CoCo's Corner

Had to wear this shirt to my doctor  appointment.    So it's been 16 days since that fateful walk into the St. Marks ER.  I ended up staying there for five days.  Diagnosed with Cirrhosis of the liver.  And facing an unknown journey and not knowing how it will end. What have the last 16 days brought??  Well, I've let you know about the TPN.  Tonight, it goes down to a 12-hour drip.  It will be nice to have half my day free from IVY.  She gets a bit clingy.  So I feel like I can breathe and accomplish some life tasks. I still get pretty tired.  Mostly when I'm attached to IVY.  She gets pretty heavy when I'm trying to accomplish things at home.  She starts to wear on my left shoulder and my neck.  I've been waking up with horrible muscle pain in my neck and shoulder.  So, I take a bath in Bengay or put on a Lidocaine patch.  Take two Tylenol for the pain.  Usually after that, I am functioning p...

 I just decided to do another post after spending my first night in my own bed with my new sexy bed partner.  TPN. TPN - Total Parenteral Nutrition.  Calories, vitamins, minerals and all that delivered through an intravenous line. PICC line -  A little stronger and more durable than a regular IV line.  It's inserted, via ultrasound, into a vein.  Mine is in my upper right arm.   IV Pump - an electrical system that pumps the IV fluid from my bag into my veins.   In essence, I have an IV bag, when first attached to my PICC line, it probably weighs 15 to 20 pounds.  It is kept in a backpack, so I can be mobile.  I have the pump plugged in, to keep it charged, when I'm not mobile and trying to get my home back in order after being gone for five days in the hospital. Me and my sexy new bed partner.  I know, I'm gorgeous.  Skinnier than a prepubescent 12-year-old boy and a mess.  Don't judge.  I'm working on it!! ...

This week has been one for the books.  There has been some good things, not so good things and more.  I will explain. Last Saturday, my daughter and I drove to Idaho Falls.  We went to visit my bonus daughter and her family.  I wasn't feeling great.  But I wasn't feeling horrible.  By the time I got home, I had a lot of swelling.  I have been dealing with that for a few months.  I had started to see a specialist about my liver and my pancreas.  I had recently started a medication, it is a very pricey medication, but it's supposed to help me break down calories and nutrients so that my body absorbs them.  Even though I eat, my body was just shedding the nutrients and food I was eating and making it so I was not gaining weight.  I was 95 pounds.  And nothing I did would gain weight.  But I've gained 20 pounds over the last few months.  My clothes were uncomfortable.  But, I don't know if it's just the water retenti...