Wednesday July 6 2022

Joe, that's cool. The city park has the lake where there are herons, ducks and geese of course, and occasionally other interesting birds. A few years ago there were bald eagles nesting there one Winter but I haven't heard anything about that it quite some time, and I've never seen one. There's a state park about 25 miles away with a larger lake and acceptable bird viewing.

Twin A and I saw a fawn in our neighborhood the other day. It was running toward a wooded area. 

Stars, what a night! Of course Nannie would fall when you're alone with her. Isn't that the way things go? I'm glad you were able to get her up with hurting yourself and that she's unhurt. Good that they kept your dh overnight. Sending him home for "a few days" would not have been a good plan.

A spam call woke me up at 10:30 AM. I called hubby at 11 AM and he said they did a CT scan on him; also they drew out 900 cc from around his lung. He said they were going to do an MRI on him sometime today. Not sure if he'll get to come home this afternoon or tomorrow. I am so tired I feel STUNNED. But I am happy the doctor decided to do those tests. And we all know how very important it is to make the patient's relatives happy! ?

Going to try to wake up some more.....

PS: Nannie says she feels fine today. I did figure out how and why she fell, but I am too tired to continue here now. At least she is okay.

Not sure when they will do the ultrasound, but I am happy about the MRI.

More later....

Good morning. I just got back from a short run. I got a late start, and it was just too humid (83%) to go very far. I stopped by the grocery store to get bread, and they were having a sale on flowers, so I grabbed 2 hanging baskets for $1 each, to add a little color to the deck. Yesterday I got the windshield repaired, got in a bike ride, a little gardening, and changed and washed the sheets. 

Gosh, Stars, what a crazy night. I am glad they kept your hubby. I would think with an X-ray, a CT and a MRI, that an ultrasound would be unnecessary, unless to follow-up on the lung tap. And you need to be careful about getting Nannie up. Don't forget, you can call the EMTs. Nannie will be going back to the nursing home if you sustain a fracture and hubby can't breath.  Okay, down off my soap box. 

I've been seeing lots of cottontail bunnies around, and evidence that the deer are munching on my roses and raspberry bushes. Grr. Dh says they are eating the tops out of his tomato plants.

I got a call from the cardiology office to reschedule my follow-up appointment that was supposed to be 4 weeks after the cardio version. It was originally 8 weeks after, and now it moved to 12 weeks after. I suppose she wants to talk about doing an ablation, but at this rate, it may not be until next year. If anything invasive is going to be done, I would like to do while still on my employer insurance, which is until the end of November. Heck, Im half way through my max out of pocket for the year, would hate to waste that. Is that such a thing with Medicare? 

Pancreatitis is usually diagnosed with labs (amylase, lipase). What are they scanning? Chest? Abdomen ? Head?

I apologize, I thought the ultrasound was for a recurrent pleural effusion. 

No need for apologies, I think the Ultrasound was for the recurrent pleural effusion. I was hoping if there was something 'off' with the pancreas it would show. But, I dunno. Once again, I am getting info 2nd hand from a non-medical person, and *I* am practically non-medical by now, being out of the field and retired. Also, all my reference books are still out in the shed, hiding somewhere.

4 PM: I just called hubby and ? woke him up. He said he's been in and out of sleep all day; said there's been at least a dozen+ different people waking him up for one thing or another, all day long.

So. They have NOT done the MRI yet. One doc who came in said something about how he wished things had been "looked into a little closer, earlier than they were." (ie, I think he meant at the previous hospitalization.) One doc said, "it's not uncommon" for fluid to collect after the first time it was drained. Hubby said they are talking about placing a drain in his side to see how much fluid collects and how quickly/often. 

But he doesn't think he will be discharged today.

I am going to have to hop out to the grocery store for a few items we are low on or out of; going to leave Nannie here by herself, AFTER I make sure she goes to the potty and gets back in her chair BEFORE I leave. 

No ballgame tonight. Hope I can find something on TV that Nannie will watch; and also hoping she'll be so tired from sleeping all day that she will feel she has to go to bed to get some sleep! She did that a couple of days ago and I was astonished, but did not try to keep her up for a while longer.

Anywayzzzzzz--- That's all the latest!

He must be feeling better with 900 cc's pulled off.  Pancreatitis can be seen on CT but confirmed with labs.  I guess an MRI would show pancreatitis so.  Lots of people get recurrent pleural effusions.   Some routinely, like every six weeks go to have it drained.  

Also, gas and bloating can be caused by a bad diet and an unfriendly microbiome in the gut which given what you've said how he eats isn't surprising.  He probably needs more fiber (slowly) and maybe a probiotic wouldn't hurt.  

Anyway, I worked today and it wasn't bad.  Boss forgot to tell me I was to orient a new nurse in her final few days as her preceptor is on vacation.  She is sooooooo slow and only has two more days of orientation.  She's not a new nurse but new to hospital nursing.  God help her. 

I started using the "Bixby" feature on my Galaxy which is the Siri of Samsung. So I say things like "Bixby set a timer for 30 minutes" to remind me to do something at work.  Or "Bixby I need directions to such and such"..."Bixby, set my alarm for 0900".  I'm cool like that. 

A friend of mind tested positive for covid on a cruise and is stuck in his room for five days.  They separated him from his husband who tested negative, but his husband still has to isolate in his room for five days.  That sucks.  Remind me not to go on a cruise.  That was why I canceled by Costa Rica trip in March.  

8:50 PM: Hubby called and said he had the MRI....twice? Or maybe one and a half times! Because the girl put the IV in wrong and the contrast stuff started running down his arm onto the machine. So they had to get him out of the machine to clean it up and so he could get stuck again. This time the contrast went through. He said the toughest part of the MRI was when they told him to hold his breath for 30 seconds. Of course, nobody could 'officially' read the MRI, so he doesn't know if it showed anything. But, yeah, he said he does feel better with that fluid gone. He's not sure if maybe they'll discharge him tonight.(But they could keep him another night to make it easier on me!)