Hello, People!

 

Yes, once again I’m having my Monday Meeting on a Tuesday. If anyone noticed, which I doubt anyone did, I didn’t do a post at all yesterday. Damn there went my perfect posting month. I’m afraid there will be a few more missing days before the end of this month. I’m ok with it. More important things are going on.

So grab a comfy chair, your favorite drink and lend an ear or in this case, eyes.

As many of you know the husband has colon cancer. The doctors are moving fast on this, which is a good thing. His surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday, the 24th of November. I believe that’s about a month from diagnosis to surgery. There is a lot of things for him and I to do before his surgery, mostly him. I’m just there to help remember things and keep him on time. We’ve spent more time at the hospital these last few weeks then we’ve spent in the last fifteen years. One thing I have noticed…they have the most uncomfortable chairs my sorry butt has ever sat on! It’s a lot of hurry up and waiting.

Yesterday was one of those days. We didn’t know until Friday afternoon that he had to be at the hospital on Monday morning for pre-op. What they told me on the phone was he had a couple of people to see, one doctor and the anesthesiologist. Wouldn’t take long at all. I wonder if that is hospital talk for ‘it will take hours and hours’. Ha! Because that is what it did.

We got there in good time, got registered, was sent for him to have an EKG done. Wasn’t expecting that. Off we go to the other side of the hospital. That tech after she is done, sends us off to finally talk to the first doctor, which I’m still not sure why, but hey, who am I to question it. He asked dozens of questions, wrote down all the meds the husband was on and listened to his breathing. That took about thirty minutes. He said to wait where we were, a nurse was going to come in and explain some things and ask some more questions. Ok, more questions, what more could they ask?

The friendly nurse comes in with a handful of brochures and sheets of paper. She asks thousands of questions, again writes down his meds, explains all the procedures to us and kept calling the husband ‘sir’. I would just smile every time he winced at her ‘sirs’. I almost laughed when she lectured him about what a good wife and helper I was and not for him to take advantage of me in the coming weeks. Hahaha. I loved that. He thought it was funny, so no harm done.

Then it was time for the anesthesiologist to come talk to us. Very nice woman. Told us what she would be doing, asked a million questions, listened to his lungs and heart and said something about his carotid artery in his neck on right side. Hmmmm. She said she wasn’t happy with how it sounded? Felt? She says she thinks there is plaque in the artery and since she didn’t want the husband to have a stroke while under for the operation she wants it checked out. So she finishes and we were told to wait as they wanted blood samples. We wait a few minutes and the woman who draws blood comes in with her mobile blood-letting machine and takes a huge vial of blood from him. Alright! Maybe we are done now? We’ve been in the hospital for several hours by now.

Um, no we aren’t done…..

Told to go back upstairs and get an x-ray done of his lungs. The doctor wanted another one, so off we go. So far we have been from one side of the hospital to the other. Now we are going back to the other side. Poor husband is groaning in pain from his back. I’m tired and my legs are about to give out and the husbands son, who was kind enough to take us to the hospital that morning has been waiting for us for several hours by now. But we aren’t done yet…..

They call up to x-ray and tell us that we are to come back downstairs when we are done. What? Again? Argggg……

We go back downstairs for two things. They decided they want the husband to do a breathing test for his lungs. Also, the anesthesiologist wants him to have a sonogram done on this carotid artery so they are calling the radiologists to get that set up. Holy tests, Batman!

Finally, he is done for the day. The sonogram is set up for Friday morning, early. We go home and collapse. Whew, what a process!

I am glad they are so through, less chance of anything going wrong. It is very tiring though. Now, the husband just wants it over with. Don’t say I blame him. Anyway, that’s why there was no post writting yesterday. I was wore out and my mind was a disaster area. That’s also why there will be a few more posts missing next week. I’ll be at the hospital visiting a hurting hubby.

On other news…my mother got her birthday package of cards and gifts and was so happy! Thank you once again for all of you that sent her something. She says she is happily organizing all the recipes and already has a few marked to try right away. She told me that the day the package came, her home care nurse was there when she opened it. They both thought it was a really nice idea and was amazed how many cards she got and from so many places. 🙂

Now, I’m going to rest for a while and see if there is any chance in hell of catching up with everyone else’s blogs. See you!