Wednesday, June 5, 2013

A Return to the Journey of 2011.....Getting Home with Baggage

 




 Part 1

Despite the fact my pain management was not good with the change over to oral medication, no one at the hospital seemed to be concerned so I sure wasn't going to let it stop me from going home. The pain really wasn't much worse than what I had been enduring on IV medications for weeks already. It seemed to me if they hadn't fixed it sooner, they sure weren't  likely to make it any better by keeping me there. I needed out of the hospital and that was all that mattered to me.

The rest of the requirements for my discharge were lined up the next morning complete with a visit from the social worker explaining everything that was in place. It actually took longer for a nurse to get time to get my signature on the dotted line than it had taken for the social worker to make all the arrangements. My discharge was authorized well before noon but Dave and I didn't depart for the drive home until the evening rush hour , all because of under staffing.

In addition to the obvious issues of pain and wound care there were a number of other issues affecting me as well.  To understand what's to follow I think it is important to know those forces playing on me since each contributed in its own way to a chink in the armor that usually protects me from life's twists and turns.
The weeks of alone time had me feeling very isolated. While I had visitors after the first surgery, most everyone thought I had long since been discharged and the visitors had stopped except for Lindsay and Dave.

My other connection with the outside world had been in the form of blog comments left after the handful of posts either Dave or I had managed to do while I was hospitalized. Those comments had served as an important connection to my life and my horses. They helped keep me sane in a world turned upside down.

I posted a brief post when I got home trying to reestablish the lifeline online connections had been. Pain interfered with my ability to keep that going despite how desperately I needed it. Nuzzling Muzzles commented on an earlier post how important a touch of a friend had been during her bout with hospitalization. Well, comments have done that for me as I have struggled to hang onto the vision of a life other than crippling pain and disease. My  inability to reform those connections left the vultures of isolation preying on me daily.

During my stay in the hospital I had struggled trying to figure out the right thing for my horses. I have such a high standard for myself on how I think they should be cared for. There was no way this barn could be maintained like a show horse barn without my help. Dave and Lindsay are just not up to that task and with the second surgery in such a short amount of time I had no idea how long I was going to be out of commission. The responsibility weighed heavily on my shoulders despite the fact the horses were fine and living above the standards of most any horse people. They were not living up to mine and believing that was a problem that made me vulnerable in ways I couldn't have imagined.

To be continued....

More Baggage


10 comments:

  1. I am glad the comments helped you! Its nice to have friends who care, even ones you have never met.
    I can only imagine how hard it would be knowing you couldnt do anything and having to trust someone else to take care of your horses, that would be really hard for me and I dont have near as many as you do.

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    1. Comments are still helpful since I'm still stuck in the house a lot.

      You're right about the number making it harder.

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  2. I so wish we had been able to do more and help you .Amazing to me that you were so hale and hearty on our visit , and mere days later this began.You have been on my thoughts and prayers throughout this ordeal, and it makes me sad that instead of hoping for a speedy recovery other people took the opportunity to undermine and "cash in " on your crisis

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    1. I have often thought about your visit too. I had no idea anything was wrong and my doctor was absolutely floored.

      There has certainly been a odd phenomenon in place here. It has been in trying to understand it that I have realized how all of these things factored in and definitely affected what happened.

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  3. You've certainly been to hell and back through this ordeal. All of your online friends have been here for you wondering how things were going and hoping for your quick recovery.

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    1. That's a good description of how this has felt. I know if my online friends could influence this, it would have been long since over.

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  4. I knew your concern for your horses would probably cause you more stress. I'm sure you had to give up the idea of maintaining the standards of a show horse barn. I'm guessing you may have even had to cut everything back to just getting everyone's basic needs met. I know when I've been unable to care for my horses, I had to lower my expectations and just be happy if they got their feed and fresh water. Things like putting on and taking off blankets, grooming, exercising, training, etc. went right out the window until I was able to do it myself. Also, like you said, not knowing the future like how long you will be out of commission really hampers us in being able to make decisions. It sounds like fernvalley01 knows what's coming next in your story.

    I am happy to see you posting more often. I suspected that all that time your blog sat silent, you were probably writhing in pain. The worst kind of pain won't even let you move your fingers across a keyboard.

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    1. Not knowing what to expect for my recovery really has complicated things. About the time I think I have it figured out, something changes and the plans are shot.

      My lapses in posting have definitely been pain driven. It has also been influenced by brief periods where I thought I could see the horizon. Then, despite the pain, I was able to touch base now and then but as long as I was fighting the words that wanted to come (which was this journey) iti's not the keyboard I struggled with but the flow of words. Trying to post other things felt like lying about the reality which has been pretty dark and ugly.

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  5. Besides the comments on the blog, I'm sure the texting and phone calls helped too. At least in the department of being in touch with people.

    As for how the horses are cared for- we all have our own standards. While some people do the bare minimum and feel that is sufficient, others would be mortified to let their horse spend a day in that barn. It can wear on a person.

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    1. You're so right about people's differences in standards and when life gets tough, sometimes the things that are really unimportant have to be let go.

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