Monday, February 14, 2011

Sweetheart's weekend

The weekend with my sweetheart started on Friday. Made special foods. Fed him. Catered to his needs. But it's not what you think.

Last Monday started with pain centered around his left eye. The doctor suspected trigeminal neuralgia. By Thursday night it was twice as bad - like "trying to push the eyeball out of its socket".  Bumps appeared on his face. Three calls to the after-hours advice nurse and a night of extreme discomfort. He almost woke me at 3am for a trip to the emergency room.

Friday morning at the doctors. The revised diagnosis: shingles - his first attack. The prescription for Vicodin caused a delay at the pharmacy but any waiting was nearly unbearable for him. So I took him home, and returned for his meds.

I set up his med schedule. Administered drugs and eye drops. Ensured he had water. Cooked the few foods he could tolerate: jello and pudding. And even spoon fed him. My sweetheart expressed his appreciation for this nurse-maid many times.

Today he's better though half his face looks like hell – lesions, swollen eyelid, enlarged lymph node on the neck. I am back at work knowing he has healed enough to administer his own meds.

That box of chocolates will wait until his appetite returns.

5 comments:

  1. Ugh! Shingles is so bad, and it's a shame that the doctor didn't diagnose it earlier. Glad that he's a little better. It takes a while to recover from this, so I'm glad you're there to help him. Take care of yourself.

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  2. My husband had it a few years ago-very very painful but his eye was ok! Hang in there and keep up with the meds.

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  3. Thank you all for your well wishes. He's eating Girl Scout Cookies and watching tv. Means he's better. Full recovery when he wants chocolate, especially the nuts & chews!

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  4. E: Did you know you can get vaccinated agaInst Shingles? If you haven't, you had better do it. I don't know if it's too late for Eric or not. Sounds horrific. Poor guy. Glad to know he's on the mend

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  5. I got my shingles vaccine last month. Eric will get one when he turns 60 - a number of years away.

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