5/14/11 COUNTS LOOK GREAT

Even though we got to the Lymphoma Department at 8am, time seemed to drag. Every chair was taken in the hallway which is a queue to get one's blood drawn. Since it looked like a long wait, I headed down to the 2nd floor pharmacy to ask where the three antibiotics were that were missing from the order when Joe left the hospital the day before. The clerk looked it up and it turned out that those three drugs were dispensed at the 10th floor pharmacy. Now, how the heck was I suppose to know that. You would think someone would had advised me but no sirree.

There was no line at the 10th floor pharmacy when I got up there and sure enough, they had the missing important antibiotics. It seemed that no one was interested in figuring out how that happened since all the drugs were submitted by the pharmacist at the same time when we were checking out. At least the on floor pharmacist did call me back and let me know that I had picked the drugs up but had no idea was the breakdown was. I suppose I should call the Patient Advocate about it to prevent that from happening to someone else.

Joe still was not finished with the Fast Track labs by the time I got back to the Lymphoma Department. He also got his vital signs completed and his weight was 165. The guy can not seem to gain weight. Oh how I would love to have that problem! For some reason the lab results took longer than it normally does since Joe was not called back to speak with a physicians assistant until 11AM. We were antsy since we knew that a RN would be coming to our hotel to instruct me on giving Joe the IV of Cubicin as well as the supplies by noon. The physician assistants who do the visit with the patient after Fast Track do not know diddly squat about the patient's history. It is so weird to know more what to do that this person. When I saw the results of Joe's blood tests, I was so happy since the numbers looked fantastic. Here are a few of the results.

White Blood Count 6.2 (NORMAL)
Red Blood Count 5.33(NORMAL)
Hemoglobin 15.4(NORMAL)
Hematocrit 48.0(NORMAL)
Platelets 99 (Low but after chemo this is GREAT)

I recommended to the PA that Joe stop getting the Neupogin shots since his white blood counts are normal. The PA agreed. We will go back on Monday for another Fast Track and review.

We got back to the hotel about 11:30AM and waited for the RN to show. At Noon she called and stated that she would be here between 1:30 and 2PM so Joe and I went out to lunch. Of course Rosalyn, the RN, did not show up until PM. She has NO supplies or medicine with her. She was under the impression that she was to come to us for five days to administer the IV. I advised her that she was only to instruct me. She gathered up her stuff and left before I could get Applied Health Care on the phone. I was not happy since it was now 2:15PM and I knew they would tell me that it was too late to get everything done now so I was very assertive and demanding. Meanwhile a mean line of thunderstorms were about to hit Houston in about 10 minutes. I told them that we would come to them for the supplies and instruction since they were close to where were staying. After negotiating with several people, we were on way over to their office off of Richmond Avenue and Fountain View.

As we stepped out of our hotel the wind was blowing fiercely and the rain came down in sheets sideways. I mumbled a few choice words under my breath. I suppose I was peeved because of the screw up in the drugs the day before, the long wait in Lymphoma, then waiting some more for the RN to show and then she rudely leaves. Heck, it is my husband's life at stake here and they needed to get their act together.

It was still pouring rain sideways when I finally found the building which was strange how it was located. I dropped Joe under the overhang so he would not get wet. I parked the car and got wet. When I got to where Joe was, he said he guy standing outside stated that Applied Healthcare would bring the supplied down to us as Joe was dialing their number. I just ignored them both and found a door open and went up to the 2nd floor and found the office and BING, rang the bell for some attention. They treated is very nicely up there as I got the instructions and supplies. It would be much easier to do this IV rather than the ERAXIS that I had done previously. Hey, I found a blessing. We finished it all up by 4PM then we both crashed and took a long nap.

On Friday we went to Memorial Park with Max and got out our folding chairs at a unpopulated area of the picnic grounds where Max could explore without us worrying about him bothering anyone else. We sat under the shady oaks as Max did some business and sniffed his way around the area. We dropped Max back at the hotel as we decided to go to the movies to see "Bridesmaids." It was hysterical. I could tell Joe was not thrilled with the movie since he kept looking at this watch every 5 minutes. I ignored him since I needed that good therapeutic hardy laughing. Melissa McCarthy stole the movie but Kristen Whig was quite good.

Since we skipped lunch, we decided on having LINNER at Pappa's Burgers after the movie which I love. Yummy burgers to eat as well as some great fresh delectable french fries. We stayed at the hotel wand watched Friday Night Lights which is such a great show. It did not disappoint us as usual.

Saturday we slept late again. Joe is really sleeping long these days between 12-13 hours a night. I stay up about 3 hours later so it all works out. I took Max for a walk outside the hotel. It was "Be a Tourist Day," We drove down Interstate 45 south to Galveston. What magnificent large stately old Victorian homes there are in the Strand area of Galveston. We have got to come back here to drive all through the back streets to see these colorful beauties. Today Joe wanted to ride the Ferry from Galveston to Balboa. There was a long line of cars and trucks to ride the Ferry. I suppose we waited for about 45 minutes before we were parked on the ferry. It was done very orderly and efficient. To our total surprise the ferry was FREE! Well, of course, it is at taxpayers expense and needed in that area. The ride over to Balboa Peninsula took maybe 30 minutes on the warm clear day. Joe really enjoyed it tremendously. He was looking forward to a seafood lunch but alas the 50 mile peninsula had no places to eat that looked appetizing or clean. The area was big for people who seriously loved to fish, There was beach home on huge stilts and we could see where previous hurricanes had made their mark. We also saw lots of oil pumps some which were totally rusted and many still pumping away. In the far distance on the Gulf of Mexico we could see several large oil rigs. The beaches currently are inundated with huge batches of seaweed which happens rarely. We saw it on the nightly news the night before. It will take hundreds of trucks to get the beaches presentable again. Yuck!

We decided to eat LINNER again in Houston near our hotel at Villlagio's on San Felipe. We got there at 4:40Pm and groaned when we saw the sign on the door stated they opened at 5PM. Blessedly, the owner invited us in and we had our choice of seating so we sat in a booth by the window. Oh, how we both enjoyed our meals, It did help that we were hungry. This is the place that has the BEST Tomato Basil Soup that I have ever had and of course I had a cup.

We were back in our hotel room by 6PM and settle in for the night. I must admit that we were both pretty bored.......no, we were very bored. Joe hit the sack at 10PM. I can not possibly go to bed that early so I decided to write on the blog. Now it is almost midnight so I put the time to use very wisely.

Ciao, my family and friends. Good night,Sweet Dreams!