August 16th, 2020. Closer to our Nomad Life

 Wearing the mask that my sweet friend Sherry Bloodsworth made for me. I love it. Thank you so much..

115Donna Peacock, Sherry Flowers Murkland and 113 others

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At My Grandson's house

 Hi dear friends. I'm at Dylan and Megan's for a couple of weeks now and they have the sweetest home. I'm so happy they let the old lady come stay with them for a bit. Lol. There's nothing like being with Grandchildren to make you smile.

I know that times are rough right now. Honestly, there have been a couple of times that I wondered if I'm going to make it this year, but I did and you will too.

The isolation and this virus is taking its toll on people so reach out to friends and let them know how you feel and that you are here for them.. Let's be here for each other as much as we can during this time and remember that each day forward is one day closer to the virus being gone.

I love you all and can't tell you how much you have helped me walk this past year and a half. It is incredible that it has taken so long to feel better. I go to the Dr on Thursday for my follow up and I'm praying that I will be well enough for all stents to be removed. What a blessing that would be.

The picture is the trumpet plant giving us one last hurrah at our old home. Saying goodbye in such a beautiful fashion.

I will try to hang in to the memories from that wonderful place and look forward to making many more amazing ones.

Sending a big hug to anyone that needs one today and always such love from my heart to all of you. It feels like we made it today and I'm thankful. I love you. Always, kimmee

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Updates on my Health and a New Way Of Life Begins

Aug 4th, 2020

5 hospital visits, 3 procedures, one surgery, and then removal of the external stent on my left back. 2 negative Covid Tests, and we are done with life in Florida. 

My daughter is a nurse and she was working despite an accident in which she was rear-ended. That injury gave her slipped and bulging discs and an inability to work in her job as a nurse. She has seen a specialist, been to court, which gave her a tiny bit of a settlement for a lifetime of injury and pain that she is going to have. She will never have the ability to do the job she loves because some 18 year old plowed into her while she was stopped at a stop light on the way to work. She has had to come to grips with the fact that her life has changed and so has mine. 

It's time for a little update, but I probably will not be able to respond tonight until I nap some.

I go to my grandson and Granddaughter in law's tomorrow to stay for a couple of weeks. I have what I pray will be my last lithotripsy through my nephrostomy tube on Friday. That means another 1 or 2 hours on my stomach ,intubated, which makes me cough and have a sore throat. But if it will fix the last of the stones, I can bear it.

All I have to do is think of any Vented Covid patient, and I count my blessings. God bless all of those suffering losses or trying to get well.

We have sold the house and my heart will miss it so much, I am sure that my heart will expand with all the new sights we will get to see, once we are able to get on the road. I have to be good health wise first, Wendi says.

I am excited to go stay a few days with my babies. To me, he will always be my baby boy, even if he is 28, lol.

I will not have internet until we get to traveling in a few weeks and are in campgrounds. I have my phone but several of us share internet coverage so it will be sparse but I will check in a bit a few times a week and then when we are in campgrounds, I will really catch up.

I can't tell you how much all of your cards have meant to me.

I love you, Always, Kimmee

So We Became Nomads

 This new series of journals or blogs will be about my daughter and daughter in law changing our lives in May of this year, 2020. The Year that tried all our patience and let us know what we are made of. 

And so it begins... May 24th, 2020

One week ago today. I almost died and I am not kidding.

My family asked me if I felt sick. If I had a clue as to what was going to happen on Sunday. And I said no. I had no pain. I was dizzy and a little light-headed. a little disoriented but no pain.

On Saturday I felt kind of crappy. I had a headache, a really bad headache. Someone in the household saw me and asked me how I was feeling? I said fine. She said you don't look fine. But I was hesitant to complain. I kept saying I'll be alright. I've always been all right.

Saturday night were the first clues that I was in trouble. I was still in denial. Megan had come in and had seen that I had a fever, I said I'm going to be fine but she went out and told Wendi. Wendi came in and felt my forehead and I was really hot and she said Mom we're going to go for covid-19 in the morning. I said no I don't need that. I don't have covid-19. But she said we're going to do that at 10 in the morning and I knew she was determined and I said okay.

In the middle of the night sometime I tried to get up and walk to my commode and I was wobbly. I was wobbling from place to place I made it there and back to my chair and that was a miracle. And then on Sunday morning Wendi came in to get me to go to covid-19. It was around 9 I think and and she was going to help me walk to the commode and as soon as I got out of my chair I was so wobbly my legs felt rubbery like Jell-O and I fell into the bookshelf in the living room. ( Wendi tells me this morning that I never asked or waited for her to help. I just got up and tried to walk.) Wendi help me to the floor and then it was kind of a blur. I know that someone in the household came in and helped me up off the floor to my chair and people were saying and if they were going to call the ambulance. I said no, I don't want to go. Don't call. I'll be all right.

But I wasn't all right I was deathly ill. They called the ambulance to get me to the hospital but before they could get me into ambulance, I started vomiting and I kept vomiting on and off and aspirated. I only remember the first vomiting, Wendi working calmly to get an IV in me and they were trying to keep me from choking to death. and then I don't remember anything else about the trip arriving in the ER nothing. I don't know how long it was until I woke up still in the ER on a monitor with a blood pressure that was 100 / 50 and a pulse of 114.

I could feel that they were doing test I felt them do the Covid testing and the burning. I felt different pokes, lab test, urinary test I knew that I had an IV in my arm. Well actually I had two sites in my arm. The one Wendi put on the back of my left hand and one in the bend on the left arm. The one in the wrist was bothering me. It just kept moving around and because it wasn't connected to really anything,was just there moving around and finally It dislodged and it leaked blood all over the sheet and me and and then they came and took care of that. The staff were very attentive, constantly checking me, blood pressure's every 15 minutes probably I don't know, I had no sense of time because it took me a while to even wake up and respond when things were being done and cognitive questions which I failed several times.They were checking everything. Wendi told them I had an autoimmune and that my Sed rate may be high along with my WBC. I had to go down and get a CT scan of my skull of my head and then another CAT scan of my abdominal area after it came back that I had an acute UTI and my white blood cell count was 20,000. I remember when they told me that I was so shocked at High number to have no symptoms. I could remember stuff for a fever and chills and I had a headache I did have some reduced urinary output but I just I don't drink enough so I didn't think anything about it.

I was in the ER what seemed like all day while they stabilized me and then they came in and they said you will be staying with us and I said for a UTI? They said this is not a regular UTI this is a severe UTI and I said okay I'm sorry I was admitted on Sunday. Monday I can't remember what kind of testing we did but Tuesday they did another CT scan on the kidney area because I have a known history of kidney stones and they told me that I had a kidney stone the size of my kidney that it was an emergency and that my kidney was being compromised. I had moderate to severe damage to the kidney and that dr. Yavari my doctor would have to be called and he was called on that Wednesday I mean on that Tuesday and then on Wednesday afternoon I was in surgery. They could not give me a lithotripsy because of stone being too large. No one can pass that size stone But they did place a stent.

I will have to have surgery to remove that stone in a few days but after 6 days in the hospital I am home and feeling some better.

I survived being Septic, dehydrated, kidney failure and infection, UTI and I am so grateful. Life is so short and this was a huge wake up call for me to take better care of myself and to communicate with my family instead of being so stoic. We are not an island. I wanted you all to know how much I love you. Always, Kimmee

136Sylvia Chao, Sherry Flowers Murkland and 134 others

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