Coping, Treatment

Where’s Kerrie?

In Phoenix! My dad is in the hospital with pericarditis and had a liter of fluid drained from his heart sac. I’m here spending time with him and helping my mom. My sister comes in Saturday and I’m looking forward to the four of us being together.

Thankfully, my head pain has been low this week. The nausea is still present, but I’m controlling it pretty well with Reglan (metoclorpramine) and, when I can sleep for 12 hours, Valium. Breathing and meditation, skills I learned in my mindfulness-based wellness class, have been invaluable. I’ve been able to keep several “attacks” at bay, even with the stress of flying.

Monday’s appointment was only long enough to address the nausea. It was disappointing, but I have an appointment when I return home. My internist also has the list of all my symptoms, which I hope she’ll get a chance to look at before my appointment.

Posting here and on the forum are obviously not happening much lately. I’m not gone for good. Writing blog posts helps me think and cope, so I hope to continue posting at least twice a week.

Thanks for all the good wishes! Your support and love is keeping me going. I’m taking fairly good care of myself and hope you are too.

11 thoughts on “Where’s Kerrie?”

  1. I am Kerrie’s mother. I just had to respond to Karen to tell her I, too, suffered a cerebral aneurysm in September 2004. My treatment and recovery were very similar to Kurt’s. I feel extremely blessed for the medical care I received and the support of my wonderful family. Many aneurysm patients are not as fortunate. I’m glad Kurt is doing well. And thanks to all of you for your positive support for Kerrie.

  2. Hi Kerrie. I am sending good thoughts your way and praying for a speedy recovery for your dad. We all miss you and will be thinking of you!

    Jamie

  3. Hi again.

    My husband had some very serious health issues several years ago. I held it together while he was in the hospital for most of a month, but crashed afterward. Adrenaline will often get us through a crisis, but when the stress eases up we may hit bottom. Some people can get through a high-stress work week just fine, then they have terrible migraines on weekends when the stress is off. It’s amazing what we can do when we must.

    Again, I encourage you not to neglect your own health.

  4. Dear Kerrie,

    So sorry to hear about your Dad. Sounds like you are holding up ok and managing to take care of yourself as well. I have been having similar experiences: my Dad passed away in January and I had to fly back East for the funeral. Then a month ago my husband suffered a cerebral aneurysm and was in ICU for almost two weeks. Like you, I was lucky and other than getting a headache from lack of sleep the first night, I managed pretty well. As my husband improved, my headaches tapered off until he came home and I lost sleep again dealing with his headaches in the middle of the night, etc. For me, obviously, regular sleep is key. When you are in a hospital every day it can also be difficult to remember to eat regular meals, and you can succumb to caffeine, so take care.

    In some weird way, though, having the focus on someone else seemed to help me. Maybe I stress too much about my headaches and make them worse in the process.

    Take care of yourself!

    Karen

  5. Over the last several years, journaling has been valuable in helping me sort out my feelings and symptoms.

    Remember to eat a little every couple hours to combat the nausea. I know it’s difficult to keep a regular meal schedule when you’re at the hospital so much. Pretzels and crackers are good things to keep handy when you’re feeling queasy. If you don’t mind the taste, nibbling on candied (also called crystallized) ginger is a nausea remedy that has helped me many times. You can make tea from fresh ginger root, but don’t steep it too long. Health food stores usually sell ginger tablets, but I haven’t tried those yet. They’re supposed to work well.

    I hope your dad recovers well. Try to take care of yourself or you won’t be able to help your mom as much as you want to.

    By the time you have your next appointment, maybe your doctor will have a list of things to try and you’ll be on the way to feeling better.

  6. Hi Kerrie – best wishes to you and your family for a good recovery for your Dad. Keep taking good care of yourself. I have also found that doing deep breathing kept me from having a major attack while traveling – very helpful. Stay well. Good to see you on mdhabloggers!
    – Megan

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