Hello again!
So it's been a long time since I've written a post. The last few month have been... interesting... and honestly, writing has been the last thing on my mind. I may have to spend a few more posts going into some details about what's been going on, but I did want to give an update.
Going all the way back to to October, I went on a wonderful bachelorette trip with my wonderful friend, Ashley. We spent five days of the half term holiday in Bordeaux, France, sampling amazing wines, wondering through medieval cities and enjoying fantastic food. I will add more in a future post about this fantastic trip.
A few days after arriving back, I, in a graceful move, fell in my flat. As gravity pulled me down, my arm hit the wall, forcing it backwards. Ouch. I cannot describe how painful this was. I felt sick. I instinctively knew that this wasn't something that will be ok in a few days, or would settle down in a couple hours. After going to the hospital, I found out that I had a crack in my shoulder and had torn the rotatator cuff and bicep. I was sent home with a sling, painkillers and told to stay home and rest.
Every move I made for the next month was very painful. It took me ages to change clothes and I was limited in what I could even get on. Because my bicep was also damaged, if I moved my arm or even did anything with it, it felt like my upper arm was on fire. Keeping my shoulder still was one thing, but for at least two weeks, I couldn't even straighten my arm out.
Finally, after a few weeks of rest, I convinced the doctor to let me go back to work. She agreed, as long as I kept my arm in a sling and was very careful. I went back to school and was pretty happy to be back. Staying at home for a day or two is nice, but after a few weeks, it gets very boring, very fast. It was lovely to be able to talk to people during the day, and feel like I had a life again. The only problem was that all week, I felt ill. I had a bad cough and felt really under the weather. I sucked it up and continued working as I didn't want to take more time off after being gone for so long.
That weekend, I went to a friend's birthday party. By the time I got home, after only being out for a couple hours, I was exhausted and couldn't stop coughing. I spent most of the night awake, coughing and fed up. The next evening (Sunday), I started having a lot of trouble breathing. I tried to relax and sit in the bathroom with the shower running (sometimes the steam can help loosen things up) but nothing worked. Eventually, I became desperate and realised that I was getting dizzy and that I really needed to go to the hospital. When I got to A&E, the nurse took me back right away and when she saw my oxygen levels, the doctor got me on a breathing treatment very quickly. I spent the night getting tested and was given many treatments and lots of oxygen. By morning they told me that I had a bad chest infection and that because it was affecting my breathing so much and with my oxygen levels being quite low, I had to be admitted. I spent several days in hospital, which was an experience! I will have to write about that another time. I will say, though, that I'm sure that I rocked the oxygen nose tube that I had to wear.
I was sent home later in the week with so many medicines that the pharmacy bag was overflowing and actually broke. I was starting to get a bit better but then a week later, I began having stomach issues. I started being sick and had a lot of pain. After a week of this, David and I trekked back to the hospital. When they tried to take my blood for a test, they had a lot of trouble. I had become so dehydrated that at least 2 nurses and 3-4 doctors tried and couldn't get anything from me. They even used an ultrasound machine to try to find a viable vein. No luck. They were able to place an iv line and so gave me a lot of fluids through that. I was told my stomach was upset over the medications I had been on, and that I had maybe developed an ulcer. They gave me more pills and sent me home.
Soon, it was Christmas. I was still being sick and had to take painkillers as my stomach hurt so badly. It was the first Christmas that I've ever spent away from home though, and I was determined to still enjoy myself. I joined David and his family at their house and while I was still ill, I had a lovely time with them. After Christmas, I ended up back in A&E twice, to get more fluids (I kept getting dehydrated) and to get more tests done. Between them and my regular doctors, I have been keeping the NHS busy! They then told me that the original diagnosis was probably wrong and that I had a few other issues. Since I had spiked a fever and gotten worse, they put me on more medications and arranged for me to get iv treatments at the hospital once a week. After getting these treatments, I started feeling a bit better. My fever has come down and is mostly where it should be (aside from a few random days when it goes up again), and my pain has significantly subsided. I am still unable to eat properly and am still being sick sometimes, but I am feeling much more like a human being. I have been able to return to work, on a modified schedule, and, I hope, am slowly getting better.
I am getting physiotherapy for my arm and shoulder and I can actually move it small amounts now, so I am pleased with the progress that I am making. David and I are getting married in April, and so now my goal is to be able to eat, drink and dance at our wedding. With just over two months, I am determined to be well and enjoy the wedding celebrations.
Throughout all of this, my fiance, David, has been amazing and very supportive. Despite his hatred of hospitals and needles, he sat with me many days, and was my rock. He has helped me out around the flat, by doing the shopping, the washing up and other things that I have really appreciated. I cannot say thank you enough for all that he has done. I knew that I picked a keeper! My family at home have also been great and I have felt the love from them and my friends, all the way across the ocean. My mom has told me many times that if I needed her, she'd fly over, no questions asked. So thank you to her and everyone else as well.
Life is tricky sometimes, but I've decided to try to remain positive and focus on getting better. I will try to write some more posts about some of he specific experiences mentioned, and I'll do my best to keep you, dear reader, updated on how I am doing.
-Erin
"When times are good, be happy, but when times are bad, consider this: God has made one as well as the other."
-Ecclesiates 7:14
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