Long day yesterday, but it was a good start. I met Rosie at Inver Hills CC parking lot at about 7:40....an accident on 35W had us backed up all the way to Central on 610 already, so it took me almost an hour to get there. But Rosie was ready and waiting. She drove us down and we got to my 9:15 appointment with only minutes to spare. Of course no appointment there ever starts when it is scheduled to, so it wasn't until 10:00 when I actually saw the oncologist. That was the best part of the day....he said I could use pills for my chemo during the radiation as long as my insurance would pay for it. The alternative was having a pump attached to my port for 3 weeks.....and I really didn't want this.
From there I headed down 6 floors to have my CT scan. That was scheduled at 11:00 but again didn't happen until much later.....I actually wasn't done till 1 p.m. That's a long story as well, while they were trying to find a vein, my cell phone rang and I couldn't get good reception in that room, so they took me out to a skyway to hear. It was the pharmacy saying my insurance would pay for 80% of the chemo drug I needed to take, but my 20% came to almost $500. Thank God they take credit cards!! Cause I sure didn't carry that kind of cash, and I didn't have a checkbook along.....and the alternative of the pump I didn't want. Then the pharmacist had to get on the phone and give me all the side effects etc. which the oncologist had already explained. So anyhow in about 15 minutes I was back in getting a line put in so they could give me the CT scan. They refused to use my port again....cause now I didn't have 2 forms of identification for it saying it was a power port. A problem I thought I had taken care of, but the fax my doctor sent was the hospital report saying it was inserted, and doesn't specifically say it was a power port. Anyway they couldn't find a vein and had to wrap my arms in warm blankets trying to get one to pop. They had already tried and failed in the right arm. So now the left arm got tortured. Lucky it did work, and I was able to proceed to the CT scan itself.
Rosie had made plans to meet her cousin Gloria for lunch, and she had called 3 times before I was done with the CT scan, but I finally appeared and we rushed off to Michaels for lunch. Gloria has graciously allowed Kathleen to stay at her home while I am in the hospital having my surgery. We had a great lunch, and then Rosie and I headed back to Mayo to pick up my pills which they said would be ready. Originally they said it would be there by 12:30, then 2:30 p.m. So now it was 3:15 and I was there to pick them up....but they still were not ready, so I sat down and waited. In the mean time, Rosie went off to find another cousin who worked at Mayo, and brought her back to meet me. We had a nice long visit, cause my pills were not ready to be picked up till 4:30 p.m.
By the time we got back to the parking ramp....it was 5:00 and headed back to the city....only to be greeted by rush hour traffic. So I didn't get back home till about 7 p.m. I had called Judy earlier and told her the news that I didn't have to be back at Mayo till 4:30 this afternoon, so I was going to sleep at home, in my own bed, and then head for Shakopee late morning, and then head for Mayo around 2 p.m.
So here I am, I now need to call HHH cancer center and see if I can get my port flushed this morning, as it hasn't been since Aug. 3. Then I will be off to Judy's, and eventually Mayo and then Faribault....as I have not heard from Hope Lodge as of yet.
I have already emailed my surgeon (Dr. Schlaefer) about faxing another note to Mayo telling them my port is a power port, and he has responded already this morning, and said he would take care of it. So hopefully next time I need a CT scan they will have their 2 forms of identification....and use it darn it!!!!
Other than that....I have no news....love and prayers to you all, m
P.S. I just called HHH and they can't squeeze me in, so I need to call Mayo and see if I can get it done there in the next couple of days.
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