(Move Over, Chaucer) The Parrot's Tale

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
.......
Thanne longen folk to go on on pilgrimages...

Like Chaucer's pilgrims, who long to travel in the spring, my husband and I have undertaken a pilgrimage of sorts. We sold our house on Jan. 30 (our only home now is an old boat we keep on the Chesapeake for use in the summer and fall). I had my sleeve surgery on Feb. 2, and 2 weeks later we hit the road to Florida in search of more spring-like conditions than the American Northeast has to offer right now. But, oh, the timing was not good at all.

The first 2 weeks I was able to sip, sip, sip, but the walk, walk, walk part was not doable. We rented a tiny basement apartment in Hershey PA until my 2-week post-op surgeon's appointment. There was no room to walk in the apartment, and freezing and snowy weather prevented outdoor walking. I lost a lot of muscle tone during that time. What little walking I was able to do became much more difficult and exhausting.

We then took 2 days to drive to Jacksonville FL. Confined car time did not agree with me either. By the time we got to the cottage we had rented in Jacksonville, I was not only too weak to walk much, it took all the energy I had to even take a shower. Not only that, one of my post-op symptoms was a constant sense of biliousness, which made it extremely difficult to get in my 8 cups of liquids. So, over the week we stayed in Jacksonville, my intake started slipping: 5 cups a day, 3 cups a day; whatever I felt I could manage.

At 2am on the last night we were to have stayed in Jacksonville, I woke up with a fever over 101 degrees with shivering so violent my teeth were chattering. My husband took me to the closest ER, where I was admitted and diagnosed with a raging kidney infection (White blood cell count -- 29,000 -- a number that seemed to impress my doctors. They even mentioned the D word). I was hooked up to bags of saline, antiobiotics and I don't know what all. The good news -- I responded very quickly to the treatment and was discharged 2 days later, weaker than watered-down beer and with a deer-in-the-headlights look on my face.

The first thing we did after the hospital discharge? Got into the car for a 7-hour, kidney-rattling (I know where they are now) drive from Jacksonville to our next rented residence in the Port Charlotte area of southern Florida. 

We've been here for two days, and I'm trying to come to terms with what happened to me. Bad timing certainly played a role, but the carelessness with my liquids could have been lethal. That I'm now getting in at least the minimum of liquids almost goes without saying. My next step is to start increasing my activity -- I suspect that a getting a shower and taking a slow walk around the condo building will be the most I can do for now. No blaming the weather this time.

The purpose of this chilling tale is cautionary -- New Sleevers and About-To-Become-Sleevers: When everyone tells you to sip, sip, sip and walk, walk, walk .... do it!!!!! It's not just that it will speed your healing. It can prevent some truly spectacular complications. One thing you do not want to hear your doctors talking about after you've neglected your health is the possibility of your death. I dodged a bullet this time, but I set back my recovery many weeks, and had quite a scare.

I hope the rest of my "pilgrimage" turns out to more pleasant.

psychoticparrot 

I'm sorry to hear that you had complications due to cir****tances that sometimes arrive in our lives.  But I'm happy to know you overcame those complications and you are taking measures to take good care of yourself.  I also want to tell you that my husband and I have plans to move to sunny Florida next year. We want to enjoy the outdoors and the beach more. Looking forward to hearing about your continued recovery and progress.

Be strong, be determined, your mind is a powerful thing!

Part of my problems were due to cir****tances; most of them I brought on myself. Cold out? I could have gone to the mall. Not drinking enough? Laziness. It is difficult to travel and attend to post-op requirements at the same time, but I should have put more thought into it beforehand. This is the moral of my tale.

Thank you for your encouragement. Good luck with your Florida move.

psychoticparrot

Well done for being brave telling that you were wrong. I respect you for your honesty and for helping others in doing so.

According to the 12 step programs "although a person is not responsible for having an addiction, he or she is very responsible for managing his or her recovery"

May you soon get back to the best of your health. Take your care and get well soon.