Catching Up

So much has happened that it's been difficult to condense my thoughts enough to post.  Neal started the double-dose of blood-thinning meds (tablets and injections) but he decided to take the pressure off me and give himself the shots.  He said it was no big deal - bless him.
The day after the news about the blood clots, we had a home nurse here to change the picc line dressing and afterwards the line became difficult to flush and took longer for the IV to empty.  I didn't make the connection to the dressing change because I was afraid there might be another blood clot.  An infusion nurse came to flush the line without success, so we had to contact the cardiologist at 4:45 on a Friday to get permission for Neal to have another type of blood thinner to clear the picc line.  His nurse called back after 5pm and told us to go to the ER to have it cleared.  She said the "picc line drano" wouldn't interfere with Neal's other meds.
Friday night at the ER - what can I say?  We were there 5 hours, but it was all good.  The new ER/Trauma center is quite impressive (except for all those hard surfaces in the giant waiting room - noisy!).  The doctor who looked at Neal's line took a reasonable approach and suggested that the picc line dressing be changed just in case the problem was a kink in the line instead of a blood clot.  Turns out he was right.  Radiology had to come down to change the dressing, but it was one of my favorite nurses, so it was fun to visit a little.  Then as we were leaving, another ER doctor called our names and came over to say hello.  He was the doctor who saved Neal's life in October 2005, so we always enjoy talking with him.
Saturday we dozed and recovered from our "date night at the ER," but Neal had intermittent nosebleeds.  That wasn't really unusual with the oxygen canula constantly irritating his nose, so I didn't pay much attention.  However, when I woke up Sunday morning he was still dealing with bleeding so I asked if he had another one.  No - same nosebleed.  All night?  Yikes!  We headed for the nearest Urgent Care, expecting they could cauterize his nose and send us home.  (Neal calls Urgent Care "Doc in a Box") The doctor took one look at Neal and sent him to the ER for serious treatment.  ER triage examined him and sent him immediately to the new ENT treatment room where they tried to stop the bleeding, but thought he'd have to be admitted for a transfusion.  Prayers were answered because the test results came back showing his levels were safe, so they inserted air-packs and sent him home six hours after we left the house. 
Air packs were terribly painful and Neal was miserable, plus all the bleeding caused other complications from the open wound etc. 
Monday the nursing agency sent an LPN who didn't do much about cleaning out the excess bleeding in the wound, and failed to correctly pack the dressing, although it looked okay from the outside.  Neal's doctor referred him to an ear/nose/throat specialist for Tuesday and we spent two hours in his office where he removed the airpacks and then had to wait another 90 minutes for Neal's nose to stop bleeding.
In the middle of all these adventures, the cardiologist's office had Neal stop the injections and begin the clot treatment with a tiny dose of blood thinners, which makes me think it will take much much longer for Neal to have his heart surgery.  I am so sorry about that.
Wednesday was the wound clinic appointment where they discovered all the problems the LPN had failed to handle.  Not cleaning the wound correctly and then not packing it at all caused the skin to deteriorate so Neal's wound is deeper than before.  The wound nurse was very upset about it and called the agency to give specific instructions.  I can only imagine how that went, but yesterday they sent a wound nurse who "trained" the LPN how to correctly clean and dress the wound.  There was a lot of tension between the RN and the LPN - the LPN was obviously resentful of a younger nurse telling her what to do.
In between all these medical adventures, we did have a nice outing on Thursday when Neal and I took our friend Chris to Olive Garden for a quick lunch.  That was Neal's first social outing since Thanksgiving - he really enjoyed it.
Also this week we were recipients of a meal and a wonderful service project.  On Sunday evening after we came home from the ER, my visiting teacher brought us stir-fry and rice for supper.  It was delicious.  On Wednesday the bishop and several YM leaders came with a group of priests who shoveled all the gravel at the end of the driveway, then removed three azaleas and transplanted three rhododendrons.   One even mowed the front lawn.  It was so nice to have all those projects completed.  They were here 90 minutes, which included time to eat a few snacks before they left.
So that's what has been going on at our house since the 14th.  I did finish a Raggedy Ann and delivered it in time for a sweet baby's first birthday.  And speaking of babies - Brent & Stephanie are expecting a girl!  I'm delighted for them.