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July-September
2000
In mid-July, my PICC line got infected. My first sign was a very sore arm that I could not move or touch without severe pain. It rapidly spread and my arm started swelling up, got feverish, and I started feeling very shakey and achy all over. Finally my fever shot up to 101 degrees within a matter of minutes, and I had to go to Hershey Medical Center. My line was pulled, and I was started on IV antibiotics and tylenol in order to get the infection and fever under control. They gave me a lot of IV fluid to get me through until I could see my doctor in clinic. During the week that I was not on the PICC line, I lost a lot of weight. When I went to my doctor, he said that we had no other option but to put the feeding tube back in. He wanted to do it very quickly, but I didn't want to miss my vacation to TN, so he agreed to postpone the surgery for a few weeks. Over the next few weeks I was very sick. The day after I got back from TN I went to have my potassium checked. It was low, so I went to the ER for potassium. I was given IV potassium since I can't tolerate it by mouth, and after eight hours of potassium, my level dropped. They decided that I needed to be admitted. Unfortunately, the hospital was full, so I spent 21 hours waiting in the ER for a room. Over the next several days, my potassium fluctuated. They would get it above 4.0, and it would drop below normal within hours. They were baffled. They wanted it above 4.0 for the surgery, and also did not want me dehydrated. I had the feeding tube placed on my fourth day in the hospital. I got very sick after the surgery and it was very rough. I threw up and was in a lot of pain. They started the tube feedings slowly and ran them for 24 hours for the next few days. I was happy when I was finally allowed to come home, but had to stay hooked up for 24 hours still, and decrease the hours gradually as I was able to tolerate a faster rate. I spent the month of September recovering from surgery and readjusting to life on a feeding tube. I threw up constantly still and was low on energy.
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