Day 773

Medicine is amazing.

Imagine such a tiny little hole in the wrist could be used to access an artery which in turn holds a guidewire which is then replaced with a plastic tube which is then guided into the heart and moved in and out as dye is injected. All while the patient is awake.

Just amazing. (Not so amazing on the bruising.) Sorry for the icky picture.

Day 772

Finally home and finally into different clothes.

I had planned on being in Boise this past week for a conference so I had three sets of dress clothes. Unfortunately I wound up missing the conference and spent my days in the emergency room, the cardiologist's office, the rheumatologist's office, and then just yesterday the hospital. All situations not requiring dress clothes.

So I've been wearing the one set of comfy clothes I brought with me for several days in a row. But today I felt strong enough to head back home.

Ahh, clean clothes. And ooh, tulips in bloom.

Day 771

I was good today. I should say my heart was good. They went through my wrist into my heart. Weird. But no blockages. So I'm here in the hospital bed with a clamp on my wrist to seal up the artery. I'll be here several hours until it's closed. What does the clamp look like? Another case of weird. A pretty white bracelet. I'll spare you the bloody underside.

Day 770

When I was a teenager, I used to watch soap operas. Once I got to college the only one I kept watching was Days of our Lives. Once I started teaching and actually worked during the day I stopped watching. Occasionally I'd watch in the summer, but over the past several years my viewing has become non-existent.

It's not like they don't have interesting story lines - they certainly do. But they just didn't seem believable anymore. How can the same person have a child they don't know about, get amnesia, find they have a deadly disease and be treated at the hospital by that same long lost child, and then miraculously be cured by the blood transfusion they received from the brother they thought was dead? (Okay, that's not a real story line but it could be!)

Anyway, I feel I'm starting to live a soap opera myself. Every day there has been a new development in my health. Today was the rheumatologist appointment. What did he have to say? Maybe it's about time I started back on pain pills to cut down on the pain until we can get the arthritis under control. Yeah, like that's going to happen. And what else? Oh, just that it's probably time I go on temporary disability. Yeah, like that's going to happen.

Now tomorrow is my angiogram. Can't wait to see what that doctor has to say.

Kind of like I can't wait to see what is coming up out of this pod in the rhubarb. It's sticking up a little higher than just the other day.

Day 769

My trip to the cardiologist today is helping rule some other things out. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we're bypassing the stress test and going straight to the angiogram. A long thin tube through the groin, up an artery, and into the heart. Add a bit of dye and he'll get a good look in there. If all is good I get to go home the same day (Thursday). If not, there's a bit more involved. (I'm planning on all being good!)

Good like my daughter's kitty. Remember my cat that wouldn't get in the carrier? We gave the carrier to my daughter and take a look what her kitty does with it. No fair!