Because I know how entertaining my blog is, I give you: a new VA report! Or, how I spent time between the DAV van dropping me off on Tuesday morning, and taking me home on Thursday afternoon.
I had my blood tests drawn Tuesday morning, then found that the procedure had been moved to Thursday morning. That meant I had nothing to do at all on Wednesday, other than listen to the cds of The Da Vinci Code and play computer games. Tuesday, I managed somehow to get the laptop back to operating in normal mode. I had it going in safe mode Monday night, and decided to take it with me and work on it when I had nothing else to do. I booted it up in safe mode, took some old software off it, and restarted it. It actually came up normally! Only bad thing was that I had no Wi-fi access in hospital, and I no longer have any dialup software. So I played some computer games I had downloaded onto a cd, and that kept me entertained when I got tired of reading about making altered books and selling on ebay. (Other things I checked from the library.)
The hoptel facilities are spartan, but nice. The rooms are on the top (fifth) floor of the bed tower, in a wing to themselves. I was lucky enough to get an end room that did not share a toilet/shower with another. These rooms are the same as the patient rooms, except there are electronic key locks on the doors, and no one bothers you (nursing staff) all night long. If there were a need for overflow rooms, these would be pressed into service. They are available for veterans who have tests that take several days, or who depend on the DAV vans to get them to the facility and come back for them another day. The room I had was a double, having a regular twin bed and one hospital bed in it. Usually, that would have some old man and his wife there. ; ) But since there were no singles open, I got it. There was a view of the courtyard below, and the rooftops across from me. Not too exciting, but you could see sky, and it was quiet. I cranked the air conditioning down to about 68 degrees and enjoyed my solitude.
The hoptel also gives you meal tickets redeemable in the hospital kitchen. There is no choice to what you get, but there is plenty of food, and it's balanced. There was a pint of very cold milk with every meal, and that made me happy. About the only thing I didn't eat during the three days was the potato/corn chowder. It was terribly bland. Otherwise, I was fine with the choices. Food is food!
I had to be at the ambulatory clinic at 0630, freshly showered, the notice said. ; ) I had gathered all my things up the night before, packed away the computer and had everything in my handy-dandy Roots rollabout bag and was down there at 0615. No one else around, and the sign said: Clinic opens at 0630, take a seat in the waiting area. I did.
About 0640, someone opened the door, and we all queued up to hand in our papers for the day's event. We received our plastic wristbands, and were told to go back out to the waiting room. Tick. Tock. We all waited. Old men swapped war stories. Their elderly wives slept or played their word games in little books. I watched the morning news about the big steampipe explosion in New York City. Yawn.
Eventually, some of us were called back to the staging area. It was 0830 when I was summoned, and told to strip completely and put on that typical flaptail gown. I was shown to my bed, layered with the sheet and blankets. I immediately threw the blankets to one side, being as hot natured as I am. Three people tried to put them back on me, insisting I MUST be cold. I insisted right back that I was not; the sheet was plenty of cover for me. The nurse came to check my vitals, then put in the IV port in the back of my hand. She got it on the very first try. I was very grateful, and told her so. She said she had veins just like mine, and she knew how badly she hated it when people go fishing around.
Within about ten minutes, the escort came to roll me and the gurney to surgery. We took the service elevator down, but then we went to the first floor where I was rolled down some of the main corridors. I had forgotten that this would be done in the main x-ray lab, under the big fluoroscope machines. I was parked in a back corridor, outside the x-ray room. The equipment looked foreboding; I have never been back in this part of the lab before.
I got very anxious. Usually, I hold my own, but this time, I was shaking. Not because I was cold, because I was anything but. The nurse came out to talk to me, and said the doctor was not there yet. (Surprise, surprise.) She tried once again to put the blankets on me, but I was actually sweating. She reassured me that this was a common procedure, and I acknowledged that I was sure it was for them, but it wasn't for me, and I was a bit scared. Shortly the doctor came out, and he was fabulous! Not only nice looking, but extremely good at explaining the procedure to me and why certain things are done certain ways. It made me feel somewhat better, but I could not stop myself from shaking.
They transferred me from the gurney onto the table, which had a place for the shoulders and head that made the head a little lower than the shoulders. The nurse put a paper cap on my head, then explained to me that they would need to tape my head so that I would be looking slightly to my left to hyperextend my neck. She used an ultrasound to determine if my carotid artery was clear (it was), and then put the blood pressure cuff on my left arm. Time for the show.
The doc came in again, he told me it would take about an hour, but it wouldn't seem that long because I would be out most of the time, but only with a local because he would ask me to hold my breath at some point when he was inserting the portacath, and I would need to be responsive enough for that. I said pour that crazy sauce to me, and let's do it.
I remember just a little, and mostly it was some pain when they were putting pressure on my chest. I also remember the doctor telling me to breathe deeply, because I was sobbing, and he was having a bit of trouble getting the sutures in me. Oh, well, it was over by that point.
The escort was called to take me to chemo where they do my iron infusions every week. I'm one of the few people who come in there that doesn't have cancer, and that fact is never lost on me. I got my iron, and lunch was brought in, and I was taken back down to ambulatory surgery when it was all done. They kept me until 2:30PM, and got me ready to go back on the DAV van. Everyone was ready to go when I arrived at the bed tower lobby.
The van driver took me to the dealership and dropped me off there because Dan is there by himself this week. (His co-worker is off to Hawaii to get married.) We got home around six, and Dan ordered a spinach alfredo pizza that was wonderful. By then, the local anesthesia had worn off, and I had to take a Percocet. I propped myself up in bed so the cats wouldn't lay all over me, and crashed.
I woke up around 0300 and had to take another pain pill. The cats were all lined up on the bed, and were being very nice about staying out of my face. I went back to bed, and didn't wake up until nearly noon Friday. The pain was back, and I repeated the treatment, and went back to bed. I woke again at nearly five, and got up to watch a little tv and eat a little something. I wasn't up too long until I needed more pain meds and back to bed I went. I've been good for nothing all day Saturday as well. At least I did get a shower and wash my hair today. That is a bit of comfort.
Next appointment is Tuesday, so I will find out how things are going then.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Another fun filled week
Today was my annual checkup at the dentist. I had the bite-wing xrays, a cleaning, and an exam by the the dentist, who informed me that one of my old fillings in the back has decay next to it, and will have to be reworked. That will not happen until next month, thank goodness. Just the visit today was $116. I have no dental insurance, and the VA won't work on your teeth unless you have a 100% disability rating.
Tonight I wash clothes and pack my bag for a three day stay at the Memphis VA. Tuesday, they will do the preliminary tests like the INR for my clotting levels, and to make certain I don't have any infections. Wednesday, they will do the outpatient procedure to put in the portacath. Thursday, they will give me the next iron treatment. This will allow me to ride the DAV van over on Tuesday and stay in the hoptel room two nights and come back on the van Thursday. Anything to spare me the gasoline and the nightmare of parking once I get there.
I have gone to the library and checked out the cd abridged version of The Da Vinci Code because I am too lazy to read it. I also downloaded some games to play on the laptop, and have a real book to read. Anything to keep me occupied. I'll report all the wonderfully boring details Friday or so.
~~~~~
Meanwhile, Bogey continues to make himself more and more at home. He seems to like everyone else, and he doesn't get hissed at anymore. He and Harley are really close, and I noticed last night that he was making the same sort of gutteral sounds Harley does. Sort of a low mmmmrrrrrt. Really sweet to see him get comfortable.
Tonight I wash clothes and pack my bag for a three day stay at the Memphis VA. Tuesday, they will do the preliminary tests like the INR for my clotting levels, and to make certain I don't have any infections. Wednesday, they will do the outpatient procedure to put in the portacath. Thursday, they will give me the next iron treatment. This will allow me to ride the DAV van over on Tuesday and stay in the hoptel room two nights and come back on the van Thursday. Anything to spare me the gasoline and the nightmare of parking once I get there.
I have gone to the library and checked out the cd abridged version of The Da Vinci Code because I am too lazy to read it. I also downloaded some games to play on the laptop, and have a real book to read. Anything to keep me occupied. I'll report all the wonderfully boring details Friday or so.
~~~~~
Meanwhile, Bogey continues to make himself more and more at home. He seems to like everyone else, and he doesn't get hissed at anymore. He and Harley are really close, and I noticed last night that he was making the same sort of gutteral sounds Harley does. Sort of a low mmmmrrrrrt. Really sweet to see him get comfortable.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Black and Blue and tired all over
This has been a long week. Monday, I took Bogart for his second round of shots at the vet, and by the time I got back, I was exhausted. He was just about the best behaved cat I've ever taken to the vet, never hissing or spitting, and not even flinching when the vet gave him the injections and that stuff that went up his little nose. He didn't even cry that much on the ride home. Good boy, Bogey.
Monday night, I went to bed early (before midnight)because I had to be up early to catch the DAV van to the Memphis VA. I twitched. I tossed. I rearranged the cats on the bed. I was miserably hot, and my back and legs hurt. The air conditioning was on its normal 72 degrees. I heard one of the cats throw up in the other room. I checked my watch. It was three AM. I got up to go to the bathroom, then rearranged the cats again. I have no idea how much sleep I really got, because it seemed very shortly after that the timer went off in the kitchen and I was off to the shower.
The visit on Tuesday was back to the neurologist. I was wondering who I might get on the luck of the draw because my former doctor left the system for his new practice. Turns out that I am pleasantly surprised to have a female resident this time, a tall slender young woman who seems not only to know her business, but have compassion as well. I didn't feel like just another number on the board, and she was very thorough in her exam and follow-up. She told me that the recent MRI shows some problems that are starting to show in my neck, and some additional problems in the L-5 and S-1 region. She listened to what I had to say about my pain problems, and actually got me something stronger than an aspirin to alleviate some of it. She got me a consult with the neurosurgery department, and hopefully they might have something they can do for me. No promises, but at least some action. I am grateful.
Tuesday night, I was worn out from the day on the road, even though I didn't have to drive. I went to bed early again, because Wednesday I had to drive myself to a hematology appointment. I had a better bit of sleep, most due to the new meds I got.
Wednesday morning, I hit the road around 6:15 and stopped at Hardee's for a biscuit and some coffee to make sure I stayed awake. I have no intention of rolling another car through the cotton fields on my way to the VA. I made good time, finding a decent parking place by the Women's Clinic entrance, and checked in. First stop was the lab, where I thought they would never quit changing those little tubes out.
Orange juice sounded like a good idea, so I headed up to the cafeteria since it was just past 8AM and my appointment upstairs was 9:40. I killed a little time in the canteen, buying a cool weatherband radio that you can crank if the power fails, then went on up to the fourth floor clinic and turned in my paperwork.
I watched the end of the Today show on the tv in the waiting area. Then the local Memphis morning show, and watched the other patients come and go. My name was not called. The Price is Right, which I totally detest, came on. It was now 11AM. I went back to the window and asked the person there just how far down the line was I, anyway? Oh, seems he had shelved my paper in the wrong spot. Wonder if the doctor might have left had I not said something? Was he apologetic? Hardly.
Dr. S is my hematologist. She is nice enough, but a bit cold. I spoke with her for maybe five minutes tops, including a very quick listen to my heart and lungs. She told me that my iron levels are down again, and that she wanted me to come in once a week for the iron infusions for the next four weeks, then every other week after that. No end time in sight for the moment. She also said she will be absent during August, so my next appointment with her will be mid September. Hooray.
She dismissed me to go back to the chemo room where I took my place on one of the recliners. The young man next to me, who had already lost his hair and most of his eyebrows to the chemotherapy, was very pleasant for someone in his state. He didn't appear to be much more than early twenties at the most, probably back from a tour in Iraq. I didn't ask, and he didn't say.
Another woman was curled up facing the wall at the far end of the room. I found out later that she was a former oncology nurse, and was now on the receiving end of the treatment. My situation doesn't seem near so bad to me when I meet these others in the chemo room.
That was little compensation, however, because I have become increasingly hard to stick for the IV treatments. Usually it takes a couple or three tries. Wednesday, no one seemed to get lucky. I have small, crooked veins, and they tend to disappear just as the nurse goes to insert the needle. I feel like I am fairly tough, but when it comes to someone digging around trying to find a vein that has moved, I can't help myself. I whinged about it hurting. Seven or more tries, and three nurses later, success! I got my treatment, and it was decided that I need to have a portacath put in to avoid these problems. That means another trip up the road next week just to have that done in the ambulatory surgery clinic, then once more to have the iron treatment. It can't be done the same day.
I really felt sorry for the nurses there. They all tried their best, and my veins just were not cooperating. They apologized to me for the hurt, and I apologized back for the inconvenience. They really are a caring bunch in there.
It was past 4PM when I got home. I was exhausted once again, and felt like crap. I feel so damned useless right now. Every little thing wears me out, and I have no stamina whatsoever. It sucks, and I know it frustrates the hell out of Dan. Sure frustrates the hell out of me.
So, Thursday, I slept. Dreaming some outrageously stupid dreams, one about going to a costume party wearing a Hello Kitty costume (never!), and one about being in the wrong place when another company was having a drill for fire control (yes, another "back in the Navy" dream). I was trying to get out of the way and back to my own company, but the smoke began to fill the room. I woke up, glad to find there wasn't any real smoke choking me. Just a bed filled with cats. ; )
I'm useless these days. What can I say?
Monday night, I went to bed early (before midnight)because I had to be up early to catch the DAV van to the Memphis VA. I twitched. I tossed. I rearranged the cats on the bed. I was miserably hot, and my back and legs hurt. The air conditioning was on its normal 72 degrees. I heard one of the cats throw up in the other room. I checked my watch. It was three AM. I got up to go to the bathroom, then rearranged the cats again. I have no idea how much sleep I really got, because it seemed very shortly after that the timer went off in the kitchen and I was off to the shower.
The visit on Tuesday was back to the neurologist. I was wondering who I might get on the luck of the draw because my former doctor left the system for his new practice. Turns out that I am pleasantly surprised to have a female resident this time, a tall slender young woman who seems not only to know her business, but have compassion as well. I didn't feel like just another number on the board, and she was very thorough in her exam and follow-up. She told me that the recent MRI shows some problems that are starting to show in my neck, and some additional problems in the L-5 and S-1 region. She listened to what I had to say about my pain problems, and actually got me something stronger than an aspirin to alleviate some of it. She got me a consult with the neurosurgery department, and hopefully they might have something they can do for me. No promises, but at least some action. I am grateful.
Tuesday night, I was worn out from the day on the road, even though I didn't have to drive. I went to bed early again, because Wednesday I had to drive myself to a hematology appointment. I had a better bit of sleep, most due to the new meds I got.
Wednesday morning, I hit the road around 6:15 and stopped at Hardee's for a biscuit and some coffee to make sure I stayed awake. I have no intention of rolling another car through the cotton fields on my way to the VA. I made good time, finding a decent parking place by the Women's Clinic entrance, and checked in. First stop was the lab, where I thought they would never quit changing those little tubes out.
Orange juice sounded like a good idea, so I headed up to the cafeteria since it was just past 8AM and my appointment upstairs was 9:40. I killed a little time in the canteen, buying a cool weatherband radio that you can crank if the power fails, then went on up to the fourth floor clinic and turned in my paperwork.
I watched the end of the Today show on the tv in the waiting area. Then the local Memphis morning show, and watched the other patients come and go. My name was not called. The Price is Right, which I totally detest, came on. It was now 11AM. I went back to the window and asked the person there just how far down the line was I, anyway? Oh, seems he had shelved my paper in the wrong spot. Wonder if the doctor might have left had I not said something? Was he apologetic? Hardly.
Dr. S is my hematologist. She is nice enough, but a bit cold. I spoke with her for maybe five minutes tops, including a very quick listen to my heart and lungs. She told me that my iron levels are down again, and that she wanted me to come in once a week for the iron infusions for the next four weeks, then every other week after that. No end time in sight for the moment. She also said she will be absent during August, so my next appointment with her will be mid September. Hooray.
She dismissed me to go back to the chemo room where I took my place on one of the recliners. The young man next to me, who had already lost his hair and most of his eyebrows to the chemotherapy, was very pleasant for someone in his state. He didn't appear to be much more than early twenties at the most, probably back from a tour in Iraq. I didn't ask, and he didn't say.
Another woman was curled up facing the wall at the far end of the room. I found out later that she was a former oncology nurse, and was now on the receiving end of the treatment. My situation doesn't seem near so bad to me when I meet these others in the chemo room.
That was little compensation, however, because I have become increasingly hard to stick for the IV treatments. Usually it takes a couple or three tries. Wednesday, no one seemed to get lucky. I have small, crooked veins, and they tend to disappear just as the nurse goes to insert the needle. I feel like I am fairly tough, but when it comes to someone digging around trying to find a vein that has moved, I can't help myself. I whinged about it hurting. Seven or more tries, and three nurses later, success! I got my treatment, and it was decided that I need to have a portacath put in to avoid these problems. That means another trip up the road next week just to have that done in the ambulatory surgery clinic, then once more to have the iron treatment. It can't be done the same day.
I really felt sorry for the nurses there. They all tried their best, and my veins just were not cooperating. They apologized to me for the hurt, and I apologized back for the inconvenience. They really are a caring bunch in there.
It was past 4PM when I got home. I was exhausted once again, and felt like crap. I feel so damned useless right now. Every little thing wears me out, and I have no stamina whatsoever. It sucks, and I know it frustrates the hell out of Dan. Sure frustrates the hell out of me.
So, Thursday, I slept. Dreaming some outrageously stupid dreams, one about going to a costume party wearing a Hello Kitty costume (never!), and one about being in the wrong place when another company was having a drill for fire control (yes, another "back in the Navy" dream). I was trying to get out of the way and back to my own company, but the smoke began to fill the room. I woke up, glad to find there wasn't any real smoke choking me. Just a bed filled with cats. ; )
I'm useless these days. What can I say?
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