Our Terrible Finish To 2022: COVID, Two Hospital Stays, and Close to Dying By Saline

Y’all! I can’t consider it’s been two weeks since I’ve been right here, and it’s even tougher for me to consider that we’ve already arrived at 2023. To say that these final two weeks didn’t go as deliberate can be the understatement of 2022.

It began the Tuesday after I posted our final master bathroom before and after on Monday, December nineteenth. I had deliberate to spend Tuesday gathering the entire bills and sources for our rest room in order that I may publish that information for you on Wednesday. Then Friday, I deliberate to wrap up 2022 with my customary year-in-review publish. After which I’d spend the following week stress-free, watching tacky Christmas rom-com films, consuming, napping, and gearing up for the brand new yr.

Nicely, clearly, that’s not what occurred in any respect.

Issues began to veer astray once I wakened on Tuesday the twentieth with my head pounding, and my whole face, neck, and shoulders aching like I had been in a automotive accident. I didn’t suppose something of it, actually. I assumed I had simply slept incorrect, so I took some Advil, waited some time for that to kick in and a few of the ache to go away, after which tried to go about my day.

However issues actually took a flip when Matt began feeling unwell. Once I get sick, that’s one factor. However when Matt (my husband who has M.S. and offers with general muscle weak point and fatigue as a standard a part of life) will get sick, that’s an entire completely different ball sport. And because the day went on, he obtained worse and worse, till round 4:30pm, when he was so weak that he couldn’t raise his arms, couldn’t open his eyes, couldn’t preserve his jaw closed, and subsequently, couldn’t converse.

I ended up calling the ambulance to come back get him and take him to the emergency room round 5:00pm on Tuesday, they usually handled him within the emergency room till 2:00am. I stayed with him the entire time, whereas additionally beginning to really feel actually sick myself — extra aches and pains, chills, and so forth.

They lastly admitted him at 2:00am, and after about half-hour of “plenty of paperwork and questions” (because the nurse put it), I used to be lastly in a position to go residence, handle our canine Cooper, seize a blanket and pillow, take a ton of dietary supplements, nutritional vitamins, and Tylenol, and head again to the hospital. I returned about 3:30am, and was in a position to sleep till about 7:00am when the physician got here in. By that point, I used to be feeling wonderful, except for a stuffy nostril and a minor dry cough.

That they had run every kind of assessments on Matt, however couldn’t discover what was the reason for him to be so weak. He had scary hypertension, however Matt’s blood stress skyrockets because of illness, not as a reason for it. However nonetheless, all assessments got here again detrimental. No COVID. No UTI. No nothing. They stated that he had simply gotten actually dehydrated, so after a number of extra hours, and Matt seemingly doing a lot better, they discharged him and we went residence.

After we obtained residence on Wednesday night, Matt gave the impression to be fairly okay. However on Wednesday night time earlier than we went to mattress, he was scared and didn’t need to fall asleep. He stated he was frightened of getting sick and having to return to the hospital. I assumed he was simply overly drained (hospitals aren’t nice locations to get relaxation, in any case), and wanted sleep. So after sitting by his bedside, praying with him, attempting to be encouraging and calming, till about 2:00am, he lastly determined he was able to attempt to sleep.

Thursday morning, we each wakened early, and issues appeared regular. However as soon as once more, as they day went on, Matt obtained actually weak. Then he obtained higher. Then he obtained weak once more.

This curler coaster went on for the following three days, and by Saturday afternoon, he was virtually again to the purpose the place he was on Tuesday once I referred to as the ambulance the primary time. He was nonetheless saying that he didn’t need to return to the hospital, so understanding how a lot IV saline helps him when he will get like that, I made a decision to name and make an appointment with an area cellular IV remedy place.

The nurse obtained right here at 4:30pm (inside 90 minutes — spectacular for Christmas Eve!), however when she took Matt’s blood stress, it was too excessive for her to provide him an IV. (They’ve sure parameters for blood stress numbers that need to be met earlier than they can provide an IV.) Matt was feeling even worse by that point, so he was extremely upset that he wasn’t going to have the ability to get the IV saline.

By 6:00pm, he was proper again to the place he was on Tuesday, so I referred to as the ambulance once more. And as soon as once more, they got here and obtained him, and took him to the hospital. We had been within the ER room for a number of hours whereas they had been giving him IV saline and attempting to deliver his coronary heart fee and blood stress down, whereas additionally working different assessments.

Simply earlier than 11:00pm, the physician got here in and stated that Matt had examined constructive for COVID, in order that’s most likely what was the reason for the entire weak point and mind fog. They had been going to confess him, however they wanted to get his blood stress to a sure level earlier than they might do this.

So that they gave him a distinct blood stress treatment, and virtually instantly, he had a response to it. His face and arms obtained beet pink, his blood stress and coronary heart fee elevated to scary ranges, and his pores and skin felt fiery sizzling. I sat there watching, feeling fully helpless and freaked out, whereas watching him have this scary response to treatment, and whereas the nurses appeared fully unfazed by it in any respect. Matt was scared and depressing.

They lastly admitted him, made a be aware of the allergic response to that treatment in his data, and gave him extra saline. It took about an hour for the response to that treatment to put on off. After that, Matt appeared to cool down a bit and begin feeling higher. I stayed in his room the entire time, and by the point we went to sleep, he was feeling a lot better.

Once we wakened on Sunday morning, Matt appeared wonderful. The physician got here in and informed us about his therapy plan. He was going to modify Matt from regular saline to one thing referred to as lactated ringers. He was going to proceed the blood stress meds (not the one he had the response to, clearly). He was going to start out him on a course of steroids to assist him breathe higher. He was going to provide him Tylenol for his slight fever. All of it appeared fairly customary, and all day Sunday, Matt appeared like he was virtually again to his regular self. He ate each chunk of meals that they introduced him, and whereas he was nonetheless feeling a bit weak (which means that I needed to feed him and assist him drink water), he was speaking, laughing, joking round, and so forth.

I figured he was out of the woods, and was in good palms, so because it was Christmas Day, I felt comfy leaving for a few hours to have Christmas brunch with my household. Once I obtained again, Matt was nonetheless feeling good. The remainder of the day was fairly uneventful. He ate each chunk of each meal they introduced him. We each napped a bit. After dinner, I obtained us a snack out of the merchandising machine, and we watched Frasier till we went to sleep that night time. I figured he was doing so nicely that they’d most likely ship him residence the following day.

Then on Monday morning, every thing modified. I woke as much as the nurse coming in to test Matt’s vitals. I heard her asking him questions, however he wasn’t responding. That appeared unusual to me, so I sat up and checked out him, and he was virtually fully out of it. I imply, in a close to catatonic state. He couldn’t transfer, couldn’t preserve his eyes open, couldn’t preserve his jaw shut, couldn’t transfer his tongue in any respect (and subsequently, couldn’t converse in any respect), was having labored respiratory on the exhale. His face and complete head had been beet pink and fiery sizzling to the contact.

I used to be freaking out. How may he have gone to mattress the night time earlier than feeling simply wonderful, solely to get up feeling and looking out like this???

My thoughts instantly went to the response he needed to the blood stress treatment. I knew this wasn’t COVID. This was a response to one thing that they had given him.

However when the physician got here in, he brushed it off fully. He wrote the entire thing off to “that is simply what occurs with COVID.” That was fully unsatisfactory to me. I knew it was a response to one thing, and I used to be so livid that nobody appeared in the least fazed by his sudden in a single day change.

I requested the nurse about all of his drugs, and she or he went over every thing that they had given him. I informed her to cease the blood stress treatment and see if that may make a change as soon as it labored its method out of his system. After a number of hours, nothing had modified. He was nonetheless the identical near-catatonic state.

Matt saved attempting to talk to me all through the day, however as a result of he couldn’t transfer his jaw or transfer his tongue, I couldn’t perceive something he was attempting to say. On three events all through the day, I did handle to make out what he was saying. And every time, he stated, “Will I die?” Speak about ripping my coronary heart out! As a result of fairly actually, I didn’t know.

He stayed in that near-catatonic state all day lengthy, with me quizzing the nurse about this treatment and that treatment. Round 5:00pm, I discovered that that they had put a drugs patch on his arm. I referred to as the nurse and requested about that. It was one other blood stress treatment, so I ripped that off and informed her no extra blood stress treatment!!!!

It doesn’t matter what I did, I couldn’t appear to get them to grasp that what they had been seeing in him — this sudden change in a single day — was a response to one thing, they usually wanted to unravel it. However it doesn’t matter what I did or stated, all of them appeared fully unfazed by his situation and his sudden change.

This went on all day and all through the night, as I used to be racking my mind attempting to determine what the heck had gone incorrect, and what he was reacting to. By that time on Monday night (after I ripped the treatment patch off of his arm), I had made them cease all drugs, and the one factor left was the saline.

That’s when it dawned on me that the physician had informed us he was switching Matt from common saline (which Matt at all times responds nicely to) to one thing referred to as lactated ringers. Matt had by no means had lactated ringers earlier than. And as I used to be sitting by his bedside, praying and hoping that I may determine the issue, that’s when it lastly dawned on me that not solely was his complete head beet pink and fiery sizzling to the contact, however so was his left arm. His whole left arm…the place the IV was going into his arm!!

I referred to as the nurse on obligation and had him flip off the IV instantly, after which requested him to provide Matt some common saline. He turned it off at 10:45pm, after which got here again half-hour later with common saline.

Inside half-hour of beginning the common saline, the redness in Matt’s face and arm began to go away, and the temperature of his pores and skin started to return to regular. Inside an hour of getting regular saline, Matt was talking in full sentences that I may truly perceive him (for the primary time that whole day).

And by 1:00am, he was laughing and joking round with me. And he additionally cried. He cried loads, as he informed me that he was positive he was going to die that day. He knew he was having a response to one thing, however he couldn’t converse and couldn’t talk in any respect, so he was satisfied that it was going to kill him.

After we each cried and rejoiced in the truth that we found out the issue, we had been each exhausted and able to get some sleep. On Tuesday morning, Matt was completely wonderful (aside from his blood oxygen being a tad bit low and needing supplemental oxygen for a few days as his physique recovered and obtained stronger), and he was completely wonderful the remainder of his hospital keep.

Matt was lastly discharged on Thursday, and ever since then, we’ve got been stress-free and attempting to recuperate from the entire hellish ordeal of those final two weeks.

Matt has nonetheless had some residual weak point, however every day, he will get a bit of stronger. He’ll get there. Day-after-day is a bit of bit higher than the earlier one.

So suffice it to say that the top of the yr didn’t fairly go as we had deliberate. And I really feel so NOT prepared for 2023. I don’t really feel relaxed. I don’t really feel prepared. I don’t really feel excited and able to get issues began.

I really feel exhausted, and I need to hibernate for every week. I really feel emotionally and mentally drained. This isn’t fairly how I needed to start out the brand new yr. However I’m grateful. I’m so grateful that Matt is doing higher now, and he’s virtually again to his regular self. I’m grateful that we found out what was the reason for the issue on the hospital. (The nurse actually informed me that if I hadn’t been there, and if I hadn’t figured it out, Matt would most likely nonetheless be in that very same catatonic state, and they might have simply thought it was a extremely unhealthy case of COVID.) I’m grateful that we’re again at residence the place we will relaxation from our two-week ordeal.

However I would want one other week earlier than I can really feel enthusiastic about 2023 and leaping again into home-related initiatives. 🙂 I’m not fairly there but.