Not the Weekend I'd Planned

Betsy went home from St. E's last Thursday evening. I was very surprised they released her but the doc okay-ed it so I had to follow through. Cassie and I picked her up after I got off work, hit the grocery store for a few basics for her fridge, then got her settled at home. After ensuring Betsy was fine, Cassie and I had supper at Taco Inn and went right to bed. It was past her bedtime and I was very tired - too tired to pack for my weekend quilt retreat.

Friday was Cassie's 7th birthday. I sang Happy Birthday to her, we let her open one present (a pillowcase made out of Hannah Montana fabric), and she and I gathered around the radio to hear her birthday announcement on KFOR. Got Cassie to school by 9am and I headed off to pick up Betsy's antibiotic prescription. Then I could pack and head to retreat.

Not to happen.

Betsy's home health care provider called. Betsy had exaggerated her condition because she wanted to be home (and I can understand wanting to be home), but now she recognized this was a mistake. However, now that she was home the hospital social worker would not be finding a nursing home for her, it was now MY job to call around. Long story short, the visiting nurse arrived early and agreed Betsy needed care. She suggested we just call 911 to have her transported back to the hospital - there was no way I would be able to get her to my van. We ended up at the ER at Bryan LGH East.

Cousin Bob called me in the afternoon to kick me out. He reminded me I'd been caring for Betsy almost nightly for most of February, and that I needed this quilt retreat for ME. He promised to take over until I returned Sunday and I was to leave town and forget the worries. So I headed home to pack and take the 30-min drive to the 4-H camp outside of Gretna while listening to a book on CD.

I arrived and unpacked in time for supper. I didn't eat much but then I'm not a fan of jambalaya. At 8pm I was very tired so I headed to my cabin, showered, and went to bed. At 1am I awoke and spent the rest of the night in the bathroom with my cabinmates peeking in on me occasionally. I called Mark at 6:15am to say I needed picked up. He and Cassie finally arrived at 7:45 to take me to Bryan LGH East. I was concerned I'd contracted C-Diff from Betsy and wanted to be tested, and if they decided to admit me I wanted family to have to visit only one hospital.

The ER staff really hopped to it when I announced I'd been exposed to C-Diff. I was so dehydrated they had difficulty finding a vein for an IV, but finally I got hooked up to fluids, electrolytes, and an anti-nausea med. By noon I was stabilized and could go home with an anti-nausea prescription. It takes two days for the lab to test for C-Diff so I'm still up-in-the-air about that diagnosis. I spent the rest of the weekend on the couch, mostly sleeping, dozing, being read-to by Cassie, and catching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family.

Sunday I could stand and had tolerated a piece of toast for breakfast, so I had to accompany Mark back to the retreat to collect my things plus the van was still there. My quilting sisters had kindly packed up my stuff so all we had to do was load the van. Cassie chose to ride with me - my having the retreat snacks might have had a little to do with that - and she happily munched on popcorn, coke, and a candy bar on the way back to Lincoln (Mark drove the Neon down I-80 but I took the van down the more scenic route on Hwy 6). Then I hit the couch again and slept hard.

I was able to eat chicken noodle soup and later some rice. Now Monday morning I still don't have an appetite but need to eat something to get my strength back. My quilting stuff is still in the van (though I did bring in my sewing machine) but I'm not gonna worry about that yet. I'm just disappointed I didn't get to attend retreat. Last year Diana D. just got unpacked, was ill during the night, and her hubby retrieved her; this year it was me. I hope we don't have a Hat Trick next year.