Reporting live from......

the lovely El Camino Hospital. I am going to start off this post by saying yes, I am fine! I would not be sitting here watching TV and typing this blog post if I wasn't. Because of the nature of my conditions and my history, they have to keep me in the ICU for close observation. But I am totally stable and on the mend.

This flare that I have been in for almost a month now since the TDap vaccine just does not want to let up. That, in addition to crazy amounts of pollen and rain this week seemed to be "the straw that broke the camel's back." My potassium was still low, so I was having to take supplements either IV at the infusion center, or orally every day, which I was also having reactions to. Yesterday (Thursday night), after dinner, I got a cough that wouldn't go away. I tried a breathing treatment, which only helped partially. Used my AuviQ (like an EpiPen), which stabilized me for the evening, in addition to enough benadryl to knock out an elephant.

I woke up again at about 5:30 this morning with lip and tongue swelling. I tried all of my home meds again, still with little relief. I went to the infusion center for my Potassium, and before they could even start the potassium, I began wheezing, so I had to use my AuviQ again. When that wore off, I was still symptomatic, which brought me to the hospital.

They were able to calm things down again pretty quickly with breathing treatments, monster doses of antihistamines, steroids, the usual drill. They had to give me more epinephrine (adrenaline), but luckily no drip. They transferred me up to the ICU for round the clock meds and monitoring.

So, today was not a fun day. However, I do really have to count my blessings. This is my first hospital visit since the beginning of February, a record for me. I am responding to medications, and not requiring an epinephrine drip. The hospital sucks, but I am comfortable, in my own room, and entertaining myself with my computer, sticker books, and rug hooking. It sucks that I will be missing my family's vacation, but I know it is best for me to stay here, and they NEED that vacation-- I insisted that they go since I'm just going to be sitting here getting IV meds for a few days anyways, and I am totally stable.

It looks like I should be able to be transferred to a step down unit in the morning. In the mean time, I am going to try to catch up on sleep and let my body do its thing. I have hung up my Beads of Courage on my IV pump as a reminder that this is just a speed bump, and a relatively minor one in comparison to the past.

I will post updates on the happenings here. Have a great weekend!