Mick McKellar Update--Day +33
A painter's sky looms beyond my window this evening. Beautiful blue sky dotted evenly with white fluffy clouds. Thin Minnesota sun has been shining most of the day, but the air remains chilly. Like home in the Keweenaw, I suppose, where spring days are shining bright because everything remains encased in snow and ice.
Today was a Katzenjammer Kids day. Our original schedule was simple: Walk to station 9-4 at the hospital, have blood drawn, return to home. Well we know what happens to the best-laid plans...
The walk was uneventful, if more tiring than I remember. However, when we arrived at station 9-4, about 15 minutes early (allowing for additional rest stops for yours truly), we were shunted to the family waiting lounge, because no rooms were available at the moment. We were the first in the lounge, followed by another and another and another, etc. -- until the lounge threatened to spill out into the hall.
A nurse showed up with a "vitals" machine, and asked if it would be OK to take my vital data there in the lounge (BP, heart rate, oxygen level, standing BP, and temperature). This was odd, ,but acceptable, to get things moving along. She then proceeded to take vitals on all the patients waiting in the lounge. An hour went by...
Normally, I take these things in stride, but I had timed my evening cyclosporin dose at 9:30 PM to get an accurate therapeutic reading. It was now past 10:30 AM. Also, I have to fast for my blood tests, and drink almost no water from midnight on. I don't get hungry anymore, but I do get weak -- and I was drying up like fruit in the tropical sun. Not only this, but I had held my cyclosporin dose in the morning, as directed -- it was now late.
Finally, we were directed to a double room, and wait because they had to prep for "special" blood draws on me. In the meantime a nurse dropped off a bottle of water. I finished a third of the bottle in a minute. So, they decided to give an IV of fluids for an hour -- just to be safe. We spent the hour getting acquainted with the neighbors and trying yet another anti-cough medication: Teslan Perles -- which seemed to help -- so the doctor called down a prescription to the pharmacy. We could pick it up our way home....
The hour up, we trundled on down to the pharmacy. Big surprise: No prescription, at least not yet. So we decide to wait a bit longer, although it was already past noon. We finally made it back to the transplant house at 1:30 PM.
So much for schedules...
I am really blitzed by today's events, and have not prepared a good report, so please forgive me -- I must cut this short to rest. More cards came today and that brightened our afternoon.
Thanks for the e-mails, cards, messages, calls, and letters. Thank you for the prayers and good thoughts.
God bless you all and good night.
Mick