Tonight's picture was taken on August 24, 2008, 15 years ago today. Sometimes I pause and truly wonder.... was this a part of my life? It was over a decade ago, and yet it is always with me, and a part of my life. Time does not help or provide comfort, instead, it fades specifics and aspects of my memory. I write each and every day, to keep the essence of Mattie alive, so that I have the opportunity to actively work on keeping his voice, his laughter, his smile, his eyes, the way he thought, and so much more alive. Without daily work, these subtilties that make Mattie, Mattie, disappear.
This photo was taken in Mattie's hospital room. The white board was used to record his intakes and outputs, and to record medication administered. Mattie had other ideas, erased the board and instead CREATED this funny face.
Quote of the day: Live life in a way, so that you remain in the memories of everyone. ~ Invajy
This morning, I decided to call my dad's urologist to follow up on his urine culture results. The results showed that he has blood in his urine. Given that myself and my dad are kidney stone sufferers, I don't panic when I hear about blood in the urine. I am well aware of the fact that my dad has a 12mm kidney stone in his left kidney. He has had it there since 2020, perhaps even earlier.
In March of 2020, my dad went to the hospital with urinary sepsis. He had a stone blocking his ureter and needed immediate surgery. After that surgery we learned about the massive stone in his left kidney. This health crisis occurred during the time of COVID, so none of us could be present in the hospital to ask questions. Nonetheless, I have always wondered.... why didn't they use lithotripsy to remove that large stone when he was under anesthesia for the ureteroscopy?
My dad's urologist was unable to see him today, so we saw the doctor's colleague. Dr. Levy gets 5 stars! Those of you who know me, know that I am very hard on doctors. This urologist is not only competent, but is a compassionate human being. He started with conversing with us and getting to know our dynamic, since all three of us were in the examining room.
Long story short, there is NOTHING TO DO! Given my dad has a 12mm stone, blood in the urine is common. Since he is not symptomatic and the doctor feels this stone will not disintegrate on its own, without medical assistance, the plan is to leave the stone exactly where it is. The doctor also felt that lithotripsy wasn't used on my dad in 2020, most likely because of the concern of keeping my dad under anesthesia for too long. The goal back then was to remove the immediate threat of the stone blocking the ureter. It all makes sense. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have a line up of outstanding specialists to assist my parents.
Before the doctor said good-bye to us, he shook my hand and congratulated me for taking such good care of my parents. He told me that given all of my dad's health concerns, my dad looks great. Well cared for and happy. I can't tell you how much his feedback meant to me. I work very hard each and every day, and usually do this without any kudos. The doctor basically told my parents that he doesn't see many 88 year olds in his office who are in as good of shape. GOLD STAR FOR VICKI!
What I do know for certain is that if anyone in the Washington, DC area needs a referral to a cardiologist, a pulmonologist, or a urologist, I LOVE the three that we work with, and will share their contact information any time!
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