Hey! :). I said you were a lovely couple! That means you too! 
Know that you are in my prayers!
Kudos to Mama Zappa and Typo Knig!
Dondra, if you have gallstones, they’ll probably remove your gall bladder. Of me and my three siblings, we’re now down to 2 gall bladders, 7 kidneys and one appendix.
My Doper friends are a class act all the way. These posts mean more than visits, of which there have been none so far. We’re thinking maybe her family will come tomorrow or Sunday.
My wife, having a medical background, is SO much help to her family, and gets called on for appointment transport, advice, preparing weekly meds and just really caring about her siblings and nieces/nephews and it pisses me off that she gets ignored at times like this.
Sorry, guys. I KNOW i’m not supposed to be this way, but I can’t help it.
Kemi, thanks for the call, Hon! Hope you heard me hollerin’ “Hey” in the background!
thanks, y’all!
Bill
Oh, dammit, it’s not supposed to work this way, and my Ogdamned magic wand is still in the shop. Dammit dammit dammit.
Please tell Dondra that I, too, have an atrial fib, and it sucks. Mine’s under control with a beta blocker, but when I was systematic . . . hoo boy. Nothing like feeling your heart trying to jump out of your chest and being acutely aware that you no longer have a normal sinus rhythm but are instead doing the drumbeat for a spastic conga line. The heparin will keep clots from forming in her heart atria when they fibrillate. That’s a GOOD thing! However, it doesn’t do a thing for the fibrillations themselves. Have the docs addressed that or is it much lower on the priority list?
And Quasi, you are so much more than chopped liver. You’re the egg in the beer. You’re the chocolate chip cookie. You, sir, are the slice of warmed up pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Hang in there.
Oh gosh. I hope y’all know I wasn’t fishing for a “stroking” when I made that “lovely” comment!
phouka. thanks for what you said about me, but I know (and y’all do too) I have my “asshole/batshit” moments when I’m really a dick.
Priorities? Well as of yet there aren’t any. The lung guys, the belly surgeons and the cardiologists are working on that as I write. One thing they all agree on is the right-sided cath, which happens Monday morning.
But you know what? Every one of them is excellent in his field and are pleased they can converse with the both of us w/o having to resort to layman’s language. I think also, they see D’s problems as a challenge and not something they see on a daily basis. Since the neck fusion suregery has been postponed, she’s down to 4 docs (the latest a hemotologist from Germany!! :)).
phouka, thanks also for sharing your personal story with us. I just read what you wrote and she said, "your friend’s got it right. That’s excatly the way it feels.
Are any of you on the Sun Association prescription plan? Dondra’s in the “donut hole” with her Medicare, which means she has to pay 93% of the cost of each scrip, and I just know that when they release us, there will be some very high cost ones going home with us. We’re trying to get “medically necessary” papers signed by the docs, and Sun is one alternative: $100.00 a month for most ALL prescription drugs.
Thanks my friend!
Bill
Good luck, you two!
Yep, it’s her sister Paula’s cooking! ;).
Hopefully the gallstones aren’t causing problems right now - not exactly what y’all need to add to the plate, for sure.
I sure hope they can decide what is causing that hypertension to skyrocket and can FIX it, dammit, and get you guys home. I’ve always said a hospital is no place for a sick person!
I just saw this … so sorry to hear it Bill! Sending you much love and hugs from Mississippi.
Positive from up my way, too.
Hey Quasi, check your PayPal account. I sent you a little something to help with the prescriptions.
Oh my God!!!:):)
We just woke up because the nurse came in to take D’s vitals, and I opened up the lappie to check e-mail and I found this!!!
Thank you so much for your gift, Encinitas! We’re both just grinning like a couple of hyenas!!!
{{{{{{{ENCINITAS]}}}}}}}}}} (are these facing the right way? I can never remember if they’re supposed to face in or out, but they’re supposed to be hugs!
Love,
Bill and Dondra
PS: Dondra’s atrial fib has let up and she’s sleeping a lot more soundly!
That’s good to hear!
I’m sure glad things are looking up and hope they continue to improve. Here’s to you both being back at home very very soon. Hospitals are no fun at all.
Good Morning, Y’all
John and nwye:), thanks for the notes!
D is feeling better today, although one of her meds is making her perspire profusely, so bad her sheets are wet, but we’ll trade all of her pain for a little sweat any day!
Her atrial fib is gone for the time being (due to the Heparin kicking in, I reckon), and she had a pain-free night for a change.
The cardiac cath is now definitely scheduled for Monday, and the gallbladder surgery will for sure be done after that laparoscopily.
She’ll be going home with a rolling walker, which, to me, will take a lot of getting used to, because she’s always been so strong, but I can put up with it since it’s temporary. We don’t know yet when we’ll be discharged, just sometime next week.
The not so good news is that she’s throwing some PVC’s (pre-mature ventricular contractions), and that is some concern, because if they keep up, she’ll be moved to ICU.
Other than that, we’re good, and still optimistic, because, after all, they did find all that stuff IN the hospital instead of having to come to the ER multiple times.
Dondra says to tell you she thinks it’s just great that y’all are hanging in there with us!
And so do I.
Thank you all.
Bill and Dondra.
Can you get one of the All-Terrain ones? (I think that would be an ATW.)
How are her electrolytes? If she’s sweating profusely, maybe she’s low on potassium and magnesium?
John, you nailed it, buddy! Her potassium is low, but we’re still checking on her meds maybe causing that, because her doc may need to titrate the dosage.
As far as that “All-Terrain Walker”, it’s a good thing you showed us that today because she and I liked to have busted a gut, so to speak, laughing. I can always count on you for a laugh and/or a smile when I/we most need one, thanks!
Q
I’ve been clicking on your animal welfare donation link (in your blog)- I feel like it’s something I can do to show you I’m thinking of you.
Thanks, ITD . I’m wondering if it can be clicked on from ogther countries?
And thanks for thinking of me!
I just have to share this little episode with y’all: This morning, I took my shower as I usually do, and used my underarm deodorant, then set it aside. I dried my hair, brushed it, and then picked up the deodorant and began rubbing it on my face, thinking it was my shaver.
Now, if any of you guys did this, you’d realize it right away and laugh about it, or realize right away what you had in your hands, and correct, right?
But not me. I take it one step further and ask myself, “WTF is wrong with thing??? Musta lost its charge!”
That one ranks righr up there with me going into the wrong bathroom in a restaurant, and not noticing the difference, got pissed (so to speak) when I couldn’t find the urinals, and used one of the stalls instead, never ONCE realizing I was in the wrong room! As I left, I saw this woman standing there, eyes as big as saucers, and THEN it hit me.
I think I’ll add those two tidbits to “Bill’s Greatest Hits”.
If it were possible, wouldn’t you guys like to spend some time inside my mind??? :):)
Thanks
Q
At least you didn’t pick up the razor expecting the deodorant.
Hang in there, both of you.
Real All Terrain Walker.
Though the one** Johnny** linked to was much funnier.