bobanddenisewanderlust

Sorry to be so late in posting. It was a rough month. Since I have not posted in awhile, I am just lumping most of our story together.

Bob started feeling worse on Saturday the 2nd. On Sunday, I convinced him to have a virtual Doc appointment at the Urgent Care. So in the morning, he set up an appointment with a Nurse Practioner ( the only person who had open appointments).  It was set up for 9. We called at 10, and at 11 we called, again.  Eventually, the Doc who I had seen me on Wednesday, was available and he ordered the same regimen for Bob. While we were waiting, the Pulse Ox battery died. We could not open the cover to find out what kind of battery it was, so we decided to get a new one.

I called MaryAnne, and asked her to run to Walgreens to pick up Bob’s prescriptions, and to purchase a new Pulse Ox. The gal gave her a hard time about the prescriptions, but she called and got the information from me. Evidently, when she went back to the pharmacy, the gal never even looked at the info, she just gave MaryAnne the medications. Some one must have spoken to her about being nasty to MaryAnne. She stopped by and dropped off the medications and new Pulse Ox. Bless her heart, she also dropped off two bags of M&M’s for some chocolate therapy! 

We continued our resting, fluids, prescriptions and over the counter medications thru Monday. I never became super sick, luckily, although we were prepared in case we both ended up in the hospital, with a plan for the dogs.

On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Bob’s oxygen level was dropping. He was coughing so much, I was worried that he was going to become too exhausted. I checked his lungs, and he had rales, in both lower lobes. On Saturday, he had crackles in both lower lobes. Nothing in the upper lung lobes, (both are a sign of pneumonia.)

His temperature spiked up to 102.8. I had already told him, anything over 102 and he was going to the hospital. I told him I was calling 911. He said, why don’t you call the Doc first. Huh! I said no and called 911.

I told the gal who answered, the symptoms, and that we had positive tests. EMS arrived, and they did not want to take him, because they had been told that the hospitals were too busy!  I calmly, told them his symptoms, and insisted that they take him. They asked if he was willing to go, and he said yes. They never entered the condo, I walked Bob to the door.

So off he went to Banner Boswell Hospital. I had sent his phone with him, and he texted me from the ER, which was very re-assuring. They had a Covid Protocal, which they followed. His X-ray showed Covid pneumonia, so he was admitted to the hospital, and given a dose of Remdesivir. He had lots of tests over the next few days, and had a total of 5 doses of the Remdesivir. After the 5th dose, they sent him home.

I picked him up at the hospital. He was to continue on quarantine, for his protection, due to the steroids they had given him. His blood pressure and blood sugars were elevated while he was in the hospital, but came down enough for his discharge.

Meanwhile, at home, I took care of the dogs. They seemed to understand that Bob had needed to go, and they did not seem to upset about him not being home. I walked them short walks around our courtyard, and as I began to feel better, we went a little bit farther each day, even after Bob returned home. They were of course ecstatic that he was back home!  

MaryAnne and Ray Balzer were our lifelines. They went grocery shopping for us and picked up more prescriptions, until I was off quarantine. We also received emails, texts and lots of phone calls, with friends checking on us.

The worst part of all this has been the fatigue. Mine has improved and so has Bob’s, although his still remains. He also gets light headed and a headache intermittently. He has also found that his taste has been effected. Neither of us lost our taste or smell, but now Bob says many foods taste really salty.

When Bob had his follow up virtual appointment with his PCP, she recommended a humidifier ( the first Doc had also recommended it, but Bob declined, this time I just went and bought one!).

Eventually, Bob took back over walking the dogs, a little at a time. Some days, he still over does, and has to rest. He has gone from 4 to 5 naps a day, to 1 or 2. His blood pressure is back to normal, his Pulse Ox is now over 95, and both of his lungs have finally cleared. He still has some good days and some bad ones.

I had to cancel all of my appointments, once I tested positive. Once I was out of the boot on my foot, I discovered that the pain was still there. I called the Orthopedic Doc and asked for the MRI ; he had said would be the next step. They sent in the request, without the required supporting information, and the insurance denied the test. So, I had to make an appointment. I did, and he does not know what is wrong with my foot. So he re-submitted for the MRI. It is now scheduled for Feb. 9, with a follow up appointment on Feb. 15 with the Doc.

On Tuesday, Jan 26, I woke up in pain during the night. The bone at the bottom of the big toe, has slipped out of joint. I immediately knew what it was, so I turned onto my left side, and got it to slip back into place. So in the morning, I sent the Doc a message thru the portal. The response was to minimize walking until after the MRI and I see him. My feeling is this is related to the surgery last January 21, 2020, as it is the same foot, but we will see. I have also discovered that my foot has gotten larger, so I purchased a new pair of shoes. I have no redness or swelling in the area, which is the top of my foot. Also no pain when I push on the area. It is really weird! I am only comfortable in my slippers. I am also taping the bone in that area, so the slippage does not occur again!

So that was our January!

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