I got a call this afternoon from the Dialysis center. Vernon’s chest catheter had been acting up for a couple of weeks, enough to close some of his sessions early. It had been getting clogged—at least, that was the description I was given. After that, I don’t know how to elaborate.  So today, after another faulty session, they called me, saying he would need to have it fixed before he is able to be dialyzed again. He was eventually sent to the ER at Hogue Hospital, yet again.

I had to wait till Maki came home from school so I could leave Justine with him. My parents would normally be my go-to’s, but they have left town for the next few weeks. It’s fine though, we are Hospital Pros, and if the hours come together right, we can handle it together.

Speaking of being a Hospital Pro, though…I used to feel slightly giddy about going to Hogue. Its such a nice hospital, and Vernon always gets top-tier care when he is there. But this time, I felt annoyed and tired. “Are you KIDDING ME?” My insides cried. “Again? To clear out some arteries that only keep him doing Dialysis, which he hates, and takes constant work on my part just get sitters for. Is any of this really HELPING? Or is it just keeping him alive?”

That came across much more negatively than I actually felt it. It’s not that bad, but it does feel like a lot of work for very little result most of the time. I feel sometimes like a person trying to generate electricity via bicycle.

So anyway, once I was able to leave the house, I managed to get there quite some time ahead of Vernon. It was very crowded in the ER, “even for a Monday,” I was told. It made for some good people watching though, and I played the game I always play in hospitals and airports: “What is THAT person’s story?” Here is an example:

Actually, that guy was there to help his mom, who was sitting in a wheelchair nearby. She had been waiting for two hours to have her name called. All I heard from her was that her mouth was dry because she was on so much medication but she was unable to drink anything because the doctors needed to run tests. Apparently thirst isn’t just for Vernon these days.

 

One thing nice about ambulance travel is that, at least at hospitals, you get in through the back door. I had been waiting for Vernon to get rolled through the front doors, but by the time I asked again, he was already inside in a cozy ER bed of his own.

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To make the story shorter, after explaining the issue as best I understood it, the doctor eventually told us Vernon would not be admitted tonight, but should return tomorrow for the Radiology Dept to do their magic on his tubes. The Radiology Dept does not work after hours.

So I left him, asleep.  At least he had fallen asleep. A phone call with Joe told me that he has been sleeping since I left him yesterday (except for the dialysis session earlier today.) So something is off. I hope that once they fix this clogged artery issue, Vernon’s face and left side of body will stop swelling so much.  That’s an area the doctor has been looking into without any clues so far.

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Tomorrow is another (long) day.

 

Some musical fun from the Radio (logy) Dept. See what I did there? Heheheh…

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