2/21/11 Day one in the Hospital

For those of you who don't know, I will be staying in the hospital for 2 weeks for my Cystic Fibrosis. My PFT's are low (aka my lungs aren't functioning as well as they could and need a boost). So I'll be writing about my stay whenever I can while I'm here since this is my first visit.

Day one was the hardest. Even with my family there with me I still felt so alone. As I stood in the waiting room in line to sign in all I could think about was the woman behind me coughing on my head that I wanted to slap, and the screaming children running around the room like monkeys. Their parents, ignoring them like cowards and allowing such behavior was disgusting. I wanted to block it out but I couldn't. I have always hated waiting rooms mainly because of the yelling and the sick kids I'm forced to sit with. As soon at they called my name to go back into a room I was immediately relieved. I was in good hands now and in a QUIET place. The nurses were awesome and made me feel comfortable while I waited. The  anesthesiologist came in and we talked for a bit. I really liked him he was great. He talked about his daughter and how she loves fashion at such a young age. We talked with the nurses about my tape allergy and a few other things. I realized how important and helpful it is just to speak up and tell them everything. They're just people too and the more they know about you the better. After waiting a while it was time to have my procedure done. I was having a Picc-line put into my arm so I could be given IV antibiotics easily. He gave me the gas mask and I could feel the tingle. I'm always nervous they won't know when I'm totally under so I wiggle my fingers to let them know (unnecessary I know). After I went to sleep and woke up, "Oh god I'm so glad it's over" was the first thing I thought about. My arm was sore but there was a tube in it so it was normal. I waited hours before they could get me to a room because the hospital was so full but I didn't care I just wanted to sleep anyway. When I got to my room I'd be staying in I was a little sad that my window wasn't bigger. I've always loved big bright windows but I was grateful I had the room all to myself. They put me in isolation so I wouldn't get sick from the other kids but that meant I couldn't leave me room ever or go outside. Right away they started my meds. Every 8 hours I have an hour an a half of IV's and every 4 hours I have airway clearance that takes 30 minutes. In the morning and night I have 2 inhalers. I was so overwhelmed by it all that I started to panic. This was the first day, how could I do this for 14 days? I couldn't wait just to go to bed already. I needed a fresh start.