. I started with 130 fl oz per day. Her formula is that the amount of water you drink each day should be your body weight cut in half and then that number in fl ounces.
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| My deck the place of my recuperation and Romeo, who is just fine. My friends took such amazing care of him, too. |
BREAKFAST: Cream of Wheat and fresh fruit (2 or 3 kinds), OR Eggs and fresh fruit (2 or 3 kinds)
LUNCH: Iceberg Lettuce based salad with fresh combinations of Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Celery, Carrots, Olives, Capers, Hearts of Palm, Artichoke, Broccoli (you get the ides--usually 3 to 5 of these add ons) and dressing. Then a lean protein like (hard boiled egg, good deli ham, leftover chicken, tuna fish) and a piece of fruit some days.
DINNER: A Protein and a Vegetable or two leaning heavily on green ones and/or cauliflower. At my nutritionists suggestion, I also cut out cheeses for the most part. And at my doctor's suggestion I added in a vitamin D3 supplement.
The results? I left the hospital on April 29th. On June 29th my weight had dropped by 38 pounds, as of today that it's 42 pounds. I feel wonderful. My feet are strong again. My skin looks great (thank you vitamin D!) I have lost 6 inches off of my waist. I pee a lot! Net result--all things have worked together for my good. I have also been pretty active once I was able to be--so I have a lot of adventures to post. I am going to do this, because as anyone who randomly stumbles on this blog will soon realize, I do this as much for myself as anyone, so I have a chronicle of my doings as a reference.
More soon.
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