It's good to be home. I got home Tuesday October 15 after being in the hospital for treatment since August 29 and then rehab since September 11. I am walking with a walker but I get tired quickly and have to rest after a few minutes. I am unable so far to get into the family room or into the den where my "real" computer is. Also, I could not get out of the house right now. I'm using my old laptop and phone and neither is very easy with facebook. I have 12 more sessions of therapy (occupational and physical) scheduled for the next 4 weeks. Still lots of pain in my left leg but it is greatly improved and I am actually putting some weight on it and using both legs to walk. It still has lots of places on it from the shingles. I am still short of breath from the ILD but the pneumonia is gone and has been gone for over a month. I am not a very patient person and this being confined to just part of the house and limited to this wheel chair because of difficulty getting up and down with other furniture is wearing on me. I am not on oxygen which is good..........He will be 76 in Dec. Posted about an hour ago
So sorry to hear of all your struggles Sam! Had been missing your posts, and wanted you to know you are missed! Hope you are able to get back on here soon, and get to feeling better quickly! Will definitely be keeping you in my prayers!
Today I visited my primary care physician as a follow up to my recent hospital stay.
Cody (grandson) came over to help me get there and Cathy (daughter) and Megan (granddaughter) dropped by the doctor's office to help me get home.
Today I conquered a major hurdle that has been bothering me since I got home from the hospital.
I was able to get down the step from the kitchen to the family room and down the step from the family room to the garage.
It is an 8 inch step and it was very intimidating to me. I was able to negotiate it with minimal help.a
The doctor was pleased with the way I looked.
He confessed today that when he saw me in the hospital he wondered about me ever getting out of there,
figuring I would wind up in a nursing home.
Actually I guess I was pretty close to death but my faith has taken away the fear of death.
When I faced death during a heart attack in 1995 I was amazed at my calmness and confidence in our Lord's mercy and lack of fear of death.
Thank God for His mercy and grace and healing power.
I consider hospitals, doctors, nurses, therapists, and medicine plus prayer to all be part of God's healing process.
I weighed 198.6 pounds which is much better than the 240 pounds that I was up to early this year.
I don't remember my blood pressure but it was good.
The doctor put me on a different water pill because of swelling in my legs which the furosemide/latex did not seem to help with.
I have been on 40 mg of furosemide for a long time. The replacement is spelled similar to furosemide but begins with a "t."
Also he put me on iron (ugh) because my count is a little low.
I still have future appointments with my cardiologist, urologist, and lung specialist.
I will be having occupational and physical therapy at home for the next 4 weeks.
I didn't realize how much of normal bodily functions I had lost. For a while I could not even sit up in bed.
Now I am getting up and down from the bed and chairs, etc with the help of a walker and even dressing myself.
Of course Pat is a great help. She is a wonderful lady and wife. Thank God for her being part of my life for over half a century
I am doing better, walking is a little less painful as I try to put more pressure on my legs.
Thank you to all those who have called, visited, prayed, sent cards, and who are concerned.
With the Lord's help and with the help and support of family and friends I am going to beat this.
I did not have access to my computer with its address book all the while I was in the hospital so you may or may not have seen or heard this stuff before.
Jim Ellis
P.S. These are some pictures from the hospital of me in ICU, with my pastor Wendell Coning, and of me walking from the lunch room back to my hospital room.
Today I had another doctor's appointment. This time with the lung specialist. My weight is 197 pounds so I'm still under the 200 pound mark and much lower than the 240 pounds I weighed earlier this year. My blood pressure was 102/50 which seemed awfully low to me. The nurse took it again and it was about the same. The doctor was not concerned. After being home for a while I took a couple readings on a bp monitor we have here and it was in the 130's over 60's range. I had a pft (pulmonary function test) prior to seeing the doctor today and the lungs have deteriorated some since the last test. Each if the past several tests had shown "slight improvement." The doctor said he did not know if it was because of my recent pneumonia or because I have been off the cellcept since early in my hospital stay. He did not put me back on the cellcept/micophenolate. I am scheduled to see him again in December and expect some improvement in my lungs.
__________________
Sam also known as Jim Ellis
Apostolic in doctrine
Pentecostal in experience
Charismatic in practice
Non-denominational in affiliation
Inter-denominational in fellowship
Today I visited my primary care physician as a follow up to my recent hospital stay.
Cody (grandson) came over to help me get there and Cathy (daughter) and Megan (granddaughter) dropped by the doctor's office to help me get home.
Today I conquered a major hurdle that has been bothering me since I got home from the hospital.
I was able to get down the step from the kitchen to the family room and down the step from the family room to the garage.
It is an 8 inch step and it was very intimidating to me. I was able to negotiate it with minimal help.a
The doctor was pleased with the way I looked.
He confessed today that when he saw me in the hospital he wondered about me ever getting out of there,
figuring I would wind up in a nursing home.
Actually I guess I was pretty close to death but my faith has taken away the fear of death.
When I faced death during a heart attack in 1995 I was amazed at my calmness and confidence in our Lord's mercy and lack of fear of death.
Thank God for His mercy and grace and healing power.
I consider hospitals, doctors, nurses, therapists, and medicine plus prayer to all be part of God's healing process.
I weighed 198.6 pounds which is much better than the 240 pounds that I was up to early this year.
I don't remember my blood pressure but it was good.
The doctor put me on a different water pill because of swelling in my legs which the furosemide/latex did not seem to help with.
I have been on 40 mg of furosemide for a long time. The replacement is spelled similar to furosemide but begins with a "t."
Also he put me on iron (ugh) because my count is a little low.
I still have future appointments with my cardiologist, urologist, and lung specialist.
I will be having occupational and physical therapy at home for the next 4 weeks.
I didn't realize how much of normal bodily functions I had lost. For a while I could not even sit up in bed.
Now I am getting up and down from the bed and chairs, etc with the help of a walker and even dressing myself.
Of course Pat is a great help. She is a wonderful lady and wife. Thank God for her being part of my life for over half a century
I am doing better, walking is a little less painful as I try to put more pressure on my legs.
Thank you to all those who have called, visited, prayed, sent cards, and who are concerned.
With the Lord's help and with the help and support of family and friends I am going to beat this.
I did not have access to my computer with its address book all the while I was in the hospital so you may or may not have seen or heard this stuff before.
Jim Ellis
P.S. These are some pictures from the hospital of me in ICU, with my pastor Wendell Coning, and of me walking from the lunch room back to my hospital room.
Thanks for the report, sam. God is a good and healing God, no doubt about that.
Thank you for your prayers. This is taking longer than I thought it would but I am improving. Today I just turned down my pastor who wanted me to preach one night of a 4 day revival in our church in mid-November. I just don't think I will be well enough by then.
I've preached one night in this event the past 2 years. Last year I had to sit down while preaching because of back problems. This year it looks like I won't get to be there at all.
__________________
Sam also known as Jim Ellis
Apostolic in doctrine
Pentecostal in experience
Charismatic in practice
Non-denominational in affiliation
Inter-denominational in fellowship
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