I'm saving this Facebook post on my blog site, just as a reminder of all the blessings I have from friends who came through for me when I was in a crisis the day after Christmas.
JOURNAL ENTRY TWO FROM TILLAMOOK, SATURDAY...
I have nothing else to do right now but write long-winded diary entries, so here's another one.
As I sit in my motel room looking at the mountain ridge north of Tillamook, I'm contemplating whether or not it was worth the risk for me to make this long of a trip away from home. Corvallis is the furthest that I've driven from Oakland up until now, since my surgery.
Everything that could go wrong during an away trip did go wrong: My car brakes down; my abdominal fistula acts up and starts gushing blood non-stop while I'm in the shower spraying it off (I finally had to stuff a towel on the opening and rush to my bed to put on another dressing); my return home is delayed which creates another issue in taking care of my animals at home.
But I have to conclude the trip was still worth the effort. Traveling 24 miles north of Tillamook to visit one of my sisters in an assisted-care facility was definitely worth the sacrifice. To see her face light up when I delivered quilts and others items belonging to our Mother, for her to have, told me this is where I belong on Christmas day. I was sad that I had forgotten her cookies and left them in Tillamook. I was planning to return and see her today (Saturday) until the issue surfaced with my car.
I am in so much pain right now: mentally, physically, emotionally,and spiritually. I've lost my Mom, I've lost my health, I've lost my job (due to my health), and I've lost my direction in life. I wish the Lord would either call me home or heal me, so I can return back to "normal." But, I still have some unfinished business left to do concerning my Mother's estate (getting a grave marker, ) so I DO have a purpose in life right now, even if the purpose is not an enjoyable one.
The one piece of good news from my ordeal the past two days, however temporary it is, is that I have put a drainage pouch (not an absorbent dressing) on my fistula opening. And, so far, it appears to be working today. There hasn't been any blood running on my clothes from any leakage.
The drainage pouches are a good idea in theory, but there are things that can go wrong. Because my fistula is on my waistline, the pouch has to curve upward right over the opening, which means it may not stick as long as it's supposed to. Plus, the fistula drainage pouch slightly overlaps my urostomy drainage pouch, which means all h*** can break loose, if one pouch comes off and the other pouch is still hanging on, while I'm out in public somewhere.
But, because of the large amount of blood drainage that I've had the past 36 hours, I opted to use a drainage pouch instead of a dressing. So far, so good.
Regarding my lodging situation, one friend was able reserve my room at the Shilo for one additional night (Sunday), and another friend is trying to reserve a room for me somewhere in town for Monday night. The mechanic is supposed to have my car ready on Tuesday, so Monday night will be the last night that I need a motel room in Tillamook.
In case anyone else out there ever has car problems in Tillamook, I strongly recommend the Tillamook Ford Service Center, and the Chevron garage across the street from the Ford dealership (same mechanic works at both places). In addition to the friendly service and willingness to help me out, they were the only that I could find open on Saturday in Tillamook.
(Hopefully, this information will help ease someone else's misfortune, in case you also find yourself stranded in Tillamook.)
I have nothing else to do right now but write long-winded diary entries, so here's another one.
As I sit in my motel room looking at the mountain ridge north of Tillamook, I'm contemplating whether or not it was worth the risk for me to make this long of a trip away from home. Corvallis is the furthest that I've driven from Oakland up until now, since my surgery.
Everything that could go wrong during an away trip did go wrong: My car brakes down; my abdominal fistula acts up and starts gushing blood non-stop while I'm in the shower spraying it off (I finally had to stuff a towel on the opening and rush to my bed to put on another dressing); my return home is delayed which creates another issue in taking care of my animals at home.
But I have to conclude the trip was still worth the effort. Traveling 24 miles north of Tillamook to visit one of my sisters in an assisted-care facility was definitely worth the sacrifice. To see her face light up when I delivered quilts and others items belonging to our Mother, for her to have, told me this is where I belong on Christmas day. I was sad that I had forgotten her cookies and left them in Tillamook. I was planning to return and see her today (Saturday) until the issue surfaced with my car.
I am in so much pain right now: mentally, physically, emotionally,and spiritually. I've lost my Mom, I've lost my health, I've lost my job (due to my health), and I've lost my direction in life. I wish the Lord would either call me home or heal me, so I can return back to "normal." But, I still have some unfinished business left to do concerning my Mother's estate (getting a grave marker, ) so I DO have a purpose in life right now, even if the purpose is not an enjoyable one.
The one piece of good news from my ordeal the past two days, however temporary it is, is that I have put a drainage pouch (not an absorbent dressing) on my fistula opening. And, so far, it appears to be working today. There hasn't been any blood running on my clothes from any leakage.
The drainage pouches are a good idea in theory, but there are things that can go wrong. Because my fistula is on my waistline, the pouch has to curve upward right over the opening, which means it may not stick as long as it's supposed to. Plus, the fistula drainage pouch slightly overlaps my urostomy drainage pouch, which means all h*** can break loose, if one pouch comes off and the other pouch is still hanging on, while I'm out in public somewhere.
But, because of the large amount of blood drainage that I've had the past 36 hours, I opted to use a drainage pouch instead of a dressing. So far, so good.
Regarding my lodging situation, one friend was able reserve my room at the Shilo for one additional night (Sunday), and another friend is trying to reserve a room for me somewhere in town for Monday night. The mechanic is supposed to have my car ready on Tuesday, so Monday night will be the last night that I need a motel room in Tillamook.
In case anyone else out there ever has car problems in Tillamook, I strongly recommend the Tillamook Ford Service Center, and the Chevron garage across the street from the Ford dealership (same mechanic works at both places). In addition to the friendly service and willingness to help me out, they were the only that I could find open on Saturday in Tillamook.
(Hopefully, this information will help ease someone else's misfortune, in case you also find yourself stranded in Tillamook.)
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