Chapter 18

Good Morning,

 

I haven’t written anything in so long that my keyboard is revolting.  It doesn’t seem to remember me at all.  It seems to think I like typing letter after letter just to watch me have to go back and correct it.

 

Christmas is coming so fast and as usual, not much is done to celebrate.  We did finally get the tree up today and it is so pretty.  I’ve got about half my shopping done, and none of them wrapped.  Mama seeks to help by nagging me to take her shopping.  I just hate Wal-Mart, and of course, that’s Mama’s favorite place in the world.  My sister did give me a list of 3 things that she wants, along with 7-8 pages of things my niece wants.  None of the guys know what they want, and I can understand.  I never know what I want.  I have everything I need, and too much of what I want.  Our house is so small that we really don’t have room for anything.  I’ll probably end up at Wal-Mart or K-Mart again.  I enjoy the small local shops and the original things that you’ll never see in the big box stores.  Plus, it’s really hard on me physically.  It doesn’t take anything to take my breath away (not in a good way), and then I start hurting and that’s when I’m about to go down.

 

I finally had an appointment with Dr. Ng.  He came in the exam room, introduced himself, and noticed I had a list of questions.  He acknowledged my list, turned away from the computer, gave me his full attention and answered all my questions.  Of course, there is always the blood work.  Dr. Ng called (himself—not his nurse) and gave me the lab results.  He was so thrilled for me, that my meld score (the lower the better) was a 6, that’s what a healthy person’s score is.  I have no appointments until January, which is when the appointments start up again.  In March. I have to go back to St. Louis again.  

 

Thanksgiving was hard to get everyone together at the same time.  We ended up having Thanksgiving on Tuesday.  That was the only day that the kids and my brother-in-law could all get off at the same time.  When I got sick, I depended on Leslie to go to my appointments, to make sure I understood what the doctors were telling me.  There have been many appointments where I completely did not understand, which could cause many problems—especially with medications or other instructions.

 

I’ve known since 2010 that Leslie had what I thought was a place on her adrenal glands when it was actually a place on her kidney.  The last time she had surgery, we about lost her 3 times.  First-after her surgery the nurses just didn’t even try to take good care her.  Her friend was with her most of the day and gave Leslie her bed baths, as well as helped her eat what little she would eat.  Her surgery incision went from one side all the way to the other side.  The doctor had told her to shower, no baths, and that’s what she did.  When the stitches failed to do their job, the incision fell open.  The doctor didn’t think that was unusual, so she did what he told her, and took the showers just like he told her to.  She complained about a strange odor, and would take another shower.  She ended up in ER, and fortunately, she had the foulest odor ever.  She even joked that a cadaver dog would hit on her, even though she was still alive.  They rushed her back in for surgery and ended up taking all of the skin clear down to the muscle because the stupid doctor never asked if she was on city water or well water.  There is a lot of bacteria in well water-and they even have some kind of gizmo attached to the water line to make the water better, or something like that.  So, she was in the hospital for another 3-4 days.  I’m don’t remember what brought her back to the ER, but they did a chest x-ray, diagnosed her with pneumonia, she was complaining about her right thigh swelling, making it the size of a watermelon!  They said the swollen thigh was the result of the infection from the other procedures.  Being just a little concerned with the care she was receiving, she went to see another doctor for a second opinion.  She didn’t have pneumonia.  It was a blood clot,  and it had broken off and made it to her lung.  So, she goes back to the ER, and you have to wait behind the yellow line ‘til it’s your turn.  Leslie’s friend took her and when it was finally Leslie’s turn, her friend couldn’t resist speaking loudly and clearly about how this same ER had misdiagnosed a blood clot as pneumonia.  That did the trick, I guess, as they jumped through hoops to hurry up and get her out of the waiting room.  Admitted again, and this time she spent 9 days in the hospital and a year on blood thinners.  I tell you all this so you know she will not have surgery unless she will die without it.  So, when they found this place on her kidney in 2010, “He just wants to cut me open”, was what she had to say about it,  and the matter has been sitting on the back-burner of the stove since.  Well, they like to take it off at 4 cm, which is what her’s was in 2010.  The cat-scan she had last month shows it is now 6 cm.  This new doctor explained that it will burst without surgery, which could start massive eternal bleeding that she might not survive without getting into surgery almost immediately afterward.  This doctor is honest and understands why she is so hesitant to have another surgery, and he’s never removed one that large before.  So, he’s sending her to St. Louis.   As if this isn’t enough, the cat-scan showed part of her liver, and she has the beginning stages of cirrhosis!!!!!

 

All of this almost makes me afraid of having Christmas at her house!!  My nephew, Loren, had scoliosis and back surgery just a week before he turned 16.  He wanted to come home so bad.  It was labor Day weekend, and the Doctor and x-ray people were off for the holiday.  Loren wanted to go to the airport, and should he happen to set off the alarm, maybe they would x-ray him and he could go home. LOL. He was only in the hospital 5-6 days, and came home the day before his birthday.  Today, his back is straight, and I think he grew a couple of inches just having the rods put in to straighten him up.  

 

Aren’t you glad I didn’t have anything to say when I started typing????  Long-winded, I am.  I have to write here, cuz my Jerry, just won’t stop talking.  Tee hee.

 

CYA,

Arlynda