Perpetual Ruminations

Busy, Busy, Busy

Another busy day. My wife had therapy this morning, after she was done, we had just enough time, if traffic and roads were good, to get over to my appointment in Fergus Falls. So, after a couple of cups of coffee, we loaded the dogs up and headed to her therapy, which unfortunately was in the opposite direction of Fergus Falls.

Of course, her physical therapy ran over a bit, so we were even more rushed. The roads were pretty good considering the 7+ inches of snow we received two days ago, but we came up on an accident and had to sit and wait for the two trucks to get the road cleared. We were running about ten minutes behind when we got to Fergus Falls, but there, the roads were crap. Of course, we had to drive through town to get to the VA clinic, and by the time we arrived, it was thirty-five minutes after I was supposed to be there.

I apologized at the registration desk, and to my surprise, the receptionist was understanding and informed me it wasn't a problem. I didn't have to wait more than five minutes, and I was called back to have some blood drawn.

Knowing they wanted my blood, I had them leave my port accessed yesterday so they could use that to draw some blood. But, the person accessing my port has to be a registered nurse and also be trained in port access and use. Unfortunately, they did not have a nurse on hand who could access my port. So, I had to have a needle stabbed into me.

Since I tend to be somewhat dehydrated, it's difficult to find and stick my veins. But the lab technician found one that she could stab, and by golly, there was only the slightest prick as the needle went in. She hit the vein with no problems and drew the blood she needed, then out came the needle and on went the bandaid. I was surprised how easily and with little pain she did her job.

But, since it's not safe to run around with a port access dangling from one's chest, I had to make an appointment back here in Perham to have the port de-accessed. My wife called while I maneuvered us out of the snowy, sloppy, and very slippery streets in town. The folks in Perham said I could get in at three, so once again we were pushing to get there.

We arrived a few minutes before three, and I entered just as the nurse rounded the corner by the registration desk. She took me right back to a room in the infusion center and removed the port needle, dressed the area and told me I was good to go. Yes, a first in my life, no wait at the hospital and no wait in the room. I was in and out in less than five minutes!

After we returned home so my wife could get ready for work. She had time to make a sandwich for her lunch and eat a bit of the ham and other vittles we had put in the slow cooker before we left. Our first ham from the pig we had purchased from the locker plant. It wasn't too salty, had a very nice smokiness, and was very tender and flavorful. I would say it's the second-best ham I've eaten. That I can remember, of course. The best hams are from the Perham Locker plant; they often have double-smoked hams that are beyond description as far as taste.

Tomorrow will be another busy day, then a short break from all the running. Next week I have to go to Fargo to have an endoscopy, and my throat stretched open again. After the last chemo infusion, it closed up some, and I'm again having difficulty swallowing foods and medications. Hopefully, once more will do the trick and I'll be good to go. But the surgeon did say that many people who have had the same surgery have to come in and have this procedure done once or twice a year. Hopefully, I won't have that problem, but even if I do, the procedure isn't bad, and recovery is a day or two.