6 months

Anyone who knows me probably knows that I spent more than 2 months in a Florida hospital - from mid October until two days before New Year's. Actually, the last six days were spent in a nursing home/rehab. All I can say about that is that I would rather be dead than have to spend any more time in a nursing home.

What happened is this: In October, my sister-in-law died. She had been sick with ovarian cancer. I and the rest of my siblings all flew down to Florida for the funeral - that was the 16th of October. The viewing was to be the 17th with the mass on the following morning, and they were, except not for me. I spent all of those two days asleep with some kind of fever on my brother's floor. On the 18th, my brother and sister talked me into going into the hospital. I didn't really want to, because I thought I could sweat it out and because I did not want to get stuck in Florida.

My sister, her husband  and their son drove me in to the emergency room (Physician's Regional, Naples, FL.). I remember hearing that I was definitely septic with a pneumococcal infection. I vaguely remember the intake nurse asking about my drug use. My nephew was not surprised to hear me tell the nurse that I'd done everything - except heroin. Of course, I should add that that was more than twenty years ago. I haven't engaged in recreational chemistry since 1989. In any case, that is the last thing I remember until I woke up a day or two before Thanksgiving in the ICU at Shands/U. of Florida hospital.

From what I understand, they removed my spleen at Physician's Regional, but when they found that I needed more serious surgery on my heart, they choppered me up to Shands, where they replaced my aortic valve (the one I had put in last year was damaged by the infection,) repaired the heart wall, and [scraped?] out my lungs.

I have some vague memories of various visits - Mr. O'Connor (my sister-in-law's father,) two of my brother's, and one of my sister's - but I have been told there were many more. What I do (sort of) recall are the various drug-induced dreams I had while I was under sedation. I will spend some time sorting them out and recording them in blogger.

Now I am staying at my sister's house in Pennsylvania until I regain my strength and find a place to live back in South Jersey. Let's hope for a better 2012, shall we?