Positive News

Yesterday was a good day for us. Neal had back to back medical appointments in Seattle, so we left early because traffic can be a problem. However - it was a quick trip into the city and the parking lot attendant let us use one of his short term taxi spots because of the ramp space. Usually he won't let us use taxi spots. We located the new cardiologist, then still had 25 minutes to wait for the wound clinic to reopen after lunch, so we sat in the ER waiting room and I made Neal tell me his life story while I took notes for his obituary....and he knew that's what I was doing. He hasn't told me about his life in sequence before, so it was interesting. He made it through a lot of years telling me where he lived and where he worked while we waited, but we left the ER when a man rolled his friend through the doors in a shopping cart. That was too much realism for us.

Here's the GREAT NEWS....Neal's wound at the base of his spine (open since October 2005) is completely healed and the foot ulcer is so much better that he was discharged yesterday and doesn't have to go back unless he gets something else. Neal's treatment record has so many pages that it isn't in a folder like others - they have it in a huge binder....we have been going there since March 1, 2006, once a week for the first three months then once a month until last June when it became every two weeks. I am so pleased that we are finished with that - feels like we have been given back our lives.

Then we went to the other side of the hospital to the tower and took the elevator to the top floor to meet his new cardiologist. Along the way we saw his portrait as a big wheel in the hospital administration....and we already knew there is an award in his name at the Univ Washington Medical school. The doctor was very personable, easy to understand, respectful, and had good information. Plus - he listened to us! Result of the appointment - Neal is to continue his current meds and return in three months for a progress check, with his next echocardiogram in six months. We know there is a possibility of another heart surgery in the future, but Dr Lewis was reluctant to put a possible date on that, even though two other cardiologists have said "about two years." However, he did tell us symptoms to watch for, and that was a first.

Maybe not having to go to the wound clinic seems trivial, but I made so many many trips to that hospital when Neal was there as a patient and more with him for these years of regular appointments. Knowing that we don't have any more appointments feels like a blessing, and I am grateful.