Before I continue with my story I would like to say that I have already started to accomplish what I set out to accomplish with this blog. Someone posted a comment that this blog was helpful to them. That means a great deal to me, at least it shows some sort of meaning in all this.
Now back to my story...
It was great going back to work and I did 3 episodes and then we were off for a week. The Sunday before we started the next episode I started to not feel so good. I got a fever and had the chills. I decided to set my alarm early so I could stop at the clinic before work. When I woke up Monday morning my head was swollen! It was very bizarre, the swelling went around my face, but did not include my face, but did include my neck. I went to the clinic and the doc there took blood for tests and then sent me to an Ear, Nose and Throat guy. I had to call my boss and tell him I couldn't come in. He wasn't thrilled with me and decided to make me stay home the next day as well.
I went to the
ENT doc and he was stumped and decided to get an MRI of my neck. They got me in right away and all they said from test results was that I had an infection, but they couldn't tell where. They called my Neurosurgeon to see if it was
ok to put me on steroids for the swelling. My doc was out of town so they asked his partner, who was also part of my surgery team, and he said it was fine to put me on steroids. The swelling went down shortly after I took the first pill. They also put me on antibiotics and told me to go see my Neurosurgeon who was going to be back in the office the next day. I went to see him and he looked at the tests and said he couldn't see the infection. Then he looked at my head, which was still scabby. This was 2 months after the surgery and the scar still hadn't healed properly. He decided to cut off the scabs. Then he told me to stop taking the steroids immediately. I asked him what I should do if I swelled up again and he said I needed to come see him so he could see it himself. Luckily I didn't swell up again. I went back to work on Wed and all seemed to be fine. On Thursday I was a bit tired and went to my car to nap during lunch. When it was time to go back to work I noticed fluid leaking out of my head. I immediately called my Neurosurgeons office and told them I had drainage. They asked what it looked like, it was clear, then it got kinda green. They said they would call the Doc then call me back to let me know what to do. I went back in to work to look for the on set medic and he gave me some gauze. Just a few minutes later the Neurosurgeon's office called and told me to come in immediately. Work was cool about it and they even had a PA drive me. The doc looked at it and sent me for an MRI of brain. I waited around for the results. They told me to go back to work, get my car and come back and meet my Neurosurgeon at the ER, I needed to have surgery. They needed to wait though, for the
anesthesia, they wanted it to be 8 hours since I last ate.
So I went back to work and told everyone what was going on and that I should be back to work on Monday. Luckily nobody believed me and they got a replacement, because I didn't get out of the hospital until Tuesday. I went into surgery at 8pm on Thursday April 19
th. Just 9 weeks after my first surgery. My mom flew back into town the day I got out of the hospital. I told her she didn't need to come back out but luckily she didn't believe me either because I was put on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks and I couldn't have done it without her!
I had a few visitors while I was in the hospital. Not as many as the first time, but I wasn't in as long, and
a lot of my friends were working this time. I was greatly surprised to get a poster from the show I was working on signed by all the crew. That was so nice. But mostly I don't remember much of that hospital visit because I was so out of it most of the time. I slept
a lot as well. This time they kept me in this area that was the ICU, but I wasn't in a room, it was like a row of beds separated by curtains. And no bathroom nearby. They made me use a bedpan! Hated that! Begged for a bedside toilet. I threw up a few times too, they kept giving me liquids when I was on IV fluids and it made me sick. Didn't get to eat for a few days. Not a pleasant hospital visit.
The day before they released me I started getting these pressure attacks in my head which caused muscle spasms in my neck. The doc gave me muscle relaxers for the spasms and said the pressure feeling was normal. The day I was being release I had to wait for hours for the
infectious disease doc to arrange my
meds. They were going through a pharmacy that would deliver all the supplies for the IV antibiotics, plus bandages for my head. They also had a nurse come to my house for a week to show us, Mom and I, how to do the IV and wrap the bandages. My Mom is a medical Assistant so she was better at wrapping my head then the nurse was! As for the IV, I still have scars on my arm from the PIC line! I hated it! was so glad the day it came out. Showering was a bitch, couldn't get it wet. Finally got the pharmacy to send me sleeves to keep my arm dry,
saran wrap was not good enough, and neither was a garbage bag! But that was the longest 6 weeks!
I went back to work after 4 weeks. Not on the show I left, but on a show that I was on last year. My boss was the same, he switched shows and let me come back, which was totally cool of him because most people would be completely over all my health problems and want someone they could totally rely on. Everyone at work was very supportive and helpful, at first. My Mom came to work with me again, she needed to be there so we could start the IV before we left so by the time we got home it would be done. Mom went back home a week after the IV was done. A few weeks later the people at work weren't so supportive any more...
Now back to my story...
It was great going back to work and I did 3 episodes and then we were off for a week. The Sunday before we started the next episode I started to not feel so good. I got a fever and had the chills. I decided to set my alarm early so I could stop at the clinic before work. When I woke up Monday morning my head was swollen! It was very bizarre, the swelling went around my face, but did not include my face, but did include my neck. I went to the clinic and the doc there took blood for tests and then sent me to an Ear, Nose and Throat guy. I had to call my boss and tell him I couldn't come in. He wasn't thrilled with me and decided to make me stay home the next day as well.
I went to the ENT doc and he was stumped and decided to get an MRI of my neck. They got me in right away and all they said from test results was that I had an infection, but they couldn't tell where. They called my Neurosurgeon to see if it was ok to put me on steroids for the swelling. My doc was out of town so they asked his partner, who was also part of my surgery team, and he said it was fine to put me on steroids. The swelling went down shortly after I took the first pill. They also put me on antibiotics and told me to go see my Neurosurgeon who was going to be back in the office the next day. I went to see him and he looked at the tests and said he couldn't see the infection. Then he looked at my head, which was still scabby. This was 2 months after the surgery and the scar still hadn't healed properly. He decided to cut off the scabs. Then he told me to stop taking the steroids immediately. I asked him what I should do if I swelled up again and he said I needed to come see him so he could see it himself. Luckily I didn't swell up again. I went back to work on Wed and all seemed to be fine. On Thursday I was a bit tired and went to my car to nap during lunch. When it was time to go back to work I noticed fluid leaking out of my head. I immediately called my Neurosurgeons office and told them I had drainage. They asked what it looked like, it was clear, then it got kinda green. They said they would call the Doc then call me back to let me know what to do. I went back in to work to look for the on set medic and he gave me some gauze. Just a few minutes later the Neurosurgeon's office called and told me to come in immediately. Work was cool about it and they even had a PA drive me. The doc looked at it and sent me for an MRI of brain. I waited around for the results. They told me to go back to work, get my car and come back and meet my Neurosurgeon at the ER, I needed to have surgery. They needed to wait though, for the anesthesia, they wanted it to be 8 hours since I last ate.
So I went back to work and told everyone what was going on and that I should be back to work on Monday. Luckily nobody believed me and they got a replacement, because I didn't get out of the hospital until Tuesday. I went into surgery at 8pm on Thursday April 19 th. Just 9 weeks after my first surgery. My mom flew back into town the day I got out of the hospital. I told her she didn't need to come back out but luckily she didn't believe me either because I was put on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks and I couldn't have done it without her!
I had a few visitors while I was in the hospital. Not as many as the first time, but I wasn't in as long, and a lot of my friends were working this time. I was greatly surprised to get a poster from the show I was working on signed by all the crew. That was so nice. But mostly I don't remember much of that hospital visit because I was so out of it most of the time. I slept a lot as well. This time they kept me in this area that was the ICU, but I wasn't in a room, it was like a row of beds separated by curtains. And no bathroom nearby. They made me use a bedpan! Hated that! Begged for a bedside toilet. I threw up a few times too, they kept giving me liquids when I was on IV fluids and it made me sick. Didn't get to eat for a few days. Not a pleasant hospital visit.
The day before they released me I started getting these pressure attacks in my head which caused muscle spasms in my neck. The doc gave me muscle relaxers for the spasms and said the pressure feeling was normal. The day I was being release I had to wait for hours for the infectious disease doc to arrange my meds. They were going through a pharmacy that would deliver all the supplies for the IV antibiotics, plus bandages for my head. They also had a nurse come to my house for a week to show us, Mom and I, how to do the IV and wrap the bandages. My Mom is a medical Assistant so she was better at wrapping my head then the nurse was! As for the IV, I still have scars on my arm from the PIC line! I hated it! was so glad the day it came out. Showering was a bitch, couldn't get it wet. Finally got the pharmacy to send me sleeves to keep my arm dry, saran wrap was not good enough, and neither was a garbage bag! But that was the longest 6 weeks!
I went back to work after 4 weeks. Not on the show I left, but on a show that I was on last year. My boss was the same, he switched shows and let me come back, which was totally cool of him because most people would be completely over all my health problems and want someone they could totally rely on. Everyone at work was very supportive and helpful, at first. My Mom came to work with me again, she needed to be there so we could start the IV before we left so by the time we got home it would be done. Mom went back home a week after the IV was done. A few weeks later the people at work weren't so supportive any more...