God’s not finished with me yet…

Friday, September 3rd Angel Hurricane #3 came through the door. She said Good Morning I’m J. and I will be your nurse today. We are going to get you a soap and water bath and you are getting in a chair today. Still had Betsy the BiPap on from the night before so I gave her two big thumbs up. I was excited but nervous. Got my bath while in bed, my hair washed and we got me in a chair. We left Betsy on so my oxygen wouldn’t drop and that would make the process easier for me. I did good but it took about an hour before she thought I was ready for Hank the High-flow. Got Hank on, took my meds and ate breakfast and sat for a bit. They had started giving me suppositories and miralax because by this time I hadn’t had a bowel movement in almost 3 weeks. The suppositories made me cramp really bad. Nurse J. had me take another one and drink miralax. R. was a diabetic consultant but she was helping my ICU unit out. She was a super sweet lady who I got to see a lot. She searched high and low for me a bedside toilet. She finally found one and it was huge and tall. They all got a good laugh when they would see me on it for the first time because my feet just dangled. They weren’t even close to touching the ground. After taking the suppository and miralax I got to cramping so bad I was crying and I still couldn’t use the bathroom. So, Nurse J. gloved up and disimpacted me best she could (that was an experience and painful). Still nothing so she gave me an enema (I had a lot of firsts while in the hospital.) Still nothing but thankfully I quit cramping. Stayed in the chair til about 6:30. I had asked Greg to bring me some coloring books and color sticks and a notebook so I could write my journey down. He and BettyAnn brought it on Thursday and left it downstairs for me. Nurse J. got it for me. It was perfect timing because I needed something to do now that I was going to be sitting up all day. Dr. D has been my doctor for a few days. He is so awesome. He was so happy to see me in the chair today. Hope I have him for a while.

Saturday, September 4th. Yay, Nurse J. is back. Respiratory took Betsy off and put Hank on and gave me my morning inhalers. It feels so good when they take Betsy off. Nurse J. gave me another suppository and miralax. I started cramping really bad. My oxygen dropped and I got very nauseated. Nurse J. gloved up again but no luck today. So, another enema but no luck with it either. I felt so sick and felt like I was going to pass out. Got some nausea meds and got back in my chair. It took a couple hours but the cramping and nausea stopped. While I was cramping and feeling so bad, the respiratory therapist came by to check on me. She wanted to know what was wrong. I told her and she said there was a concoction a nurse and secretary came up with to help a former patient have a bowel movement. She found out what it was. The ingredients were coffee(which I hate the taste and smell), chocolate ice cream, butter and prune juice. She found me some prune juice so I will be trying that tomorrow. Fingers crossed I can get it down and it works. Dr, D. ordered a lasix so I was up and down on the porta pot all day. They would pull the porta pot in front of my chair and I would stand and pivot. That’s also how I got out of bed and into my chair. If you have ever taken a lasix then you know that sometimes you don’t have much notice so, I peed on myself a couple times because I couldn’t get to the call button in time. I always apologize anytime they have to clean me up. Whether it’s my fault or not. I felt bad that they had to do that. They were always really sweet and would say, that is our job. The food was AWFUL. Breakfast is usually eggs, bacon, oatmeal or grits and toast. The only thing edible is the bacon. Lunch and supper has some kind of steamed veggies which are pretty much raw and I can’t eat raw veggies. Dry meat that I can’t swallow because my mouth still has very little moisture, bread and dessert. Today for lunch was dry turkey with a glob of gel on top, collards and peas. I ate the peas. Supper was mystery meat, rice and steamed broccoli. I told Nurse J. I couldn’t eat any of that. She got them to make me a grilled cheese sandwich. It was so good. Sat in my chair til 10:00. Nurse D. was with me for the night. She was sweet but had a heavy hand. When she punched my finger for blood sugar, I thought it was going to go straight through. She knew how to put the Purewick in right. First night I didn’t pee all over myself. YAY!

Check back next time to see if the concoction works.

God Bless

After 6 or 7 days on Betsy the BiPap my next angel hurricane came through the door. She said I’m Nurse F. and I will be with you tonight and we are going to get you off the BiPap for a little bit to see how you do. With a muffled voice I said yes and gave her two thumbs up. She gave me a soap and water bath (first soap bath I had since I got there). She took Betsy off and put on the Heated High Flow. I did good for a few hours with it on. Oh my, did it feel good to have Betsy off and I drank a lot of water. It tasted so good. After a couple hrs., she put Betsy back on so I could go to sleep. The next morning Respiratory said since I had done good with the High Flow, they were going to try me on it today. I was so excited. I ended up having it on all day. Did good with it. It was cranked up as high as it would go, but I was doing good. Well, I had to name it so the High Flow became Hank. Nurse F. was my nurse that night and when it was time for bed, Betsy was put back on. I had a really great respiratory nurse that night (and she was with me all week). I just don’t remember her name. She remembered me from earlier in my stay. She told me that I had been in really bad shape and she was so happy that I had made it this far and was doing so well. Respiratory would check on you twice during the night. She would bring me water when she came. The next two days I didn’t have a good nurse. I barely saw Nurse H. and when I did she would always say I know you think I’ve forgotten about you. I’m just really busy today. I understand that but laying in your pee for a couple of hours is unacceptable. They use this thing for women called a Purewick. You pee and it sucks your pee into a tube and into a pot. If put in correctly it works but most nurses couldn’t get it in right so you end up peeing on yourself. That day, she couldn’t position it right so I kept peeing on myself. They had to bathe and change my bedsheets 5 times that day (and I had to lay in pee while I waited and waited). I couldn’t get out of bed so that meant rolling back and forth while they changed my sheets. This meant my oxygen dropped and I started coughing. I kept asking Nurse H. to check the Purewick because obviously it wasn’t in right and she just kept saying oh, it’s right. The next afternoon, the Dr. ordered a lasix. Nurse H. Gave it to me. Fortunately, someone else had put the Purewick in and did it correctly. I peed and peed and then started peeing on myself. If you have ever had a lasix, you know you pee like crazy. I kept hitting my nurse button and telling them I was peeing on myself. I did this for over three hrs. I had not seen Nurse H. since she gave me the lasix. She went off shift without checking on me. Nurse E. came in after shift change to introduce herself and was furious that I had been that way for over 3 hours. She immediately got some help and got me cleaned up and bedsheets changed. My Purewick pot was full that’s why it stopped working. Nurse E. was very spirit lifting. Much needed after the day I had. I was still wearing Betsy at night and Hank during the day. The next day I was a bit down and out and had a pity party day. I told myself that couldn’t happen tomorrow. Get it all out today and then be ready to put my big girl panties on tomorrow. I have to stay positive and continue to fight. My next angel hurricane came in the next morning. I will tell you about Nurse J. next time.

Thanks for taking the time to read by blog. Until next time…..

God Bless

My first day in ICU was August 27th (I think). The next day Nurse L. started being my nurse. He was definitely sent by God because he was one of my angels. As I said in my last entry, my mouth was so dry and I couldn’t just drink anything anytime I wanted too. I wasn’t eating either and honestly I didn’t care if I did. I didn’t have an appetite and all I wanted to do was sleep. Nurse L was with me everyday while I constantly had Betsy the BiPap on. I think it was 7 days, maybe 6. I’m just not sure. I lost track of time. A little later on, I pick back up knowing which day it is, but for now I don’t. I don’t remember a lot about the time I spent with him as my nurse but I remember the important things. At this point, my blood sugar was through the roof (because of the massive amount of steroids) and I was getting pricked every hour and was getting medicine and IV bags of medicine all day long so he was in and out a lot (along with techs and other hospital people). Every time he came in, he talked to me about random things…but, he always touched my hand and told me I was doing good, to stay positive, to not get depressed and to keep fighting. He would say, I know this is hard but you can’t let it beat you or get the best of you. You have no idea how those words of encouragement helped me. Being there alone and not being able to talk to anyone for those days was so incredibly hard. I got lots of texts and they were so amazing but to actually hear the words made such a difference. I would just shake my head and cry. I could talk but it was all muffled. Nurse L was very adamant about me getting some nutrition so if he didn’t bring it, he made sure I got an Ensure morning, noon and evening. He asked me what was my favorite and I told him chocolate. It was always in ice and very cold. They would take Betsy off long enough for me to chug it down. My oxygen started dropping as soon as you took Betsy off. I couldn’t stay off of it for more than a minute (if even that long). He also made sure I had water brought in a lot during the day. We did the same with the water. The water would help for a little bit then my mouth and lips would go back to being dry, cracked and miserable. As the days rocked on, nothing changed. My oxygen continued to drop when they took Betsy off and I truly didn’t know if I would ever come off Betsy to the High-flow and that is a scary thought. The Drs that I saw kept saying we are gonna give it a little longer on Betsy the BiPap. I was as high as I could go on Betsy and if it started not keeping my O2 where it needed to be then I would have to be intubated. I sure didn’t want that. I remembered what the respiratory lady had said and I wasn’t ready for that. I am so thankful they continued to leave me on it and so thankful for my angel Nurse L.

During the constant Betsy the BiPap days, I prayed a lot and the one song that I kept singing in my head and sometimes out loud (when nobody was in the room☺️) was Little David. I have always loved that song and it really seemed to fit what I was going through. I was Little David and COVID was my Goliath. I had given the battle to God but I still had to fight. I believe He gave me that song and had it playing on repeat in my head so I wouldn’t forget to keep fighting and he sent me Nurse L so I could hear the words I needed to hear and feel the touch of someone’s hand. I kept fighting but man, it was hard. I pray you never have to experience what I did. A lot of things are hard to put into words and they will just stay with me and God. Thank you Lord for giving me what I needed to fight my Goliath.

LITTLE DAVID

Little David oh so small before Goliath oh so tall. Well the odds were just too high for poor Little David. But he shook off all his load for with the power of God he was bold. He said the battles not mine, I give it to You- Lord it’s thine.

The battles not mine, said Little David, Lord it’s thine I’m in your favor. I’m giving it all to You, I knew not what to do. I’m so glad You let me see You’re really all that I need for the battles not mine, I give it to You- Lord it’s thine.

Well Little David, unafraid before the giant he stood that day – and it seemed to be the end for poor Little David. Just like the lion and the bear he slew, You see Goliath would come down too. He said the battles not mine, I give it to You – Lord it’s thine.

Now Little David he stood tall, and Goliath was made so small. Sweet victory had reigned for poor Little David. Because he gave the battle to One who had a record for getting things done – he said the battles not mine, I give it to You – Lord it’s thine.

The battles not mine, said Little David, Lord it’s thine I’m in Your favor. I’m giving it all You, I knew not what to do. I’m so glad You let me see that You’re really all that I need for the battles not mine, I give it to You – Lord it’s thine.

This may not be the exact lyrics, but how I remember and sing it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Until next time…. God Bless

I had a lot of crazy dreams my first few days on Betsy and in ICU. I only remember one of them. I was inside my body on a lion. I was fighting all kinds of dark, murky creatures and everything was brown. Each part of my body (my head, lungs, heart, etc.) was it’s own room and each room had a battle to fight. I had to win the battle before I could move on to the next room. I don’t remember what the battles were, I just remember fighting. The last room, (I didn’t have to fight in it) was a grey room and when it was lit up, there were kids drawing in bright colored chalk all over the walls. There were monkeys and David Bowie and I never liked Bowie – so who knows how he ended up in my dream. Wish I remembered more of them but by the time I was off Betsy and feeling better, this is the only one I remembered. Being on Betsy the BiPap constantly made my body feel like a desert and my mouth felt like the epicenter. My mouth was so dry and my lips were so parched and cracked. At times it was very hard to swallow because my mouth had no moisture. When they took Betsy off my O2 level would drop instantly to the mid to high 60’s so it couldn’t stay off for long. Nurse L. was my nurse for those days. Another one my angels sent from God. I will tell you all about him next time.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Until next time….. God Bless

The next few days were a complete blur. I was on Betsy constantly. I prayed a lot. I prayed that my Grandma and Grandaddy, James, Papa, Granny Maddox, Mawie, and my dogs Chance, Maci and Molly would be with me and hold me up thru this. I could feel them with me. I could feel hands on me even when nobody was in the room. I would feel a hand on my shoulder, leg and my head. I would feel the pups curled up beside me. That got me thru those days.

After a couple of days I was put on the high flow (that I named Hank). J. (the liaison for the floor I was on) set up a Zoom call for me and Greg. First time we had seen each other since I left in the ambulance. It was so good to see him and hear his voice. We got to talk for about 30 minutes. It did us both good to be able to see and talk to each other. Having to go thru all I had without him there was so hard. He messaged me everyday and so did family and friends. Their encouragement meant so much and kept me uplifted.

I still felt really bad. I still wasn’t eating or drinking much and had absolutely no energy. Not sure what day it was but I was laying in bed and all of a sudden I had about 6 or 7 people come flying in the room and staring at me. They said are you OK? I said I think so, why? They said your leads showed you just flat lined. They checked me out and I was Ok. Not sure what happened there but later that day my O2 had dropped and they said I had a setback and needed to be put back on Betsy the BiPap. They got me a room in ICU and later that day I was moved. I was on the maximum that the BiPap could do. They wanted me in ICU in case I had to be intubated, I would already be there. That scared me. That was the last thing I wanted.

Since being admitted, I was worried about myself, but I was also worried about Greg. I felt better after the first couple days in the hospital when he told me our friend (who is a home health nurse) was helping him understand everything that was in the My Chart emails he got daily. What a blessing she was. I still worried about him worrying about me and knowing he was thinking the same things I was. What if I didn’t make it. How was he gonna handle that? One of the days before I went to ICU, he told me he was at peace with whatever the outcome was. He had finally let go and turned it all over to God. I was finally able to quit worrying about him and totally focus on me. That may sound mean, or selfish to some but I knew I had to spend all my energy focusing on me and doing what I had to do to get better. I knew God had this, but I also knew I had to do my part. I had said from the beginning God has a plan and I am rolling with it. And that is exactly what I did.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Until next time…God Bless

Monday, August 23 I got to a room in the hospital. The Rapid Response Team and the Dr. that was with them were great. I don’t remember, but I was told they were called again because I was hurting in my chest. They did an EKG and everything was OK. I got put on the BiPap that night. I eventually named her Betsy. The respiratory lady that put Betsy on was very rude. I was scared out of my mind and there is this lady hollering at me. I had never used a BiPap and had no idea how it worked. She is yelling at me that I have to keep this on or the only other choice is intubation and you most likely won’t come back from that. She gets me all set up and leaves. I had the sweetest nurse that night. She stayed in the room with me and held my hand. I couldn’t get the hang of Betsy and I still felt like I couldn’t breathe, so my nurse called the respiratory lady back twice. The second time, she comes flying in the room and looks at the machine and says you are fine. All the numbers on the machine are good. You have to quit calling me and get used to the BiPap. If you don’t want to get used to it, we can intubate you and you more than likely won’t survive that. But if that is what you want, we will do it. It was hard to talk with Betsy on and I told her I didn’t feel like I could breathe. In a loud voice, she said you aren’t listening to me. Before she could say anything else I screamed as loud as I could and said you aren’t listening to me. I told her I had never used one of these before and I was scared. To explain to me how it worked. She did and once I understood, I could inhale and exhale with the machine and eventually got the hang of it. I fell asleep and slept the rest of the night.

Tuesday, August 24 That morning, I had an ICU nurse with me. They wanted to move me to ICU but no beds so they had a nurse come stay with me. They moved me out of that room to another room at some point that day. While they were preparing to move me, the Dr.(whom I didn’t like) came in. He said, you see the reason we moved you from the Mobile Unit was because you were having some trouble breathing and we can better monitor you here. I thought, it was a little more than a little trouble breathing, but Ok whatever. Then, guess what he asked me? Have you had a bowel movement? i just shook my head and waved him out of my room. I got moved to another room and I don’ remember much for a couple of days. I was completely out of it. I have a few memories that I will share with you tomorrow.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Until tomorrow. God Bless.

Hey there. My name is Traci and this is my Covid journey. It has helped me to write everything I could remember down and maybe it will help somebody else.

Greg (my husband) and I were both exposed to Covid on August 8th. On August 14th we started having symptoms and we both got very sick. My mother in law picked us up Ensure and a pulse oximeter. We slept and lived on Ensure for 3 days. On Tuesday the 17th, my O2 was 88 and I was having trouble breathing. Because I have asthma and my O2 was low, we called 911. They took me to Northeast Georgia Hospital in Gainesville, GA. When I got to the ER, they tested me for Covid (it was positive). I was running a low grade fever. They started me on Remdisivir, antibiotics and Prednisone and put me on a nasal canula Stayed in the ER all day. It was so hot in that room. I sweated all day. Around 7:00, they moved me to a room in ER observation. The next day they had me walk around without oxygen. My O2 was 91/92 . The Dr. said that was good enough to go home. He sent me home with Prednisone and Eloquis to prevent blood clots. I still felt bad but better than when I had gotten there the day before. Greg picked me up that afternoon. I was okay on Thursday but woke up Friday morning very nauseated, sweating and feeling like I was gonna pass out. After a bit, Greg tried to helped me up and was helping me walk. I passed out and woke up on the floor. We eventually got me back in bed. Greg covered me in wet towels and I fell asleep. Greg says I passed out two more times but I don’t remember. After a little while he woke me up and checked my O2. and it was 84. He called 911. When they got here my temperature was 104.6 and my O2 was still 84. Back to Gainesville I went. Was in the ER for a good while waiting on a room. They started me on Remdesivir, Prednisone, antibiotics and potassium. I eventually got moved to another ER room with lots of beds and curtains. Stayed there a couple of hours before they moved me out back of the hospital to the Mobile Medical Unit. Once I got in my room, I heard my nurse say (in a very frustrated voice) she has Covid. She threw my gown and socks at me and pulled my rolling tray to her and put meds and water on it and slid it back to me. I’m guessing she asked to not be my nurse because I didn’t see her again. I got settled for the night and was very glad my room was cold. I slept all night.

Saturday, August 21 I met the two Dr’s (and I use that term loosely) who I would see in the mornings in the Mobile Unit. The first Dr said I had double pneumonia and was doing good because I was only requiring 3 ltrs of oxygen. He said they would continue to give me the meds and monitor me. The second Dr. (whom I couldn’t stand) would come in and ask how do you feel and have you had a bowel movement. I hadn’t eaten for several days, so no I hadn’t. Having a bowel movement was his main concern. I would walk to the bathroom but would desat and I would cough something fierce. That evening I asked for a bedside toilet. I still desat and coughed but it wasn’t as bad. I was getting IV steroids and that was causing my blood sugar to spike so I had to start getting insulin shots. I was also getting shots in my stomach to prevent blood clots. The food was inedible and always cold. Felt horrible and all I did was sleep.

Sunday, August 22 Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. Saw the Drs and they asked the same questions. My O2 was low so the nurse bumped me to 4 ltrs. Slept all day and night Felt awful.

Monday, August 23 The first Dr. came in and said I was now more bronchial than pneumonia. I thought it strange that two days ago he had told me I had double pneumonia, but they had done a chest xray so I assumed he knew what he was talking about. I asked him how long did he think i would be in hospital He said probably 6 or 7 days. He said you will have ups and downs, good days and bad days. Your O2 will go up and down and so will the amount of liters you need. I told him I felt bad and he said that was normal. He left. A little while later the second Dr. came in. He asks, how you feel and have you had a bowel movement? I told him I feel bad and am struggling with my breathing. He says OK, will tell the nurse to keep a check and to give you Miralax to help you have a bowel movement. Honestly, that is all he cared about. As the day rocked on my O2 kept dropping and by the afternoon it was 84. I kept telling the nurses I felt bad and was struggling, but they didn’t do anything. I didn’t feel like I was getting adequate care. I had decided that if I didn’t feel better Monday morning I was calling Greg and have him find somebody who could get me moved to inside the hospital. I felt like I was gonna die in the Mobile Unit if I didn’t do something. I have always believed God puts the right people in your path and that would be my night nurse. Nurse A. came in like a hurricane. She took one look at me and said, you are not OK. I told her no, I wasn’t and hadn’t been all day. She was furious when she found out my O2 had been 84 all day She bumped me up to 6 ltrs (which was as high as the Mobile Unit would go). I got up to 86 so she put a non rebreather on me and hooked it up to a oxygen tank. With the nasal canula and tank I got up to 90. She called the Dr on call (again, I use the term Dr. loosely) to come check on me. He walks in the room and says she is ok. She is sitting up and her O2 is 90. Nurse A. says look at her and says she is not Ok and I have her on 6 ltrs and the tank. He again says I’m okay and leaves. Nurse A. is beside herself and she calls the Rapid Response Team. They come in running and immediately start helping me. I went through 5 or 6 oxygen tanks while waiting on a room. The Response Team was wonderful and I felt so much better with them there with me. I got a room in the hospital and they moved me out of the Mobile Unit. Thanking God he sent Nurse A. that night.

That is all for today. See yall tomorrow. God Bless.