Perpetual Ruminations

Waiting, Wondering, and Hoping

It says it's been three days since I posted in here. I know I missed yesterday, I was gone and did not get a chance to spend any time in WdC, but that's only missing one day; how did one turn to three?

Not that it matters, life is like that, and good intentions don't take you very far. Anyway, on to yesterday, or is it back to tomorrow, and let's not forget to put today in someplace.

Yesterday, up early and off to have labs done. I had my appointment in Fargo for labs, a meeting with my oncologist, and then my immunotherapy infusion for today, but I don't want to drive two hours when I can do everything except meet with my oncologist right here, six miles from home. Therefore, I changed the appointments and had my labs done here yesterday.

They acess my Power-Port for this, and of course for the infusions, so I told them to just leave me accessed since I had my infusion changed to Perham as well, but had to put it off until Wednesday because my oncologist insists on meeting with me first to go over the labs and my recent CT Scan. However, when they accessed my port, it was blocked with blood clots, which is a bit dangerous since the port feeds directly into my heart.

The clots are from the medication I'm on for the bleeding issues, and it seems the heparin they put into the port after didn't get done last time it was accessed. So they had to put in something to dissolve the clots before they could draw blood. It took a few hours and a few injections of the anticoagulant to get the port cleared, then they drew a couple of tubes of blood, which the nurse thought were too thick; I was dehydrated again and had to sit and have a liter of water pumped in through my port.

After we drove over to Detroit Lakes to do some shopping. Up until yesterday, any shopping meant using a handicap scooter; I can't walk far without being winded, and with the loss of sensation (except a constant tingling–like my feet are sleeping), it's difficult to walk. But I want to build the muscle back up, so I pushed the cart for stability and walked through the stores. I did pretty well, but by the time we returned home, I was shot; I dozed in my chair until dinner was ready, ate, and then dozed some more until it was time for bed.

Today, we are supposed to make the two-hour drive to Fargo to talk for five minutes with the oncologist about the results of the lab and the scan. But we have a severe winter storm warning for the day.  According to the radar, the storm has already hit Fargo (west of us) and is heading this way. They had a coating of ice, now the snow, and fifty mph winds, which will soon be here. Therefore, I'm not driving to Fargo. Besides not wanting to drive in a blizzard, my luck would have me just about there when they call to inform me my appointment is cancelled do to the weather. Hey, don't laugh, it's happened a few times already.

So, to get the infusion tomorrow, I'm supposed to talk to the doctor. I called the cancer center to try and set up a meeting through Zoom or something, but was told that my oncologist doesn't do online or over-the-phone meetings. They also informed me they would try and get something worked out so I can still get the infusion tomorrow, if they can.

Now I wait and hope I can get in tomorrow and get my infusion, but I have my doubts. Instead, I have a sneaky suspicion that they will reschedule me to meet my oncologist in Fargo and then have my infusion there after talking with him. I say this because it's happened a few times. It's either his way or no way.

If this is the case, I need to find out how to fire my oncologist and get a different one; I'm tired of catering to the doctor instead of him making my life easier!