Time To Put My Oxygen Mask On

After speaking with my kids, I decided to write. This is raw, and this me being very vulnerable.

I am sick...

If you think why share it on Social Media, then stop reading and hit the X.

I am fighting for my life, not in the sense like I am going to die tomorrow, but I am very sick. My mother ultimately died of a stroke/aneurism and I can't take this illness lightly.

This past month I had a couple of off days, not feeling myself. On Friday May 24th I was at work, and I had a brutal headache. Saturday I woke up, and said to my husband, lets get some fresh air, maybe that will help with my headache. We went to the grocery store, and halfway through I said I have to leave. I went outside and all I wanted to do was throw up. By the time we got home, I started throwing up, and then I blacked out. I was throwing up all day Saturday, and Sunday. My husband said ok, that is enough you have to go to the hospital. People who know me, know I am very stubborn, and don't do doctors, nonetheless hospitals. Anyhow, I was treated for a migraine and sent home, Monday, I was home, and then had to call my mother in law to take me to the hospital. I was very sick. At this point, I said this is not just a regular migraine, there is something seriously wrong.

So I was at the hospital Monday, again treated for a migraine, and then upon leaving they told me to have my family doctor arrange for a CT scan. So Tuesday I went back to my family doctor to ask him to arrange a CT scan. After bantering back and forth, I left frustrated. He wouldn't order the CT Scan. On Wed my husband said why don't you try to get into the dentist, maybe you have an infection or something in your mouth/jaw. So I called and they fit me in, just to know that everything in my mouth was fine, no infections etc...

Thursday, Kevin's aunt was going up to Clarenville (which is about 1.5 hours from me), and I was very sick, so I went up with her, and at this point, the pain was so severe, it was inhumane. I went up and got the CT scan through the emergency department, they put me on morphine and treated me for a migraine. I know this is not a migraine, because the amount of drugs put into me the past 2.5 weeks and nothing worked. They said your CT scan came back ok, but you need to see an ENT specialist. When you get back down to Bonavista, go see your family doctor to arrange the referral. So once I arrived back home from Clarenville hospital. I went straight to the Family doctor, again to be told I don't need an ENT Specialist. So by Friday, the pain was so severe, I was so sick, with the constant feeling of nauseousness, severe headaches to feeling like I am going to pass out, the pain was that unreal. I have never been prescribed so many different drugs, in such a short amount of time. Needless to say, I didn't fill them all. Just the ones I thought would help, which of course they didn't. So I'm just going to stick with the prednisone for now.

It was hard, but I toughed it out all weekend, and by Monday, I went back to the hospital to see the NP. He ran more blood work, and other tests, and on Tuesday he called to say there is inflammation on the arteries in my head. Thank god, someone is finally listening to me and from there he put me on 50 mg of prednisone.  The NP was very compassionate, and listened to everything I was saying, and then within one week, I was scheduled for my temporal arteritis biopsy.

On Monday, a couple of hours prior to the biopsy, I was eating lunch with my mother in law, and aunt, and my nose started bleeding profusely, large clots were pouring out, it lasted for over 20 mins, I was very scared. I did end up speaking to the surgeon and told him what happened, and he said that it could be because of the the steroid I am on. The procedure went ok, it was pretty painless, except for a bunch of stitches and the needle going into your head, good thing for local anesthetic. Now I wait 2-4 weeks for results.

I cannot believe the trauma my body has endured these past 3 weeks. Body aches, extreme fatigue, weight loss, and my speech and movement have all been affected. There is a suspicion that I may have Giant Cell Arteritis  (GCA). With this disease I am feeling very painful/uncomfortable symptoms, the pressure and loud roaring in my head and ears is called Tinnitus. If in fact I have Tinnitus, it scares me, because there is no cure for it. It has been relentless for the past 2.5 weeks. With the headaches finally calmed down, it now amplifies the pressure and roaring in my head and ears. Also,  the issues with my vision and my hearing has intensified which leaves me very worried for permanent damage.

I have tried not to google or read to much into it, but I did find a support group for GCA just so I can connect to people who are living this hell. I cannot get over how fast my life changed in a blink of an eye. All I can do now, is pray for relief, and healing.

I am feeling very depleted, my children miss their mother, my husband misses his wife, my friends miss their friend, and my brothers miss their sister.

So moving forward, there are going to be several specialist I will be seeing, and diagnosis to follow. My prayer and wish, is to be completely healed. I speak that in all faith!

So for now, I must go and put my oxygen mask on first...

Until next time, thanks for stopping by

Much Love,
Shelley xo


P.S. Thanks so much to everyone who has been checking in, I appreciate and love you all very much!