Thanks guys,

I don't want to make this thread about me. My apologies if I thread jacked. I will survive, just needed to vent a bit. Talking with others and even typing it out is therapeutic.

If there is a ray of sunshine in this cloudy episode... I might get a chance to maybe hook up with 8track for a cigar in the next month when I fly back to WI.

BuckyB93 wrote:

Thanks guys,

I don't want to make this thread about me. My apologies if I thread jacked.

BuckyB93 wrote:

Dad was released from the hospital Tues afternoon and is at home, which was very confusing for us (as of this past weekend we were told he was weeks to a month from death). Mom, brother, and cousin were there for the release. Past couple day's reports from Mom: he's getting stronger and can shuffle around the house a bit better which is a good sign.

Dr. initially set up a family meeting in late May (WTF? Again, I thought you guys were talking weeks to up to a month for the inevitable). Family meeting is now set up for next week. Sister talked with the kidney Dr today and she, doctor, says kidney function is stage 3, not stage 4 (again WTF?) and people can live at this level, as long as it's kept stable and monitored. Said many folks can live several years like that but will also need to monitor his heart (he's on a pacemaker).

Seems like there was some crossed signals and misunderstandings between the various doctors, the tests and results from those tests, and then communicating this with the family. Maybe the treatments he was getting over the weekend did help fire up the kidneys a bit more and the doctors were not working with the most recent data. Maybe the prayers helped. Hopefully they are right this time and the doctors are now on the on the same page using the most recent test results and have a better picture of his status.

Hospice will be paying a visit to them at home at least a couple times a week, actual schedule TDB. This makes me breathe a bit easier and my stress level is down a few notches.

Silver lining: This scare was enough to push my stubborn mom to get one of those life alert alarm wrist watch things. I'm not sure what brand she settled on. A friend from her church helped to walk her through the various options that are out there and got her set up with one within a day. Dad is still a bit lethargic and confused so he doesn't have the wrist band on yet. When his clouds clear, we'll strap one on him too.

BuckyB93 wrote:

I am waiting to hear from my neurosurgeon that my CT scan from last week shows fusion and hardware integrity six months after surgery. If so, he will no longer need to see me

Found a half-way decent, Rx pain cream for my chest and rib pain from my MVA over one year ago. Better than lidocaine patches in terms of application time vs. taping on lidocaine patches, witch takes like 10 minutes. And, it doesn't require me to be all taped up to keep the patches in place. On the other hand, I should be applying it 4x/day. Rx cream is compounded to include 5% lidocaine and 20% ibuprofen .

Only problem is that it is a custom compound drug that costs me $200-250 per month (Fcku me!), but insurance won't cover it other than as a general medical expense applicable to our deductible, which we haven't met yet.

rfenst wrote:

Dad was released from the hospital Tues afternoon and is at home, which was very confusing for us (as of this past weekend we were told he was weeks to a month from death). Mom, brother, and cousin were there for the release. Past couple day's reports from Mom: he's getting stronger and can shuffle around the house a bit better which is a good sign.

Dr. initially set up a family meeting in late May (WTF? Again, I thought you guys were talking weeks to up to a month for the inevitable). Family meeting is now set up for next week. Sister talked with the kidney Dr today and she, doctor, says kidney function is stage 3, not stage 4 (again WTF?) and people can live at this level, as long as it's kept stable and monitored. Said many folks can live several years like that but will also need to monitor his heart (he's on a pacemaker).

Seems like there was some crossed signals and misunderstandings between the various doctors, the tests and results from those tests, and then communicating this with the family. Maybe the treatments he was getting over the weekend did help fire up the kidneys a bit more and the doctors were not working with the most recent data. Maybe the prayers helped. Hopefully they are right this time and the doctors are now on the on the same page using the most recent test results and have a better picture of his status.

Hospice will be paying a visit to them at home at least a couple times a week, actual schedule TDB. This makes me breathe a bit easier and my stress level is down a few notches.

Silver lining: This scare was enough to push my stubborn mom to get one of those life alert alarm wrist watch things. I'm not sure what brand she settled on. A friend from her church helped to walk her through the various options that are out there and got her set up with one within a day. Dad is still a bit lethargic and confused so he doesn't have the wrist band on yet. When his clouds clear, we'll strap one on him too.

BuckyB93 wrote:

Robert, you likely have already tried it, but Aleve is a total game changer IMO. It's a pill, so you have to wait up to an hour for full effect, but then it's a full 12 hours of pain relief. May be hard on the kidneys if you need it a lot, though.

Stogie1020 wrote:

I respond best to lodine, which is a similar anti-inflammatory, but I don't need such systemic medication.

The local medicated cream penetrates into the damaged tissue well. It has an anti-inflammatory, so I am good there. It also has 5% lidocaine, a local topical anesthetic, which also penetrates.

The combo is relatively effective and my liver and kidneys processes very little due to "targeted" micro application.

Thanks for the advice.

rfenst wrote:

Cardiac Stress Test today.
Just the name in itself produces some anxiety.
Feel like I should have studied.

8trackdisco wrote:

Cardiac Stress Test today.
Just the name in itself produces some anxiety.
Feel like I should have studied.

8trackdisco wrote:

It’s get more fun when you get to the nuclear cardiac stress test.

HockeyDad wrote:

That's the one I did... they pumped radioactive fluid in me or some stuff... 🤔

MACS wrote: