DJ'S JOURNAL

THE NEXT CHAPTER

Another two months have gone by, waiting for Ron’s next appointment with the Nephrologist. The appointment was moved up a week, but the waiting wasn’t much fun. In my last article, we were on our way to Rockport. We only stayed there for 2 weeks and another week near Columbus before returning to the Conroe area. Ron just didn’t want to get too far away, for fear of his condition getting worse. Cassie continued to have her problems, and so did the truck. Here are some highlights from my journal:

*Monday, March 8: While setting up at Bay View WHR in Rockport, Ron found that the 50A plug into the pigtail was partially burned. I had noticed the night before, at the park in Victoria, that my surge protector only had one of the two green lights on. Also one small light was on in the electric water heater indicator. Weird, because the switch was off!!!! I plugged in another surge protector, and it made a very loud buzz. Very strange doings!!! When Ron found the problem in the plug, he surmised that there’s something seriously wrong with the electrical system in that park. But no harm was actually done, thank goodness!!!

Cassie has been giving us more and more trouble with not only getting into the truck, but also into the trailer. Ron had to “help” her into the truck this morning, which happens more and more often, but all this refusing to get into the trailer is getting ridiculous. I gave her a pain pill in the morning, but three times in the afternoon, she would not come in. So, we each grabbed an end of towel, put it on her butt, and helped to push her in.

*Tuesday, March 9: Because of the situation with Cassie, we discussed a dog ramp, and Ron got his tape measure out. He had intentions of building something, but I knew that physically doing that would be very hard on him. I told him that I had found some info in a Google search, and I showed him my saved pages of “dogramp.com”. He just said, “Order it!!!” I did, and it should here Friday if they ship it today. This ramp telescopes from 42” to 70” and will fit in the bed of the truck behind the hitch. He just has to figure out how to tie it down.

*Friday, March 12: Cassie stayed outside all day, on her soft bed. Ron has figured out how to give her a boost so that he doesn’t hurt her or himself. Thanks goodness!!! I checked the FedEx site for tracking the Dogramp. It didn’t leave the Ft. Lauderdale area until late Wednesday night, arrived in Orlando early Thursday AM, and now arrived in Ft. Worth early this AM. Why it didn’t go to Houston, I have no idea!!! I’ll check tracking again later this AM to find out when it leaves Ft. Worth and where it’s going from there.

*Saturday, March 13: I was tracking the Dogramp with FedEx yesterday, getting online 3 times to check the progress. It finally left Ft. Worth in the late afternoon, and I found out this AM that it went to Corpus Christi. More than that, it is on a truck for delivery!!! Will that be today????

*Sunday, March 14: Wind and clouds all day long with very brief appearances of the sun……that was yesterday. This AM, there are rumbles of thunder off in the distance, but so far no rains.

Cassie seems to be improving……she actually walked into the trailer after our walk yesterday…..first time in over a week. The Dogramp did not arrive here at the park, so hopefully it will tomorrow.

Lots of rain!!! I managed a short walk with Cassie before more rain came. After some clearing, even a bit of blue sky, the clouds darkened everything and opened up. We lost the satellite, so Ron connected the cable. It really rained hard for quite some time.

*Monday, March 15: Cassie walked back into the trailer twice yesterday, so I guess that Glucosamine that we’ve been giving her is definitely working. I sure hope that the Dogramp arrives today. We want to go down to Port Aransas, and take her with us, but we want the ramp first, so as not to have problems with her.

When I checked the FedEx site late this afternoon, I found out that the Dogramp had been delivered…..finally!!!! The weekend just got in the way!!!!

*Tuesday, March 16: We decided to go down to Port Aransas and check out Gulf Waters RV Resort. The resort has RV lots for sale, and it’s right on the Gulf. Unfortunately, the day wasn’t the best, that’s for sure!!!!

Cassie went right up the Dogramp into the truck, but her back legs just weren’t working enough to get her up on the seat. She just lay on the floor, which was a bit crowded. Leaving around 11A, we drove to Aransas Pass and over the bridge to wait in the ferry line for about half an hour. This time on a ferry we straddled the two lanes instead of almost trimming off a mirror. The ride only lasted about 5 minutes, which made me wonder why they just don’t build a bridge across the channel. Oh, well!!!! We headed south on TX361 about 5 miles to the park, where we inquired about the lots. Only the back part of this very well planned park, closest to the beach, has been developed so far, so the office and pool are nearest the highway, all alone.

As we started to drive through the park, the brake pressure beeper came on. (I’m surmising that it has something to do with applying the brakes for so long in that ferry waiting line.) When this annoying thing happens, we both tend to get a bit rattled. Then, while we were parked, Ron discovered that we still have an oil leak in the truck. Now I don’t know what we’re going to do next!!!! What was supposed to be an exploratory trip didn’t turn out very well!!!!

*Thursday, March 18: I called about Ron’s appointment with the Nephrologist, and I got it moved up a week to April 27. The guy that I talked to also told me that the appointments are confirmed on the Friday before the Tuesday. So, I’m going to call back after 11A on Fridays for any cancellations. Chances are slim, I’m sure, but we’ve got to do something. Ron is more and more tired and he hurts all over. Me….I don’t like this everything up in the air feeling.

*Friday, March 19: Ron made another purchase……a dehumidifier!!! The thing is rather large, but it is doing quite a job. The door and all the windows are closed, and the air conditioners are on. The bucket was half full of water this AM after probably 15 hours or so!!!! The humidity has gone way up in the last few days; I am soaking wet when I come back from morning walk, after only 30 to 35 minutes out there.

*Tuesday, March 23: The weather here at Colorado River TTN near Columbus, TX is much less humid, a bit cooler, and lots of clouds this AM. We’re only here for a week before we go back to the Conroe area. Ron needs to call the International dealer because we still have an oil leak, and now something is wrong with the anti-lock brake system, although the brakes themselves are fine. (That’s why the beeper went off while we were in Port Aransas.) The windshield washer system doesn’t work, and the valve stems on the tires are pointed inward and inaccessible. Yesterday we found out that the cruise control doesn’t work, although that could have something to do with the antilock braking system. Needless to say, Ron is not a happy camper!!!!

Me….I had a most frustrating day, trying to find out why Medco left a automated voice mail on the cell phone about Ron’s Atacand. First, I called Medco, and as usual, the person that I talked to wasn’t very informed. She indicated that Cigna refused to approve the drug. Strange, because it was already filled twice. Next, I called Cigna and found out that Cigna was fine with the drug through a regular pharmacy. The problem was that Medco needed to get “Prior Authorization” from the doctor’s office, something new as of the first of the year. It’s a doctor’s statement that the drug is necessary for Ron’s treatment. So I called the Nephrologist’s office, to no avail. I called Medco back and got another uninformed person. When I was getting nowhere, I asked for a supervisor, to no avail, so I finally hung up!!! I called the doctor’s office again and talked to the nurse. Turns out that the form was there, waiting for the doctor’s signature. He had not been in the office last week, so it had to wait until yesterday. She assured me that it would be taken care of. Now if someone could have just told me that earlier???? I used up 50 minutes on the cell phone to solve this problem!!!!!

*Thursday, March 25: As a result of an email that Ron sent to the International dealer in Houston about what has been going on with the truck, a mechanic was sent out to where we were parked, some 85 miles away, to fix the problems. He didn’t arrive until 11A, but he did call to let us know that he was running behind because of watching a video about the “high pressure kit” that he was to replace on our truck. Ron stayed out there with him while he worked and learned that the “kit” that he was replacing had just been recalled anyway. The “brake switch” was adjusted, too, so there would be no more loud beeps. The only thing that we didn’t know was whether we were going to be charged for anything, although the recall would probably be covered. Because of Ron’s complaint about the oil and grease everywhere in and on the truck after the earlier repair, he had been told that there wouldn’t be any charge to come out here, and there wasn’t. Thank goodness!!!!

*Wednesday, March 31: The Rheumatologist aspirated Ron’s elbow of all those nasty uric acid crystals and other fluid. He also gave him some info on the injections, which we discussed later. They are really for patients that have osteoarthritis, so they really wouldn’t help all that much.

*Thursday, April 1: Ron went off to Strouhal Tire to get the rear tires on the truck switched around. The guys in Modesto put them back on the truck wrong after the brake job, and Ron discovered the error when he wanted to check the air pressure….couldn’t do it because the stems were turned in. The pressure was low also; that’s why Ron was hearing a low rumble.

*Tuesday, April 13: I made an appointment with the new PCP for Ron next week, on the same day as the attorney appointment. I also made 2 more reservations taking us into June and over Memorial Day weekend. We have no idea what is going to happen with the Nephrologist in a couple of weeks, so we’re just taking some precautions. The nurse called back late in the afternoon with Ron’s Creatinine level at 4.4, a bit of a rise.

*Saturday, April 17: We sat outside for awhile and discussed all this medical stuff again. Ron is determined, as I am, to convince the Nephrologist to do something about his situation as soon as possible. If he won’t, we may have to look into other options, whatever those might be. This just “existing” is getting very old, to say the least!!! We’ve been back here in Texas since mid-January, three months now, and although we did go down to Rockport, we haven’t really done much of anything. That’s why I started stitching again…….to give me something to do!!!

*Wednesday, April 21: Ron has completed his 24-hour urine test, and he will take it to the lab and have his blood drawn later today. I hope that this test will convince the Nephrologist that it’s time for the transplant.

*Thursday, April 22: In the morning, we had a conference with an attorney to discuss a Living Trust and all that it entails. We explained our medical circumstances and how we wanted to set up the trust. He explained a lot of things to us also, including having a will. It acts as a “safety net” for the trust. He gave us a lengthy questionnaire to complete and return to him as soon as possible.

Later, in the afternoon, Ron saw the new “lady” PCP, acquainting her with his medical history. She gave him an RX for Vicodin and one for Toprol. The weird thing, though, is that her staff will NOT fax a new RX to Medco because of too many complaints that the patient did not receive the RX. Sounds weird to me!!!! So we’ll have the Nephrologist's office fax the RX when we see him on Tuesday.

*Tuesday, April 27: After all our discussions of what to say to the Nephrologist, we didn’t have to go into a tirade after all. He reviewed with us all of Ron’s “numbers” from the latest tests, finding that his Creatinine is up to 4.7 and his Creatinine clearance was 28. When we reminded him that Ron is off the diuretic, he indicated that the increase to 4.7 from 4.4 could mean that Ron’s renal function is slipping. As for Ron’s BP, that was much better, but his heart rate was way down to 48, with 60 being normal. Maybe that’s why Ron always feels so drained and tired. The doctor said that Toprol tends to decrease the heart rate, so he reduced that med to half of the original RX. On the other hand, he doubled another BP med, Norvasc. We indicated that the previous Nephrologist had prescribed the Toprol when Ron did have an elevated heart rate while taking the diuretic. Since he’s off that, the higher dosage wasn’t necessary. Then, because of the elevated Creatinine, the doctor said that the pre-testing for Ron’s transplant could be done. All that will be completed first before I go through the testing. The nurse called St. Luke’s for the referral, but as yet, we haven’t heard back from them. The doctor indicated that all the tests should only take a few days, unless there was some problem, so we will probably rent a car to go back and forth, and deal with the parking, rather than move the trailer. I think that we both feel better now, knowing that at least something is being done to get on with this whole process. While having a late lunch/early dinner afterwards, Ron said that he wants to get this all over with, but that he wasn’t looking forward to it. I totally agree; after all, this is major surgery for both of us. I, too, am apprehensive, but I want my husband’s health back……period!!!

Now, with the long-awaited appointment with the Nephrologist completed, and with the go-ahead for the pre-transplant evaluation, we now enter yet another chapter in our ongoing medical odyssey. We have pretty much settled into living here in warm and humid Texas for the duration of this process. We don’t even like to talk about travel plans because we have no idea when we will be able to travel again. Our lives now revolve around medical tests, doctors’ appointments, and hospital visits.

To be continued..............