Doctors Visits, etc.

Michael is finally on the upswing. We went to the doctor last Thursday afternoon. The doctor was a bit concerned that Michael was still spiking a fever considering that the two week course of treatment was almost finished. He did go ahead and take him off the IV medicine as planned and put him on a two week course of oral medication. Not quite the clean bill of health we were hoping for, but better than continuing IV treatment. So, he finished his last dose of IV medicine on Friday night, and the home health nurse came on Saturday morning to remove the PICC line. He said it felt weird to have that pulled out (it was 43 inches long and went all the way to his heart), but it didn't really hurt. He went back to work on Monday, as planned, and a gracious individual donated 40 hours of time to cover the second week off that he took and didn't have time for. Michael gets to go back to the doctor next Thursday, and I think that everything will be fine after that. He's still feeling a bit on the tired side. He didn't sleep very well on Sunday night, so he started the week off extra tired, but he's starting to make public appearances again, and seems to be returning to his normal self. Yay!

I did finish knitting the first of the pair of kilt hose. I just have to finish hemming the cuff and it'll be done. I'll post pictures of it when it's done. Katrina's sweater hasn't gotten much further. It's no longer pinned to the floor of my extra bedroom, and I did connect the shoulders, but that's all. Seaming is not my favorite thing, so, it languishes in the corner until I can stomach it.

Given the slothfulness of the previous two weeks, I've been much more active this week. I got in a workout on Monday that did a number on my quads, so Tuesday I took it easy. Yesterday I convinced Michael to go for a short walk after dinner, and today I went for a 45 minute bike ride with my mom. We're planning on going again tomorrow. It feels good to be doing more than sitting on the couch in front of the TV.

Knitting!

So, I've blocked the sweater for Katrina. Here are the photos!

The fronts:


















The back:


















The sleeves:


















Here is an up-close picture of the pattern:



















I've also gotten quite a bit done on the kilt hose. When I tried them on last night they weren't quite as long as I had hoped they would be on my leg. So, I've got a bit more to go, but here are a couple photos of them on my leg. They're not the greatest pictures, as it is difficult to take pictures of socks on your own feet.



















Michael's not changed much. He's still not feeling that great. We have doctor's appointment on Thursday, so hopefully that goes well. Now I'm not feeling that great, but don't worry, it's not meningitis. I think it's a sinus infection. We make quite a pair, in any case. The house is a mess and neither of us have much energy to do anything about it. Oh well...I guess it'll get taken care of eventually. It would be nice to have a house elf to do the dishes and laundry and take out the trash. They could wear my nicest teatowels. And I'd treat them very nicely. Anyone know a house elf in need of a house?

Friday

The nurse from the home health company came by today. She changed the dressing on Michael's arm and took some blood. The nice thing about the PICC line is that they can just take blood through that – no need for more needles. We asked her about the fever he's been running and she said that's pretty normal, so that was reassuring. She also helped us figure out how to use the new bags they sent us with the last set of medical supplies. About half of them were the same as what we started with, and half were different, and we weren't sure exactly where to stick the spike. After a week of this, Michael's starting to get annoyed at not feeling well. We still have another week to go, and the nurse said it takes about another week after the treatment is finished to start feeling back to normal again. We also got the paperwork from the doctor's office that needed to be filled out so Michael can get FMLA. I picked it up, then took it to Michael's office. I also stopped by ISP to say hi and let them know that Michael's still alive. He helps them with their computer stuff and they love him for it, so I knew they'd like an update.

The kilt hose had a minor setback. I attempted to try it on last night, and couldn't get it over my heel. That doesn't work very well in a sock. So, I ripped back to after the turning of the heel and tried again. I've gotten a couple inches again with a slightly modified pattern that I think will work better. Hopefully, the calf increases will work out.

Thursday

So, in the last week or so with all of the fun going on with Michael's health I've spent a lot of time just hanging out watching TV. This means I've had lots of time for knitting. I have officially finished knitting the pieces for Katrina's sweater. I finished the second sleeve yesterday. It was a bit frustrating as I had to do part of the increase section three times, because for some reason I couldn't do it right. It was definitely user error, not problems with the directions. I did manage to do one sleeve correctly, after all. But, I did manage to do it, and I kept better track of the decreases and caught the two mistakes I made shortly after I made them. Now I need to block the pieces and put them together, then pick up a bunch of stitches and knit the collar. In the meantime I'm working on my other semi-abandoned projects: kilt hose. I started the kilt hose quite a while ago. I'm working them toe-up from a design of my own devising. I got the foot done and turned the heel, and they've sat in a basket ever since. So, I picked them back up last night. I originally started them with the idea that I could take the finished pair to the Scottish Highland Games in Spokane on August 1 and see if I could get some orders for kilt hose from some pipers, or other fans of wearing kilts. Even if I only took a couple orders, I could charge $150 for a pair of hand knit kilt hose. But, that won't happen if the first pair isn't finished. Or at least one sock. So, in that time, I've messed up several times and had to go back and fix things, thus putting me only an inch and a half farther along.

Michael is doing about the same. We have no obligations today, so we've been laying around pretty much all day. Tomorrow morning the nurse from the home health place will be visiting us to change the dressing on Michael's arm and check to see how he's doing. He's wanting food again, so I better go.

Finished

The paper is finished. The only minor detail is a strange citation situation that I've emailed my professor about. If she doesn't get back to me by tomorrow afternoon, I'll just make something up and send it. It's nice to have it done, though.

Michael seems to be feeling better sometimes. He's been joking around more today. Unfortunately, he's been running a low grade fever for the last couple days. It hasn't gotten to the point where we need to call anyone, but it's getting close. I keep hoping it'll just go away; that it's a remnant of the meningitis fever, not a new one cause by the PICC line. Our friends from church have started bringing us food. Katrina brought us some Stouffer's lasagna tonight, and it was yummy. And much appreciated. Thanks, Katrina! We still have over a week left of fun with infusions. I'm glad I'm done with school and can just focus on helping Michael get better.

Update

The last few days are a bit blurry. A fog created by lack of sleep makes the days difficult to keep track of and I feel like I'm floating in a bit of a timeless void. The few days since Friday seem at once not that long, and yet an eternity. Michael was released from the hospital Saturday morning. The unimpressive doctor came into his room and said something along the lines of "Well, I did my job. I signed the paperwork. You'll be released by noon." This of course was before I had returned to the hospital. I didn't actually expect Michael to be released until mid to late afternoon on Saturday, so I had planned on teaching my morning lessons. So, I canceled those and went to the hospital instead. He was officially released about 11:00 am. He's on IV medication until Friday, June 19. The dosing schedule is every 8 hours, so we get to hook him up at midnight, 8 am, and 4 pm. Fortunately, there are no needles involved. On Friday afternoon they inserted a PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) in his upper left arm. If you'd like to see a picture, he loaded one on his facebook page. So, he has tubes hanging out of his arm until June 19. The medicine takes an hour to drip into him, so that means we can only get about 6 - 61/2 hours of sleep at one time. We've been taking lots of naps. This is why the last few days are a bit blurry. I usually only sleep once a day, not two or three times. And these are long naps. This morning we went back to bed after his 8 am dose (around 9 or 9:30) and slept until 1:30. He's doing okay, but we're both pretty tired, him more than me. He's sick, so that makes him tired, the IV medicine makes him tired, and the pain medicine makes him tired. It's a lovely trifecta. Fortunately, I don't have to go to school right now since we're done for the summer, so I can stay home to take care of him. While things could certainly be better (like, if no one were sick), they could certainly be a whole lot worse.

The paper has made progress. I've been working on it today for the first time since Friday. It's close, but I think I'll have to finish it tomorrow. I can't think that hard anymore tonight.

No Kidding

So, Michael really is sick. Very sick...not just a cold or a stomach bug. He has viral meningitis and is in the hospital. He didn't feel well yesterday, but we thought at the worst it was a sinus infection or influenza of some variety. Neither of those are fun, but usually require little more than a doctor's office visit and some medication. Neither of us slept well last night because he was in pain and couldn't get comfortable, then started vomiting around 5:00 this morning. I did manage to go back to sleep for a bit after that, but set my alarm for 8:00 so I could call our doctor's office first thing. We weren't able to see our normal doctor, but took a 9:00 appointment with the nurse practitioner. We figured it was better than nothing...she can prescribe medications and if a doctor consult was necessary she would surely grab someone. So, we were there for about an hour and they ran some bloodwork and did a physical examination. At which point she said, "I think I'm going to send you to the ER for a spinal tap." And Michael said, "Oh, no...not meningitis." You see, Michael's had meningitis before about 10 years ago, and it was not a pleasant experience. He ended up spending two weeks in the hospital then. So, back to the car and off to the hospital we went. Bear in mind that neither of us had showered or brushed our teeth. We set the appointment at 8:15 and had to be in the car by 8:45. Michael was in pain and not moving very quickly, so I had to get both of us ready in 30 minutes. Definitely no time for a shower. Plus, I was expecting to be gone for an hour or an hour and a half at the most. Little did I know.

So, we spent about four hours in the ER. For being in the ER it was actually a fairly pleasant experience. Michael had a great doctor and fabulous nursing staff taking care of him. Our friend Patrick came and stayed with us the whole time. They did more bloodwork, a catscan, and a spinal tap. During the spinal tap, Patrick and I went to the cafeteria, where he kindly bought me lunch when I realized that the plastic in my wallet wasn't good enough for them (they only accept cash or checks). I was quite hungry, as it was almost noon and I hadn't eaten since 7:00 last night (wow...that seems like so long ago and it was only last night). The spinal tap came back positive for viral meningitis and then we got to wait for Michael to be admitted. Allison came sometime during the wait for the spinal tap results, and the four of us joked around and had some fun in the ER. The fact that Michael was high on pain meds and wearing a mask only added to the hilarity. He finally got moved into a room around 2:00 and I went home to take a shower around 3:30. By then Michael's mom Donna had arrived and stayed with him while I went home. She got there right after they got him in his room, which was perfect timing. She wanted to come sooner, but the ER room was pretty full already, so I had asked her to wait until he got in a room. Using her mom-sense, she came at just the perfect time. I didn't even have to call to tell her he was in his room. I had been in the lobby of the ER talking to my parents (who are now on their way to Wisconsin to help my grandparents get settled in their new retirement home and pack up their house and get it ready to sell) when they moved Michael up to his room (Patrick was still with him). So, when I got to the elevators, Donna was just getting on, so we were able to ride up together. The nurses on his floor have also been fantastic. I'm slightly less impressed by the doctor on his floor. She kept trying to tell us that hydrocodone and percocet are the same thing (Michael's allergic to percocet) and they are not at all the same. I finally said something and she looked it up, and lo and behold! I was right! .... Anyway. Michael's getting some good drugs, finally (it took the doctor until 6:00 to sign the orders so he could get drugs and food and we were in the room by 2:00...again, not terribly impressed). I just got home a little while ago and felt the need to document this for the world. Despite all the insanity, I did manage to get three more pages done on my paper. I have three or four more to go, so it shouldn't take too much longer. I emailed my professor and explained (briefly) what was going on and asked for a couple more days. She's given me until Thursday (I asked for Wednesday) to get it turned in. My plan is to try to finish it tomorrow, or Sunday at the latest, and to take the extra time for some serious proof reading. Given my current tiredness level, I'm not sure how coherent what I wrote today will be. The basics are there, but it might need some serious editing.

Update

I have five pages written. And now Michael's sick. My plan for a day of productive paper-writing alone time tomorrow will not be... Michael's sleeping right now. But he's on the couch, so I'm reluctant to turn on lights in order to see my sources and thus continue with the paper writing. We think he has a sinus infection, which is no fun. He just went to bed now, so the paper writing can continue!

*I'm now on page 7.

Procrastination

So, I should be working on my paper for my Twentieth Century Music class. The paper is due on Monday and I have yet to start. For those of you who are curious, it's about George Crumb's settings of the poetry of Federico García Lorca. George Crumb has composed nine works based on Federico García Lorca's poetry, which are Night Music I, Madrigals, Books I-IV, Night of the Four Moons, Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death, Ancient Voices of Children, and Federico's Little Songs for Children. Of these works my paper will deal with Ancient Voices of Children and Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death. I chose these two works because Ancient Voices of Children is the most well known of this set, and Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death is the composer's personal favorite. Anyway, I really should get started on it... I'm also planning on attending a grant writing workshop in Spokane at noon. It's free and is being put on by the Spokane Arts Commission. I have no idea how long it is, though. I also need to listen to the recording from my recital. I've been putting it off, but it's time to bite the bullet and find out how it really was. Well, time to get to it.