Tonight's picture was taken on January 12, 2009. Mattie was in New York City, to start his experimental treatment. He was required to start it in NY, but would then get his weekly dosage at his home hospital in Washington, DC. The NYC hospital had a very large child life playroom. In fact it was cavernous, not unlike a big train station. It truly was cold, impersonal, and frankly no one interacted or communicated with each other. The NYC staff were told by Mattie's care team in Washington, DC that they needed to save packing boxes for Mattie. I think they thought that was one bizarre request, but they did it! Mattie created this big plane out of boxes. The funny part was we actually loaded this big plane into a yellow NYC taxi and brought it back to our hotel room. It never made it back to Washington, DC, but for the time we were in NYC, Mattie loved that plane.
Quote of the day: Dogs leave paw prints on our hearts. ~ Pam Brown
After I got my dad up, showered, dressed, and had breakfast, I took him to his memory care center. After which I did grocery shopping because I knew snow was predicted for Friday, and I suspected that my dad's memory care center would be closed (unfortunately I am correct!). Once I got home, put away the groceries and folded the laundry, I made insurance calls for my mom. I listened to her on the phone the other day, and I could tell she couldn't logically present her case and the person on the phone wasn't following her. So today, I spent an hour working out her dental claim and other issues.
At noon, we got in the car and I drove to the city for my urology appointment. Keep in mind that the last time I went to this practice was in 2021. Since my parents moved in, I haven't been keeping up with this specialist and my bladder care. Given that I have been struggling with urinary tract infection symptoms for a week, I knew I had to get this addressed. My mom insisted on coming with me and I drew the line when I went back for my exam. I wanted privacy and she waited for me in the waiting area.
I wasn't sure how the office staff was going to deal with me. Why? Well first I hadn't been to the office for regular check ups and second, I got my physician friends to prescribe me antibiotics. Which of course makes the urology practice's job more difficult in determining what is wrong with me. I explained to the practice that I am dealing with inordinate amounts of stress, which I believe triggered my illness. When I told them about caregiving full time, being separated from 35 year relationship with my husband, and Sunny dying, they immediately got it. In fact I would say every woman I interfaced with today was human, kind, and tried to help me. I went in ready to do battle and advocate for myself, but it wasn't necessary.
Despite the kindness, I still had to endure an internal exam, which wasn't pleasant on a good day, and even worse when not feeling well. By the time this ten minute nightmare was over, I did not know if I could walk, stand, or drive the car. Of course that wasn't an option, and I pushed through the pain. Since I have been on two different antibiotics in the last week, they prescribed me a powder antibiotic called Fosfomycin. I have never taken it before. Basically it is a powder that has to be mixed with a 1/2 cup of water, and consumed immediately. When I first took the powder out of the package, it had a bad smell. I wasn't sure I could swallow it, but in water, it had an orange flavor and was no problem. This ONE time dosage cost $84! Given that, all I can say is it better work.
No comments:
Post a Comment