In the Beginning...Day Three

Cheryl Sylvester.  1/10/62.  Standard opening every time a nurse came in my room to either check my vitals or administer meds.  At least by the third morning the request for "my story" had diminished.  Awake, night pain meds worn off and the thought of having to sit up/walk to pee brought out the bedside potty.  Have I mentioned I now have an IV in each arm? One for drawing blood and anything else that needs to go in and one for the upcoming IVig (has to remain void of any other substances).  The spinal headache made me forget about the GBS diagnosis.  I have had 24 hrs of back labor followed by a c-section, two dislocated shoulders and gall bladder attacks...these were nothing in comparison.  Cold compresses.  Darkness.  Quiet.  Caffeine IV drip (ever hear of that?) helped a bit.  So, a spinal headache occurs because the spinal fluid that constantly circulates is leaking from where they punctured.  The doctors started to discuss doing a blood patch where they use one's own blood to patch the leaky hole.  Right...next topic.


IVig.  A blood product administered intravenously. It contains the pooled IgG (immunoglobulin (antibody) extracted from the plasma of over one thousand blood donors (wikipedia).  $$$$.  Five days in a row is standard protocol for this initial treatment.  The dosage and drip time is based on one's weight.  The major risks are allergic reaction and kidney problems so they start a slow drip, monitor vitals every 30 minutes, and crank up the drip as long as all goes well. Needless to say the first treatment took about five hours.  Not that I cared.  


My great friend, Teri, visited me and brought me ice cream which I could eat while lying flat, cold compress in place and eyes closed.  She got me on the potty too!  Friends.  She also went shopping for me (which she despises) as I needed some pjs (those of you that know me know why).  The Barrs visited that evening and I could actually sit up for a time.  Tony and Anthony of course were by my side each evening.  Bring on the pain meds.


The neurology team continued to see me two or three times each day.  I cannot say enough about them and the entire staff at Riverside....even Vera who answered my call button.  By this time I gave up on "how did I get this?" as I did not have any virus immediately preceding my symptoms nor any of the other possible ways that trigger GBS.  By the way, easier for you to Google GBS than for me to try to explain it.


Sleeping was so-so but at least I had my own room and my IPhone with lots of music.  Pain meds and a sleeping aid helped.