Thursday update

Most of my family and friends do not go to my blog. They get my posts sent directly to their in-box, so they do not see any of the comments that are made. As I did not post anything yesterday because my Sweeties' day continued until 10 PM, I will copy and paste the comment I made to Nathalie this morning.

Still here

It is getting harder and harder to write these updates, because at times it feels like nobody has any idea of what they are going to do. I am watching my husband get worse and worse, and some days have gone by with nothing being done at all. I will write this update in point form.

• On Monday night, my Sweetie was moved out of the private room and back into a semi-private. The test results for a hospital borne illness came back negative. 
• On Tuesday morning I called patient locating to find out which room he was moved into. His phone was disconnected so there was no way to talk to him. I had that problem sorted out by calling the nurses' station to inform them.
• I drove to the hospital early this afternoon after the freezing drizzle stopped. I asked at the nurses' station if they would send the doctor to the hospital room to speak to me. The nurse came in to talk with me first. She said that my Sweetie was having a very bad day. He was taking pain medication every four hours and he wasn't eating or drinking . Of course, that wasn't new. He hasn't been eating or drinking for two weeks now. She also said that my husband had been given too much Lasix. They could no longer get a working IV  in his arm because his veins were collapsing because there wasn't enough fluid in his veins. It is all interstitial.
• A nephrologist came in to talk with us and announced that he was going to put more IV fluid into him because of the lack of fluid in his veins, and he was going to put a hold on the Lasix. Their plan consisted of putting in even more fluid and then do another biopsy of the kidney this Friday. My husband and I "hit the roof" so to speak. He already has 22 extra pounds in his legs that was put in by IV the first week. That doctor left to confer with the head of Nephrology.
• The nurse came in to try putting in another IV line in my husband's arm to start up the Lasix treatment that he had not yet received today. This order had just been given to her by Internal Medicine. I refused the treatment until both parties (Internal Medicine and Nephrology) got together to discuss a new treatment plan. 
• Within 5 minutes, we had three doctors in the room. I explained that within the first half hour of my arriving to see my husband, he had been prescribed two diametrically opposed courses of treatment. We needed to resolve the issue of not being able to insert an IV port, so it was decided to send him to Radiology to have a PIC line put in his arm so nurses could take blood and give medicine. We also suggested that a dialysis line be put in through the neck like they did back in October to give him dialysis if it was finally decided that that was the only course of action. But Nephrology wouldn't go for that. They want to save the kidney, but my husband has been through enough. 
• I spoke with my Sweetie Pie an hour ago. He said they put the PIC line in his arm after 5 o'clock tonight; and while he was there, the radiologist told him that Nephrology had finally given the go-ahead for the line to be put in his neck tomorrow. I am guessing that dialysis is not completely out of the question. 
• I will end this post with a valentine that I finished this morning. 

 

Daybook: Monday, January 16/17

Outside my window.......it is very gray and overcast at 4 PM. This morning started sunny and bright, but an ice storm is moving into the area for tomorrow, and it is highly unlikely that I will go into Kingston.

I am thinking.......that we had a lovely day at the hospital today. My Sweetie is still in the large private room but he is no longer under isolation. The lab results came back negative. My brother and SIL from Smith Falls came to visit us in  hospital. As we were supposed to spend Christmas Day with them, but didn't, we still had Christmas presents to exchange. It is also our wedding anniversary today, so the atmosphere was very festive.

I am thankful for.....46 wonderful years with my Sweetie.

From the kitchen.....I am cooking some sausage and pasta for dinner. I have warmed up one of the marinara sauces I made a few weeks ago and froze.

I am wearing.....blue jeans, a gray knit sweater and socks. My hair is in a pony tail.

I created.....a white on white wedding anniversary card for my husband. I forgot to take a picture. *sigh*

I am going.....to look after the dog, make my dinner, and then veg in front of the TV tonight.

I am hoping.....that the doctors can heal my husband quickly.

I am hearing.....the blower on the furnace, the "ping" of new email arriving in my in-box, and the sound of traffic on the highway from cars going home after work.

Around the house......housework is waiting for me, but it can wait a little longer for me.

One of my favourite things.....is a warm cup of tea on a cold afternoon.

Some plans for the rest of the week......will centre around visits to the hospital. I would like to get started on valentines for the kids, but I will see how the days progress.

Here is a photo I am sharing.....

Brand new craft supplies received this week. I cannot wait to dive in. 

 

 

I bought the 110 lb. card stock at Staples with a gift card, so I only had to pay the tax out of pocket. I bought 3 rolls of 2-sided tape at the Dollar Tree. The 4 mini ink pads were bought and paid for before Christmas at Amazon, but didn't arrive until this week (MIA), and the pad of 12x12 printed card stock was part of a Christmas gift I received this week.

Beautiful sunny weekend

It is 3 o'clock on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I just got back from spending time with my Sweetie in the hospital. They moved him yesterday afternoon into a large private room with a pent house view of the lake.

They did that as a precaution to keep him in isolation on the off-chance that he has picked up a "hospital borne illness". They ran 140 mg of Lasix into him yesterday by IV, in hopes of stimulating the kidney. Up until yesterday, they were giving him 40 mg of the diuretic. It managed to produce about 1/2 a liter of urine overnight which sounds promising. Since entering the hospital two weeks ago this coming Tuesday, they have given him 10 kg or 22 pounds of fluid (maybe more because he has not been eating). His creatinine, potassium and urea numbers are creeping back up. His nurse told us today that she overheard the doctors in conversation with the Transplant Team in Toronto. I am sure that is only to get some further ideas to try before they give him dialysis. Dialysis sounds like a last resort. They don't think the kidney would survive another one. They think it would totally fail if they did that, so they are desperate to try all other avenues first. We are keeping our fingers crossed. When I left this afternoon, they were giving him another IV. If it produces results, they will keep pushing on that. He was able to eat 4 bites of an egg salad sandwich and a quarter cup of ice-cream at lunch, and keep it down.

I have been unable to respond to emails or make comments on blogs for two days. My keyboard quit on me quite suddenly, and I had no time to deal with it, So on Friday night after supper and before I went to bed, I cleaned the keyboard. I had toothpicks, Q-tips, my vacuum cleaner and rubbing alcohol and proceeded to take off the keys to get underneath. There was so much cat hair, I don't know how I was able to press down on the keys. But I cleaned it up, rebooted the computer, and voila. My keyboard is functioning again, but I have been dragging again with fatigue, so I still haven't responded on-line. Instead I have been talking on the phone an awful lot. Slowly, but surely, I should get back to everyone.

Wild and Wacky Weather

You might remember that Tuesday was a blustery day. There was lots of blowing snow which was followed by freezing rain which was followed by rain. On Tuesday night, I was outside in the freezing rain, shoveling slush out of my driveway. There was a massive amount of it and I was afraid that if it froze over, I would be trapped in the house until Spring. *laugh*  But yesterday morning I realized that I really didn't have too much to worry about;  because during the night, when the freezing rain was replaced by rain and the temperature warmed up, most of that snow was pretty much gone. I left the house at 10:30 AM to run some errands on my way to the hsopital. First I went to the Post Office. A package that I had put a trace on from Amazon, had finally arrive and was waiting for me. Yay! It was a package of Tim Holtz mini ink pads that I ordered before Christmas. The first package had arrived two weeks ago, but the second one that was ordered the same day, was still in transit.

I next went to a Service Station and put $50 gas in the van. I went to No Frills to pick up a few items that I was running low on, but decided in the end that I should pick up the specials on sale because the new sales flyer starts today. I got to the hospital room just before noon. I was there when the doctors from Internal medicine discussed with us how they wanted to put my husband on an antibiotic for his infection, Warfarin to thin the blood, and a diuretic to lose the fluid. I sincerely believe the infection is the same one that put him in hospital in October, that they never got rid of. So I am glad they are dealing with that. The problem with the diuretic is that the body is still not flushing out the fluid because the kidney is stopped. Increasing the diuretic is not going to force out the fluid if the body has no way to release it. Why not dialyse him? The creatinine levels are apparently on their way up again. As far as putting him on blood thinners, neither my husband nor I are keen on that for ALL kinds of reasons, but they think he has a blood clot. So we may be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Anyways, I don't want to dwell on this now. My Sweetie had a very rough night and he actually asked that I not come in today. I am fine with that, as he needs his rest now. Today is very dark and has been raining all day after yesterday being so sunny and warm. I didn't get home until after 5 o'clock last night.  A friend of ours came in to see us at the hospital and I drove her home afterwards.

Dairy cost $9.91

 Becel margarine was on sale for $1.88 for a one pound tub; but better than that, they had Vegan brand which isn't always easy to find. Four liters of 2% was $4.27, normal price, but I was completely out.

Pantry items cost $25.79

 Kraft peanut butter was only $2.88 for a 1 Kg jar, so I jumped all over that price and stockpiled six jars. Red Rose tea was on sale for $5.97 for 216 tea bags (I was totally out) and the 2 tins of sliced mushrooms were a total impulse buy.

Proteins cost $15.22

 I needed eggs at $1.97 /doz. and I bought 2 pkgs of Schneiders Oktoberfest sausage and 4 pkgs of steakettes because they were on for only $1.88 each. I cooked up 1 package of 4 steakettes last night. That made 2 hamburgers for last night's dinner and two for tonight.

Breads cost $1.88 because they were reduced by 50% for quick sale.

I spent $52.80 on food.  I spent another $31.30 on non-food items.

Dog food, washing soda, TP, and Colgate (88 cents). Missing from the photo is a jug of winter windshield washer fluid which I left in the van. I finally found the washing soda I have been looking for to make my homemade cleaners.

My total household expenditures this month so far is $88.28 with taxes. I was kind of surprised how little of that was actually food, but I will continue to break down these expenses for several months.

A Blustery Day

Snowy and blowy today

I made up my mind early today, after checking the weather forecast, not to risk driving into Kingston to see my husband in hospital. Although I know he would love having me there, he also doesn't need the worry of knowing I am on the snowy roadways while there is a weather advisory for our area. I had lots at home to keep me busy, and because I was fully rested after yesterday's nap and sleeping well overnight, I did manage to get some things accomplished that made me feel good.

My unfinished To-Do list from last week:

Clean off dining room table and chairs     In process

Put away tree and indoor Christmas decorations      Done. I still have to put garlands in the basement.

Replace Christmas decorations with my paintings and regular decor      Not done yet. 

Put away Christmas wrapping paper, bags and boxes in the Craft room to recycle next year    Done

Vacuum downstairs     I have done 3 rooms

Wash furniture covers, throws, blankets from the living room      Done

Wash scatter rugs      Done   Washed half of them and lay them over the drying racks

Organized and washed 1/4 of my huge buffet.          Done   This section contained all my covered plastic food containers and all of my picnic and BBQ supplies like serviettes, utensils, plastic and paper cups, plates, serving dishes and the like. I am sure I could lose a whole lot more from this section, but for now I will just better organize what I have.

Make a birthday card for oldest grand daughter        Done and mailed out yesterday.

Purge 5 items      Done     I actually purged 8 items. Hopefully I will be able to catch up to my goal of  25 items a week as I organize the rest of my buffet.

3 packages of baby shower paper plates (8 in each), a water bottle, chocolate mold, footed glass bowl, plastic dessert tray and a snowman decoration.

I  did 3 loads of laundry today in cold water with a vinegar rinse. 

I weighed myself and found I had neither lost nor gained any weight this past week. 

I counted the change in my "found change" container from 2016. There was only $7.75 in pennies, nickels and dimes. I know that I had quarters in there earlier in the year, but I had been dipping into the jar for parking money. So now the jar is empty and ready to receive found money for 2017. 

There is really nothing new to report on my husband's treatment today. There has been discussion of an X-ray, another echo cardiogram, a course of antibiotics, and how to get rid of the excess fluid in his legs which are now swollen up to his hips. As of 6:30 tonight when I last spoke with him, nothing had been started.  

I've lost my Mojo

 I started a Daybook Monday. I was going to write a Goals Update. I ended up doing neither. But it is the end of the evening, so I will need to do another short update to let everyone know that things are okay. I am just tired and feeling sorry for myself.

I took another day off from going in to see my Sweetie in hospital. I thought I would use the day constructively to catch up on all those things that need doing. I started with emptying the dishwasher and then I went straight to my Craft Room to make and write a birthday card for my grand daughter, using a background mat I constructed with scraps of papers (as was one of my goals for using up craft materials that I already possess). I phoned the Heart Failure Clinic to cancel my husband's appointment for tomorrow afternoon. I wrote out a cheque for a bill that came in the mail (not a monthly expenditure). I made a chicken veggie soup for lunch and read some emails and blog posts. I walked to the post office to mail the cheque and the card. It had pretty much snowed here all morning, and now the wind had picked up and it was very blustery and the roads were nasty. I was glad I had decided not to drive into town today. My son and his GF took both cats to the apartment last night, leaving the dog and myself quite alone.

Meanwhile at the hospital, the levels of Advagraf in my husband's system are coming down. (I thought it had reached a maximum of 12 but in actual fact, it reached upwards of 19) They want his level at 2. I don't know at what level it is presently, but they are re-introducing the anti-rejection drug again this evening. The urine sample they took last Tuesday when he entered Emergency is now growing a culture (???), and Internal medicine has found "something" on his heart valve. They are going to do yet another echo cardiogram. So I lay down on the couch this afternoon and slept ALL afternoon. The wind has temporarily left my sails. I don't feel like doing anything right now, so I will probably go to bed early and sleep some more. Tomorrow will be a brand new day.