Don and I got up at 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning so we could be at Tempe St. Luke’s at 5:30 to sign in for Don’s 7:00 a.m. lithotripsy procedure. We got all registered, he got an X-ray to confirm the stone location, we went into the surgery prep room where he changed into a hospital gown and lay down on the gurney. The nurse took his vitals and asked him all sorts of questions about his medications and history, and the anesthesiologist did the same. Then the doctor came in just as they were about to roll Don into the procedure room, saw that Don had taken a baby aspirin yesterday morning, and promptly cancelled the procedure. He had followed all the prep instructions to the letter, but didn’t think to stop taking his low-dose aspirin, and we’re screwed. The doc said he’d talk to the scheduler and get us rescheduled – he didn’t act like it’s all that big a deal. Don took it with a shrug and an “oh, well.” I, however, nearly dissolved into a boneless heap of jelly and slid off the chair onto the floor.
We were out of there by 7:15. We came home and had a nice breakfast, I did some yard work, had a nice lunch. I feel better now, or at least I no longer feel like drowning myself. Don’s fine. He had a nap, which is sounded so good that I followed his example. I have no idea when we’ll be rescheduled, but I’m hiding the aspirin. Interestingly, the doctor who was scheduled to do Don’s lithotripsy was not his regular doctor, but the regular doctor’s partner. We’ve never dealt with this guy before. I don’t know if our regular doctor would have been so fastidious. You can bet we’ll be extra careful to follow all the rules next time, though.
Don is actually in better shape now than he’s been in for a year. His edema is gone, his blood count is way up, his blood pressure is way down, he’s gained 10 pounds, and his heart arrhythmia is no more. His energy is much better, too, though he is housebound still and doesn’t get much exercise or have much stamina. In the past couple of weeks, he’s improved so much that I don’t have to wait on him hand and foot any more, so I have been able to do a couple of events. Last Wednesday, I spoke to a bunch of aspiring-writer high schoolers who attend Phoenix Country Day School, which is an institution for the children of the highly educated and the highly wealthy. It was great, A week from today, I’ll be driving down to Tucson to present a mystery writing workshop at the Tucson Festival of Books. It’s just a day trip, but it will be the first time I’ve been away from Don for more than two or three hours at a time since he became ill. At least I know that he won’t be feeling bad from just having had a procedure.
All of this has caused my writing to suffer. (In fact, I just posted a blog about my writer’s block on www.typem4murder.blogspot.com. It was all I could think to write about). I cannot concentrate to save my life. I’ve about decided to stop worrying about it and let the Muse come and find me when she’s good and ready.
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