Coping
Coping implies that you are handling a stressful situation or conflict with some degree of success...so, maybe that isn't what I'm actually doing but it sounds better than what it actually feels like so let's run with that.
This week, Shelbie ended up at the Huntsman Cancer Center, satellite infusion center at our local hospital. She will be there every week for the next three for a series of iron infusions. Her counts are a mess and so, low. It took nearly as long as her plasma infusions take which really took me by surprise. In an odd twist of events, they decided to pre-medicate her with IV steroids which gave her a much needed boost to her platelets.
It is interesting to me that these transfusions were suppose to take place a full year ago but everyone who had the power to schedule them kept dropping the ball so it never happened. Because she has been so depleted, they finally got serious about it. I keep thinking that the timing is perfect, considering the new development of ITP (immune thrombocytopenia purpura- low platelets). All month, she will get IV steroids and that will keep her platelets up, at least for the month of April. I can't help but think that God is in these details.
The evening after the transfusion, she was soooo sick! Steroids do horrible things to her body so that is the downside.
This afternoon, Sam called to tell me he was having another episode of pain with his entire urological system. As per instructions from our Urologist in Utah, I took him straight up to the ER. It was 2:30 pm. We were there until nearly 7 tonight. It was empty when we arrived and my favorite doctor was on duty and he came straight in. He has seen Sam two other times for the same reason. He acted quickly to get imaging ordered and said we needed to get that ASAP before things settled down, because Sam forgot he wasn't suppose to take any medication when he had a flare. Sadly, the Radiology department didn't get the memo that this was an urgent situation so over an hour later, they came lollygagging into the room.
At this point, I am in knots and oh so angry! If they had just done the test when they were called, we may have been able to catch the tortion and to make matters worse, while we waited, a receptionist came in asking for $250 to pay a portion of the ER bill!!
"I don't have $250 to give you right now." I politely commented.
"Well, you need to pay something, $200?" She replied.
"No, I don't have $200 either."
"Well, what can you pay?"
"Um...$20. Maybe."
"Okay, you need to stop at the front desk before you leave and pay $20." She curtly instructed.
The hospital needs to rethink that policy. I get it, they need their money but I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that asking for money during an already stressful event is not the best strategy. Needless to say, I was shaking and my anxiety was so high, it was all I could do to sit there and not fall to pieces.
Sam was feeling much better by the time we left, the anti-inflammatory medications had kicked in.
One issue I've had is that the only Urologist in our network is in Utah and that just isn't working for us. I've been praying for months about what to do with this problem. The ER doc said tonight that there are two new Urologists in Idaho Falls! I checked with my insurance company and they are going to let us use one of them! Again, I know that God was in the details of that.
I am 90% sure I know what is going on with Sam but I need a good Urologist and our ER doc agreed that Sam has a kidney issue, his ureters are enlarged, his blood pressure is through the roof again, and he is getting a back flow of urine as well as some blockage and a few other things going on. The ER doc is worried about strictures and pressure problems. First thing tomorrow, I will see about getting him in to a Urologist in the city.
Tonight, I found myself sitting in a laundromat at a late hour of the evening and it dawned on me, as I stared into the dryer of my tumbling clothes, that I'm really not coping with life right now. I keep trying to show up, like I have it all under control, but I don't.
I've been dealing with breaking appliances all week long which is time consuming to deal with, expensive and somehow felt like the last straw. I've been holding off on laundry as long as possible in hopes of getting my dead dryer fixed and my dying washer but it became evident that they will not be resurrected. So, I did 4 loads of wash, hung most of it and took a load of towels to the laundromat, a place I have been trying to avoid. I sat there for over an hour, spent close to $10 on dryers that only cost $.25 and left with a basket full of still wet towels. That was the end of my raveling rope so I came home.
So, today has been messy and expensive. I am so far behind work and life that I need 4 all nighters in a row to just to catch up. Ugh.
This week, Shelbie ended up at the Huntsman Cancer Center, satellite infusion center at our local hospital. She will be there every week for the next three for a series of iron infusions. Her counts are a mess and so, low. It took nearly as long as her plasma infusions take which really took me by surprise. In an odd twist of events, they decided to pre-medicate her with IV steroids which gave her a much needed boost to her platelets.
It is interesting to me that these transfusions were suppose to take place a full year ago but everyone who had the power to schedule them kept dropping the ball so it never happened. Because she has been so depleted, they finally got serious about it. I keep thinking that the timing is perfect, considering the new development of ITP (immune thrombocytopenia purpura- low platelets). All month, she will get IV steroids and that will keep her platelets up, at least for the month of April. I can't help but think that God is in these details.
The evening after the transfusion, she was soooo sick! Steroids do horrible things to her body so that is the downside.
This afternoon, Sam called to tell me he was having another episode of pain with his entire urological system. As per instructions from our Urologist in Utah, I took him straight up to the ER. It was 2:30 pm. We were there until nearly 7 tonight. It was empty when we arrived and my favorite doctor was on duty and he came straight in. He has seen Sam two other times for the same reason. He acted quickly to get imaging ordered and said we needed to get that ASAP before things settled down, because Sam forgot he wasn't suppose to take any medication when he had a flare. Sadly, the Radiology department didn't get the memo that this was an urgent situation so over an hour later, they came lollygagging into the room.
At this point, I am in knots and oh so angry! If they had just done the test when they were called, we may have been able to catch the tortion and to make matters worse, while we waited, a receptionist came in asking for $250 to pay a portion of the ER bill!!
"I don't have $250 to give you right now." I politely commented.
"Well, you need to pay something, $200?" She replied.
"No, I don't have $200 either."
"Well, what can you pay?"
"Um...$20. Maybe."
"Okay, you need to stop at the front desk before you leave and pay $20." She curtly instructed.
The hospital needs to rethink that policy. I get it, they need their money but I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that asking for money during an already stressful event is not the best strategy. Needless to say, I was shaking and my anxiety was so high, it was all I could do to sit there and not fall to pieces.
Sam was feeling much better by the time we left, the anti-inflammatory medications had kicked in.
One issue I've had is that the only Urologist in our network is in Utah and that just isn't working for us. I've been praying for months about what to do with this problem. The ER doc said tonight that there are two new Urologists in Idaho Falls! I checked with my insurance company and they are going to let us use one of them! Again, I know that God was in the details of that.
I am 90% sure I know what is going on with Sam but I need a good Urologist and our ER doc agreed that Sam has a kidney issue, his ureters are enlarged, his blood pressure is through the roof again, and he is getting a back flow of urine as well as some blockage and a few other things going on. The ER doc is worried about strictures and pressure problems. First thing tomorrow, I will see about getting him in to a Urologist in the city.
Tonight, I found myself sitting in a laundromat at a late hour of the evening and it dawned on me, as I stared into the dryer of my tumbling clothes, that I'm really not coping with life right now. I keep trying to show up, like I have it all under control, but I don't.
I've been dealing with breaking appliances all week long which is time consuming to deal with, expensive and somehow felt like the last straw. I've been holding off on laundry as long as possible in hopes of getting my dead dryer fixed and my dying washer but it became evident that they will not be resurrected. So, I did 4 loads of wash, hung most of it and took a load of towels to the laundromat, a place I have been trying to avoid. I sat there for over an hour, spent close to $10 on dryers that only cost $.25 and left with a basket full of still wet towels. That was the end of my raveling rope so I came home.
 |
| The drum of my dryer is literally peeling off in ribbons!! It was all caught between the drum and the lip of the frame. How does that happen??!! |
So, today has been messy and expensive. I am so far behind work and life that I need 4 all nighters in a row to just to catch up. Ugh.
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