Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted!!!
I had an appointment last week and I was so fed up with everything that I decided at the appointment I was going to tell them that I'm was quitting the TPN and going back to work. I just was so tired of sitting around and not feeling productive. Since things haven't really been improving over the last couple weeks/months I didn't just want to keep on going like that for weeks/months to come. There was no end in sight and I couldn't just keep going like that. Well, things didn't go quite like I had though or planned out in my head. Well, they wouldn't let me quit the TPN. I won't be coming off of it until they see me gaining more weight because as of now I am maintaining on some days and losing on some days, but not really gaining any. They haven't even mentioned about coming off of it anytime soon and I only see the TPN nutrition doctors once a month. Those doctors didn't seem to keen on me even going back to work, but I had just had an appointment with my family doctor and she was willing to let me try going back to work when I wanted. So I called her and got the note. She made sure to let me know though, that she would write me off again if I started having trouble or anything.
While I was at my nutrition appointment they ordered blood work to be drawn and that resulted in me spending the whole day at Geisinger. First, my mediport didn't have a blood return. So they had to send me back up to the GI clinic and get some medicine (TPA) ordered to put in the line to see if that would fix it. Once the TPA is in, it has to be in there for 1 hour. They also checked my PICC and that didn't have a blood return either. So they had to put TPA in that also.
While I was waiting for the hour, I went to the floor that I work on to say Hi to everybody and talked to my boss. I discussed with her that I really needed to get back to work but as long as I was on the TPN and still had my PICC in that I would have a 5lb weight restriction. Plus I needed so see if they even would let me work with a PICC in. Well, the boss was willing to let me try it and since I work on such a great floor, everybody was willing to help me out. I told her that I would rather try working on the floor before I took the other position I had interviewed for. If once I knew I couldn't work on the floor than I would have gladly taken the other position if offered to me. She seemed glad to have me try coming back and working on that floor. I told her that I was willing to start that night.
Now that the TPA had sat for 1 hour I went back to have it checked. The PICC worked right away, but the mediport still didn't. So they put more TPA in the mediport and had me wait another hour. After that hour my mediport still didn't work. They wanted to order a chest x-ray to check placement but it was so late in the day that there wasn't a doctor that could write the order. So they decided to have me stop by after work in the morning and get the x-ray done then. Since they weren't able to get my mediport working that meant they weren't able to draw my labs, so they sent me back down to the lab to see if they could stick me for it. That ended up being around another hour til they were finally able to get some blood. So I didn't get out of there until around 5pm and my appointment had been at 11am.
I went home and tried to take a nap and then I went in to work for 11pm. That is what has been keeping me so busy. It does a pretty good job of wiping me out and I am usually ready to drop right into bed when I get home so that has been why there have been no updates in awhile.
I am glad to be back to work even though I still may not feel the greatest, I feel like I have purpose and it helps me not to focus on my problems. I love taking care of others and trying to help them through their hard times.
Still no word from Temple. Mom had left early from work a couple days and tried calling them herself and trying to get things moving, but she wasn't able to get anywhere either.
I think that is about all the updates. I'm heading for a nap since I have to go into work tonight. I work the next four nights and then have off one day and then go back for four more. Should be interesting. I'm sure I will be quite tuckered out but I'm going to do my best to get it done and hang in there!!!
Taking it one day at a time!!!
