Waiting! and Waiting!

Tomorrow will be a week that my DH is in the hospital!  He entered last Wednesday for double hernia surgery on Friday!  Early admission?  Well, that's because he's on blood thinners (coumadin) due to a mitral valve replacement in 1992.  While this has saved his life, it also has huge implications for any invasive procedure.  He would bleed out if they didn't stop the coumadin effect, because clotting just happens far too slowly.  In order to protect this valve and to be able to perform any surgery, they must stop the coumadin and put him  on a heparin drip - only administered in-patient.

So....they followed the protocols, and surgery proceeded uneventfully on Friday.  After some initial surgical pain, and the reawakening (finally) of all the other abdominal systems, he is simply waiting now for a PT of 2.0.  Coumadin as well as heparin were resumed Friday night, and still we wait for the magic number!  Since they forgot to order the correct labwork this morning, now we wait some more for the results which will determine if he can come home today!  I'm not getting my hopes up!

I have spent so much time at hospitals - at least this time, he's in a local hospital, rather than at Duke (2.5 hours away), so I am able to at least sleep at home and attend to a few things here.  My focus is shot, however, and I can't seem to get a handle on Christmas, holidays in general, shopping, decorating.  So I've simplified and taken that burden off my plate.  No tree, few decorations, mostly $$$ gifts this year, and a dog that makes me crazy!

December is a very rough time for me under normal circumstances - ever since 1987 - when my mother died on the 28th.  The following year, my father died quite suddenly - in my house - on Dec. 24.  You would think by now that I'd be adjusted and just breeze through, but alas.....this year seems to be my normal holiday blues PLUS!!!!!

This is better than 2 years ago when DH was actually IN the hospital on Christmas Day, suffering from unidentified pulmonary issues.  I was the one who finally made the docs know what I knew for months - that he was a victim of amiodarone toxicity.  Amiodarone is a miracle heart arrhythmia drug that can cause all kinds of liver, kidney, AND lung issues.  Not one of his many doctors agreed with me that this was the cause - until finally, one of them said, OK.....let's try replacing it with a different anti- arrhythmic.  Et voila!  Within two weeks the cough dissipated and within a month, his chest x-ray was clearing up.  Moral of this story:  You've got to advocate for yourself!

Dr. Phil Good, MD (aka Sandy)

So this morning my dear friend, Sandy, came over to "treat my depression."  She never fails to listen to my tales of woe (and of course, I have also returned the favor many times!), and she showed up at my door like this!  Dr. Phil Good, MD!  She proceeded to make me laugh my a** off, and laughter has got to be the best medicine for whatever ails you.  So thank you from the bottom of my heart, Dr. Sandy!

Still waiting for the phone call to tell me to come visit or come get me!  And the saga continues!