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So here's some of the shit that's been going on here. My dad had been scheduled for neurosurgery next week for spinal myopathy--his cervical vertebrae are cutting into his spine, leaving his arms and legs achy and semi-functional. The surgery may not reverse the damage but will prevent the total paralysis that will occur if it is left untreated. He was unusually tired through the spring and diagnosed with nonserious aortal stricture, but the aches and neuropathy came on very suddenly early this summer.
Yesterday the anesthesiologist called to cancel the surgery saying it's too risky due to his aortal stricture. Why this is so angering is that he's been scheduled for surgery for over a month. We knew about the aortal problems beforehand but the cardiologist said it wasn't severe and didn't need to be done yet. And I knew this was ridiculous because it's kind of important to have the heart working at top capacity for any other body system going through surgery, especially when the patient also has high blood pressure. What is further angering is none of these people talk to each other. The anesthesiologist could have contacted the cardiologist and gotten the ball rolling on scheduling the catheterization, which has to be done before rescheduling the spinal surgery, but they'll be fucked if they do that themselves. And it was Friday afternoon when they told my folks so there's no one they could call and they have to wait for Monday to get the ball rolling.
Also, did I mention, that any time before this condition is treated, if my dad has any kind of fall he could wind up paralyzed. And he's sitting there in pain with no treatments scheduled at all. His doctors told him he can't even take any pain medications because of the impending surgery, which is now canceled, but there's no one to tell him if he can take anything now.
So yeah. My dad and mom are handling this latest news remarkably well for OCD people who don't deal well with schedule changes at all--I'm the flexible one, so it's bad in this family. We're all kind of unified right now in homicidal feelings toward the medical establishment.
I had arranged to not go into work next week because I was going up there. I can deal--I'll just go into work tomorrow--with my hibiscus in my office, which I took several buds off this week because I didn't want it to be putting energy into making seed pods while I was gone, and now I won't have big pretty blooms this week. )-: Yeah, a minor annoyance that, but ya know--it's symbolic of the hatefulness of the medical establishment and all. At least I can take care of the kitties (my two and the stays) this week--I need to tell a neighbor she doesn't have to fill in with feeding the strays.
Plus my mom was diagnosed with osteoporosis last week (edit: not last night as I first typed) and my brother was furious she was refusing to take the medicine the doctor was prescribing, but she had done her research and I thought was making quite an informed decision--my brother has finally backed down on it. Oh, and their siamese kittens? They had them spayed, but Borie is in heat again--the vet after the spaying told them he's not sure he got all her ovaries--WTF--apparently he didn't. So not something my mom can deal with right now.
So dealing with this and all the family dysfunctions that arose has been fun this summer (like the other day when mom loudly declared me "insane" and "what, are you going to take in ALL the stray cats out there!!!?" when I told her I was planning if need be to take the stray cats inside on severe weather nights in the big carrier I got them at the thrift shop--don't hold back, Mom--so that kind of dysfunctional family fun.) I just got a macbook to have before the impending surgery so I could stay connected while up there, and have an outlet from the family dysfunctions, as well as entertain the hospital-bound with internet goodies.
Oh the swarm of bees! My mom got attacked a few weeks ago by a swarm of yellow jackets whose nest she apparently unearthed while pulling up a weed. She had about 10 bites--so yeah, it could have been a lot worse, but quite horrendous enough of an experience. She weathered it remarkably well--she takes bites very well, I'm very glad to say--I would have been a traumatized and pain-ridden puddle. I think the rest of us were more traumatized by her having gone through that than she was herself. In some ways, I think it was a relief or refocusing for her, because until that point, she was pretty floored by my dad's diagnosis. And I didn't find out about this until days later because, since my dad got sick, my mom said "she's not calling people," which included me, and this confirmed I was not going to be told if my dad got worse, so I had it out with her, and my brother who is my internet contact (I didn't expect her to call on this one), and got the pipelines of communication finally open. Mom's been good about calling since, and I'm no longer worried dad will go into critical and no one will tell me.
And my foot is just not getting better. I'm going to physical therapy 3 times a week now, and am angry at the podiatrist (this is the second one--the first was the maniac who gave me that cortisone shot that wouldn't end) because I should have been in PT months ago, but he didn't refer me because, that way, I'd come in for more sessions with him. The way it's still hurting with me doing all my stretches and a night splint, and the pain being so localized in my heel, I think I'm going to need surgery for the bone spur down the line. I'm being good and not going on walks--I've started to use the bikes in the gym on the days I'm not swimming--but just walking around the corner to the grocery co-op and back carrying a load has put my foot into pain again, so bleh.
The ENT gave me a clean bill of health on my sinuses, so the abscesses I've gotten in my mouth are not sinus connected. It's good to have a rule out, but if these have been dental connected, I'm hoping I won't have another recurrence. Next month I start the process of getting a dental insert put in again or a bridge, so more dental hi-jinx are in my near future.
I'm scheduled to get the stray kitties tested for F-HIV and FLV, innoculated, and neutered Monday after next, and I'll keep them in for a couple nights to heal in the big carrier I scored at the thrift shop last week, and then re-release them unless I fond them a home by then, but all that will depend on what goes on with my dad. Yeah, dissertation? Not a happening thing.
So that's enough whinging for now, until next round of my dad's attempts to get some help for preventing paralysis.
Yay verily, I feel better for having whinged.
edit: the osteoporosis diagnosis for my mom was last week, not night.
Yesterday the anesthesiologist called to cancel the surgery saying it's too risky due to his aortal stricture. Why this is so angering is that he's been scheduled for surgery for over a month. We knew about the aortal problems beforehand but the cardiologist said it wasn't severe and didn't need to be done yet. And I knew this was ridiculous because it's kind of important to have the heart working at top capacity for any other body system going through surgery, especially when the patient also has high blood pressure. What is further angering is none of these people talk to each other. The anesthesiologist could have contacted the cardiologist and gotten the ball rolling on scheduling the catheterization, which has to be done before rescheduling the spinal surgery, but they'll be fucked if they do that themselves. And it was Friday afternoon when they told my folks so there's no one they could call and they have to wait for Monday to get the ball rolling.
Also, did I mention, that any time before this condition is treated, if my dad has any kind of fall he could wind up paralyzed. And he's sitting there in pain with no treatments scheduled at all. His doctors told him he can't even take any pain medications because of the impending surgery, which is now canceled, but there's no one to tell him if he can take anything now.
So yeah. My dad and mom are handling this latest news remarkably well for OCD people who don't deal well with schedule changes at all--I'm the flexible one, so it's bad in this family. We're all kind of unified right now in homicidal feelings toward the medical establishment.
I had arranged to not go into work next week because I was going up there. I can deal--I'll just go into work tomorrow--with my hibiscus in my office, which I took several buds off this week because I didn't want it to be putting energy into making seed pods while I was gone, and now I won't have big pretty blooms this week. )-: Yeah, a minor annoyance that, but ya know--it's symbolic of the hatefulness of the medical establishment and all. At least I can take care of the kitties (my two and the stays) this week--I need to tell a neighbor she doesn't have to fill in with feeding the strays.
Plus my mom was diagnosed with osteoporosis last week (edit: not last night as I first typed) and my brother was furious she was refusing to take the medicine the doctor was prescribing, but she had done her research and I thought was making quite an informed decision--my brother has finally backed down on it. Oh, and their siamese kittens? They had them spayed, but Borie is in heat again--the vet after the spaying told them he's not sure he got all her ovaries--WTF--apparently he didn't. So not something my mom can deal with right now.
So dealing with this and all the family dysfunctions that arose has been fun this summer (like the other day when mom loudly declared me "insane" and "what, are you going to take in ALL the stray cats out there!!!?" when I told her I was planning if need be to take the stray cats inside on severe weather nights in the big carrier I got them at the thrift shop--don't hold back, Mom--so that kind of dysfunctional family fun.) I just got a macbook to have before the impending surgery so I could stay connected while up there, and have an outlet from the family dysfunctions, as well as entertain the hospital-bound with internet goodies.
Oh the swarm of bees! My mom got attacked a few weeks ago by a swarm of yellow jackets whose nest she apparently unearthed while pulling up a weed. She had about 10 bites--so yeah, it could have been a lot worse, but quite horrendous enough of an experience. She weathered it remarkably well--she takes bites very well, I'm very glad to say--I would have been a traumatized and pain-ridden puddle. I think the rest of us were more traumatized by her having gone through that than she was herself. In some ways, I think it was a relief or refocusing for her, because until that point, she was pretty floored by my dad's diagnosis. And I didn't find out about this until days later because, since my dad got sick, my mom said "she's not calling people," which included me, and this confirmed I was not going to be told if my dad got worse, so I had it out with her, and my brother who is my internet contact (I didn't expect her to call on this one), and got the pipelines of communication finally open. Mom's been good about calling since, and I'm no longer worried dad will go into critical and no one will tell me.
And my foot is just not getting better. I'm going to physical therapy 3 times a week now, and am angry at the podiatrist (this is the second one--the first was the maniac who gave me that cortisone shot that wouldn't end) because I should have been in PT months ago, but he didn't refer me because, that way, I'd come in for more sessions with him. The way it's still hurting with me doing all my stretches and a night splint, and the pain being so localized in my heel, I think I'm going to need surgery for the bone spur down the line. I'm being good and not going on walks--I've started to use the bikes in the gym on the days I'm not swimming--but just walking around the corner to the grocery co-op and back carrying a load has put my foot into pain again, so bleh.
The ENT gave me a clean bill of health on my sinuses, so the abscesses I've gotten in my mouth are not sinus connected. It's good to have a rule out, but if these have been dental connected, I'm hoping I won't have another recurrence. Next month I start the process of getting a dental insert put in again or a bridge, so more dental hi-jinx are in my near future.
I'm scheduled to get the stray kitties tested for F-HIV and FLV, innoculated, and neutered Monday after next, and I'll keep them in for a couple nights to heal in the big carrier I scored at the thrift shop last week, and then re-release them unless I fond them a home by then, but all that will depend on what goes on with my dad. Yeah, dissertation? Not a happening thing.
So that's enough whinging for now, until next round of my dad's attempts to get some help for preventing paralysis.
Yay verily, I feel better for having whinged.
edit: the osteoporosis diagnosis for my mom was last week, not night.
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We're starting to look into finding a nurse practitioner case manager that you can hire--kind of like finding an agent for getting published or acting work--it takes a professional to navigate the fucking mess.
Thank you! And you're dealing with all this crap with Duke for your mom, so those wishes backatcha.