Friday, June 26, 2015

PNEUMOCYSTOSIS...

What a long week it has been.  Yes, I am still in the hospital. After getting their best people on it...(kind of like an episode of House) they have determined what I have.  It is called Pneumocystosis or PCP. It is a kind of fungus caused pneumonia that attacks immune suppressed people.When my new oncologist heard what it was, she grimmaced in a concerning way.  If your doctor is grimmacing at your diagnosis after all these years of practice, you know it must be bad.   It is most commonly found among those who have AIDS..but occasionally people undergoing chemo.  It is very serious...left untreated 100% of people die.  However, with treatment, which will take a while, it can be cured.  

So I will be staying here a bit longer.  I am getting quite stir crazy.  On top of that the menu never changes.  It is kind of like eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at Denny's every single day....only not nearly as good.  That along with the fact that the meds they are giving me to fight this infection make me nauseous...I am back to that nauseous but super hungry but nothing looks or tastes good thing.  I swear I am so sick of food and my need to eat it.  Ugh...I hate food.

I have very little energy.  When I am in bed I feel kind of fine, but walking down the hall, I realize I am not fine.  Sometimes I cannot hold a conversation without pausing for breath between words.  (Kind of like Stevie in Malcolm in the Middle).  Last night I was eating a banana and my jaws got exhausted trying to chew it...I had to stop to let the burn go away then I could chew again.  Now that's fatigue!!!

The nurse staff here are mostly very nice.  Some are more fun than others, some are more down to business, but that's OK.  I have to be on IV antibiotic/fungal for 7 full days and then I can go home and take it in pill form.  So that is what is keeping me here.  I may be able to go home on Monday.  I hope so. 


3 comments:

pamelafuller43@gmail.com said...

What an ordeal to go through; so glad you know your body well enough to know that something was wrong and you got help! Our prayers are with you. We love you.

Unknown said...

Oh I'm so so sorry :(

Joan Matheny said...

Hi Robin, I heard about your blog the last time I went to RS a few weeks ago. No, I'm not going inactive I've just been traveling. I've kept your blog up on my IPad so I wouldn't forget the name, so now I'm finally writing to see how you're doing. So how are you doing? Not so good from your last post but since that was 2 weeks ago, I hope things are looking up. Your summer road trip is, I'm sure, awaiting your recovery so I sure hope you're all busy planning that and gearing up to go. Whatever the plan, my prayers and with you and I know blessings are being sent your way.
Lots of Love!
Joan