I just could not have.

The roles were pretty fully reversed. While it’s likely I should have rested and taken it a bit slower to get to recovery after my lobectomy, things with my husband took a bit of a turn.

He was suddenly REALLY struggling to breath. I’m talking gasping and completely unable to sleep. I know it’s the last thing he wanted to do, but we jumped in the car and went to the emergency department. Covid restrictions made it so that I had to drop this powerhouse man off at the door and LEAVE HIM! You must be kidding me.

He was admitted and saw so many doctors. He was placed on a C-pap that helped so much! He would eventually be sent home with a c-pap and it did the trick……for the moment. But it was not long at all before we were back to the hospital. The c-pap just wasn’t doing what he needed. And he was needing the extra support WAY beyond bed time.

So there we were, back in the ED.

He was of course admitted. Darren grew so desperate for a clear airway that he inquired about getting a trach, and the doctors agreed that it would be a wise option. The doctor who would do the procedure commented about “keeping him comfortable for his remaining time”. What? We quickly explained to the doctor that we are not even CLOSE to giving up. Quite the opposite. Hi think he understands now.

When Darren was wheeled up from his procedure to have the trach placed he was WIDE AWAKE and everyone was all smiles, including Darren.

Me: “HI! How are you?”
Darren: BIG SMILE, pats chest, thumbs up! He mouthed “I can breath!”
Staff: “We have NEVER seen someone so elated to have a trach!”

That’s my guy! Always looking at the bright side!

So here we go. Trach care education, emergency training and my lobectomy recovery was FAST TRACKED! But it’s all good. I’d do anything for him!

Happy New Year!

Much Love,

Carie