Summer Vaca…

It’s time for summer vacation…The week of Fourth of July we spent at the camper. We stayed there 5 whole days. I think that’s the most consecutive days we’ve spent there in a long time. It was very fun and relaxing. Our Happy Place! The next week we took a trip to Kennebunkport Maine to spend a few days with my aunt Kathleen and uncle Paul. We got there on Wednesday night and return home Friday night. It was the first time since my heart transplant that I’ve actually gone farther away than Mass Gen Hospital. I’ve been terrified of being to far away from the hospital just in case something were to happen. We enjoyed our days going to dinner shopping and spending a little time on the beach, David even tried to do some fishing. We took full advantage of spending time with our family and unwinding. We knew we had to go back to business when we got home. I was scheduled for an MRI of my left foot to rule out arthritis in my feet. Of course, we still don’t have any answers as to why my feet continue to hurt. On a positive note, I did receive my wheelchair on July 18 and we took Bella for a walk. She will need to get used to the wheelchair but she utterly enjoyed her walk with me. It’s been far too long. I spoke with my rheumatologist on Monday, July 22 to discuss the results of my MRI, unfortunately these results are inconclusive and she is waiting back from the radiologist to get some clarification on some of the reading. She was unable to rule out or rule in arthritis. It is very difficult to live with this pain without an answer. I just have to grin and bear through it. I always tell myself every day that it could be worse.

Last Wednesday, I woke up in the middle of the night with severe abdominal pains and diarrhea. I was up every hour throughout the night. I did not get any sleep and spent most of the time on my couch. I was awake so frequently that I did not want to disturb David’s sleep. This continued through Friday at which point I contacted my heart transplant team to inform them of my symptoms. Their computer system was down so they had requested that I ask my PCP to place some orders, bloodwork and stool studies. My primary care was very helpful and placing the orders and Molly gave me a ride to the lab. Everything that was ordered was back at the lab before they closed. Then we just had to wait. I continued feeling ill over the weekend and on Tuesday morning. I received a call from the West Springfield board of health nurse. She informed me that my stool culture showed E. coli. It’s essentially food poisoning, but because my immune system is suppressed I am having a harder time getting through this. The heart transplant team told me that it could take 7 to 10 days to get out of my system maybe even longer. it’s been a very miserable and rough week. I’m having a hard time eating and drinking because the stabbing pain and diarrhea just continues. Elizabeth is going to take me for labs tomorrow morning to make sure that my electrolytes are within normal limits and I’m not dehydrated. I can’t imagine that I’m not hypovolemic at this point. We’ll see what the labs show tomorrow. In the meantime, I continue to rest as much as I can. I know I’ll get through this I’ve bounced back from much worse. One day at a time. Making the best of it!!

Each💔 Beat Matters

KellyAnn

Kelly Bundled on the Beach 🏝️