'Behind the scenes'

I thought I would do a post on 'the reality' of been sick.

I have a huge list of conditions including Severe Gastroparesis,  Severe Gastrointestinal Dysmotility, Dysautonmia, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Chronic Lung Disease, A Kidney Disease, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Small intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, Leaky Gut Syndrome and the list goes on. 

I'm sure many of you have seen my Instagram pictures, baking in the hospital, riding on IV poles, meeting best friends, wearing cute pjs, nurses plaiting hair, lush baths, pamper days, Starbucks, daisy chains in the park, meeting famous people, crafts, and more. These are just the highlights but the reality is very much the opposite.

The reality and negative parts of my hospital stays are:

• Being too weak to get out of bed.
• Bed baths.
• Not being able to move with pain.
• Infections.
• Sepsis (life threatening infection).
• Vomiting.
  
  
  
  
• Bed sores
• Being bed bound for weeks
• Medication side effects
• Allergic reactions leaving me paralyzed
• Theatre trips
• Surgeries
• Weeks on Ketamine and morphine
• Blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels and temperature every 4 hours even in the night.
• Many cannulas
• Needing cannulas done at 4am
• Having to see doctors in the middle of the night.
• Oxygen
• Feeding tubes
• TPN
• central lines
• SATS dropping
• screaming with agonising pain
• Infusions
• Catheters
• Blown veins
• Doctors nearly having to shave your hair for IV access
• needles
• daily bloods
• countless medications
• Tests
• procedures
• dehydration
• malnourishment
• underweight
• Loneliness
• Isolation
• Home sick
• and so much more.
  
  At one point I was so home sick I couldn't even go on my phone to message my family because I would just cry as I wanted to be at home so bad! 

Not many people realise the reality of hospital stays, many people just see the positives, I don't tend to post the negatives for many reasons but what you think hospital stays are like is not the reality and unless you have been in hospital whether its a long stay or a short stay you will understand.

I have had many horrible experiences in the hospital like many people! I have been very poorly and also had not very nice things said, like before I was diagnosed I was getting told it was all in my head or it's mind over matter which is so frustrating when you know it's not. As many of you know I have also battled sepsis which was a very hard time which I don't really remember because I was on such strong drugs. I have memories from hospitals and met some amazing people but the negatives deffinatley out weight the positives.

my oxygen level and heart rate

The only people that truly see the struggles in hospital are your family, friends, nurses and other patients. There are many struggles you have to face in the hospital, no one see's the isolated and lonely times, the days where you are fed up, no one see's you crying and begging to go home when in reality you know you aren't well enough. There are many more 'behind the scenes' to been in the hospital, some I may not wish to share, but this post may give you a little more understanding.