The Fifth Floor

Had I realized beforehand the harrowing experiences that I would face starting on the 5th floor at LBM, I would have run away with my tail between my legs. Hey, I'm no super hero!!!! The truth is....I am weak and HE IS STRONG!

During this time, cultures had been grown and it was finally determined that I had the Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia. We were told that it was a rare type of infection brought back by the military returning from Iraq. Oh, so that explains it!!!! Yeah, when I was last in Iraq covering the news for Fox News....Oh, that's right I had never been in the middle east and furthermore hadn't left the US for several years. So, where'd I pick this up? Hmmm, the hospital turned out to be the first and only culprit! You remember that simple outpatient surgery that I had just a few weeks earlier? You know, the one that seemed like everything had just gone better than I ever expected????

But before I tell you about my stay at Long Beach Memorial, my blonde brain has remembered a bit of info that I had forgotten....Believe me, it pains me to remember! But it is part of the journey between my first and second stay at LBM. You see, after I was initially treated for the AB Pneumonia, my care continued as I was released from the hospital and it was arranged for me to receive treatment at a nearby "nice little nursing center." Yeah right! Don't believe the pamphlets or the case manager's who wear high heal shoes with no stockings, a white lab coat and smile at you a lot!

Mike and I were told about Broadway By the Sea, a nursing center near the ocean in Long Beach not too far from LBM. The brochure looked so nice and even as the ambulance driver's towed my gurney through the halls, I thought "oh, this looks like a nice little place." At least it didn't smell like urine. However, I was more than surprised when I had been promised an isolation room with no one else residing in it; and found that I would have a room mate who cried out through the night in her state of dementia for the entire time I was there. The beds looked like cots and they were not even prepared with the oxygen that I would need to get me through the night. At that time I believe I was still on 5-ltrs. And Mike was forced to go home because of the visiting hour rules.

They actually ran out of oxygen, as the night wore on and I saw each of those who were supposed to be caring for me, fumble with the equipment and speaking to one another in their native tongue (Tugalic). Their faces shown how they thought I was some kind of high and mighty queen demanding her way....when in reality I was fighting for my life and they were completely devoid of any understanding. My stay at this house of horror's lasted a few weeks, and the only saving grace was the Physical Therapy folks who helped me to re-build some of the endurance and strength that I had lost since becoming ill. When I was discharged from Broadway By the Sea, I was so glad to go home...but ended up back in LBM ER and being admitted once again.

Anyway, my stay on the fifth floor began with breathing treatments, lots of intravenous medications and a consistent frustration in trying to communicate to those around me when my voice was completely gone. After meeting Doctor Hirota as well as other doctor's in charge of my care, I found that they were stumped as to why my condition wasn't improving. I was on 10-ltrs. of oxygen and found it nearly impossible to sleep. I can truthfully say that I "cat napped" for more than 2 months, which caused its own set of issues.

Over the following days, I was told that a bronchoscopy would need to be done in order for the the doctor's to have a better idea of what was going on. This is something that made me really nervous, knowing that they would be sending a scope down my throat into my lungs to take a look. However, when I arrived for the procedure I found a lady who knew one of my dearest friends at work and it seemed to take much of the shakiness away. The medication to relax me didn't hurt either :) I awoke not remembering anything. But Doctor Hirota still suspected something more that was going on. At that time, he had added a very powerful antibiotic to the many bags that were a part of my "beeping tree."

Voriconazole, along with the other meds that I was being pumped up with began to cause some very strange issues with my site. I became sensitive to light...but more than that, when I looked upon a light or white background I would see black bug like creatures with lots of legs all lined up perfectly crawling up wherever I looked. When I looked upon a dark or black background, I saw white bug like creatures exactly as the others. I also began to see apparitions in the sky during the day, and therefore it made it difficult to even look out the window. I also couldn't see the television and it was impossible for me to read. And so, I spent hour after hour with me....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voriconazole

This is when things got kind of fun....when the nurses and doctor's all began wearing yellow gowns, gloves and masks when they entered my room....even the janitor's, the folks who gave me breathing treatments, and all visitor's. Poor Mike came every day to sit with me and was forced to wear the gown and mask, but most times escaped having to wear the gloves. The issue was that the hospital didn't want anyone carrying anything I coughed up back into the real world.

One night around midnight, the nurses came in an said they were moving me to another room. Mind you, I had been in this room at that time for several weeks and though it wasn't home....the surroundings had become familiar. When they moved me there was a big fight between the nurses that brought me down to the end of the hall by the staircase and those who were there already. I guess they had determined to put "isolation" patients in the rooms nearest to the staircases. There was a sign posted that no one was to enter without first seeing a nurse.

Little did I know that the adventure had really just begun! Doctor Hirota informed Mike and I of what he suspected that I had as the pneumonia was actually beginning to go away. He said the word Aspergillus. With gravity, he explained a bit about this fungus and how he suspected that it was in my lungs, but the only way to make that diagnosis would be to have a lung biopsy performed. Can I tell you how excited I was to hear this???? But, at the same time....God gave me such peace...and our God sent doctor was so precious in his genuine care and concern for me as a human being.

As I was wheeled down to the operating wing and lingered in the hall speaking with everyone that I needed to and signing papers, I was introduced to the surgeon and the anesthesiologist as we all discussed how to proceed due to my issue of PVC's (arrhythmia's) and the fact that one lung would need to be shut down to perform the biopsy and they would need to rely on the other. Well, the doctor's thought there was a good chance that they could get in and out really quick and get a specimen of lung tissue without too much of a problem and the anesthesiologist gave me his word that he would keep watch on everything to keep me safe.

When I awoke, I was told that the procedure had been done and that a chest tube had been inserted to drain off the blood and air from the lung that had been collapsed during the procedure. Can I tell you that morphine had finally become a friend.... and though I slept only briefly 24/7, I wasn't in too much pain...although a catheter had been put in place and I was pretty much confined to the bed for several days. The surgeon looked in on me and thought I was ready to have the chest tube removed.....And this is where the fun really began (to be continued)