What's going on

Well hello strangers! Long time, no talk. I have been MIA from the blogging world and well, from reality in general for the past two weeks. Want to know what's going on with me right now? 

Let me go back to last Friday, January 6th and start there.

Shane came home from work and we were both extremely exhausted from our busy weeks at work. Shane had been fighting off some sinus congestion all week and said he was really worn out from that. He claimed to have a little bit of a sore throat, so I threatened that if it got any worse, we'd be making a trip to the doctor soon. (FYI, Shane does NOT go to the doctor.) 

Saturday morning, he woke up with a severe sore throat, so off to the urgent care we went. The doctor diagnosed him with Strep Throat (the test was negative, but that happens) and sent him home with an antibiotic and steroids. The next 24 hours completely spiraled downhill from there and Shane got gradually worse. 

Sunday afternoon, I rushed him to the ER because he was having a ton of trouble breathing.

When we arrived at the ER, they immediately began pumping steroids in him to reduce the swelling and gave him a breathing treatment to help calm him. He seemed to be doing great after that and they planned to admit him for the night for observation. Apparently, this was only a temporary fix, because shortly after that, he began having trouble breathing again and it got 10 times worse. It was literally the scariest hour of my life. The doctors were trying to do everything they could to help him breathe but nothing was working and he was fighting for air. An entire OR team and ENT specialist were called in and he was wheeled away in to the operating room. He had to be intubated and put on a ventilator to control the breathing. 

The next three days, Shane was in ICU and breathing on a machine. Looking back now, those days were a blur to me, because I went on about 3 hours sleep and was there around the clock. Finally, Wednesday afternoon, he was taken off of the ventilator and the breathing tube was removed. They kept him in the hospital for the next 2 days as he was recovering and continuing to receive a ton of antibiotics.

Friday, the doctors said Shane was on the path to feeling normal again and he was released from the hospital. He felt pretty good Friday night, having his own couch to relax on and the steroids he'd been on had him feeling a ton of energy.

Then came this past Saturday morning and the deja vu began to sink in. Shane woke up with a severe rash all over his body and we rushed to the urgent care afraid he was having an allergic reaction to his meds. Which he was. An hour later we were home again, with new meds, and attempting to relax again. About 3pm, all hell broke loose and Shane began struggling to breathe again. Frustrated and scared, we both went to the ER and the ENT met us there right away. The infection was still fighting its way inside Shane's body, and this time the doctor didn't want to take any chances. He was taken to surgery and an hour and a half later, he had a tracheotomy tube in his neck helping him breathe. 

Shane has remained in the hospital since Saturday and after a day of being fully depressed and frustrated, he's learned to talk, eat, sleep, and breathe (almost normally) with the trach in. This time, the tube will be left in until he has fully recovered and all signs of the infection are GONE.

What this could mean: Shane could have the tube in for days or even weeks. He will go home with it, and a lot of care will have to be paid attention to it. Not going to lie, the first time the nurses explained this to me, I was so overwhelmed I cried. No, bawled. More because I'm scared. I'm so scared to have the responsibility of dealing with something that affects his breathing, That is a direct exposure to his lungs. Last night, I went home and completely sterilized our house and sent our cat to my dads in preparation for when he does get to come home. I am scared to be alone with Shane because I would literally die if something happened to him, especially after all he's been through.

After calming down, I did a lot of reading, research, and practice on taking care of his tube last night. I'm still a little nervous, but I know I'll be able to manage taking care of him once he comes home. My poor husband has had the roughest week of his life, and I am just so ready for him to be home and feeling back to normal, but I know we have a little while until that happens.

Pretty crazy start to our year huh? And after only 4 1/2 months of marriage, we've had to deal with some pretty scary stuff. I'm exhausted beyond means, and I know Shane is even more tired of this than anyone. 

One thing I know for sure, I love that man more than life itself and I'd do anything and everything for him. Seeing him suffer has been the hardest part of this and I am relieved he is finally on the road to recovery and will feeling great hopefully before long!