And so it goes...

My apologies to Billy Joel for the plagiarism. I’m not sure how this is going to go. It’s Monday morning now. I’m hoping to finish this tonight, cause tomorrow’s surgery day. We’ve had a few days of stops and starts with a little bit of miscommunication thrown in. I’ll tell you about that in a bit, but first… once more I have to say that the staff in this DHB are wonderful, thoughtful, caring, empathetic, and they smile a lot. But; it’s got to stop. Every sad face, wince, sharp intake of breath or whine gets a “Sorry”. I’m going to find a Swear Jar and change it to a “Sorry” Jar. Every time one of the caregivers says sorry to me I’m going to put their name in the jar. When this is all over, the nurse whose name is in there the most might just get a strip-a-gram when I leave.

Adam??? Are you busy that day???

Auckland, the city of Sails. All I want to do after spending the weekend here is – sail Away, sail away, sail away, as Enya used to say

Auckland Carpark

Remember that eight minute walk from the hotel in Auckland to the hospital? (If you don’t, you haven’t been paying attention.) Well, turns out it’s more like 25 minutes. Not that I’ve actually walked it. Denise has. Every-time we’ve needed to visit the hospital over the last few days I’ve found an excuse to catch a bus or a taxi.

Amsterdam Carpark

 “What about the car”, you might well ask. Well, that’s probably a subject for a very different kind of blog that involves lots of swearing. Let’s just say, at Twenty-One Dollars per day it turns out that bringing a car to Auckland when you ‘re staying in the city is a really bad move. Anyway, you live and (sometimes) you learn.

So, Friday afternoon we rock up to the MDM (Multi-Disciplinary Meeting) and after the obligatory ID process and a short wait we’re shown into a consult room and the parade of doctors starts. The upshot of all this is that, I’m not being admitted on Monday as we were previously told. I’m being admitted right now. The reason: they want to do another CT scan over the weekend to see if the cancer has progressed. Because it’s travelling along my infraorbital nerve, if it’s reached my right eye then it’s gotta go as well as the nerves and bones. It’s a good thing I’ve got a spare.

Now, we didn’t actually get to see the Ward on Friday. As soon as my personal crew of doctors had finished with me at the MDM I was dismissed and told to report back at 08:00am. Saturday morning. They didn’t have a time for CT Scan yet, but I would need to be ready to go first thing in the morning and no food or drink after 6:00am. And, ready I was. So, 11:00am. rolls round and here comes the “Hop-On, Hop-Off” wheelchair. Off we go for a tour of the hospital and I’m kicked out of the chair at Radiology.

“Welcome. Welcome. Come in and lie down here while we get you sorted out.” So, like a good little patient, I do. After getting me all set up, ready to have my “head examined”, another Tech comes in and starts apologising…

“Sorry, sorry, sorry” she says. “I’ve just spoken to one of the doctors and they want the CT Scan done tomorrow so it’s closer to the day of operation.” 

“Cool”, says I - as they got me off the table with what I thought was undue haste – and sent me on my way. Back in the Ward I’m told: “Go home. You can come back tomorrow morning. Just be here before 8:00am. and remember, no food or drink after 6:00am.” So off we go to spend the afternoon with the kids.

Groundhog Day. Next morning, we turn up around seven-thirty and settle in. Mid-morning and once again we hear…

“You can go home if you want. The CT Scan is booked for tomorrow morning, but you’ll have to be here before 7:00am.”

“What the…” and I didn’t even get to ride in the wheelchair today. Anyway, we decided the best thing to do was for me to stay in the hospital. That way, there’s no pressure on tomorrow morning. Whoops – there’s a slight flaw in this plan. I haven’t ordered any dinner or breakfast. We have a chat to Nurse Verrr YBusy and she assures me she’ll make a plan. “What would I like for dinner?” She asks.

“Sausages and mash,” is the reply. No mention of breakfast, because once again I’m not allowed to eat after 6:00am. But that’s fine. Remember me – the eternal optimist?

Anyway, off we go to spend some more time with the kids in the Domain – and that was Sunday sorted.

So, dinnertime rolls around and there’s no sign of any food for Chris. Now, I know there’s no point in whinging about this to the nurses, ‘cause they ain’t the cooks. So, initiative kicks in, and Subway, here I come. Nothing like a Teriyaki Salad to satisfy the worms.

This morning, and here’s the plan.

7:00am. –           Doctor’s rounds.

10:00 am. –        CT Scan.

12:00 Noon -     Lunch.

Sometime after that – Consult with the Specialists to discuss CT Scan results.

What actually happened…

8:00am -             A chauffer arrives with a wheelchair and I’m off for a CT Scan. Now, did you know – ‘cause I didn’t – there’s two Radiology centres in this hospital. One on the second floor and one on the sixth floor. No prizes for guessing that the chauffer dropped me off at the wrong one. No biggie. Once they discovered my real identity they took me to the right one, so it all worked out in the end.

8:45am. – I’m back in the Ward and YAY!!. There’s my breakfast.

12:00 Noon – Lunch. Hang on!! I hadn’t ordered any lunch. What the…!! Remember yesterday when I ordered Sausages and Mash for Dinner? No… you’re wrong. The Sausages and Mash had been crossed out on my menu sheet and replaced with – Cauliflower and Broccoli covered in a cheese sauce. Yum!! Luckily, I found some Mushroom Soup on the tray as well. Also, my wonderful wife wandered off and came back with all sorts of goodies from the Café downstairs. So, I’m a happy camper.

It’s now 2:15pm. with no sign of the Specialists, but that’s cool. I’m off to work on my jigsaw now.

Well, time marches on...

Now, I haven’t told you the story of the Intravenous Line. I wasn’t going to but now it’s developed into a central character. Last night about midnight my right arm started to get my attention around the site of the IV line. By 3:00am. I caved and wandered off to ask the Night Nurse what she thought. Seems it “tissued”. Apparently that means the IV had moved, lost the vein, and was playing havoc with the tissue around the site. (It’s good to have a wife who’s an ex nurse.) So, that IV was removed and they put another one into a different site. All good – problem solved.

Well…!!!

Bugger!!

This afternoon they noticed the redness – took a swab and it turns out I have an infection in my right arm from the IV line. GGGggggreat!!! About ten minutes ago the anesthetist came to check me out, spotted the infection and raced off to tell the Surgeon. So, the weather forecast from here us looking pretty bleak right now. Storm clouds are gathering over us and there’s lots of thunder running round in my head. It’s 6:30pm – surgery’s supposed to start at 08:00 and the only person who can make the call is still working. I hope they haven’t filled the original spot for the 12^th. March. Anyway, time will tell.

Time for me to stop writing now. Am I gonna have surgery tomorrow? Dunno!! I’ll keep you posted. I'm now getting an IV for antibiotics to try to wash the badies away. So that's me for tonight. 

Don’t forget… When you’re frustrated, recognize the mood and make sure you remain kind to those around you.