Today is a better day for me, although things with Mark are only marginally so. He is still in rehab, still quite weak, still has a high white cell count and tachycardia, but it seems there is a slight improvement in his breathing and that is a big blessing. Once he can breathe normally again, I think possibly the anxiety (and maybe the high heart rate) may lessen, and my family doctor said that she wouldn't worry too much about the high white cell count until after he is off the steroids, as those can cause a high white cell count.
Mark texted me earlier, short and sweet. They woke him at 4am to do a chest x-ray and EKG. Yes, that's right, 4am. I wish they'd let him sleep while he could but maybe they were trying to do it quietly before the morning routines began. I don't know.
He did text that he needs to regain his balance, so I'm guessing his mobility is about like mine at the moment. At least he is up some of the time and doing physio, so I'm hoping his balance will come back with his strength.
Despite leaving messages yesterday for a nurse to call me (I need to know what they think is going on with Mark) nobody bothered to ring me back, so today I've messaged through Facebook and maybe that will do the trick. The lack of communication is def worrisome, and having worked in nursing homes I am fully aware that the standard of care is entirely dependent on the work ethic of the person giving it. Thus, not bothering to call me back does not give me a lot of confidence.
As for me, I am doing ok.
Today I batch cooked toad in the hole, and had some for lunch with potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts and gravy. Indulgence! Although I did stay good on portion control. 3 portions of t-i-t-h for Mark at later dates and 2 for me (1/2 size). Plus lunch tomorrow!
I am trying to decide whether to take a book and go sit down in Conestee Park for an hour or so, and get some fresh air. Added to which, I do my butt and thigh exercises while driving, so kind of killing 2 birds with one stone.
I have to start getting my mind back on business as well. AVON has changed its name again and is introducing a slew of new products and I have 3 weeks of catching up to do plus training for upcoming things.
The past 2 and a half weeks though, my sole concern has been my hubby and his well-being. Worrying about almost losing him only a week ago, worrying how he feels, how lonely he is in there. I just didn't have any brain cells to devote to anything else. My concentration was non-existent.
I stayed busy at home, made up bleach solutions and bleached everywhere and practically everything. Laundered bedding, clothes, pillows, all in bleached soapy water and dried on as hot a temp as the fabrics allowed. I made up a plain water spray and put lemon juice in, as an air purifier.
The laundry was a slog since you need 2 hands to carry laundry and I usually use 2 hands to steady myself walking through the house. I'd get it out of the dryer and totter to my wheelie chair, put it on there, then push the chair to the kitchen table, put the laundry on the table, and then sit and fold it.
Where there's a will there's a way, as they say. When Nicolette came over, she carried piles of stuff back to the bedroom and put it away for me. There are now other piles in their place. Each morning I toss one set of clothes and a towel over my shoulder, to make it back to the bedroom, to shower and dress. It's the only way I can do it, but at least I'm able to, and that counts for a lot.
So, please keep praying for my hubby to get better. For his lungs to heal, and his breathing to continually improve. For his heartrate to go back down to normal, ad his white blood cells also. For his mobility and stability to return to normal. And finally, for him to get well enough to come home.
I miss him. I miss his smile, his silliness, his helpfulness, our conversations, holding hands, hugs and just being together. He misses me too and I hate to think of him down and so alone.
Thanks for the prayers!
