Skip to main content

When is a downgrade an upgrade?

...when you are downgraded from ICU to a regular hospital patient! I've never been so happy to be downgraded. Basically it means that I have fewer people checking in on me and will have a different team of doctors and nurses. The doctors and nurses have been very pleased with my progress and think that Wednesday is a realistic timeline for going home. The infectious disease doctor calls me her "superstar" and Nurse Julie refers to me as her star patient. She says she gets a lot of older male patients with "bellies" who don't want to lie on their stomach, take extra oxygen when they need it, or do what they're told (also, some still insist they don't have COVID). I'm being a very compliant patient (i.e., doing a lot of proning) and they say that has been a key to recovery. I'm still on oxygen but it's being lowered every day and I'm not as winded when I get up and about.

I had a great visit with Jonathan and Jeanne yesterday (the nurse just barely let them sneak in the Frappuccino), and Alisa dropped in for a surprise visit with various gifts for me and the family. Nurse Julie said that I have the "nicest friends," and I agree! If I had landed in, say, New York or Philly, I would not have had family or as many friends nearby. Leland drove down to spend the afternoon with me today. We finished watching a movie and he got to witness my first wet hair wash in 1.5 weeks. The nurses-in-training jury-rigged a system with a plastic garbage bag and managed to wash and condition my hair. 


I'm definitely feeling stronger physically and more hopeful about my recovery, although I realize I still have a long road ahead. 

Comments

  1. Irene & DeanAugust 7, 2022 at 8:19 PM

    Wahoo, praising God for the continued progress & "downgrade" to regular patient digs!! Way to go, Star Patient Esther Prins!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LaraAugust 7, 2022 at 8:50 PM

    Glad to hear of the continued good progress, visitors and a potential date for coming home! You rock… one day at a time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsAugust 8, 2022 at 8:25 AM

      Yes, that is my goal: to rock one day at a time.

      Delete
  3. AlisaAugust 7, 2022 at 9:01 PM

    This has made me smile all while reading this & I love seeing you standing tall with Leland. My God! The Lord has brought you a MIGHTY long way!! Only Jesus I’m so grateful. Keep being the star that you are (it pays to follow doctors orders) 😁 I continue to lift you in prayer. So great seeing you & being able to pray over you remotely & in person. My family cheered for you today when we all spoke. love from us!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsAugust 8, 2022 at 8:25 AM

      Thanks, Alisa. It's great to have you and the fam on my cheerleading team.

      Delete
  4. david postAugust 7, 2022 at 9:26 PM

    Your. Hair. I. Want. In addition I want to write you a real letter (versus a get well card) telling you what certainly you don't need to hear about your own significance. Examples to follow. Love, dp

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsAugust 8, 2022 at 8:26 AM

      David, there are miracles and then there are miracles. I think they're still working on the hair miracle you seek. :) I look forward to reading your letter.

      Delete
  5. NickyAugust 7, 2022 at 9:27 PM

    Awwww I'm so happy for you!!! Im sending a WhatsApp now...

    ReplyDelete
  6. RuthAugust 7, 2022 at 9:32 PM

    Very good news, Esther! So happy that going home is within reach now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsAugust 8, 2022 at 8:27 AM

      I know. I just need to keep my saturation levels up as they lower my oxygen.

      Delete
  7. CarolinaAugust 8, 2022 at 1:41 AM

    Joy! This is certainly encouraging news.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousAugust 8, 2022 at 2:53 AM

    You made out of the ICU fast - hooray!!!!!!!! I know it doesn’t feel fast when you’re in the moment, but that is truly great news and we hope the recovery continues! M&M&S&A

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsAugust 8, 2022 at 8:29 AM

      Yes, I wonder how long some of their other COVID patients stay here. Some get intubated or put on ventilators. I'm thankful that wasn't the case for me!

      Delete
  9. AlyssaAugust 8, 2022 at 3:15 AM

    Good job, Superstar!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsAugust 8, 2022 at 8:29 AM

      Thank you! Sometimes it pays to follow directions.

      Delete
  10. AnonymousAugust 8, 2022 at 3:55 AM

    👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Thank you Lord! (Andy)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Carol CAugust 8, 2022 at 6:09 AM

    Yahoo!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousAugust 8, 2022 at 6:12 AM

    Me alegra mucho, Esther. Admiro tu fortaleza. Abrazos, Judith

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsAugust 8, 2022 at 8:30 AM

      Gracias, Judith. No sabemos la esfuerza que tenemos hasta pasar algo asi.

      Delete
  13. AnonymousAugust 9, 2022 at 1:47 PM

    So good to hear positive news. Safe travels.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cancer- and Tagrisso-versaries

June 14 marked three years since my Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis and on June 30, I will complete three years on Tagrisso targeted therapy.  with my first Tagrisso pills (a sample from my oncologist), June 30, 2022 Every year as June approaches, I feel like I am reliving my own Stations of the Cross, recalling what happened each day as I walk toward the inevitable, gut-wrenching diagnosis: my GP telling me the x-ray showed “infiltration” and recommending a CT scan, getting the CT scan and the radiologist (and Leland) thinking I had TB, being sent to the LungenClinic, the doctor ruling out TB and telling me cancer was one of 3 possible explanations for my symptoms, but that it was "unlikely" because of my age, and so on. Not long ago, a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis was a sure, quick death sentence. A researcher who wrote an article  commemorating the 20 th anniversary of the discovery the EGFR (epithelial growth factor receptor) mutation driving my cancer recalled that i...
15 comments
Read more

regular update

I had my regular oncology appointment in Pittsburgh yesterday. Dr. Villaruz said the scans look good and everything is stable. Although I don’t have much scanxiety nowadays, it’s always a relief to get good news. Just to be sure that my understanding was correct, I asked her why I’m not a candidate for surgery. It’s because of the cancer’s growth pattern. The one nodule that’s visible on the CT scan could just be scarring; she’s not sure if it’s a tumor. When I was diagnosed, I was told the lung cancer was “lepidic.” This means that the tumor cells were growing along the lining of the alveolar structures (air sacs).* That’s why my lungs looked like they were draped in cobwebs. You can’t do surgery in enough places to get all of it. Thankfully, Tagrisso swept out those cobwebs – and continues to do so. We go back in December for a regular appointment. *Lepidic spread tends to be slow-growing, with minimal invasion of nearby tissues, less chance of metastasis, and overall better progno...
10 comments
Read more

Who needs their knees, anyway?

I hadn’t written a blog post about my knee injury because I wasn’t sure whether it was related to cancer, but now I know how they are connected. The short version is that my knee swelled up so badly that I couldn’t walk on the night of May 6th/morning of May 7 th.  Because I am on blood thinners, the knee joint kept filling up with blood, a condition that I learned is called hemarthrosis. I’ve spent the past 4+ weeks meeting with a bazillion doctors (GP, orthopedic doctor, orthopedic oncologist, orthopedic surgeon, hematologist), going to the ER (twice), having my knee drained (3 times), and mostly lying on the sofa for 2 of those weeks, trying to get the swelling to come down. I still have a bit of swelling, but I’ve been able to walk 10-20+ minutes the past week without making it worse. I’m still wearing a compression sleeve, which is a step up from the brace and crutches I was using before. Now for the longer version. There was no particular event that caused the injury. The d...
4 comments
Read more