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Day 12 March 24

I made it through the night. I awoke feeling better than I did just hours prior. Just like the morning before I felt icky, my sheets, t-shirt, and the bed felt damp. My fever must’ve finally broken.

I needed to take a shower.

After my shower, I was exhausted. My whole body felt weak and I was breathing heavily after a quick shower. It wasn’t like I was in there forever. I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my body then headed to the bedroom. I climbed into bed still wrapped in my towel to catch my breath.

My family chat on Facebook came across my phone as I picked it up. My family was curious about how I was feeling this morning.

After finding out how my night went, one of my daughters said she was on her way to take me to the hospital so I didn’t have to drive.

When she arrived I was still in bed wrapped in a towel. She helped pull out clean clothes as I got dressed to leave for the ER. When we pulled up to the ER she dropped me off and told me to keep in touch.

I walked into the ER and explained to them how I felt. They signed me in and took me back to a room.

They started running blood tests and a CT of my abdomen because of diarrhea.

They brought me a large cup filled with water. I drank the bottle at record speed. They couldn’t believe how much water I was drinking. I couldn’t get enough. I was so thirsty but my stomach couldn’t hold it.

After a while, the doctor came in. She said my bloodwork is all over the place. She said to the point I almost needed blood. She was worried I was bleeding inside or there was something else going on.

She ordered more bloodwork to send to the lab to Mansfield because they can test for more things than the lab on site.

After blood work and an x-ray, she came back in to talk to me. By then I had drunk another two glasses of water. They said I was the most hydrated person in the place.

The doctor looked at me and informed me she didn’t want me to go home. She wanted to send me to Mansfield for more tests including a visit to the oncologist.

She informed me she thought I had Acute Myeloid Leukemia. That was the first time I had heard of AML.

I was blown away!

I needed to see an oncologist. I have cancer. What?

I didn’t see that coming. I was alone in the ER and just found out she felt I had cancer.

That wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted an antibiotic and send me home to get better. I felt terrible but cancer?

Really?

I told the doctor I wanted answers and tests that’s why I came to the ER. She contacted Mansfield and ordered for me to be transferred to Mansfield by transport.

When I finally made it to Mansfield I spoke with the oncologist and she felt I need to either go to the James Cancer Clinic or Cleveland Clinic. I needed more than they could provide.

I requested the James Cancer Clinic because of its reputation.

Sadly, it took all night and into the next day to find transportation to The James. But when I got there they were waiting on me.

Image by Dieter Robbins from Pixabay

Day 11
Nothing has changed. I’m still nauseated or have no appetite, very tired, and have diarrhea. I’m drinking lots of liquids trying to flush this out of me but it’s not working. I’m at a loss.
I spent most of the night before and today sleeping other than watching tv and talking to Randy on the phone. I tried to get a hold of the doctor to make an appointment but the best they would do was a video call with someone other than my doctor. For some reason, my doctor wasn’t available.
This Covid thing really sucks. I want to be seen now and in person. I need tests. I need an antibiotic to kill whatever is in my gut. Enough is Enough.
While talking on Facebook chat with my family, I told them I was going to go to the ER tomorrow so they can run tests and give me an antibiotic so I can get over whatever this is.
I awoke around midnight feeling really weak and hot. My sheets were damp with sweat. I was so tired and weak I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get out of bed.
I went to grab my thermometer but I couldn’t find it. I swore I brought my thermometer upstairs with me but I couldn’t locate it.
I managed to go to the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror my face was red. My head and body felt hot. I was running a fever.
I popped a couple of Tylenol went back to bed. There was no way I was going to make it down the stairs to get the thermometer and make it back up. I was starting to become scared because I was so weak. I thought about trying to get downstairs and calling 911. But, I wasn’t even sure I could make it down there safely.
So I watched tv waiting for the medicine to take effect. After about 45 minutes I found my thermometer under my remote controls. I took my temperature and at that time I was over 102. My fever was coming down but not down enough. I popped a couple of ibuprofen and watch some more tv till I finally fell back to sleep for the night.

Day 10
I left work before completing everything I had to do that night, but it would just have to do. At that point, I just didn’t care. My body has had enough. I was so tired and running out of breath so easily.

I went home to take a nap for a few hours waiting to call my doctor as I promised Randy I would do so.

After my little nap, I talked to the receptionist trying to make an appointment. Because I was showing signs of Covid-19 I would have to do a video appointment. I wasn’t happy, it’s been 10 days. I need to see a doctor. I needed tests, not a video chat.

Instead, I decided to go to the CVS Minute Clinic. I signed in and I was able to see the nurse practitioner right away. She tested me for Covid first thing which came up negative. Thank goodness for that.

After the examination, she felt I had a really bad case of the flu. She wanted me to make an appointment with my doctor to follow up. She said I will need bloodwork, urine, and possibly a stool sample which she can’t run at CVS. She wrote me off work for three nights to rest up and hopefully give the doctors time to see me.

I was feeling confident she was right about the flu and I probably have some bacteria issue in the gut which may need an antibiotic. I was on the road to recovery at least I thought.

When I got home I contacted work to let them know I was sick and I wouldn’t be in for a few days.

I was so ready to climb in bed for some much-needed sleep.

I spent the entire day sleeping other than getting up to go pee once in a while. Rest will do me good!

It’s day 9, still no change.

We slept in pretty late. As Randy showered and dressed I headed downstairs to make breakfast. We ate breakfast and in no time he left for home.

I sat in my recliner covered in my blanket watching tv while I waited on his phone call before he headed to work. As I sat there I didn’t feel motivated to clean house or do laundry. I really just wanted to go to bed.

When Randy called I told him I was going to take a nap and I would text him when I got up. I went upstairs set an alarm an hour before I had to be to work just in case I slept that long (5hrs). I wasn’t planning on sleeping that long but if I did I would at least make it up in time to get ready for work.

Five hours later my alarm goes off. I’m exhausted I hit the snooze for twenty more minutes. Those 20 minutes pass which seem like seconds instead of minutes. I text Randy and we talk briefly before heading to the bathroom to get ready for work.

As I sat on the toilet tears rolled down my face. I desperately wanted to call off but it was way too late to do so. I was so tired I wasn’t sure I would even be able to do my job. But, I was going to try.

It’s day 8, still no improvement. My battle with feeling queazy and lack of appetite doesn’t want to go away. I’m still tired but staying active and going on about life the best I can.

Randy and I made plans for the evening with another friend which sounded like fun other than I still feel crappy.

As Randy and I walked into the building I started to fall behind. He was walking way too fast for me and I was becoming out of breath. I know I’m out of shape, but I’ve never had a hard time keeping up with him. We’ve always walked side by side with neither of us having an issue. I tell Randy to slow down and wait for me. He asked me if I was ok I just told him I was just tired. Seems to be my new normal these days.

We met up with a friend for our buffet dinner. As I walked through the buffet line nothing really jumped out at me. I ended up making a salad and picking out a soup. The soup seemed to be easier to eat than the salad. (I still think its a chewing thing)W

In between bites I sipped water which helped wash the food down. The water actually tasted better than my food. I felt so thirsty. It was as though I couldn’t drink enough at times. I ordered water after water. I thought I was going to float away.

After we were finished eating I became really cold to the point of shivering. My face felt warm to me, but it wasn’t red and I didn’t feel like I had a fever. At this point, I was so tired and really just wanted to go home.

I sat and watched the guys play because I really didn’t care to be there. As I sat and watched them play I decided to cancel my plans with a friend for the next day. I can’t imagine having the energy to go out again tomorrow and I didn’t want to give whatever this was to her.

After a few hours, we finally left for home. As we headed to the car I couldn’t wait to sit down. My body was tired and I was out of breath again. I sank into the passenger seat and rested my eyes while Randy drove us home.

When we arrived couldn’t wait to take a shower and climb into bed for the night.

It sure didn’t take me long to fall asleep.

March 15

It’s Monday morning and unfortunately, nothing has changed. I made it through the first night of work of the week without too much effort but I still feel physically tired.

My appetite is barely there, but I’m forcing myself to eat even if I don’t feel like it to keep my energy level up.

So much for the strawberry margaritas causing this, maybe I have food poisoning. It’s weird. One moment I feel sick to my stomach and the next I’m a little hungry. I really don’t feel like vomiting, It’s more like I just don’t care to eat.

March 19

It’s been a week. It’s been a very long week since I started feeling sick.

A typical virus takes 7 to 10 days to run its course, this has to pass soon. (At this point I’ve given up on the strawberry margarita theory.) Maybe it’s food poisoning or just a stomach virus.

My appetite hasn’t improved and I’ve dropped about six pounds but that’s ok I can afford to lose a lot more.

Cold foods and beverages seem to be easier to consume. Instead of my nightly coffee at work, I replaced it with Gateraid. It seems to go down easier and it’s better for me anyway.

I’ve noticed I’m drinking more and eating less. I would rather drink something than eat. Sometimes the thought of chewing makes my stomach do flip-flops.

Randy was getting concerned and said I should go to a doctor. I assured him I was OK but if it didn’t go away by next week I would go.

On March 12th my boyfriend, Randy, and I had spent the evening dining at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in his hometown. Our meal was fantastic and we chased it down with a pitcher of strawberry margaritas. I’m a fan of plain margaritas but my main squeeze loves the strawberry so why not. Don’t get me wrong, I like strawberry margaritas but plain is my go-to. We ended the night cuddling on the couch watching tv prior to climbing into bed to sleep off our margarita buzz. The next morning I awoke to feel a little sluggish and nauseated. It wasn’t horrible, just not feeling the greatest. I told Randy it was probably all of the food and the alcohol I consumed the night before. It might also be something in the strawberry mix. I’ve drunk margaritas before and didn’t have a problem so maybe something in the mix doesn’t agree with me. Let’s just blame it on the strawberries. I curled up against Randy while he was playing on his phone. The next thing I knew, Randy was standing next to me asking me how long I was going to sleep. I was shocked to find out I had fallen back to sleep for 2 hours which only seemed like a few minutes. He had already eaten breakfast, showered, and dressed for our afternoon plans. I climbed out of bed reassuring him I was OK. I quickly showered while he made me a cup of coffee. My stomach still felt queasy so I made myself toast before heading out the door. I wasn’t about to spend the day doing nothing since we only get one full day together. We spent the day running around and stopped for something to eat which I was able to eat even though I really didn’t feel like eating much but I needed to try. I was just hoping I would regain my strength and this would run its course quickly.