Driving In The Dark

 I woke at 6:30 and started the day. A quick cup of coffee to drink while I sorted pills for the next two weeks, then I showered and dressed before I woke the man who would be denied food and drink. I fed and watered the animals while he dressed, then we headed out for the hospital in Atlanta. Siri assured us that it should only take a couple of hours, but we left early just in case.

HeWho is never without a drink close by (used to be Diet Coke before the nurse practitioner confirmed that his wife was right about the sodium content). He normally has flavored water or ice tea to sip on all day. He was a little irritable. We drove the route that took us through Helen from Hiawassee. The road through the mountains is treacherous with only two lanes and crazy curves at 20 mph. We encountered road repair twice and had to wait. The switch backs and the steep drop on the side of the road makes me nervous. When we went this way in the big motorhome, we could smell the brakes burning!!

We made it in plenty of time and only got lost 4 times in the hospital. The people manning the information desks seem to be misinformed! When we reached the correct destination, I answered all the questions while he signed all the appropiate documents. He doesn't hear well in the best of circumstances, but add some masks and plexi barriers and you would have to shout for him to understand. They took him to prep and assured me they would come get me to sit with him while he waited to go into surgery. I was thirsty and hungry, but I wouldn't eat in the car and tempt him. I am considerate like that.

I sat with him long past the 1:30 appointed time. He was getting pretty grouchy by the time they took him at 3:00. The nursing staff was excellent and when I explained the drive home and my night blindness they immediately set out to remedy the situation. They decided I would need to leave at 6:30 to get home as it was turning dark ..... with or without him. 

There was Panera Bread within the hospital and I paid $11 for a sandwich! I am cheap, as you all know. The sandwich was good, but anything would have been good by then! I texted relatives and ate half the sandwich, then headed back to wait. I was expecting to wait for at least 2 hours. Both main arteries in his legs are blocked, causing pain and numbness. He has been complaining for several years. When they attempted to do a cardiac bypass, they could find no viable vessels in his legs and then decided to attempt the stent procedure that ended with 5 stents in one vessel. Then the Corona Virus interrupted the world. His recovery from the stent procedure and his heart attack was unremarkable, medically speaking. As far as being his wife and care taker I found lots to remark about! 

After his heart attack, I accompanied him to every appointment. My heart attack was very minor as far as heart muscle damage went and I recovered quickly. We used the same cardiologist and usually had our appointments together. My appointment was generally focused on him. I cannot count the times I mentioned the leg pain and numbness that he was experiencing. The only one who listened was our family practice nurse practitioner. We went through everything he consumed, as well as his numerous medications and the only culprit we found was the Lipitor. He had been on Lipitor years ago and complained about the weakness in his legs and our doctor switched him to Crestor. He noticed a definite change after a month, so I assumed it was the culprit again.

The cardiologist was adamnment about the Lipitor and had him on the highest dosage. He also prescribed it for me because my cholesterol was "borderline". I told him I would not fill it or take it, that it had too many side affects. We argued and he would not prescribe a different statin. Our nurse practitioner agreed with me. It was like he had a drug protocal for cardiac patients and would not deviate from it. I just started taking fish oil instead and it seemed to be working fine. Nevermind that the lowest dose of Lipitor is 10mg and he wanted me to take 40mg and my cholesterol levels did not warrant that dosage. I am known to do my research and advocate for both of us. I do not back down easily. I am more than happy to engage in an intelligent arguement and I will listen to your reasoning, as long as you will listen to mine and we can compromise. That being said, you have to prove your side of the issue and not assume that I am just the lowly patient and must comply with your demands, it just will not happen.

I had just settled in a comfy chair and pulled another over for my feet to listen to an audio book and answer the texts from family when they came out to tell me that the procedure was done and I could come back to the recovery room. Trying to be optimistic, I said that I assumed everything went well to be done so quickly. HeWho scowled at me on the stretcher and told me that it did not. I was afraid of that, but I wasn't going to say so. Based on the findings the nurse practitioner for Dr. Ross, the vascular surgeon, went over with us in the office, I already assumed that the catheter procedure was not going to work and that he would need bypass surgery in at least one leg. He had to have a second contrast study done because of the calcification in his right leg made it hard to see everything.

Up until this day we had yet to meet Dr. Ross. His nurse practitioner out in satellite offices is very impressive and I liked her tremendously, so I figured he must good if he hired her! We met his surgical nurse practitioner while we waited and she was also impressive. I am happy to say that I really like this doctor. He came in and talked with us to explain his findings from the procedure. Both legs will require substantial repair and the surgery is invasive, but will be more sustainable in the long run. He also told the staff to release him earlier than normal so that I could drive safely home. Because I am a nurse and know what to look for, his nurse told him she felt comfortable with the early release.

Now we are waiting to hear from his nurse for a surgical date. She is taking our distance into consideration. He will be admitted for this, so I will be going back home alone after the surgery and then back in a day or two to pick him up. Then we will wait about a month and do it all over again on the other leg. Looks like we have the next few months planned!

I still wonder why, after ascertaining that his veins were in bad shape and his complaints about his leg pain, the cardiologist in St. Louis did not order testing for his arteries. The cardiologist here picked right up on the first visit. I was explaining that I, not his doctor, took the Lipitor off his medication schedule after his legs completely gave way one day at the kampground. She looked at his numbers from the blood work and said that Lipitor would not have been her first choice for him and put him on Crestor, making me want to run through the streets shouting "I WAS RIGHT!!"

It is nice to be heard. But since retiring, it seems that all we do is visit the doctors' offices and the grocery store. I am hoping for a very quiet stress free winter. The only excitement I want is visits from our families. I plan to hibernate on the side of the mountain and hook a rug or two!