Tuesday 3-2-10

Well what the hell, I don't know where to start. I just started reading my Friday draft of my blog and realized how many mistakes etc. there were and just published it any way because I wanted to let everyone know how sick I was becoming. Friday night I was to meet my diabetic doctor, Carol Burns and her staff at the Essen House for dinner. I had not been feeling well since Thursday, and it was snowing like crazy at 5:30 on Friday, but I was going to meet Carol and her husband and staff.

The weather was really bad, what usually takes 15 to 20 minutes took over an hour to get to the Essen House. So we got there at 7:20 not 6 pm as we expected. Carol and her husband and grand kids were already there and so we started to eat as soon as we got there. We took a quick break to show them the Manor House when we found out that some of her staff were stranded behind a wreck. They loved the M.H.. Carol said, It really does look like like a Hilton. This doesn't feel at all like a Nursing home. As I explained to her, it's not a nursing home, it's an Assisted Living. This is there home. That's why we have farm animals that they can feed and play with. Most of these people were farmers or live on a farm at one time in their lives. They love to watch the chickens and the ducks and the rabbits. As a matter of fact the rabbits just had six babies. We also have a bird cage full of exotic birds. We have a huge flat screen TV with a Wii. Most of these people didn't have it this good in their own homes before they arrived here. We accept people on Medi-Cade. Very few A.L. in Ohio will accept M-C people because they say you can't make any money on them. We built an entire wing for their care. The rooms are smaller, but they eat the same food and have all the other goodies that the richest man in Antwerp has. And we do have the richest man in Antwerp in our House.

Boy I got on a soapbox didn't I. Anyway, after I fell off the soapbox, we ate and then Carol wanted to see my bad arm. When I showed her she just looked at me and said: You have to get to the hospital NOW. That put a real damper on the night, to say the least. I still had to drive the Amish home, go home myself, meet Sharon, who had driven her own SUV there, and go to the hospital. So I'm driving on country roads in a blowing snowstorm when all of a sudden, Mary, from the back seat, say: Your going off the road Tom, it should have jogged there and you went straight. All of a sudden I'm in a ditch. It is now when I discover the difference between four wheel drive and all wheel drive. Louis says: go out into the field Tom, it's a lot harder and straighter than this ditch. So against my better judgement, I did what he suggested. He was right, with the all wheel drive, the wheel that was stuck stopped spinning and the other three wheels pulled me straight out into the field. Once I got straightened out I just turned once again toward the road and pulled right back onto the road. I did not parallel the ditch, I just drove right through it an onto the road. Now how did an Amish guy who does not drive a car know what to do. "THEY PRAY A LOT". They also know the fields and ditches around their community and even with horses, they get in trouble when it's wet in the fields and they have to do much the same to free a team of horses when a farm implement gets stuck.

OK, so I get home about 9:20 and we are off to the hospital. We get there and it's the same old BS that I had to go through 10 days earlier. So I'm trying to fight the system by saying: Look, I was just here two Friday's ago, look it up. What I forgot was that I was dealing with a person who only knew one thing. Your name sir? Your home address? Have you got Insurance? Who is your family doctor? etc.etc. etc. So about 11 pm I'm in an Emergency room and have to go through the same old BS with the ER people. Finally at midnight I see a real live doctor who looks at my arm and says: "that looks like cellulites". No S+++, Dr. Kildare, I knew that before I came here. What I want is the F++++++ Daptomycin, that will cure the F++++++ cellulites. Oh, you mean you need to be admitted and have an IV.?? RIGHT!!!!!!!! Soo now it's about 1am and I'm finally rushed to the 7th floor to my own room. I can't remember much else, because I had Sharon give me a Zanex and a pain pill or two while we were waiting to go to the room.

Next day Saturday. It's about 5 am when a skinny little shit comes in and grabs my bad arm to tell me he need to take some blood for a sample. I told him to let go of that arm and get the F+++ out of this room. I said I have a port for drawing blood and a arm band on the left arm that saying not to touch. So I suggest you leave before I turn on a light and get your name and badge no. I didn't see him again that I can remember. At about 8am the Chemo doctor, this is number 6, of the 11 member team, came in the room to basically tell me they put me on the wrong floor. I would be moving to the 2nd. floor cancer ward. He then proceeded to tell me I had cellulites and that I need to see the Infectious disease doctor that day. He obviously didn't look on my chart, to see that I already have been through this drill and I know the ID doctor by name. But, he could say that he saw me and another $100 please.

I was moved to the second floor to a very nice room. It was about as large as one of our Medi-Care rooms, but still very nice. At 11am the ID doctor came to see me. She was the partner of the man I saw the first time. I must say at this point, she's a hell of a lot better looking. She gave me a complete examination and then explained how dangerous this stuff was. Because of the Chemo I have not immune system, so the infection will attack the weakest part of your body. Usually that is an old wound or some part of the body that is the weakest. In my case it was the site of the Sarcoma removal. After reading my medical history, she saw that I had a heart attack and that it could be the next place for this stuff to attack. She said if I had not come in last night, I might be dead today. If it attacks your heart you usually don't make it. She says now that we must get the Daptomycin until the 23rd. just to be on the save side. It usually takes 12 to 14 days, but with my cancer etc. she wants 24 days. This rest of Sat was quiet and I watched the Olympics.

Sunday was also quiet until about 9pm and I'm watching the Hockey game and I need to pee and I for some reason can't. I try again later and still no luck. After the game I decided I needed to tell the nurse we needed to do something. It's then I find out that the medicine I had been taking for Flow Max is not the same S+++ they have been giving me in the hospital. They love to tell you it is, but the only time to find out the difference is when a problem develops. "LADIES" you might not want to read the rest of this. Guys listen up!! If you ever have to go into a hospital and you take a certain kind of prostate med. make sure it the same formula. What happened to me may seem funny now, but I was in real trouble. The nurse was older and in the business for 31 years. She didn't realize what the real problem was until it was to late to do the only thing remaining. I had to get a cathater. If you don't know what that is bcause I can't spell it correctly, it has to be inserted into the penis and then into the bladder. If the prostate is in the way, they actually drill a passage past it and into the bladder. When I say drill, it ain't with a power drill, it's by litterly screwing this thing around, under or through your prostate until it relieves the bladder. If they can't do it that way, you are rushed to surgery NOW!! This lady had been trying for about 15 minutes and she was dripping wet. I had to take the pillow case off my pillow to wipe her eyes so she could see. She needed both hands to do what she was doing. She finally looked at me and said: Tom, do you want me to stop? I said no, but may I ask you a question? are you a Christian? She shook her head yes, and I said I have been asking the Lord to guide your hands, so please proceed. She said she had been saying the same prayer. It wasn't a minute later and she was through. It was the most painful thing I have ever had done to me. When they ask from 1-10 what was the pain, I asked if 11 was ever hit. If so, I was there. The good book says he will never give you something you can't handle. He was giving me a real test. I damn near passed out with pain.

Now the funny part of the story. The nurse's name was Beth and she actually worked an hour and a half over time to do what she did. I was so greatful to her I gave her two free meals at the Essen House. You can laugh, but that is the only thing she would accept. She said she didn't do nursing to get rich. She loved doing what she did. I told her she was a lucky lady to love what she did. I told her I loved doing what I did also, and since I owned a restaurant, I loved giving free meals to people I liked. With that I asked for some Zanix and a pain pill so I could sleep. She then said she was way past her off duty hours and would have to tell the next nurse to get them for me. She did say she would have to write all this up and that it would be about 45 minutes before the nurse would be back but to stay awake or she would not give them too me. So I'm in, and out, of sleep, when I think I actually dreaming, I look up and see this vision of beauty standing over me about to listen to my heart or something. She was very close to me when I finally felt her presence. When her eyes finally caught mine I'm not sure what she thought. I told her I thought I was dreaming and that she was about to kiss me. She said she had to get my vitals and was trying to be as quiet as possible because she had heard what had just happened. She then turned on the big light and I about died how beautiful she was. The only thing I could think about was, what would I have done if she was the one that had to do what Beth had just done.

I did tell her about Tommy, but he was about three years to young, and she felt a 42 year was a little to old. So guys I tried, but no sale. She was a sweat heart and talked to me until the pills took effect again. You may not believe this but the next thing I felt was this little shit grabbing my left arm again saying he need to draw some blood. I told him he and I had already met and I was the guy that told him to get out now. He then tried to explain how he didn't turn on the light to see the PINK ARM BAND and he would not bother me again. It's was 8:30 when Angie, the night nurse introduced me to the morning nurse. She promptly said go back to sleep I'll get all your vitals later.

The two doctors came in about 9:30 on Monday and both said that if the other approaved, I could go home. The young morning nurse said: Tom, when would you like to leave? I said about 1:30 or 2pm would be fine. That was at 11am. She said if I get it done by then what do I get. I said a 20% discount off two buffets at the Essen House. She actually live about 8 miles from Antwerp but never felt she could afford to go to a real restaurant. She went to the A&W but never a sit down. At 3pm she came in and said she had done all she could do and had everything on her end done two hours ago, but the lady from the chemo doctors office had not signed off yet. I told her to call the lady's answering service and inform her that Mr. McLaughlin would be leaving the hospital with or without her approval by 4pm. She said: would you really do that? My reply: WATCH ME !!

WE WERE IN THE CAR AND ON OUR WAY AT 3:45 PM