I am now onto my second round of antibiotic treatment (another 10 days), as I failed to respond to the first round. I had an upper GI completed at the hospital, and the results came back normal. My small bowel follow-through has been rescheduled because a doctor at the hospital suggested that drinking more barium would probably not help my condition- so thankful for this, chugging barium is one of the grossest things I have ever had to do.
I finally contacted the gastroenterologist (basically a doctor who specializes in digestion) and his secretary apologized that we had not heard from her because she had not had time to get around to looking at the pile of 75 referrals sent through to them in the last month. Swell. Anyway, I hope to hear from their office in the near future so that we can actually start looking at the REAL problem.
In the meantime I have written to my sponsored child in Ghana, Abdul-Malik, to let him know I will not be able to make it this year. As difficult as this was my spirits were lifted by the progress report we received on him that said he is very healthy and doing well in school. Way to go Abdul-Malik! I told him that I hoped very much to reschedule my trip in the near future.
I have some good days and some bad days. Yesterday was pretty normal- I was able to get up and go downtown, do some volunteer work and visit with friends- despite feeling a little light headed and not having much of an appetite. Today was a down day however. I went into bed at around 7:00 PM last night and was only able to get up about an hour ago to eat. Hopefully tomorrow will be better :)
Some good news- my friend Ingrid has safely arrived home from Kenya so I will have the chance to visit with her soon and hear many stories about the place I long to visit!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
C' est DIFFICILE
In some ways it's ironic, being diagnosed with a c. difficile infection only weeks before heading off on the adventure of a lifetime... I mean, "difficile" means difficult in french, and accepting the fact that I had to cancel my trip has been nothing less than difficult.
I spent last weekend at the hospital because I had not been feeling well for over three weeks, and the health unit was refusing to give me the yellow fever vaccination until I had a diagnosis. This is because yellow fever is a live virus vaccination- meaning that if my immune system was down there would be a chance I could actually contract the virus from the shot. But I needed the shot to get my visa into Ghana, so I frantically called my mother and made her take me to the hospital.
After various tests, the doctors discovered I had a c. difficile infection. C. difficile is a bad bacteria that can take over your bowel and make you very sick, but because I live a fairly healthy lifestyle and have a strong immune system I was exhibiting very few symptoms. While c. difficile is communicable through poor hygiene, everyone is said to have a little bit of this bacteria in their system. The good bacterias in your bowel is supposed to keep it in check so that you don't get sick. However, after having my wisdom teeth out I was put on antibiotics as a preventative treatment, which killed all of the bacteria in my system- good and bad. Once the good bacteria was gone, the bad bacteria took over. The doctors also think I may have an underlying issue with my digestive system which allowed the bad bacteria to take control, so I am undergoing further tests later this month.
On Tuesday I got a call from the Health Unit, I would not be able to get my yellow fever vaccination until I was healthy again.
On Wednesday I called to cancel my trip and then began to tell people that I was sorry, but I couldn't go to Ghana.
On Thursday I went to the doctor. I told him I was still not feeling well- worse even. He told me that if these antibiotics do not work I will have to try the IV antibiotics. No, I will not be in the hospital- because the antibiotic must reach my bowel I will have to cut open the IV bag and drink what's inside it. (I pray I won't reach that point.) I also canceled my flight.
Currently, I spend most of my day in bed. I am on antibiotic treatment once again but it does not seem to be working. I am constantly exhausted and digesting food causes me a lot of pain. The antibiotics hurt my stomach too and taste like chalk. I live on Gatorade because I am so easily dehydrated and my hands smell like bleach because I have to clean the washroom down every time I use it. I watch a lot of TV now too, which is hard, because I never used to watch TV. I used to be out all day long volunteering, working, and visiting friends.
Sure, it sucks being stuck inside and feeling terrible. But the hardest part of all of this has been telling people I can't go- telling myself I can't go. I especially feel terrible about little Abdul-Malik, my sponsored child in Ghana. I wrote to him to tell him I was coming to meet him, and now I will not show up. I will just be one more broken promise to a little boy who thought for a moment someone outside of Africa cared for him...
All of the donations I raised are being kept in a bank account in hopes that I will be able to re-book my trip within the next year. If not, I promise that I will pass the money along to someone else who can make the trip for me. I am really sorry that I can't make it...
In the mean time, I am trying to rework my perspective. Of course, I realize how lucky I am to have discovered this illness at home rather than overseas. However, the medical system has let me down more than once now so I plan on seeking alternative approaches to the health issues I have in hopes of seeing some improvement. I would like to thank everyone for their support because it means everything to me right now. I will keep this updated with any progress I make. Hopefully one day you will log on and be able to read my first post from abroad. Until then, keep smiling :)
I spent last weekend at the hospital because I had not been feeling well for over three weeks, and the health unit was refusing to give me the yellow fever vaccination until I had a diagnosis. This is because yellow fever is a live virus vaccination- meaning that if my immune system was down there would be a chance I could actually contract the virus from the shot. But I needed the shot to get my visa into Ghana, so I frantically called my mother and made her take me to the hospital.
After various tests, the doctors discovered I had a c. difficile infection. C. difficile is a bad bacteria that can take over your bowel and make you very sick, but because I live a fairly healthy lifestyle and have a strong immune system I was exhibiting very few symptoms. While c. difficile is communicable through poor hygiene, everyone is said to have a little bit of this bacteria in their system. The good bacterias in your bowel is supposed to keep it in check so that you don't get sick. However, after having my wisdom teeth out I was put on antibiotics as a preventative treatment, which killed all of the bacteria in my system- good and bad. Once the good bacteria was gone, the bad bacteria took over. The doctors also think I may have an underlying issue with my digestive system which allowed the bad bacteria to take control, so I am undergoing further tests later this month.
On Tuesday I got a call from the Health Unit, I would not be able to get my yellow fever vaccination until I was healthy again.
On Wednesday I called to cancel my trip and then began to tell people that I was sorry, but I couldn't go to Ghana.
On Thursday I went to the doctor. I told him I was still not feeling well- worse even. He told me that if these antibiotics do not work I will have to try the IV antibiotics. No, I will not be in the hospital- because the antibiotic must reach my bowel I will have to cut open the IV bag and drink what's inside it. (I pray I won't reach that point.) I also canceled my flight.
Currently, I spend most of my day in bed. I am on antibiotic treatment once again but it does not seem to be working. I am constantly exhausted and digesting food causes me a lot of pain. The antibiotics hurt my stomach too and taste like chalk. I live on Gatorade because I am so easily dehydrated and my hands smell like bleach because I have to clean the washroom down every time I use it. I watch a lot of TV now too, which is hard, because I never used to watch TV. I used to be out all day long volunteering, working, and visiting friends.
Sure, it sucks being stuck inside and feeling terrible. But the hardest part of all of this has been telling people I can't go- telling myself I can't go. I especially feel terrible about little Abdul-Malik, my sponsored child in Ghana. I wrote to him to tell him I was coming to meet him, and now I will not show up. I will just be one more broken promise to a little boy who thought for a moment someone outside of Africa cared for him...
All of the donations I raised are being kept in a bank account in hopes that I will be able to re-book my trip within the next year. If not, I promise that I will pass the money along to someone else who can make the trip for me. I am really sorry that I can't make it...
In the mean time, I am trying to rework my perspective. Of course, I realize how lucky I am to have discovered this illness at home rather than overseas. However, the medical system has let me down more than once now so I plan on seeking alternative approaches to the health issues I have in hopes of seeing some improvement. I would like to thank everyone for their support because it means everything to me right now. I will keep this updated with any progress I make. Hopefully one day you will log on and be able to read my first post from abroad. Until then, keep smiling :)
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