Life in the Moment as We Know It Part 1 of 2

Hi Guys,

You may or may not be wondering why I chose the title that I did for this blog.

I say this all the time, and I don't mean to sound like a broken record...

It's been awhile, and honestly, I don't mean to keep doing this... I honestly don't know how to start this blog. I am just going to go for it...

Let me just start by saying that I had an accident about 20+ odd days ago around maybe the 12th of September... Sorry, I lost track of the time. Next thing you know, it landed me in the hospital for 20 days.

So, the crazy thing is my (then) weekend help needed the weekend off.

I was supposed to go out of town to my foster parent's home in southwest Virginia.

That, unfortunately, didn't go as planned because my transportation for our way down there ended up sick. Things happen. Then, my foster dad ended up with COVID. What a BUMMER! I was so looking forward to getting away for a weekend. So, needless to say, I ended up having to stay home, but my help still needed the weekend off.

I couldn't tell her no... what are you supposed to do? You can't say no!

So, my mother agreed to step in, but to cut to the chase... I went to the laundry mat near my residence just to wash some work clothes to get ready for the week.

I've done this a million times before. It wasn't a big thing.

Normally, my help would go with me just to help things move smoother.

But, not a big deal! Until I had a momentary lapse in judgement and decided not to be careful with a bottle of lysol laundry additive (laundry sanitizer).

It spilled completely all over my lap and into my chair and all over the floor.

A brand new and unopened bottle completely wasted.

I had to sit in it because I didn't want to bug somebody to get out of it... and it caused severe burns, which in turn, not until much later, led to me calling the rescue squad.

They came to check me out... needless to say, I didn't go to the Emergency Room until the next day.

It was horrible. The pain was unexplainable... I can't put it into words.

When I left for the hospital, through the Rescue Squad, I was praying that they would at least admit me for a few days because I knew I couldn't handle taking care of the burn on my own safely. So, that following Monday, I got to the hospital at about 7:15 AM, and they tried to wash me off. That did NOT happen. They had to stop immediately and give me some serious pain medicine. Needless to say, they didn't decontaminate me at that time, They put me back in the exam room, continued to pump me full of pain meds, etc... and finally ended up admitting me. Before they did anything, they had to take me to the decontamination shower again, and I PROMISE I don't wish that on my worst enemy. I can't tell you how excruciating that experience was.

When they began washing me off, I begged them to stop for a minute because I honestly was holding my breath until I turned blue. It hurt more than I could express. So, they stopped for a minute, and then they promised that it would only be 30 more seconds and that they would make it fast... and so they did. They quickly patted me dry, and laid me on a clean bed with clean sheets and wrapped me in warm towels so that I could relax my body without adding more stress... that's what they told me. It really did help to calm me down quickly. So, you know from there, I was expecting 3 days-- 4 days TOPS to be in the hospital. What I wasn't planning on was emergency surgery 4-5 days after that due to ... the medical term is Ileus. According to the doctors, an Ileus is a temporary arrest of intestinal peristalsis. It occurs most commonly after abdominal surgery, particularly when the intestines has been manipulated. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and vague abdominal discomfort. In my case, it was severe, and I just about went septic, and at four in the morning, they literally didn't give me a choice. The doctors rushed me into the operating room and did emergency surgery. WOW, what a curveball. So, one thing turned into two severe things, and that ended up with 30+ staples right down the middle of my abdomen.. with half of my intestine being taken out.

To Be Continued on Friday.... Stay Tuned!

Virtual Hugs

~Kamie~