How Was Your Health This Year?

The past 12 months has literally been a challenging time for Dennis and me as we have battled several health issues.

Last December I got sick, and it took a month for the doctor to confirm that I had Valley Fever.  I had no fever.  I did have a terrible cough and extreme fatigue.  Valley Fever is a fungus infection in the lungs from the soil in the southwest part of the country.  I was on a three month regimen of anti-fungal medication.  I felt funky those whole three months, but without that cure, it could be dangerous for the lungs.  I didn’t feel better until the 12 week cycle of these horrible pills were over, which took me to April.

At the end of May, Dennis woke up one morning and could not put any pressure on his right leg.  It was extremely swollen at the knee and extremely painful.  He was so off balance I couldn’t help him walk, so I called for an ambulance to transport him to the hospital.  He was diagnosed with “Septic Arthritis.”  I never heard of such a thing.  It is a staph infection in the joint that causes the cartilage to deteriorate. Fortunately, it was a staph strain that responds to antibiotics.  The downside was that he was on these IV antibiotics for 6 weeks every 8 hours around the clock.  Not only was there staph infection in his knee, this whole infection really weakened him.  The man who swam daily, and loves hiking on mountains was stuck at home getting IV treatments all through 24 hours for 6 weeks.  He had to walk with a walker, graduated to a cane, and by the end of the summer, was walking on his own.  He still has some knee pain from the damage, but orthopedic doctors refuse to do anything invasive for a year because that could possibly restart the infection.

We delayed our summer RV trip for a month.  We cut out many planned destinations, and made a 2 month trip to visit family and friends.  On the last leg of our trip, while visiting in the St. Louis area, he inhaled one of his pills.  I didn’t know a person could inhale a pill.  This year we liked getting things no one else heard of.  Our RV park was only a few miles away from where I lived when I met Dennis, so I knew where the closest hospital was.  He had an overnight stay, and the following morning, a 5-person endoscopy team arrived on a Saturday just to remove the pill from his lung!  By afternoon, you didn’t know anything bad had happened.  FYI—a pill will not dissolve in a lung.  There is no fluid in the lung—if there were, you’d have pneumonia, and leaving the pill there to irritate your lung could cause pneumonia to happen.

We were home only a few weeks, and good ol’ Congestive Heart Failure came to visit Dennis.  He had not had any issue with it since he first had it in December of 2021.  Remember that year?  The year of Covid and lockdowns.  You cannot tell me that the vaccine doesn’t cause heart issues in some people.

This visit to the hospital was 4 days long, and he came home with an external heart monitor/defibrulator.  He has to wear this device for 90 day.  It will allow the doctors to see what is happening 24/7 with this heart, and to see if he needs a devise permanently implanted in the future.  He was really disappointed with that.  Since hiking the mountain has been impossible from the knee issue, he loved walking around the neighborhood, and especially loved swimming daily in the swim spa.  There is no swimming when wearing this monitor.  Bummer.

Once again, just this past week, his CHF came to visit again.  His breathing was labored, even when just sitting in a chair.  He could barely walk across the room.  It is hard to watch a man who has been so healthy and physically active to have to stop because of illness.  Once again, he was in the hospital for 4 days.

The doctor is encouraged that Dennis’s labs were so good after this episode, and felt that he had a good prognosis that he pushed back this CHF to a less threatening status.  Then today, I had many errands to run, and I suggested he take the dog for a walk to the mailbox.  He stated that he was dizzy and he felt this feeling of tunneling.  We took his blood pressure, and it was extremely low.

He tried to call the doctor’s office, which is what his cardiologist told him to do if he started feeling bad.  It took 5 minutes just to get through to a voice mailbox.  So I told him to get in the car and we drove to the doctor’s office.  I don’t think they are used to having someone just show up and demand you take care of my husband.  Dr. Bell’s assistant took him to a room and took his blood pressure.

She told us what to do if this happens.  The diuretics he now takes are super strong.  She told him if his BP goes below 120 to not take the pill as described, and for now to take only 1/2 when his BP is up to normal numbers.  

This CHF thing is tricky.  You have to watch your water intake, but too much watching can cause dehydration from these powerful diuretics.  He came home and had drink with electrolytes to bring back his equilibrium.  I instructed him to stay seated and relax until I got home from running errands.

This is how our year has gone health wise.  I knew many were curious why Dennis was in the hospital.  I asked for his permission to write this blog to share what’s been going on.  He approved.  

This all takes a big toll emotionally, and getting proper rest is not in the books for me.  Right now I am just stressed.  Dennis always reminds me the caregiver can get sick just from the stress of it all.  

Trying to get ready for Christmas has been difficult.  No one will receive a Christmas card in the mail from us this year.  No baking has occurred.  My kids enjoy getting a variety of baked goods sent to them with their Christmas gifts.  Not this year.  Last year was the same because of my fatigue with Valley Fever.  My kids and grandkids are adults, and they know how to bake, so I guess it’s their turn again this year.  Maybe they will send me some of their cookie stash!

Life is messy.  We are just grateful to be together.  There is so much good in our lives, but health setbacks are frustrating.  It is, however, a part of life as we enter the fall and winter of our lives.  

How was your year?