The Final Countdown
There are now 16 days, 11 hours and 45 minutes until my back surgery. I think I would be more nervous about it if I weren't so friggin' busy dealing with all of the things that have to be done before that point. My list so far:
1) Clean house. I mean, clean completely and utterly, as if I were the Scourge of All That Is Unclean. I won't even be able to bend over to pick something up for quite a few weeks. While Ray will do laundry and keep the bathroom clean and occasionally mop up the floor if it's necessary, I don't want to fret for days on end because he's not doing something the way I want it done and I can't get up to do it myself. Also, most of my family will be in town at one point or another over the next couple of months. While I freely admit that I am a lazy slob, I try not to be too disgusting when others are present.
2) Give blood to myself. First of all, what a cool concept. I mean, it makes sense, but I would never have thought of that. In its own way it was a miserable experience. Dr. Crandall wanted me to give two pints. They'll use my blood throughout the surgery as it's needed. Apparently I have exceptionally tiny, crappy veins for the size needle United Blood uses. The phlebotomist that stuck me the first time was obviously very experienced and had a great personality. He had this awesome Hispanic accent that people that have lived in the United States most of their lives but grow up in Spanish speaking homes have. He also had this quirky turn of phrase that entertained me in combination with his accent. He managed to get the needle in the first time without poking, prodding, twisting or collapsing the vein. He also had to keep a blood pressure cuff on the entire time in order to keep the vein distended. Bah. It hurts to have a blood pressure cuff inflated for 30 minutes...because I also take about 3 times as long as the average donor to give up my pint. The second time I went, my hemoglobin wasn't back up to the required level. It has to register as 11.0 on whatever scale they use. It was 10.9 the first time and 10.6 the second test so I had to wait another week and eat a bunch of steaks and burgers to up my protein levels. Today it was at 13-something, which everyone told me was pretty impressive for someone who'd failed the test the week before. The phlebotomist from the other week was there today, too, although he was on break when I got there. He remembered me, I guess (apparently, I have really crappy veins for blood-giving purposes) because he told the girl that was supposed to stick me to pull him off of his break if she didn't feel comfortable placing the needle. She touched my arm twice and went to go him. I felt bad, but I was also secretly glad that she didn't try. Oh well, it's done and I'll have my own blood instead of some stranger's. Everything is barcoded eight times and I have a card with those same barcodes that I'm supposed to bring to the hospital with me. They're all vampires, I tell you.
3) Get a pair of glasses. I wear almost nothing but contacts. About a week ago I had this revelation that I am not going to want to try and mess with contacts when I'm in too much pain to want to do more than open my eyes. Actually, this realization lead to a whole series of realizations about my time in the hospital. I should take out my piercings beforehand, I should take off my ring, I should not bring my purse, I should bring sweatpants or loose fitting clothing, etc. Anyway, I haven't had a new pair of glasses in...years. I can't even see out of the pair that I do have so I went to get an eye exam today. I just barely set that up in time. I won't have the glasses for two weeks...just in time to get used to wearing them before I have to. There was $300 I didn't want to spend right now. Tasha went with me to help me pick out a pair that I can live with and I think we managed to do it. Pictures may be forthcoming.
4) Get my final pre-op clearance from my primary care doctor. This whole process annoys me, simply because if I hadn't bothered to call to ask how to go about getting authorization for the labwork that I have to have done I would have never known that I needed to do this. Even the surgeon hadn't mentioned more than the labwork. Well, apparently, the labwork is part of the whole pre-op clearance process. So even though my PCP knows about this surgery, already wrote out the order for the bloodwork, and even gave me an EKG, I still have to have a separate appointment with him. Well, thank God I called. I would have flipped out if I had to wait another week or two because of something this stupid. So that appointment is next Friday, the day after my pre-surgical appointment with Dr. Crandall's staff.
5) Go to my pre-surgical appointment with the surgeon's staff. Apparently, this constitutes a whole new level of complicated that I was never aware of until recently. When I first decided to have this surgery, I was of the vague opinion that this appointment was just the sort of final time to ask questions and get everything set up for taking care of myself after surgery (or telling mom how to do it for me). Yeah, not so much. First of all, I did not get to set this appointment. I was mailed a letter after the surgery scheduler finalized my surgery date that had a list of things to do. Get labwork, give blood, don't eat or drink after midnight, be at the hospital at x time, etc. And oh yeah, show up at our office on this date at this time. ::blinks:: Wha..? So I shrug, mark it on my calender and mentally make a note to make sure I'm not working at that time. About four or five weeks ago, the surgeon's MA called me to ask if I could change my appointment to a different day because I need more x-rays. This would not have been a problem if she hadn't asked me to change it from a date that was different than what was originally given to me to a new day. I asked her to double check just because I wanted to make sure she was talking to the right patient about the right surgery. She confirmed everything, but has no record in my chart of the original pre-surgical appointment that is listed on the paperwork mailed to me on two different occasions. ::facepalm:: So I ended up having to arrange to leave work early on that day, which is the 18th. Then I shrugged and asked off for the 19th because I figure that I'll want the time off. So I get to go and hear final instructions and get a whole new series of x-rays with me contorted and twisted into different poses. At this rate, I may come close to meeting my out of pocket costs way before the hospital fees. Okay, maybe not so much. Still. :P
6) Make sure Stephane is okay to take over at work. I don't even want to get onto this subject...I'll never stop. She is great and not the issue. The issue is that even though everyone knows that I would be gone at the end of March for a couple of months, no one wanted to act on it until two weeks prior and now everyone is panicking and running around like beheaded chickens...except for the people that ought to be concerned. Is it a bad sign that I am actually going to welcome a long-term absence?
7) Set up my disability payments. Walgreens has good benefits and I've been there long enough to get paid for full time for over 10 weeks, but it's just another detail to handle. I have to call them, give permissions to everyone I have ever done business with to give out my health information, follow up on the claim, make sure my raise goes through (it's scheduled to hit like a day before disability, otherwise I wouldn't get it until I come back), make sure the surgeon's office keeps them aware of my proposed return date...and on and on and on. Like many other things, I can only do this so far in advance, which is why these last two weeks are going to be hectic.
8) Sign a contract for my wedding venue. I absolutely have to do this before my surgery because April is such a popular time to get married in Phoenix and I won't be able/willing to do anything for several weeks after my surgery. Fortunately, I have pretty much made that decision already. I went to go see one additional promising choice today, but honestly, for the quality and price I am getting for my first pick, I don't think this other place can compete (except for the hotel factor, but hey, you can't have everything). Mom and Jim and I (and hopefully Ray although I doubt it) are going to a tasting at my number one choice next Sunday. I was hoping to arrange it for the Sunday after when Dad and Linda will be in town, especially since they are putting the deposit on it, but that was not possible. More on that this weekend, I promise.
I think that more or less sums everything pertinent up...so I'm sorry that I have not been in contact with anyone recently, but you can see how busy I have been. ::hugs to all::
1) Clean house. I mean, clean completely and utterly, as if I were the Scourge of All That Is Unclean. I won't even be able to bend over to pick something up for quite a few weeks. While Ray will do laundry and keep the bathroom clean and occasionally mop up the floor if it's necessary, I don't want to fret for days on end because he's not doing something the way I want it done and I can't get up to do it myself. Also, most of my family will be in town at one point or another over the next couple of months. While I freely admit that I am a lazy slob, I try not to be too disgusting when others are present.
2) Give blood to myself. First of all, what a cool concept. I mean, it makes sense, but I would never have thought of that. In its own way it was a miserable experience. Dr. Crandall wanted me to give two pints. They'll use my blood throughout the surgery as it's needed. Apparently I have exceptionally tiny, crappy veins for the size needle United Blood uses. The phlebotomist that stuck me the first time was obviously very experienced and had a great personality. He had this awesome Hispanic accent that people that have lived in the United States most of their lives but grow up in Spanish speaking homes have. He also had this quirky turn of phrase that entertained me in combination with his accent. He managed to get the needle in the first time without poking, prodding, twisting or collapsing the vein. He also had to keep a blood pressure cuff on the entire time in order to keep the vein distended. Bah. It hurts to have a blood pressure cuff inflated for 30 minutes...because I also take about 3 times as long as the average donor to give up my pint. The second time I went, my hemoglobin wasn't back up to the required level. It has to register as 11.0 on whatever scale they use. It was 10.9 the first time and 10.6 the second test so I had to wait another week and eat a bunch of steaks and burgers to up my protein levels. Today it was at 13-something, which everyone told me was pretty impressive for someone who'd failed the test the week before. The phlebotomist from the other week was there today, too, although he was on break when I got there. He remembered me, I guess (apparently, I have really crappy veins for blood-giving purposes) because he told the girl that was supposed to stick me to pull him off of his break if she didn't feel comfortable placing the needle. She touched my arm twice and went to go him. I felt bad, but I was also secretly glad that she didn't try. Oh well, it's done and I'll have my own blood instead of some stranger's. Everything is barcoded eight times and I have a card with those same barcodes that I'm supposed to bring to the hospital with me. They're all vampires, I tell you.
3) Get a pair of glasses. I wear almost nothing but contacts. About a week ago I had this revelation that I am not going to want to try and mess with contacts when I'm in too much pain to want to do more than open my eyes. Actually, this realization lead to a whole series of realizations about my time in the hospital. I should take out my piercings beforehand, I should take off my ring, I should not bring my purse, I should bring sweatpants or loose fitting clothing, etc. Anyway, I haven't had a new pair of glasses in...years. I can't even see out of the pair that I do have so I went to get an eye exam today. I just barely set that up in time. I won't have the glasses for two weeks...just in time to get used to wearing them before I have to. There was $300 I didn't want to spend right now. Tasha went with me to help me pick out a pair that I can live with and I think we managed to do it. Pictures may be forthcoming.
4) Get my final pre-op clearance from my primary care doctor. This whole process annoys me, simply because if I hadn't bothered to call to ask how to go about getting authorization for the labwork that I have to have done I would have never known that I needed to do this. Even the surgeon hadn't mentioned more than the labwork. Well, apparently, the labwork is part of the whole pre-op clearance process. So even though my PCP knows about this surgery, already wrote out the order for the bloodwork, and even gave me an EKG, I still have to have a separate appointment with him. Well, thank God I called. I would have flipped out if I had to wait another week or two because of something this stupid. So that appointment is next Friday, the day after my pre-surgical appointment with Dr. Crandall's staff.
5) Go to my pre-surgical appointment with the surgeon's staff. Apparently, this constitutes a whole new level of complicated that I was never aware of until recently. When I first decided to have this surgery, I was of the vague opinion that this appointment was just the sort of final time to ask questions and get everything set up for taking care of myself after surgery (or telling mom how to do it for me). Yeah, not so much. First of all, I did not get to set this appointment. I was mailed a letter after the surgery scheduler finalized my surgery date that had a list of things to do. Get labwork, give blood, don't eat or drink after midnight, be at the hospital at x time, etc. And oh yeah, show up at our office on this date at this time. ::blinks:: Wha..? So I shrug, mark it on my calender and mentally make a note to make sure I'm not working at that time. About four or five weeks ago, the surgeon's MA called me to ask if I could change my appointment to a different day because I need more x-rays. This would not have been a problem if she hadn't asked me to change it from a date that was different than what was originally given to me to a new day. I asked her to double check just because I wanted to make sure she was talking to the right patient about the right surgery. She confirmed everything, but has no record in my chart of the original pre-surgical appointment that is listed on the paperwork mailed to me on two different occasions. ::facepalm:: So I ended up having to arrange to leave work early on that day, which is the 18th. Then I shrugged and asked off for the 19th because I figure that I'll want the time off. So I get to go and hear final instructions and get a whole new series of x-rays with me contorted and twisted into different poses. At this rate, I may come close to meeting my out of pocket costs way before the hospital fees. Okay, maybe not so much. Still. :P
6) Make sure Stephane is okay to take over at work. I don't even want to get onto this subject...I'll never stop. She is great and not the issue. The issue is that even though everyone knows that I would be gone at the end of March for a couple of months, no one wanted to act on it until two weeks prior and now everyone is panicking and running around like beheaded chickens...except for the people that ought to be concerned. Is it a bad sign that I am actually going to welcome a long-term absence?
7) Set up my disability payments. Walgreens has good benefits and I've been there long enough to get paid for full time for over 10 weeks, but it's just another detail to handle. I have to call them, give permissions to everyone I have ever done business with to give out my health information, follow up on the claim, make sure my raise goes through (it's scheduled to hit like a day before disability, otherwise I wouldn't get it until I come back), make sure the surgeon's office keeps them aware of my proposed return date...and on and on and on. Like many other things, I can only do this so far in advance, which is why these last two weeks are going to be hectic.
8) Sign a contract for my wedding venue. I absolutely have to do this before my surgery because April is such a popular time to get married in Phoenix and I won't be able/willing to do anything for several weeks after my surgery. Fortunately, I have pretty much made that decision already. I went to go see one additional promising choice today, but honestly, for the quality and price I am getting for my first pick, I don't think this other place can compete (except for the hotel factor, but hey, you can't have everything). Mom and Jim and I (and hopefully Ray although I doubt it) are going to a tasting at my number one choice next Sunday. I was hoping to arrange it for the Sunday after when Dad and Linda will be in town, especially since they are putting the deposit on it, but that was not possible. More on that this weekend, I promise.
I think that more or less sums everything pertinent up...so I'm sorry that I have not been in contact with anyone recently, but you can see how busy I have been. ::hugs to all::