Fiercely Independent Pam

Category: helpful products

  • It’s Beyond Time to Get Home and Reset…

    So, I finally got a new picc line– a little different than imagined, but it’s in and I am able to get my IV antibiotics through it as well as my IVIG infusions. I am so thankful for the team in IR this morning that “just made it happen.” Then I got back to my room and my breakfast was waiting for me! All good signs of things to come.

    If I haven’t said it before, chronic illness is expensive. My 3 weeks of IV antibiotics is going to run over $3000 and that’s with excellent insurance. Told them that I was just going to have to make small payments towards that expense.

    My first priority in getting home today is having an amazing lunch with an old friend who we have been playing phone tag for a long time. It will be great to catch up with her. My apartment is going to be a little bit of a mess as I organize my new mobility devices, like my ZEEN. I am hoping the Zeen is really the change I require to gain some strength and independence.

    Tonight will be about showering and organizing a little with one of my caregivers. Hopefully, after a shower tonight and moving around today, I will gain some more strength. I won’t lie, I am very nervous about getting “stuck” on the toilet due to low strength, but it will be what it will be!

    Then it’s back to my regular schedule- newsletter this weekend after taking my niece for facials for her birthday! I have a lot going on at times, and other times, nothing but crickets!

    I have a ton of follow up appointments, and eager to find out what is next for this giant kidney stone. Apparently it needs to get “blasted.”

    All of this will pass as well and then it’s back to getting ready to welcome my service dog. I am hoping the committee meets soon and I am able to schedule a community visit. I really want to see some progress in bringing this game changer to life. My 25 year reunion is in October of 2026 and I am eager to travel back to Baltimore with my new service dog and flying for the first time in 5+ years. BIG things are happening!

    Also on the agenda, is getting back into tutoring- specifically dyslexia tutoring. I have always enjoyed tutoring 1-1 with students. I use the Wilson Reading System and have a lot of materials. Please reach out to me if you have any leads in this direction.

  • Still Stuck: Needing an SOS To Get Home, Just Not a “Ride or Die!”…But Maybe a Zeen too!

    SO, I’m still stuck at the hospital awaiting a new picc line, everything else is all set to go home. I wish I was stronger and felt more confident about getting up and about, but it is beyond time to leave here and just “make it happen.”After all, my Zeen is awaiting me, along with my comfy bed.

    My Zeen is awaiting me and I am eager to try it out and use it for meals and getting around. It will be a big game changer for me in terms of using my legs and not always being “stuck” in my awesome wheelchair. I will be sure to post some videos once I get the hang of it and such. Decorating the Zeen is of high priority as well!

    I am glad too to not being taking the foley catheter with me, of course this means I have to be able to manage the toilet and self-cathing again. The foley causes so many problems including kinks and what I call “floods” meaning I feel like I have to pee but its happens too quickly to do anything with. So, I make a mess. Hopefully, once I get home and back on my regular meds and without a foley, I’ll stay dryer.

    In other worlds, I found this image and it too fits me like a “T” Mostly about needing to stop and get some food. I miss my friend who is in rehab from shoulder surgery and looking forward to reconnecting with her again. She is working hard at rehab and hopefully all the hard work will pay off. We are not necessarily “a ride and die” type of people, but I do trust her with my life and count on her as part of my “Tribe.”

  • Infection Invaders: Trying to Stay Together In Light of Many Different Infections!

    So, I’ve been a little trapped here at the hospital. Faced with a large kidney stone, Picc line infection, as well as a pretty bad UTI, I’ve haven’t been feeling the best. I will need several weeks of IV antibiotics at home and hopefully home tomorrow after a new picc line and clear cultures.

    I really hoped to avoid the chaos of all of this, mostly the IV antibiotics because they are both expensive over time and require a lot of attention. Hopefully they will come in the form of the “squeeze ball” and not a pump. Either way in creates a lot of medical trash and organization in dealing with various infections.

    Next, is to figure out how to keep practicing getting up and using my strength to make sure I am still able to get up and down from the toilet and such. This was the final straw why I ended up coming to the hospital, I was unable to get off the toilet and needed lift assistance, well this, and the major infections.

    Finally, I have to figure out what is next with the kidney stone. Apparently, I will have to have it “blasted” to get rid of it, but I was told that shouldn’t be a big deal.

    My biggest focus right now is getting up and being strong enough to get home, as I am feeling the need to get home and organized- I ordered a bunch of stuff, including my Zeen, and want to try it all out!

    Looking through the week, I am excited to have lunch with a friend and then an awesome facial scheduled for my niece’s birthday at the end of the week. I tried to cancel everything else going on in order to organize myself.