Waiting Part 4

 Bless my bi-polar self! Dr. Ross arrived in a timely fashion to speed the discharge along and apologize for the misunderstanding with the PA. Everyone hopped to and the discharge went smoothly, they didn't make me sit there while they read the intructions aloud to me and we were on the road in time to beat the holiday traffic.

However, his blood pressure is too low and his kidney function numbers were not good. It could be attributed to the anesthesia and pain meds, but this didn't happen with the first surgery. Now he will have to have a contrast study on his renal arteries. This was not good news.

I had plenty of time to ponder this new issue as I drove and am resigned to more medical issues with him. The three heart attacks, the clogged femoral arteries and now the renal arteries ..... all due to smoking cigarettes. I see young people everywhere lighting up and I just don't get it. The information is out there. Pay attention!

The trip was uneventful, other than trying to avoid pot holes and bumps until we started thru the mountain. No matter how hard I tried, I could not take the curves easy enough without causing him pain. He had a pain pill about 2 hours before we left and Siri said the trip would take 2 hours and 17 minutes. I cold have gone faster if he had not been having so much trouble maintaining his balance. I have traveled that road so many times, that I feel comfortable driving it. It is easier to drive it than to be the passenger, having the steering to hold onto.

By the time we were descending to the other side he was experiencing a significant amount of pain. Post op pain is easier to control if you stay on top of it and use the pain meds with regularity. Once the pain has gotten really bad it is harder to get it to a reasonable level. I decided to stop as soon as I encountered a pharmacy on the way through Hiawassee. Walgreens had no pharmacist in the store! He was supposed to be back in 15 minutes, but I went on to Ingles (grocery chain with in store pharmacy). There was no line and I presented the prescription and all the necessary ID and insurance card for a controlled substance. Then, I waited. Not interested in shopping, I paced in front of the window. The pharmacist was shaking his head and looking at the RX I had given them. 

He motioned me over to explain that it had TOMORROW'S date on it. He told me he put a call in to the hospital. To my utter dismay I started crying! Not the ugly face, open mouth cry, but tears streaming down my face. They were very nice to the crazy lady and told her to go on home and he would call the Ingles in Hayesville (closer to home) and make sure they had all the information and will forward the call to the hospital to them. It was a prescription pad with the hospital information on it. He did suggest that a call from me might speed things along.

The Patient called the surgeon's nurse practitioner, Susan and she got right on it and took care of everything. I love her! I presented the prescription at the new location and they all knew who I was and bumped me to the front of the line, took less than 5 minutes! The kindness of the employees and those people waiting made me cry again. 

I must have been quite a sight! Greasy hair standing on end, wrinkled clothes I had worn for three days and crying. No one tried to commit me to mental facility and I drove home to dose The Patient. He has now been fed and is a lot more comfortable. I have showered and will help him as soon as the news is over and we are going to bed! I might just kiss that mattress!!

Comments

  1. Donna. WSeptember 1, 2023 at 4:08 PM

    It's so stressful to have a husband who isn't well, and you've had lots of additional stress you weren't expecting. You need a break from stress!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy's KlotheslineSeptember 2, 2023 at 6:53 AM

      The good night's sleep in my own bed with my canine companions very nearly stuck to my skin has made a huge difference. Today is so much better.

      Delete
  2. Joanne NoragonSeptember 1, 2023 at 4:55 PM

    It's amazing how we still manage to get through it, one foot at a time. Thank goodness for the nurse practitioner and the kind employees at the pharmacy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy's KlotheslineSeptember 2, 2023 at 6:57 AM

      Had anyone been dismissive of me yesterday I would either have melted into a puddle of blubbering sobs or gone quite insane and started yelling at them! As soon as I medicated The Patient and fed all the animals in my care, I went to my garden and tended it for the remainder of daylight and that always calms my nerves.

      Delete
  3. ValSeptember 1, 2023 at 9:54 PM

    Oh my gosh! It's always something. I am crying for you! Glad you're home, and that the Patient is feeling more comfortable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy's KlotheslineSeptember 2, 2023 at 7:00 AM

      Thank you for your sympathy tears, I accept them gratefully! When I couldn't get any pain relief for The Patient, all I felt was utter dispair. Kind of like Shirley McClaine in that movie when she went to the nurses station on behalf of her daughter. My scene would have been a lot louder and a lot of sarcasm would have flown from my mouth leaving no one unscathed. I am so happy to be home!

      Delete
  4. RiverSeptember 1, 2023 at 10:31 PM

    It's a shame the hospital put the next day's date but didn't give you extra pain pills to tide him over.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy's KlotheslineSeptember 2, 2023 at 7:08 AM

      I fully undertand about the pills as far as the pharmacists are concerned. It is a legal issue here, since even the mildest opioid is a controlled substance. They could lose their license if they deviated from the rules. Same with dispensing a pill to go. Had it been an antibiotic or something that would threaten your life (like my anti-depressant), the pharmacist would have happily dispensed enough for the time it took to have a physician call and give the order. However, they can't call in a controlled substance. You have to have that paper prescription in hand to get them. The date on it matters just as much as the drug and instructions due to the opiod crisis in our country.

      Delete
  5. Barbara RogersSeptember 2, 2023 at 7:43 AM

    Glad the trip is over, and also the hullaballou about the prescription. What an ordeal that

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara RogersSeptember 2, 2023 at 7:44 AM

      sorry - published before finished - that you both had to suffer through!

      Delete

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