Everything Went GREAT Today! (So Far, So Good)
Today was Marilyn's colonoscopy. We had to be at the clinic one hour prior to the procedure at 11:30 a.m.
We were both up all night during her prep. But she did get a few hours of sleep in the early morning (as did I)...
For those who might not know, colonoscopy preparation is miserable. It's the main reason that people are so reluctant to have colonoscopies, even though these tests save lives from cancer deaths. But Marilyn was quite a trooper as she dealt with it. (Far more than I was back when I had mine!)
Marilyn drove herself to the appointment, for the record. She insisted on doing so (it was less stressful for her). And it went FINE, for the record.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day today! Sunny, warm and lovely. The traffic was fine, we went the direction Marilyn knows really well and they have plenty of parking there, so there were no issues.
She was slightly early and they took her back on time. I imagine it's HARD to wait back there (I recall it being difficult for me). But I was pretty comfortable in the waiting room. They actually had WiFi and I was allowed to use it. (But I did have to write down my name, phone number and email address -- which I did, plus I gave her my business card. Funny note: Even so she entered my email incorrectly, so she set up my user ID wrong. Oh well. It worked, which was nice! So many places STILL DON'T HAVE WiFi, which seems ridiculous to me.)
Lots of our friends were checking up on her through me during the time I was there. The lobby was FULL of people -- and very quiet -- so it was really impossible to take calls there. I was watching both of our purses, plus Marilyn's folder of paperwork -- so it wasn't easy to rush outside when calls came.
I did get a call from Byram Healthcare during this time telling me my insulin supplies would be shipped today -- and should be delivered TOMORROW (!!!). I have my fingers crossed about that! Bryam never fails to amaze me. They're really quite wonderful!!!
We had a 'glitch' in the whole 'Marilyn driving herself' thing at one point. I kept hearing them tell the people with other patients to go bring the car around! So I knew they were going to tell me that, too. Fortunately, I was texting with Rich quite a bit about the release that went out this morning at that point. I mentioned the issue to him, and he offered to COME THERE immediately -- which is exactly what he did! So he got the car, drove it to the door and then drove us over to his car, where he and Marilyn switched places. YES, she drove home herself. She was FINE, or she wouldn't have tried it. She's done this before after surgeries. And as she said, she's done it after ORAL SURGERY, when her mouth was pouring blood -- and nobody says a word then! But this really isn't about the patient -- it's about the doctor and clinic not wanting to be sued if a patient has an accident... Just sayin'...
Anyway, the NEWS about her test!!! She had NO polyps (so obviously none were removed) and no sign of cancer. The doctor DID take some random tissue samples to have biopsied -- we'll get those results next week. She had a few minor results, but nothing serious. In fact, they don't feel she needs another colonoscopy for TEN YEARS! How about that??? Also, she has no sign of Celiac disease, nor is she gluten intolerant.
She appears to currently have a hyperactive thyroid -- which means her thyroid medication needs adjusting. Megan -- the nurse who told us all the results -- said she should not just stop her meds, but should contact her primary care doctor to figure out what to do next. Apparently this CAN cause diarrhea, so it might be what's going on with her.
Unfortunately, Marilyn experienced PAIN during her procedure. She said she kept saying 'ow' and that she felt like a wimp. Seriously, she has a tremendously HIGH pain threshold, so don't you buy it for a second! She admitted that she'll have reservations about the test next time around due to the pain, which is too bad. Normally they tell you there's NO pain in this procedure, but clearly they were wrong this time! (They don't put patients all the way out. They want them in what they call Twilight Sleep, so they can tell you how to move to help the procedure... Normally you're so out that you can't recall what happened -- not so for Marilyn! And they can NEVER put our sister Sue out, by the way. Nor could they put Dad out, even for major surgery. Not a good thing... But this was the first time Marilyn had had an issue.)
We stopped on the way home to get FOOD, and that's it. She needed to get gas for the car and to pick up prescriptions (including my Glipiside -- which I don't get why it wasn't there previously!!!). But we decided to wait until later in the day for those errands.
I got home and was having LOW BLOOD SUGAR. I had made a point of having yogurt before we left the house, and taking along a donut that I ate at the clinic before taking my morning meds (I'd injected my insulin before we left home). So I was SURPRISED to have this happen! And I felt AWFUL for around half an hour or more. (sigh) It was a tough day, so I guess it's no surprise. Stress alone can effect this.
Anyway, we both ate and drank, then we decided to get some much-needed sleep.
We got up past 8:00, and got dressed so we go could out for our prescriptions and gas for the car. We also stopped briefly at Freddies.
We ate some more -- and drank a bunch -- when we got back home. Then we watched some TV, including "The Middle" which we'd missed this week (AGAIN) -- we can't get used to the new night it plays, I'm afraid. We were watching an old movie when Marilyn drifted off. (Yes, we did the magic hour for our game, too... smile...)
As soon as I finish blogging, I'm headed for bed.
Interesting note about today: When one of the radio stations contacted the Commissioner's office about our press release, said office LIED and said they had had nothing to do with moving our two parades off 10th over to 12th. So the radio station contacted us, and Jeff gave them the written proof we had that this actually did happen. Why would they lie??? Especially when they KNEW we had it all in writing? You can say things like 'that's government for you' (I heard that today), or 'all politicians lie' and so on, but this is a case where it just makes NO SENSE to lie. And nobody from the festival was pointing a finger of blame or saying anything negative about the City. All we did was relate the FACTS -- and express that we were moving on.
I guess somebody feels GUILTY about what happened to cause this move, huh?
(Our parades have been on 10th since the 1930's according to research that was done in-house. But even long-standing traditions have to change sometimes, I suppose... Anyway, so it goes. I'm proud to be able to say that the festival took the high ground here. And there was NO FINGER OF BLAME being pointed by anyone associated with the festival. Facts only. Period.)
Well, I'm tired, so I'm heading to bed. I'll check on Marilyn again before I go.
She's going right back to work tomorrow, even though she's had a lot of pain this evening. Little wonder, I guess. But she has meetings and so on tomorrow, so...
We'll be glad to see the weekend come, anyway!
Finally, THANK YOU for your good thoughts and your prayers. Your support means a great deal to both Marilyn and me!!! You are the best.
Sleep well and have lovely dreams, friends.
We were both up all night during her prep. But she did get a few hours of sleep in the early morning (as did I)...
For those who might not know, colonoscopy preparation is miserable. It's the main reason that people are so reluctant to have colonoscopies, even though these tests save lives from cancer deaths. But Marilyn was quite a trooper as she dealt with it. (Far more than I was back when I had mine!)
Marilyn drove herself to the appointment, for the record. She insisted on doing so (it was less stressful for her). And it went FINE, for the record.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day today! Sunny, warm and lovely. The traffic was fine, we went the direction Marilyn knows really well and they have plenty of parking there, so there were no issues.
She was slightly early and they took her back on time. I imagine it's HARD to wait back there (I recall it being difficult for me). But I was pretty comfortable in the waiting room. They actually had WiFi and I was allowed to use it. (But I did have to write down my name, phone number and email address -- which I did, plus I gave her my business card. Funny note: Even so she entered my email incorrectly, so she set up my user ID wrong. Oh well. It worked, which was nice! So many places STILL DON'T HAVE WiFi, which seems ridiculous to me.)
Lots of our friends were checking up on her through me during the time I was there. The lobby was FULL of people -- and very quiet -- so it was really impossible to take calls there. I was watching both of our purses, plus Marilyn's folder of paperwork -- so it wasn't easy to rush outside when calls came.
I did get a call from Byram Healthcare during this time telling me my insulin supplies would be shipped today -- and should be delivered TOMORROW (!!!). I have my fingers crossed about that! Bryam never fails to amaze me. They're really quite wonderful!!!
We had a 'glitch' in the whole 'Marilyn driving herself' thing at one point. I kept hearing them tell the people with other patients to go bring the car around! So I knew they were going to tell me that, too. Fortunately, I was texting with Rich quite a bit about the release that went out this morning at that point. I mentioned the issue to him, and he offered to COME THERE immediately -- which is exactly what he did! So he got the car, drove it to the door and then drove us over to his car, where he and Marilyn switched places. YES, she drove home herself. She was FINE, or she wouldn't have tried it. She's done this before after surgeries. And as she said, she's done it after ORAL SURGERY, when her mouth was pouring blood -- and nobody says a word then! But this really isn't about the patient -- it's about the doctor and clinic not wanting to be sued if a patient has an accident... Just sayin'...
Anyway, the NEWS about her test!!! She had NO polyps (so obviously none were removed) and no sign of cancer. The doctor DID take some random tissue samples to have biopsied -- we'll get those results next week. She had a few minor results, but nothing serious. In fact, they don't feel she needs another colonoscopy for TEN YEARS! How about that??? Also, she has no sign of Celiac disease, nor is she gluten intolerant.
She appears to currently have a hyperactive thyroid -- which means her thyroid medication needs adjusting. Megan -- the nurse who told us all the results -- said she should not just stop her meds, but should contact her primary care doctor to figure out what to do next. Apparently this CAN cause diarrhea, so it might be what's going on with her.
Unfortunately, Marilyn experienced PAIN during her procedure. She said she kept saying 'ow' and that she felt like a wimp. Seriously, she has a tremendously HIGH pain threshold, so don't you buy it for a second! She admitted that she'll have reservations about the test next time around due to the pain, which is too bad. Normally they tell you there's NO pain in this procedure, but clearly they were wrong this time! (They don't put patients all the way out. They want them in what they call Twilight Sleep, so they can tell you how to move to help the procedure... Normally you're so out that you can't recall what happened -- not so for Marilyn! And they can NEVER put our sister Sue out, by the way. Nor could they put Dad out, even for major surgery. Not a good thing... But this was the first time Marilyn had had an issue.)
We stopped on the way home to get FOOD, and that's it. She needed to get gas for the car and to pick up prescriptions (including my Glipiside -- which I don't get why it wasn't there previously!!!). But we decided to wait until later in the day for those errands.
I got home and was having LOW BLOOD SUGAR. I had made a point of having yogurt before we left the house, and taking along a donut that I ate at the clinic before taking my morning meds (I'd injected my insulin before we left home). So I was SURPRISED to have this happen! And I felt AWFUL for around half an hour or more. (sigh) It was a tough day, so I guess it's no surprise. Stress alone can effect this.
Anyway, we both ate and drank, then we decided to get some much-needed sleep.
We got up past 8:00, and got dressed so we go could out for our prescriptions and gas for the car. We also stopped briefly at Freddies.
We ate some more -- and drank a bunch -- when we got back home. Then we watched some TV, including "The Middle" which we'd missed this week (AGAIN) -- we can't get used to the new night it plays, I'm afraid. We were watching an old movie when Marilyn drifted off. (Yes, we did the magic hour for our game, too... smile...)
As soon as I finish blogging, I'm headed for bed.
Interesting note about today: When one of the radio stations contacted the Commissioner's office about our press release, said office LIED and said they had had nothing to do with moving our two parades off 10th over to 12th. So the radio station contacted us, and Jeff gave them the written proof we had that this actually did happen. Why would they lie??? Especially when they KNEW we had it all in writing? You can say things like 'that's government for you' (I heard that today), or 'all politicians lie' and so on, but this is a case where it just makes NO SENSE to lie. And nobody from the festival was pointing a finger of blame or saying anything negative about the City. All we did was relate the FACTS -- and express that we were moving on.
I guess somebody feels GUILTY about what happened to cause this move, huh?
(Our parades have been on 10th since the 1930's according to research that was done in-house. But even long-standing traditions have to change sometimes, I suppose... Anyway, so it goes. I'm proud to be able to say that the festival took the high ground here. And there was NO FINGER OF BLAME being pointed by anyone associated with the festival. Facts only. Period.)
Well, I'm tired, so I'm heading to bed. I'll check on Marilyn again before I go.
She's going right back to work tomorrow, even though she's had a lot of pain this evening. Little wonder, I guess. But she has meetings and so on tomorrow, so...
We'll be glad to see the weekend come, anyway!
Finally, THANK YOU for your good thoughts and your prayers. Your support means a great deal to both Marilyn and me!!! You are the best.
Sleep well and have lovely dreams, friends.