When we last left off, Paul & I were talking about his symptoms and his stay in the hospital. Now we move on to the details of his ongoing recovery:
♦ what has recovery after your stay been like and are you seeing progress?
The 1st week back home was very tough. I have been on oxygen for 6 weeks. I developed pleurisy too, which was very painful. 1 day of extreme hiccups which were a sign of healing process per my doctor friend. Coughing was horrific. Could not sleep, and just lie in a daze of brain fog. No taste or smell. That's about 50% returned.
♦ you mentioned some of the lingering physical effects, like what?
Fatigue, out of breath/panting are the worst. Brain fog lifting and smell/taste returning. Any exertion starts the cough and panting. Still get night sweats here and there. Wake up with damp t-shirt on my chest.
♦ any changes in your careful diet? are you continuing with your yoga? have these helped?
Minimizing carbs, sugar and portion control are the biggest factors. No eating after 8pm. Have not gotten back into yoga yet.
♦ there's talk of permanent or long-term effects; what's expected in your case?
Breathing capacity would be mine, I suppose. Short term memory seems to be bothersome at times, but that could be age too.
♦ how often are you in contact with your medical team?
Communication via email with doctor and his nurse. The My Chart app is great. I get all results, emails, reminders, refill availability, etc. If your doctor is connected, get on his portal access for patients. Had check up last week and one in a month.
♦ what's the insurance situation been like: a nightmare, a deleterious cost?
I have only gotten 2 bills, but I imagine it will be a pricey event. So far, after insurance, I owe $224 for CT Scan and $21.00 for chest x ray.
My initial emergency room doctor evaluation was $678.00, apparently because he is "out of network," so I owe $486 out of that. Strange, since Swedish is IN network.
I am forced to have Kaiser Permanente via work, however I hate HMOs, so I pay extra monthly to have PPO coverage via them. I will have to appeal that charge. I'm sure when all is said and done, it will be a couple thousand...
♦ what's a daily recovery routine like; you mentioned oxygen...
Wake up, take finger poke glucose test, pop all my asthma pills and inhalers, eat something, take a Diabetes pill, turn on computer and work.
I work from home and then go into the office around 1 for the remainder of day. Get home, get back on oxygen to catch up and chill, as usually fatigued.
♦ how do you feel right now?
OK, but low energy.
To be continued...!
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