Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2007. Mattie was five years old. We were on an adventure at the LA Zoo. In fact, each August, I took Mattie out to visit my parents. It was two weeks of activities, out and about, and exploring the beauty of Southern California. The irony was with Mattie, my whole family had adventures we never would have done if he wasn't in our lives. He brought a spark, a glimmer, and was and will always be an incredible gift.
Quote of the day: The cure for a broken heart is simple, my lady. A hot bath and a good night’s sleep. ~ Margaret George
Tonight's quote has me laughing! I do not know about the hot bath, but sleep is definitely key. Each night, after I put my parents to bed, I go into my room, turn on the fan and TV. Yes we have the air conditioning on, but I love the sound of a real fan. When my Verizon tech angel came the last time, we got to talking about TV shows. I told him I love watching the 80's show.... Who's the Boss. He laughed. He is around my age, so he knew exactly what I was talking about, he also told me he was a Tony Danza fan. When I look at Tony Danza, there is something about his smile with a dimple that reminds me of my Mattie. Overall, the beauty of Who's the Boss is the connection, respect, and support all the characters on the show have for one another. It is just wholesome and I love watching it each night. It is my escape into a world where family members actually care and respect one another.
Today was a whirlwind. I got up at 3:45am. I packed snacks, blankets, hot hands and other items for me and my mom at the hospital. I tried to convince her not to come, but she insisted. I did not fight her because if I were in her situation, and let's say Mattie told me not to go to the hospital for Peter's surgical procedure, I wouldn't have listened either. I decided given the horrible early hour that I would use Mattie's wheelchair to transport my dad around the hospital. That was a brilliant idea! It would have been too much for him otherwise. I haven't used Mattie's transport chair since Mattie had cancer. Of course using it also transported me back in time to 2008. Perhaps Mattie's spirit was with me today.
The doctor came to greet us this morning and he truly is trying. We got off to a rocky start, but I think he saw first hand what I am balancing alone. My dad's pre-op nurse, Jen, was amazing. What a kind, competent, efficient, and thoughtful human being. I was smart to bring electronic copies of my dad's power of attorney and medical power of attorney, because they uploaded them into the system for me. She could see that my dad really should NOT be signing any paperwork for himself. In fact, she first had him sign his consents, but after interacting with him for a few minutes, she realized he truly isn't competent. Which is what I have tried to tell others before Jen, but Jen got it on her own and quickly. My dad asked Jen about twenty times how long his surgery was going to be today. She answered each request kindly. What she experienced for a few minutes, I have daily, 24 by 7.
My dad's cystoscopy, ureteroscopy, lithotripsy and stent replacements took almost two hours. The doctor came out and told us that the large (and I mean large, 1.7cm stone) stone in his left kidney is so extensive that he couldn't break it all up today. The doctor was concerned about having my dad under general anesthesia for too long. So he decided to stop for today and bring my dad back in two weeks for another procedure. Thankfully the right kidney is now completely clear of stones. Of course this means that my dad will have stents in his ureters for another two weeks.
The post-op experience wasn't as positive as the pre-op one. They had my dad in recovery for an hour before letting us come back. When I got back to him, I found that he had urinated all over himself. He did not know what to do. So naturally I got the nurses jumping. How they did not realize that he was incontinent prior to surgery is beyond me. But I got them up to speed quickly. Literally it took two nurses and myself to clean him and get him dressed. When the nurse asked..... you have help at home.... and I answered NO. She just looked at me. You know that look of HOW ON EARTH DO YOU DO THIS ALONE??? All I said to her is God has to give me strength to make it through each day intact.
I learned the medical resident placed three scripts for my dad in the outpatient pharmacy. I had to locate the pharmacy, which is in a different building of the hospital complex. Of course you know if you leave one building to enter another, you can't get back into the other building again without going through security. Truly I wasn't in the mood for this today. When I got to the pharmacy, the pharmacist flagged a script, as having a potential allergy for my dad. Now if the pharmacist can do this, why can't the doctor? I paid for the med, but told the pharmacist that she had to contact the doctor because in my opinion my dad did not need Flomax. He has stents, so Flomax is not needed. Guess who was right? YES, it was me. Oh and by the way, I had the pharmacist use her badge to get me back into the hospital.
My dad has had a rough time at home. I have him on round the clock Tylenol, Advil, and Pyridium. He is also on antibiotics, and that never goes well with someone who has IBS. So literally I am changing my dad every thirty minutes. Again, all I can say is GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH.
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