September 30, 2024
We made it through Hurricane Helene unscathed but our Georgia neighbors to the south and east of us and some of the Tennessee and North Carolina mountain areas were not so fortunate. It has been distressing seeing the displaced people, animals, loss of life and livelihood, and especially the ones that have not been able to make contact with loved ones.
We got to the hospital around 7am this morning. David was not is a great mood as he was having a good deal of pain despite taking his pain medication. We both felt out of sorts and weren’t feeling very peoply today. We passed a few people sporting Falcons gear and were glad they were represented this morning after their win yesterday. David was certainly delighted about it, but he always wears a Falcons hat even when they don’t win. I guess that is how you know he isn’t a fair weather fan. After getting hooked up to the IVs and whatnot, we spoke to Dr. K’s PA and then to Dr. K. He asked David how he was feeling and we talked about the procedure today. He said David would go for a scan in 6-8 weeks following this procedure to see how things were progressing (or not progressing at all if we are lucky). He said it takes some time for the inflammation of the procedure to subside and that was the reason for the wait on the scans. They came to get David at 9am sharp and said it would take about an hour. At the two hour mark, and hearing constant Code Blue and stroke announcements over the intercom, I was starting to become very nervous. The calls weren’t for him of course but my mind starts to stray to those scary thoughts when things are taking longer than expected. They wheeled him back to me around 11:10. David was wide awake and said the anesthesia didn’t seem as strong this time as far as making him drowsy. He said he was pretty much wide awake and bored while Dr. K worked away. He said there weren’t any complications, and that Dr. K was just doing extra things. He couldn’t remember what those things were called. I assume all helpful things. He said he could see the time and knew I would be sitting there starting to worry. So, he was worrying about me worrying about him. Once he was back, the nurse brought him a sack lunch (Ginger ale, turkey sandwich, SunChips, and diced pears). He was glad to get some food and something to drink. He was really bored and becoming fidgety. We worked a few crossword mini puzzles, and he watched Instagram Reels until they came to get him to take him to Nuclear Medicine for the scan to make sure the radioactive goodness was flowing in the right places. They also started the TR band pressure release process, so we knew it wouldn’t be too much longer after he returned from Nuc Med before we could leave. He was gone around 45 minutes so he had about 30 minutes of pressure releasing before we could think about packing up to go. With no arterial bleeding, we got the instructions we heard twice before, and I was dismissed to bring the chariot around to retrieve the patient. We grabbed second lunch at Chick-fil-A on the way through Senoia and kept going. He was sound asleep by the time he took his last bite and slept all the way home. I pulled under the carport and he was still sleeping. I woke him and asked if he wanted to go on to the pharmacy for all of the prescriptions or stay and he opted for the couch. He loves napping on that couch more than anything. I got him inside and situated, and I think he was asleep again before I left the driveway. I picked up the meds and came home to catch up on work and this update. I woke him up around 7pm to take his evening meds and he went right back out. Now starts another healing process.
David’s shirt today: Football is Fun. (Dan Patrick Merch)
