Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2008. Mattie was in his first month of treatment and this photo showed Mattie being escorted to a scan. Mattie could not do scans without sedation. Peter and I learned that the hard way! Each scan Mattie did without sedation landed up being a traumatic experience. For example, Mattie was very scared of MRIs and CT scans. The noise of the machines bothered him intensely and Mattie's MRIs weren't short, they lasted 90 minutes or longer! Mattie was so traumatized by doing scans without sedation, that he would hide under the scan table, wouldn't come out, cried hysterically, and the scan couldn't be completed. Despite my best attempts at explaining this to Mattie's doctor, he refused to understand the emotions and extent of the issues. That was until Linda (child life professional) and Debbi (sedation nurse) came onto the scene and observed Mattie's reaction for themselves! After which, Mattie NEVER had a scan or procedure without sedation again.  

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 5,187,611
• number of people who died from the virus: 165,831

It was another early morning. I was up by 5:45am. It is vital to get up early in order for me to get showered, dressed, and breakfast made before I wake up my dad and get him ready. Though the caregiver was coming this morning, her schedule is 8am to noon. Given that we had to leave the house at 9am to make a 9:30am doctor appointment, I had to get the shower routine started at 7:30am. 

We had breakfast together, and then all of us (including the caregiver) went to the doctor's office. Only one of us was allowed in the exam room because of COVID, so I stayed with my dad and my mom and the caregiver waited in the hallway. 

I learned today that my dad has a larger sized kidney stone in his left kidney. Which will need to be monitored. When I return in December, I will take my dad for a follow up xray and appointment. I liked the urologist a lot and given the questions I had for him, he asked me where I practice! Hysterical!

The doctor performed an ultrasound in the office. The ultrasound can detect cysts, tumors, abscesses, obstructions, fluid collection, and infection within or around the kidneys. Stones of the kidneys and ureters may be detected by ultrasound.

See the bright dot in the center? That is a kidney stone. Fortunately my dad has no other masses, no blockages, or inflammation. 

The x-ray my dad took on Monday confirmed that the ureter stent came out on its own. When a kidney stone gets lodged in the ureter, surgery is needed (which my dad had in May). However, a tube like stent is inserted from the kidney to the bladder during the surgery, to keep the ureter open so it will not collapse on itself post-surgery. The stent usually stays in 3-7 days. Most of us need to go back to the urologist to get the stent removed. In my dad's case, he urinated it out! The doctor did not believe me, but after seeing the x-ray, he said I was right.

So far it has been a busy week.... Monday we saw my dad's primary care doctor, Tuesday, my parents had a dental appointment, and today we saw the urologist. It is a real challenge to get to appointments on time, but we did it. 

Everyday people are coming and going into my parent's house. Caregivers, a nurse, physical and occupational therapists, and a wound care specialist. We have no real control over this, it is what my dad needs. The urologist asked me today if I was afraid to fly across the country?! My answer is WHAT CHOICE DO I HAVE? Life is filled with risk, and I have learned I have to assess the risk and make the best decisions possible.