Monday September 12th 2022

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2022

Good morning!

Joe, I hope the allergies tame down for you both. I hope you have a fairly ordinary week.

J22, hope the return to reality is good.

Stars, hope you get a good report from your husband today.

I took my sleeping pill last night because I'd had enough of insomnia and have stuff to do today. Woke up sometime with the lights on and the book on my chest and slept pretty good after that. I do not want to become sleeping pill dependent but I also don't want to be up at 3:00 AM for hours on end. That ruins the day. Oh well.......

Had a refrigerator repair person come by this morning. I was the first stop thankfully so I didn't have to sit around for hours waiting. He has to order parts that are very expensive. I signed up for a warranty plan and got a big discount. Bleh....

No Stars In My Eyes · Sep 12, 2022

Late morning I got a call from hubby; I was still half asleep. He said, "they did the procedure (thoracentesis) even though they said they weren't going to..." // I called him back when I woke up about 1+1/2 hours later and had to leave a message. Haven't heard back from him yet.// Called him again an hour later and he was the one who was half-asleep. He said they haven't done the MRI yet. He doesn't remember right now how much of the lung fluid/drainage they took out, but he seemed to think "it wasn't much". What a way for him to have to 'celebrate' his 72nd birthday.

Hot and humid at 85 degrees and periodically windy, with some dark-bellied clouds moving around. We are supposed to get thunderstorms later on.

Going to have a cup of coffee to chase away the cobwebs. More later---

No Stars In My Eyes · Sep 12, 2022

Okay, the Dr just called me. She said that he is going to have the MRI and, I think she said something like 'an MRI with "CT" (???) or "GT" (???) to see what's going on in that area.." She also said she wanted a GI doc to take a look at things. She thinks he shouldn't be in the hospital for too many more days. Whatever that means. // I told her it was his birthday today and she said she knew, and "when I wished him a happy birthday, he didn't seem too interested; he was very sleepy." She said she was going to try to find a balloon for him to tie to his bed there. She'll call me later if there's anything else to report.

Have to make Nannie some lunch now. w00t.

nursej22, MSN, RN · Sep 12, 2022

I think it's good news they did the thoracentesis. I am baffled by MRI with "CT/GT"., maybe to place another chest tube? I think it's also good news that he's sleepy, which indicates to me he is getting enough librium to minimize risk of DTs.

I laid down after returning home last night around 6, was feeling a little nauseous. Woke up an hour later, still feeling yucky. I blame the place we stopped at for lunch. The food was just not good. I had saltines and tea for dinner. And sleep, in my own bed! Today, is laundry, trip to pharmacy , and stopped at auto parts store to get a self-tapping screw to repair my half-on, half-off license plate. I need to do some mending.

Tweety, regarding a "flight" of ice cream. I have a flights of wine where they give you small portions of similar wines so that you can compare and contrast different ones. Also have done this with craft beers.

Ado, I hope your conference is or went well and you had time to sight see. To me, that is the only redeeming part of business travel.

Hi Dianah, that's too bad you didn't get much rain. the smoke here shifts from unhealthy to very unhealthy. The temps are in the mid seventies.

I so want to go for a run, or a bike ride! Still 2 more weeks of activity restrictions.

New Call the Midwife? Woot!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2022

I wonder if they are doing an MRCP? If he's having gallbladder issues as evidenced on an ultrasound or elevated liver enzymes an MRCP, which is an MRI that looks at the heptobilliary tree would be helpful and diagnostic. This would make sense in light of a GI consult. Did she give you the results of the Ultrasound?

I agree with J22, he's probably sleepy from the librium and that's a good thing. Better to keep an alcoholic down than not. Hopefully the nurses will not withhold the librium.

J22, guess I'm not that sophisticated to know what flight style is. Of course I don't drink and have never been to a tasting of wine or beer even when I did. LOL. Hope you're feeling better.

I was first stop on the fridge guys day and he game at 7:57 in his window of between 8-12. Glad to see that because I could get on my day. Bad news is he has to order parts and with labor it was nearly $500. I ordered a warranty plan for all my appliances and saved $200 but now have to pay that in monthly payments. I have such bad appliance karma I predict I'll cancel my warranty in a year or so and then stuff will break down.

Bowling tonight.

No Stars In My Eyes · Sep 13, 2022

Hello~

Hubby called me at 8 AM, but I don't remember what he said. (I went back to sleep.) Nannie came out to get in her recliner, and she was sleeping when I woke up at noontime. I gave her the yogurt/meds for breakfast (at noon). Came outside to the patio, and the doc from the hospital called.

She said they had removed "almost a liter" from his pleura draining. They did NOT leave a catheter in, though. He was on 5 L O2 and they bumped it down to 3L. The nurses are going to do a 'walk-test' in a while, and he may need to come home w/ O2 ordered. She also said he MAY have sleep-apnea. (I hope they don't find he does; I REALLY can't see him wrestling with the equipment involved for sleep-apnea.) She said they'd "try to get him home pretty soon". She also said something about his COPD, but I don't recall what it was (!)

The MRCT has to do with looking for gallstones possibly stuck in the duct, the doc said.

I hope they will keep him one more night, at least, though he wants to be discharged ASAP. We'll see.

Last night when I was on-line, my laptop told me I had 10 minutes left of the charge, so I had to shut-down and plug it up for the night. I felt lost without the computer on my lap; even if I am not on line, I use the closed laptop as a 'desk'.

Me, I'm okay, but naturally was irritated w/ Nannie last night, "just because".

The hummingbirds got a fresh container of their sugar/water yesterday afternoon, and they are chasing each other around. Have to get a second feeder to put a distance away from this one, so there won't be (maybe) as many of their territorial arguments.

Later---

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 13, 2022

Still think it's MRCP because when you Google MRCT nothing comes up. Doesn't matter. Seems like the docs are addressing multiple problems at once and hope he gets well and complies with treatment recommendations. Usually when they want to leave to desperately the unspoken part is "I want a drink and a cigarette".

"Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a technique for viewing the bile ducts and the pancreatic duct. It can also show the pancreas, gallbladder and liver. MRCP uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to produce detailed pictures of these ducts and organs."

No Stars In My Eyes · Sep 13, 2022

Thanks, Tweety! That makes sense. I wasn't alert enough to think of googling it. (DUH.) She does always ask me if I have any questions, but the questions seem to pop up later on....

I am tired, and I am tired, and I don't get to be REtired. Makes me wish I had become an auto-mechanic, instead. I don't THINK I signed up for all of this, y'know. Seems I am saddled with being a former nurse forever.