F I N I S H E D at last

For over 30 days, I have been infused, via a PICC line, concentrated antibiotics by my wife three times a day, making sure that the infusion time is over 10 minutes to minimize nausea.  During those days, I may have experienced nausea maybe 6 times at the most.  My infusion schedule was every 8 hours and took place at:  11pm, 7am, 3pm, 11pm, 7am, 3pm, etc. etc. etc. Despite the fact that my sleeping habits were altered, the worst part of the whole ordeal was the overwhelming feeling of fatigue and malaise with an incredible need just to sit around and do very little.  I constantly felt like I had just gotten through having the flu for 7 days and was trying to feel better.

But, last night at 11:00 pm, I received my last infusion...

It would appear, according to my Infectious Disease Doctor, that my Staph Infection was more than likely the result of a bug or spider (brown recluse) bite that was scratched, not cleaned, and got infected.  There is also conflicting data that I had a UTI because when the ER performed addition blood work on me, they found no evidence of a UTI.

This makes me wonder how reliable our local family physician's clinic is.

During this process (July 12 to the present), I have lost 25 pounds and while my appetite is gradually coming back, I am hopeful and confident that I can keep my weight at 225 with continuing to count my calories and exercise.

My life, now has the ability to get me back to normal.

A Little Humor

From Wheel Chairs to Walking

Almost Done

After today, there are only 2 days left of taking antibiotics 3 times a day and I can go back to being normal once they remove the PICC line on Wednesday.

It might seem like an inappropriate complaint that I am tired of taking antibiotics 3 times a days especially since they are spaced 8 hours apart.  And yes, they are 8 hours apart but those 8 hours are not always conducive to getting sleep.

My treatments are:  11pm, 7am, 3pm

So, if I stay up for my 11pm infusion, it is difficult for me to awake at 7am for my next infusion...  so, I try to sleep a couple of hours before my 11pm infusion which is not always successful.

The other issue with these infusions are the 2 side effects:  nausea and fatigue, neither of which is enjoyable or desired.  The nausea disappears with a pill but the fatigue lingers and zapps one's energy as well as one's motivation to do anything.

Two more days is not a long time to wait.

CHILL Dude or Dudette

Showering With a PICC Line

If I recall correctly (and my memory is always in question) I took 2 showers during my 6 days in the hospital; but, being at home with a PICC line my showering has not improved.  The nurse has informed us that it is imperative that the bandage covering the PICC line does not get wet as it could contribute to causing the PICC line to become compromised while not necessarily infected, the compromise could cause a new PICC line to be insert, no doubt into my right arm which would then severely curtail my abilities and mobility at home since I am right handed.

We were given several options as to how to cover the PICC line before showering but the best approach, at for us (me) has been to wrap my arm several times in saran wrap and then tape the ends.  I have two ports that dangle down from the PICC line and extend below my elbow, so I curl those into the bend of my arm and make sure the saran wrap extends well below my elbow.  After both ends are wrapped tightly with tape, I  bend my arm several times to make sure my bend has now been restricted.

And, while I try to use my right hand to do most of the soaping up, there are times when I step out of the flow of water and use both arms; otherwise, my left arm extends out to the ceiling and is kept out of the flow of water as much as possible.  Once my shower is complete, I dry the saran wrapped arm first.  So, far, the patch covering the PICC line has never gotten wet.

I also keep my showering down to twice a week, Sundays and Wednesdays, which are the two days before my Hone Health Nurse visits.  If my night sweats are substantial, the I simply use a wash cloth and soap and clean my underarms.  Because of my inactivity, there are no other times during the day that I put myself in a position to sweat.

I have one more shower day (Sunday) before my PICC line is removed next Wednesday.

It's All Good

It is what it is...   so, since it is not worse...  it is all good.  What else can an individual or a family believe when something bad happens to them?  A positive attitude or a relatively positive attitude is going to take a person or family farther emotionally than adopting a negative one.  Supposedly, we all know this...  and, believe this, even though we don't always put into practice what we believe.

In 2007, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's B cell Lymphoma and in 2008 started treated although the memory blurs when going back those 12/13 years.  Treatment started about 6 months after I was diagnosed and there is probably another 4-6 months of testing that needs to be taken into consideration as well.

In 2009/2010, I experienced a non-cancer related heart attack and over a period of  10-12 months, I had 3 heart surgeries where a total of 5 stints were inserted.  From that point-in-time until July 2020, I had no problems with my heart, but my Staph Infection caused it to experience afib and actually experienced heart failure while in the ER.

In 2012, Melanoma was discovered on my left foot and removed and in 2017 metastasized to the left side of my groin and in 2018 metastasized to the left side of my neck but when it was surgically removed, the Melanoma was dead so my treatment was working.

In 2020, my Oncologist discovered that my cancer treatments has screwed up my THYROID and once he put me on meds, not only did it start to immediately regulate my Thyroid but it made my entire body feel better.  What is interesting here is that I thought my cancer treatment were responsible for my fatigue and lousy feelings, but it was my THYROID.

A STAPH infection that got into my blood stream played hell with my body and put me in the hospital for 6 days with antibiotic infusions 3 times a day until 11Aug20.

HOWEVER, my body, the body that was given to me by GOD, has fought back and has successfully resisted all of these attacks...  and, when I was in the ER, my body began to immediately respond to the fluids they were pumping into me from 3 IV's.

In short, I am a tough old bastard.

Seven (7) Days Left

When I woke up this morning at 7:00 am to receive my morning infusion of antibiotics, I was smiling because I realized that I only had 7 days left to have antibiotics infused into my body via a PICC line in my upper left arm.

And, it is not that the PICC line is uncomfortable or causes me a little pain, it is the fact that I am DONE...  FINISHED... with making sure my body is Staph Infection Free.  In fact, this last week is being used as a redundant measure just to make sure.

I talked with my Home Health Nurse on Monday and asked her if she could arrange to remove my PICC line on Wednesday rather than Thursday because I am meeting with my Oncologist to be told when my Cancer treatment will return.

If I have an infusion on the 13th of August, it will be two months since I had my last one and while my CT scan done when I was hospitalized showed NO GROWTH, it was done without a contrast dye so it is possible it could have missed something.  And, since OPDIVO is used against Melanoma and Melanoma has invaded my body 3 times and has done so aggressively, I don't want to wait any longer than I absolutely have to.

On the positive side of my STAPH Infection, I have lost weight and instead of being 250 +/- ,  I am now 225 +/- which is better for my heart so I need to maintain this weight or loose a little more in that I would like to be at 205.

It Takes 3 Days For Every One

Once I left UTMC Hospital on Friday July 17, 2020, I immediately began to feel better however I was still experiencing fatigue and a BLAH feeling for most of the day.  On that following Monday, a spokesperson on behalf of UTMC called me as a courtesy follow-up and during the course of our conversation, she shared with me the statistics that it typically takes 3 days of being at home to compensate for every day one spends in the hospital.  For me that is 18 days and those 18 days ended today.

HOW DO I FEEL?

My fatigue is minimal and my BLAH feeling happens each day but does not last long.  My hunger has returned even though my appetite has not...   which is a good thing because my weight has reduced to 225 which is a good (but not a perfect weight) to carry.  The weight that I would really like to get to is 205.  And, while I feel pretty good when I am sitting...  I feel a little unstable and have to move slow when I am standing or walking.

Basically, feeling BLAH and having fatigue is not a good way to spend one's day and I was not like this before I went into the hospital because my THYROID meds had eliminated all of that.

One thing that I do know FOR SURE is that I will continue to count and record my daily intake of calories and eat under 2000 each day at least until the end of 2020 which is another 5 months.

Author's Note:  Years ago when people asked me how did I feel...   my response was always, "I feel with my fingers."

Eight Days After Today

I have discovered that there is a positive side to growing old and that is that each day does not seem to last very long and as they quickly pass, short term obligations seem to quickly pass as well...  what I am trying to say is that after today, my antibiotic infusions only have 8 more days to go since they are going to stop on 11 August 2020.

7:00 am...   each day I awake at this time and after peeing, get weighed, have my temp taken and then lay on the couch as my wife infuses my antibiotic over a 20 minute period of time.

3:00 pm...   another infusion of antibiotics

11:00 pm...  another infusion of antibiotics

My physical condition goes from feeling pretty good to feeling pretty lousy as if I had been sick for several days, with very little energy, hunger, or motivation to do anything.  This PICC line in my upper left arm is inconvenient when it comes time to take a shower and shave because it cannot get wet.

For the last few days, I have been sitting on the screened in back porch because it has not been too humid just to have a change of my visual environment and to get a little fresh air and sunshine.  Today, it is a little cool as the porch thermometer shows 80 degrees.

My weight fluctuates up and down even though I am not eating any more one day than I am on other days but overall, there has been a loss of about 12/13 pounds and I am currently 125 whereas before going into the hospital I was between 235 and 240 and in March I was 250.  My heart says that I should keep my weight where it is now or lower whereas my cancer says my weight should be closer to 250 in order to fight it properly.

Life above ground is always good.

I Must Be Getting Better

Yesterday afternoon, around 6 pm, I decided that I should try mowing the yard sitting on our riding lawn mower...   and, while I felt lousy (not because of my mowing) afterwards, I am still glad that I did it.  Since July 10, 2020 I have been laying around because of infections that started with a UTI and escalated into a staph infection that required hospitalization.  Laying around is not what I do, although at 72, I am not as active as I was 20 years ago.

It is important to note here that the MAIN REASON that I am tolerating my illnesses like I am and the fact that my body has always responded immediately to treatment is because I maintained EXCELLENT HEALTH all of my adult life which includes:

• eating healthy
• daily exercise
• proper sleep
• minimal alcohol
• stop smoking at 40

The only issue that I did not manage well was STRESS...

Eleven Days Left

There are 11 days left where my wife has to push Antibiotics into me via a PICC line in order to ensure that my Staph Infection has been successfully removed from my body.  Most of the day, I feel rather BLAH but there are days where I feel pretty good as if this is all behind me...  even though I know that it is not.

After 15 days of taking these antibiotics, I have lost 13 pounds and one begins to wonder if there is something else going on inside my body that is causing me to continue to lose weight other than me not eating as much as I did before.

I have STOPPED ALL CANCER TREATMENT since July 12 when I first entered the Hospital, so I have missed an OPDIVO infusion (to fight Melanoma) for almost 2 months and I have not taken Imbruvica (daily pills to fight Lymphoma) since July 13.  Yes...  I am concerned but relying on my Oncologist to guide me through this process.  I have an appointment with him on August 13, two days after my Antibiotic Infusions end, and I would suspect that I will be receiving my OPDIVO infusion on that day as well.  I am also assuming that he will tell me to start taking my Imbruvica again.

Life goes on...   and, I am fortunate that I am still above ground.

Last Day of the Month

I always feel a little bit sad when the last day of the any month rolls around, because it is for me just another way to mark the passage of time and the realization that time moves forward, not backward, and that I am getting older and moving closer to that point-in-time where I will have no more tomorrows.  July, obviously, was an interesting month for me as I spent 6 days in the Hospital part of which was a day in ER and another day in ICU (not a good experience) and the remaining days on the Cardiac (Heart) floor of the main hospital.  My room was well appointed with a reasonably sized bed, a lounger, and a couch and more than adequate sized bathroom.

After visiting my Infectious Disease Doctor for a follow-up on Wednesday of me leaving the hospital, it was brought to my attention how SICK I was in that I could have died in the ER and if my wife had delayed any longer bringing me to the ER in the first place, I most certainly would not be alive today.

My blood pressure was 79/59, and I was experiencing afib, heart and kidney failure, and was sepsis all at the same time and ER Doctors and Nurses weren't sure if I was going to make it, especially since I had an infection that they could not identify and were deeply concerned that there would not be a positive outcome.

As I recall as I lay on the ER bed, I saw half a dozen people hovering over me but did not know why because I feel pretty good...  actually, I was more scared that anything else and that feeling overpowered my feeling nauseous and BLAH as was the case when I arrived.  I had vomited twice and I was not sure if that would happen again in the ER or not.  I was also unstable when I walked creating the need for a wheelchair to bring me back to the ER exam room.

UNCERTAINTY and FEAR of that uncertainty are the greatest mental components that I faced while being attended to in the ER, making me feel that I was not sick and all and why all the FUSS.

BUT, all that is in the past and this is the last day of the month, and when tomorrow arrives, I will only have 11 days left of IV antibiotic infusions or 33 infusions.  AND, August then will represent my transition month as I return to normalcy and the life I was leading before this happened.

Today, I sit on my screened-in back porch since there is minimal sun and watch it rain a little and the storm clouds pass by left to right while the hummingbirds fight over the food and there is relative quiet in the Valley.  My neighbors are inside as always giving the appearance that the community has yet to awaken.

Half Way In

Today, represents the half-way point for me taking IV Antibiotics at home with the end day being August 11, 2020  so when I complete my 3 pm infusion, I am half-way into this process and begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, so I am coming out.

My night sweats continue but not every night nor are they are severe anymore and my weight loss continues although it has slowed down a "tad".  My weight is now 225 and back in February, 2020 it was right at 250, so 25 pounds have been lost over the last 5 months with the understanding that 12 pounds have been lost over the last 13 days.

As mentioned before, I have been counting my calories since February and before I was hospitalized, I was eating about 1900 calories/day and after my hospitalization, I was eating about 1300 calories/day and over the last couple of days, I have increased to about 1600-1800 which is returning me to normal although I am not eating all the PROTEIN that I should be eating daily...  and food still does not taste that good which is a byproduct of the antibiotic.

In any event, 12 more days, not counting today.

Good Report

My Infectious Disease Doctor UT Medical Center from when I was in the hospital for 6 days, requested a follow-up visit after my release which was today and the report he gave me was that my blood work was indicating that all my markers were returning to normal and that there was no side effects from me taking the antibiotics at home which now means that I am free to do anything that I physically feel like doing (except get into a pool and/or a hot tub) as long I take good precautions to protect my PICC line.

He wants to continue the antibiotics for the full 4 weeks to make sure that the drugs continues to work on any remaining infection and even though he may not need to because of my blood work.  He cautioned me in the future not to ignore any cuts on my body and make sure I disinfect them and cover them to keep this from happening again...  and no, just because I had a Staph Infection one time does not necessarily mean that I am a good candidate to get another one.

He also told my wife to increase the time my infusions take (from 15 minutes to 20 minutes) to see if that will eliminate the nausea I feel when she has completed my most recent infusions.  While my nausea is brief, slowing the infusion rate down may eliminate them altogether.

NOTE:  Last night was the first night since I had been released from the Hospital that I did not have night sweats and my morning's weight taking indicated that I had gained a pound even though I had not increased my eating yesterday.  Is there a connection between weight loss and night sweats?

Losing Weight after leaving the hospital

After being home 11 days/nights, I have lost 12 lbs which is averaging to a little over a lb/day and I have no idea is that is a good or bad weight loss situation.  I am only drinking about 1/2 the water I should be drinking and I am eating about 500 calories less each that than I was before, so the weight loss must be coming from my nightly sweating or from my urination or both.

Tomorrow, I see the Infectious Disease Doctor as a follow-up for me leaving the hospital and this is going to be one of my questions along with the the constant BLAH feeling that I have each day.  White fatigue is also a concern, it is not daily experienced however, I have more fatigue days than I do not, so I would like to know why, especially since my Home Health Nurse said it was attributed to the IV Antibiotics that I have been taking 3 times a day.

What is clear to me...  that when one has a STAPH infection in the bloodstream...  and spends 6 days in the hospital that is takes 3 times that amount of time that one spent in the hospital to get better.  So, if this were to happen to you, you might as well figure 4-6 weeks, perhaps 2 months to get out from under the impact to one's body...  especially, if you are over 60 and more so if you are over 70 or 80.

Home Health Nurse Visit

My insurance pays for the cost of a Home Health Nurse to visit with me twice a week while my wife is administering IV Antibiotics to make sure my health does not decline, to change my dressing covering the PICC line,to answer any questions, to monitor my daily weight/temp chart, and to collect blood for analysis once a week.  These visits will continue until August 11, and I am pretty sure that this Nurse will be responsible for removing my PICC line when the treatment is over.

The nurse is supposed to call the day before but this nurse has been calling about an hour before she arrives, letting us know that she is on her way.  I have no problems with the last minute call, but my wife does because she wants to make sure that she has the opportunity and sufficient time to present a clean environment.

I suppose that this is one of the differences between some females and some males and will perhaps never change.

The results from my blood work last week indicate that there has been no damage to any of my internal organs as a result of these antibiotics except a slightly elevated blood/sugar count of 135 and an elimination of my good bacteria which I try to replace daily by eating a container of Yogurt each day.

My body only lost a half pound between yesterday and today so perhaps it is finally adjusting to the antibiotics although I am still fatigued and sleeping in the early evening before my 11 pm treatment and every night there continues to be moderate sweating of my upper body during the night.

My only other concern is that it will be 2 months since I had my last OPDIVO infusion for Melanoma and 1 month since I have taken any daily pills for LYMPHOMA...   The good news is that I had a CT scan performed while in the hospital and it showed no significant growth...

Being Back Home

It is my ninth day at home since I left the Hospital after being there for 6 days and as part of my release, I am supposed to have IV infusions of antibiotics three times a days, and as part of Home Health's requirements, I am supposed to take my weight every day (at the same time) and my temperature.  After nine days of doing this, my temperature has remained relatively normal but my weight has dropped 9 pounds or 1 pound/day which in and of itself does not mean that much and I did need to loose the weight, but losing weight that fast still bothers me.

According to my CALORIE INTAKE spreadsheet, during the last 8 complete days, I have eaten 500 calories less per day except on one day I ate 400 calories more with 1800 calories being that point around which I was measuring.

In February of this year, I started counting my calories and before I went into the hospital, my weight had dropped from 250 to 235 +/-  or 15 pounds in about 4 months which is about 3-4 pounds each month which is slow and perfect weight loss so it does not harm the overall body in anyway.  However, compare that 3-4 pounds/month to 1 pound/day...  if this new loss is projected for 30 days, there would be 30 pounds of loss in 30 days which is now an indication that something else might be going on inside me.

With that said, let me point out here that while I was in the Hospital, a CT without contrast was performed and showed NO GROWTH as compared to my last scan 90 days ago...  so this contradicts my concerns...  but, I still have them nonetheless.

PICC Line

A PICC line gives your doctor access to the large central veins near the heart. It's generally used to give medications or liquid nutrition. ... A PICC line is one type of catheter used to access the large veins in your chest (central venous catheter).

Watch this video about installing a PICC line...   (below)

Home For A Week

It has been a week, since I was released from UTMC Hospital with the understanding that I continue to have IV Antibiotics infused into my body 3 times a day in order to make sure that the STAPH infection has been completely destroyed.  These antibiotics are to continue until August 11, 2020 or for another 18 days.

Ever since I have been home, Home Health has asked my wife in addition to administering the antibiotic infusions to take my weight and temperature daily.  So far, I have lost a lb. each day which has gotten me a little worried even though I needed to loose the weight.  Prior to going into the hospital, I had lost 12-15 lbs. by counting my calories and making sure that I ate under 2,000 calories/day.  Now the pounds continue to drop away yet I feel like I am eating the same amount of food that I was eating before I went into the hospital.     

In addition to losing weight, I have continued to feel like I am or have been sick with a "BLAH" feeling accompanied with nausea and fatigue.  Today, I got a phone call from a relative who told me that I sounded pretty good, even though I told him I did not feel all that good.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I did, in fact, feel pretty good.

Maybe it is not taking me 3 days for every day in the hospital to start feeling better.  I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see how I feel.