Day 4264

After a long day at the hospital, I'm finally home again. This is the longest I've ever been hospitalized in my life. You learn a lot when you are hospitalized during a Covid surge. Hospitals throughout Texas are operating near capacity. I was placed on a Covid free floor but you could tell that the disease was nearby. The hospital did a good job of keeping Covid patients in a separate part of the hospital. I was initialy treated in the emergency room, but couldn't be admited as a regular patient until I was tested and proved I was Covid free.

Not only did I have my first and only Covid test at the hospital, I was intubated twice. Both procedures required that I be on a ventilator. You are never even aware that this device is keeping you breathing. Most people are out cold when it is inserted. Breathing pure oxygen feels about the same as breathing regular air. You are only aware of the sensation for a few seconds though before the anesthesia knocks you out. Being anesthetized is still a very strange experience.

Large hospitals are really small cities. They are self sustaining, with their own power supplies. The hospital employs thousands of people. I was completely amazed at how many different people were involved either directly or indirectly in my care. Most of these people have good, well paying jobs and they know it. One of the guys pushing me around on a gurney said it took him a full year just to learn how to navigate the huge labyrinth that is the hospital campus.

If you want to see diversity in action, spend a week in a large hospital. I've never talked at length to so many black people in my entire life. It was a good experience. The lead surgeon doing my abdominal surgery yesterday was an Iranian woman. Most of my nurses were black. Lots of people with high level jobs were middle eastern or Indian. There were lots of white people too, but they were not a majority. 

It was interesting to spend a week with these people. I learned a lot. There are definite cultural differences, but it was all good. The young white nurses were very serious about diet and nutrition and were quite specific about what I should eat after I was discharged. One nurse had a Vitamix just like mine and we shared smoothie recipes. The black nurses told me to eat what I wanted and be happy. My favorite nurse told me to be sure to order the brisket for lunch yesterday and I did. It was delicious and of course the meat was full of fat. Everybody asks you to confirm your birthday when they do anything. When two young black guys who were transporting me to the operating room asked me for my birthday I said Juneteenth and they immediately smiled and started laughing. "Juneteenth boy," they said. "That's good."

My hospital journey isn't over yet. When the gastrointestinal team did their thing on Wednesday they discovered that something is wrong with my esophasgus. I have Barrett's esophagus, caused by years of acid reflux. They want to do an Endoscopic resection, which uses an endoscope to remove damaged cells to aid in the detection of dysplasia and cancer. This will take place about three months from now. What the hell. I've gone this far, I might as well keep going. I really do have a terrible problem with acid reflux and maybe these guys can fix it.

I became familiar with medicine by taking good care of dogs. Most of the conditions I was treated for this week were very familiar to me. Spot and Dash both had stones that had to be removed surgically. Dawn had stones as well. Dot had major abdominal surgery and almost died. All our dogs needed special diets at one point of another. The whole process of doing extensive blood work before administering anesthesia was very familiar. Every dog we've ever had has been under anesthesia. Our dogs made this weeks experience less scary to me. I'd been down this road before. I'm a grumpy person by nature and you'd think this weeks experience would have made me mad. It was actually kind of uplifting.  I feel a little better about everything today.

Cammy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2738

Janet's home nurse didn't show up this morning. We thought we could just change the bandages ourselves, but quickly realized we were out of our depth. I couldn't even figure out how to open the bottle of sterile saline solution. The instructions the hospital left us with made such a huge deal out of germs and cleanliness that it left me wondering if my hands were still clean if I turned off the faucet after washing them. And what about cutting a bandage in half with a pair of scissors? Where do you draw the line?

It wasn't surprising to learn that the problem with the home nurse involved paperwork. Someone had failed to send the proper authorization forms to the right person. Basically very little happens in healthcare unless the provider knows they are going to get paid. The doctors and nurses are excellent. It's insurance that always screws things up. Janet called her regular doctor to see if they could help arrange something and by the end of the day we were back in business. I used to think the whole concept of concierge doctors was a waste of money, but Janet's doctor has made me a believer. You basically pay more to get treated decently, but if you need help, don't want to wait forever to get an appointment, and are having trouble navigating the insurance maze, the cost is well worth it. I've been going to the same doctor for a long time, but I'm thinking of switching to Janet's doctor. These guys have been amazing.

It was so hot today that Dash didn't want to walk at all. On the theory that dogs know more about the weather than I do, I didn't try to make him go outside. You hear so many stories about dogs getting heatstroke in the Summer that I've become very cautious about taking walks during a heat wave. You've got to remember that dogs can't sweat and can become overheated quite quickly.

I did get out and about myself, but I've got a good air conditioner in my car. I went out for breakfast, even though it was almost lunch time by the time all the home nurse confusion got straightened out. Today's errands included picking up more medical supplies at CVS and getting some tasty things for dinner that didn't require cooking.

I wonder how nurses deal with the stress. There are so many things that can go wrong. Patients often don't follow directions, and what works for one person sometimes doesn't work for the next. This isn't something I'd like to do for a living. I have a tremendous respect for doctors and nurses, but I don't think modern medicine would work at all if the body didn't have an amazing ability to heal itself. A healthy diet and a strong immune system are probably more important than any pill.

I had to update some more mobile websites today and grew increasingly frustrated at the need to use both my laptop and desktop computers to make the updates. What would have been a thirty minute job before my design application stopped supporting my desktop computer ended up taking two hours. I hate to spend a ton of money updating software on my desktop just so I can continue to use this application, but I may have to. It is taking way too much time to go back and forth between the two computers.

I guess tomorrow is Saturday although all days seem the same now. There are lots of errands to run and I can tell it's going to be a busy day already. I always forget how much Janet does to keep the house running smoothly until I try doing it myself for a while. Hopefully this new routine will become easier for both of us with a little practice.

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2737

Janet is home again. They definitely don't keep you very long in the hospital anymore. As much as I hate hospitals, I'll have to admit that I was very impressed with the doctors and staff at Baylor. Not only were they very well trained and professional, they were nice. This isn't always the case at hospitals. So far, everything appears to be going smoothly. Janet's doctors are pleased with her progress and the nurses reassured me that all the tubes and bandages she went home with are completely normal.

Once of the head nurses gave me a short course in wound care this afternoon. For the first week or so there are drains that must be emptied several times a day. The fluid that collects in the reservoirs is supposed to diminish each day, and when it stops the tubes are removed. You have to keep a log and measure the amount of fluid you remove each time, making sure to keep everything completely clean during the entire process. There have never been this many antibacterial products in our home before. I'm sure they are necessary. The doctors didn't mince words about the dangers of infections. Most of the complications resulting from surgery don't happen during the surgery itself. They are usually caused by infections that happen later.

I'm careful and methodical, even though my hands aren't as steady as they once were. It's going to be a miracle if we make it through the entire week without spilling some of the fluid that is removed several times a day. Everybody calls it a pink fluid but they're not fooling me. It's blood.

Dash is being very good. He was our only real worry, since he's probably the dirtiest thing in the house. He has slept on our bed the entire time he has been a party of our family, so he's not going to change now. I make sure he doesn't get too near Janet when he's active and excited. Dinner time and food seem to excite him the most, so it is pretty easy to lure him to the kitchen and out of harm's way. Basically Dash is a very lazy dog. If he's on the bed, he's usually sleeping.

I spent most of the morning getting the bed ready. There were new sheets, new pillows, new pillow shams, a new comforter, and unfortunately a new mattress cover. The old mattress cover slid over the mattress like a fitted sheet. This new one had a zipper and you had to slide the entire mattress inside it and then zip it up. Our mattress is very heavy and this was not an easy job. I almost gave up at one point, but I finally got the thing on. I didn't think anything was wrong with the old mattress cover, but Janet reminded me that dogs have peed on it several times. Basically sterilizing a house with dogs is an exercise in futility. All things considered though, I think we've done pretty well.

Things will be quite different for a few weeks and then should gradually return to normal. I don't think we'll need the home nurse for very long. Changing dressings and emptying the tubes is actually easier than we'd thought it would be. There will be follow up visits with the surgeons and an oncologist. I think there's a physical therapist too. In many ways this all seems very similar to what Dot and Dash went through a few years ago.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2613

Good grief Firefox. Quit telling me that Google is a suspicious site and refusing to let me log into my Blogger account. You're confused buddy. Sometimes I get so sick of SSL Server Certificates, encrypted websites, anti-virus software, and e-mail spam that I want to scream. Developers have made things so complicated in their ongoing efforts to thwart the hackers and spammers that my browser doesn't even work half the time. I really miss the old days when only a few geeks with dial up modems used the Internet and security was totally unnecessary. I was eventually able to access my Blogger account or you wouldn't be reading this, but why does it always have to be such a hassle?

It's hard to tell whether the world has become more complicated or if I have just become less tolerant. All I know is that even easy things seem hard these days. Traffic is horrendous. You can never reach anyone the phone anymore. Cable TV is an expensive joke. My U-verse service is always freezing or crashing. All my voicemail is from telemarketers. I don't think I can make it through a single day without rebooting something to bring it back to life. Right now my phone says "No SIM card installed" when I know perfectly well that there is a working SIM card inside. One more thing to reboot.

Maybe if the rest of the world worked smoothly, it would be easier for me to deal with the dogs. I'm continually stepping in dog poop in the back yard and cleaning it up indoors after Dot has made a mess. The washing machine seems to be running continuously now. I've gotten used to helping Dot walk, but now I've got to worry that Dash will fall as well. He's recovering from the massive cluster of seizures he experienced recently, but he's still pretty shaky. Often, when he lifts his leg to pee outdoors, it will throw him off balance and he will stumble. Dash's energy is returning a lot faster than his sense of balance. I have to be real careful when I take him on walks. The doctor says he should be back to normal in about three weeks, but it is going to be a long three weeks.

I've gotten Dash to eat dry food again. That's a good sign. Dot's urinary incontinence has stabilized a bit as well. If I take her outside every three hours, she seldom pees in the house anymore. I hate to wake her up when she's sleeping, but I hate for her to sleep in a puddle of pee either. Dash still tries to climb on the bed even though he's not ready yet. I'm trying to train him to sleep on the floor, but that's a work in progress. Basically, life is still a three ring circus.

I've been caring for sick dogs for so long now that I've almost completely forgotten what a normal life is like. I'm not complaining, but the combination of extended isolation, stress, and sleep deprivation can't be good for me. I'm actually getting pretty good at this, but I would definitely not pick nursing as a career choice. If you're a nurse, you have my admiration. It's much easier to be a writer.

I had a few small website updates to complete today, but it was just as well that I wasn't busy. Dot was restless all afternoon and it was hard to concentrate. I think I'm coming down with a cold too. I was taking Dot outside to clean her off this afternoon when I really had to sneeze. I wanted to reach for a Kleenex in my pocket, but realized that I still had poop on my hands. Such is life.

I wish it was Friday tomorrow. No, scratch that. I just remembered that I have to do a run through for this weekend's baffling photo shoot on Friday. I'd rather just have a nice breakfast and go back to bed.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1683

I was Dot's nurse today. I really appreciate what the nursing staff did for Dot in the ICU last week. It is not easy keeping a sick and very tired dog on the path to recovery. I'm a worrier too, so anything abnormal about Dot's behavior freaks me out. Dot has a laundry list of meds that she needs at various times during the day. The doctors want to get her up and walking about every two or three hours. She doesn't need much activity, but staying in one place all day isn't going to help her recovery. It's dificult to get Dot up again once she's lying down on her blanket, but once she's up she seems to move about fine. There's a fine line between keeping her mobile and pushing her too hard and sometimes it's difficult to know exactly where the line is.

I walked Dash so early this morning that there was still dew on the leaves, even though it was a hot July day. When we returned, Janet left for work and I took over nursing duties for the rest of the day. I thought Dot seemed hot, but when I took her temperature, everything was completely normal. I though her heart was racing after a very short walk down the back alley, but when I compared her heart rate to Dash's, who had been sleeping, they were both exactly the same. I worry that Dot hasn't pooped yet. Up to a point, this is completely normal for a dog recovering from abdominal surgery. After that point, it can be serious though. The trouble is that I have no idea where that point is. Every dog is different.

I'm glad the weekend is here. I could really use a good night's sleep. My primary care doctor wants me back on statins again, now that my Hepatitis-C treatment is finished. I started taking Simvastatin and timed release Niacin last night and the combo seemed to have the same irritating sides effects as it did before. Niacin flushing is common and it makes me feel like I'm burning up. When I woke up to check on Dot last night, my skin felt like it was on fire. The flushing only lasts a few hours, but when I'm awake, this is two hours too many. My liver specialist wants to re-test me in 12 weeks to make sure the Simvastatin and Niacin combo aren't screwing up their good work. Both drugs can have an adverse effect on the liver. Once again I am caught between dueling doctors. Is it my heart or my liver that is going to win? I haven't got a clue. I'd much rather be having a cheeseburger and a beer.

We go up to the cancer center tomorrow morning to get Dot's surgical bandage removed. The stitches will stay in, but the doctors want to remove the big bandage covering her belly as soon as possible to help the wound heal. It is easier to check if the incision site is leaking of becoming infected if you can actually see it. I have a long list of questions for the nurses, because I hate surprises. Doctors and nurses probably hate me because I'm always asking questions and slowing them down. I know the nurses are busy, but I'm a person who needs to know. I'll be polite, but I'll still ask all my questions. I'm curious about these things. Maybe I should have gone to med school.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1676

Dot took a turn for the worse today. We were really optimistic this morning. When we picked her up at the emergency clinic at 7 AM, her fever had subsided and she was a lot more steady on her feet. Dot looked like she was getting better. We had to take her back to our regular vet for the day, because the emergency clinic is only open at night. Dot's regular nurse called around noon to say that she was eating solid food again. This was encouraging too. It was only at the end of the day when our vet did new blood work that we realized her condition had actually gotten worse.

Dot's white blood cell count has significantly increased during the day, while her liver enzyme levels have gotten worse. This is not good! What it means is that the inflammation within her body that is causing all the problems is not being effectively controlled by the antibiotics or anti-inflammatory medications she's currently taking. Janet and I really thought we'd be able to take her home with us this evening, but since her condition was deteriorating, we went straight back to the emergency clinic instead.

She is spending the night hooked up to IV tubes again. Tomorrow morning, Dot will see an internal medicine specialist at the same cancer center where Dash is being treated. We stayed with her tonight at the emergency clinic until she got sleepy and was comfortably settled in for the night. I wish I could have just pulled up a cot and spent the night with her, but that was not allowed. I hope she sleeps peacefully and shows just as much improvement tonight as she did last night. One of the vets we talked to today told us that the anti-inflammatory steroids she was given today can cause a temporary increase in white blood cell levels. I hope that is all that's going on. Dot's escalating white blood cell levels could mean something far more serious.

It has been a very long day. I got a lot of website work done, but I was really just sitting by the phone all day waiting for updates from the vet. It is frustrating that nobody has been able to pin down the source of the inflammation so far. I've talked to a lot of people too. If we knew what was causing the problem, it would be much easier to treat it. I'm really hoping that the internal medicine specialist we're seeing tomorrow can shed some light on this mystery before Dot's condition becomes even worse.

Dot's sudden illness is the last thing I expected. Sure, she's old, but she is the healthiest Dalmatian we have ever had. I guess in some small, unrealistic corner of my mind, I kept thinking she would live forever. I"m hoping for the best this weekend, but things don't look good now.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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