COVID

At least you've got a massive lovely house to be sick in!  Other people have to puke in their gardens. 

Appointment went well, they spent about 30 minutes with me so were quite thorough.  Got a cough suppresent with coedine to try to help sleep.  I struggled to fall asleep last night NOT due to coughing, but just the uncomfortable chest rattle.  But I did get better sleep I believe.  All my vitals were strong.

EXCEPT it turns out the back pain I've had for the last 10 days was not a pulled muscle (which I had no idea how I could do as I've been lazying around).  I have a RAGING kidney infection.  So I'm on a strong antibiotic and supposed to call TOMORROW if the pain hasn't gone away as they think it's quite bad (they are sending to the lab to ensure correct treatment). 

I guess I'm officially British.  I didn't want to bother the GP with "just a pulled muscle".     You have to listen to your spidey sense!  I knew it was a weird pain.

Oof kidney infections are no joke, that's a specific type of pain you'll recognise from now on. Glad you were checked before it turned into sepsis, and glad you have the good cough syrup - that's saved me many times. I hope the checkup today goes well and you're on the right meds and don't need IV antibiotics in the hospital.

I didn’t update after Friday. As I was new on the antibiotic and obs were okay they didn’t send me to be admitted (had I know that was an option, I wouldn’t have gone back Friday).

Anyways, they were suspicious of a kidney stone.  Pain is still there so a scan is the next step to determine if there is one and how they will treat it.

On top of that I’ve REALLY hurt myself coughing. It’s either a terribly pulled muscle or a cracked rib. The pain is so bad, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a rib.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I have it in me to travel long haul a week from Saturday. We shall see how this week goes. But im falling apart.

Genuinely “I’m fine”. But this is all a mess and I keep getting worse and not better!   

 

I didn’t update after Friday. As I was new on the antibiotic and obs were okay they didn’t send me to be admitted (had I know that was an option, I wouldn’t have gone back Friday).

Anyways, they were suspicious of a kidney stone.  Pain is still there so a scan is the next step to determine if there is one and how they will treat it.

On top of that I’ve REALLY hurt myself coughing. It’s either a terribly pulled muscle or a cracked rib. The pain is so bad, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a rib.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I have it in me to travel long haul a week from Saturday. We shall see how this week goes. But im falling apart.

Genuinely “I’m fine”. But this is all a mess and I keep getting worse and not better!   

 

So sorry KFD, at least they're on top of it and they'll treat it appropriately if it is a stone.
But pain in the ribcage area is no joke, it's not like you can stop breathing to give it a rest... from that perspective and with the residuals of Covid going on, it's really important to keep taking deep breaths where you can. Don't worry, unless you are osteoporotic, it won't be a rib.

So sorry KFD, at least they're on top of it and they'll treat it appropriately if it is a stone.
But pain in the ribcage area is no joke, it's not like you can stop breathing to give it a rest... from that perspective and with the residuals of Covid going on, it's really important to keep taking deep breaths where you can. Don't worry, unless you are osteoporotic, it won't be a rib.

Thanks Larabee!  I figured not a rib, but I literally have to get into a ball before I cough and it still hurts like hell.  But yes, I'm sure it's muscular and I have never broken a bone (well, pinky toe doesn't count), so HIGHLY unlikely to have started now. 

Genuinely “I’m fine”.

Aww, stop being so British! Pain is no joke and no fun. Hopefully you're getting on the up soon. 

Will your travel insurance cover any changes if you can't make your trip?

Aww, stop being so British! Pain is no joke and no fun. Hopefully you're getting on the up soon. 

Will your travel insurance cover any changes if you can't make your trip?

But I am - during the day.   

So here's where things get a bit weird.  Yes, I have great travel insurance (benefit through work).  But, for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, my parents are paying for this trip.  I've only ever had employers pay for me to go somewhere - and that was working of course.  While the flights are in my name, that wouldn't be an issue.  But I think the hotel is booked under my parents?  Though I think they can cancel 72 hours before with no penalty.  I do think I need to put it on their radar that I may not be able to go.....

You are really being put through the ringer at present, I hope things start resolving themselves soon, especially with regards to possible kidney stone.

As for the travel, what terrible timing.

Wishing you all the best.

Just found out that my uncle (who is really like my second dad) has Covid and was admitted to intensive care and is in really bad shape.

He got Covid about a week ago, and seemed to be managing fine. He said it seemed like a bad cold or flu, but nothing more than that. But within 1 day, he rapidly declined, went to the ER, and boom - now at this. On a ventilator, medically induced coma, having to have his lungs aspirated because they keep filling up with fluid, and his kidneys are "in the trash" according to the ICU nurse I spoke to. She said she's never seen someone this bad before.

I feel so helpless. I'm not well enough right now to travel due to a recent lung issue flaring up, and it's killing me that I can't fly over. The only other relative he has in the US is my mom, and she's on the other side of the country. She's going to prepare to travel, but I'm so angry and frustrated I also can't go to be near him (if the worst happens) and support her.

 

Oh Aquila!  Keep us posted.  The distance really really sucks.  I hope your mom is able to get there soon.  Keep us posted.

That is so tough Aquila.  Being so far away makes things so much harder.

Thinking of you Aquila

Best wishes Aquila.  Hopefully he's in the best of care. 

Best wishes Aquila, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.


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Thanks everyone for the kind wishes. It's been quite a rollercoaster lately.

My uncle is still in ICU, but yesterday, they were able to take him off the ventilator. This is quite a promising change since when he was admitted, his oxygen (at the highest) was only 60%. Goodness knows how he was having coherent conversations with the medical staff then. He had also developed a secondary opportunistic bacterial lung infection, which they have now cleared. His kidneys are unfortunately still in bad shape though. And shortly after admittance, he had a heart attack. They need to do further imaging on his heart and circulatory system, but he's too fragile to move right now and his kidneys are not strong enough (yet) to be able to process the dye they need to inject. They said he's not out of the woods yet, but there are some glimpses of sunshine through the trees now.

My mom is traveling this week, so she'll be there when they start to bring him back into consciousness (hopefully in several days, if his breathing remains okay). I'm so grateful she is able to get there.