Birthdays, Tough Tuesday & A Week that leaves them Whacked!

09-11Oct

Tuesday has a full schedule this week, today is my sister Paula’s birthday - a big SHOUT out to her - Happy Birthday! We have Physio at 1:00, an ECHO at 2:30, a Pulmonary Function test at 3:30 and a CT Scan at 4:30!

Carman gets all but his leg work done at Physio (and fills his 5th card in honour of Paula’s Birthday) before we have to head to the ECHO lab. We don’t wait too long before the technician comes to the waiting area to claim him. From there we head to the Thoracic clinic where the PFT is done. This was an easy one for Carman, he only had to puff into the tube twice for the tech to get readings...and it appears his % function hasn’t changed since the last test in July - which is good!

We are done early, so head to the McEwen Atrium and grabba java - mocha café no whip for Carman and a Tazo Chai Soy Latte for me.

I present the options once we have our beverages, stay here in the atrium and rest, then be tired from the walk when we get to the Imaging department or work our way there now, with time to relax and enjoy our drinks before the appointment time. Carman decides to get the exertion out of the way, so we head to Imaging and check in shortly after 4. Maybe if we’re here early, we’ll get in early?

I’ve brought a book to read while we wait, and Carman engages in conversation with another couple who are also waiting for a scan. About 1/2 hour in, I ask him how he’s doing for oxygen and his stroller is about 1/2 full. I suggest that if he’s to get thru the appointment, walk back to the lobby and wait while I go for the car, then get home...he should maybe conserve what oxygen he has. He agrees, and immediately goes back to his conversation...using up the oxygen like it’s floating in the air for the taking! Well, actually it is for you and I but not at the concentration he needs. About 15 minutes of conversation later, I look up from my book and ask him, “Is this you being quiet and conserving oxygen?”

“Yup!” he says. So I leave the waiting area in search of a cylinder and confirmation that he can go on a wall spigot once in the scan room.  I find a porter in the hallway, who shows me to  storage room, where there is a cart of 9 cylinders. He tells me I can use any of them if we run out, and asks that I please not take the one that’s on the crash cart. I agree and he then tells me, to grab one of the technicians when they come out and tell them our situation to see if they can get us in and out quickly.

I decide it’s best to use the cylinder right away and save what we have in the stroller for the post scan time it will take to get Carman in the car (where we have a travel tank of liquid I can hook him up to). The waiting area fills up and overflows into the hallway over time, and its 20 minutes before I can catch a technician. I ask if there are wall spigots in the scan rooms as my husband is on oxygen and we’re running low. He assures me there are, but waves me off with a curt “yeah, yeah, we’re just really busy...” then turns and leaves.

It’s some time before we see a tech again, as the people going in for scans are the ones who have been waiting in the hallway, the rest of us remain in the chairs waiting...and waiting...until there are only three of us left in the room. Another tech comes out, calls a name, nobody responds so he asks for the surnames of those who are left. He returns a few minutes later and takes another patient to change telling the rest of us it won’t be long. Finally at 6:24 he comes for Carman, we’re down to the dregs in the cylinder but he graciously tells me not to worry, he’ll carry the tank for Carman and hook him up to the wall as soon as they get to the scan room. I go looking for a back up tank and return to the waiting area. It turns out, with all the emergency patients coming thru, they misplaced Carman’s order in the queue. This tech apologizes and is very helpful...the other tech...not so much! And it doesn’t change how tired Carman is - we left home at 12:40 and don’t arrive back until shortly after 7:00. A very long day!

Wednesday - with yesterday being such a long day at TGH I let Carman ignore his alarm. The heavy schedule on Tuesday leaves him whacked! He sleeps another hour, then I deliver a Boost and a granola bar so he can take his meds, and he goes back to sleep. He doesn’t get up until after noon, then has a nap later in the afternoon and again after supper. He then watches a few episodes of MI-5 and heads to bed.

Thursday - and today is our youngest daughter, Dj’s birthday. We’re sending out a big Happy Birthday SHOUT out to her and wishes for a great day of being spoiled. We’re anxiously counting the minutes (one more sleep) until Teddy brings her & Matt for another visit!

We head south to pick up Jess & Bonnie and then west to TGH - the squat buddies are all in the session today so are looking forward to seeing one another. When we pull into the traffic circle at the front door, we see the van that’s very important to our group! Maybe someone is getting lungs today...

I run an errand once I’ve parked the car so Bonnie coaches both Jess & Carman until I get back. When I do, it’s to find out there have been some shenanigans going on (no real surprise); Carman has been chirping away while on the bike (also no surprise although this is forbidden) and at some point Jessica has been delivered of a swat with the newspaper - I never did get the full and clear truth about how or why that went down...who knows who can be trusted among the 3 of them?

At one point I return from helping Ibrahim with his weights to find Jess & Carman engaged in a bicep curl-off. Trying to outdo one another in the slow curl, hold position, slower uncurl method that leaves Jess panting - from laughing. The two of them ask for their squat weights and then proceed to chirp at Mark that he’s slowing the process down and should hurry up because they’re ready to go! He’s so good natured he doesn’t even react, just calmly finishes his leg work and takes the appropriate rest...telling them he’s ready - when he’s good and ready! The result is as follows:

...and wears Jess out. She runs into trouble on the bike and isn’t able to finish. It’s her day to be whacked out, and she doesn’t even want a tall blonde hazelnut when we finish up! By the time we get to her place she’s nearly asleep in the back seat. I suggest she stays where she is and I’ll go up with Bonnie and get her wheelchair, while Bonnie gets Griffon. She argues that she’s fine (ha) to which Bonnie promptly replies, “respect your elders and do what you’re told!” Go Bonnie! So we head upstairs to be greeted by a waggly-tailed Griff. He heads off to the park with Bonnie and I help Jess tumble into the chair, the give her a ride upstairs. We both know she would have made it on her own...by Sunday...but she gently acquiesced allowing me the pleasure of pushing her around (just a bit) and making sure her only immediate plans involved a flat surface and lots of pillow time.

Rest, rest, and more rest!