Epiphany

I've been working in the lab here at BHOC for a couple of months now. Last week I was sent in the little lab car (it's a Pontiac Vibe, it is actually pretty nice) to a nursing home to draw blood. I got there and tried to draw the patient. My first attempt caused the vein to rupture and cause a big bruise. While I was looking for another place to try I realized that I was the only one there. I didn't have someone else to call and draw the blood like I do at the hospital. It was up to me to get it. I moved to her other arm and found a large vein near the surface and was able to fetch the blood out without any more problems.
But that was the first time I realized that it was up to me and no one else to complete this task. I'm sure I'll encounter this more once I'm a nurse, but it was a frightening experience. I was very happy that the second attempt went much better and I was able to complete my assignment.

Working tired, waiting for the girls

I'm at work, I'm exhausted. We had a car wreck come in at about midnight lastnight. I stayed to help with that, I got home at 4am. I had to be back here at noon. I was late cause I slept through my alarm. There isn't much going on, so I'm just sitting here, about to fall asleep.

The girls should be home pretty soon. I think their flight was supposed to get in at 2:34 or so, it is just about that time now. I'm hoping they stop to see me for a minute on their way home.

I gotta go find something to do or I'm going to fall asleep.

Back home finally

I moved back into the house for the most part lastnight. Joe'l and Bella are still in PA, but I made the move. I worked on unpacking clothes and moving furniture and items the guys that worked on the house had moved around. Most of the kitchen furniture is in Bella's room. Most of our clothes were in the kitchen. It is just generally a mess. I hate "tidying-up" I don't know how to do it. The concept escapes me.
I'm at work again tonight.

Joe'l and Bella should be home tomorrow afternoon.

When can we go home?? Where's my wife?

I don't remember exactly when it was....it has been so long ago my memory has gone dim. Anyways, one of the water filters that I put on the waterline in the utility room (to keep the crawdads out of the sink) busted and flooded the house. The floors in the Utility, Bath, Hall, Kitchen and Bellas bedroom were all ruined. The carpet in the Living room got a little wet, so it was dried and pad replaced. The floors in all the rest of the house were pulled out and replaced.

The guys that ripped up the floor in the bathroom were hating me. I screwed the Lauan down every 6" square, then used water putty to fill all the dips from the screws.

I think we've been out of the house for at least 3 weeks. I don't remember what day the water came. We've been living with my parents since.

Joe'l and Bella flew to PA for Thanksgiving, I'm working the night before and the night of, so I wouldn't have been around anyway. I'll be having Thanksgiving at BHOC this year! I better go sign up for that....

Sad news at work...

One of our nurses who was diagnosed with cancer a year ago passed away today. She was 35. She left behind her husband and two sons 12 and 3.
She was a cheery, happy person. We'll all miss her.

Long post, lots to catch up on

School is going ok. I'm passing everything so I'm fine with that, I don't have to have A's, like some people.
Bella is wonderful, she is a joy to be around most of the time, just kinda cranky when she's tired.

Here is the latest on Joe'l:
Most of you know, she has Pulmonary Hypertension, also called Pulmonary Artery Hypertension. She has the congenital form, she was just born with it. The problem, as I understand it, is that the Pulmonary artery that goes from the heart to the lungs is not dialating the way it is supposed to. In order for her body to get the oxygen it needs, the right side of her heart has to pump extra hard to get enough blood through to her lungs. Imagine trying to fill a barrel with a garden hose that has a 4" piece of pipe taking the water out of the bottom. The pressure in the garden hose would have to be ENORMOUS to get the same volume of water.

She has had a perfusion scan, this involves inhaling a radio-active mist, then laying in a large radio-activity detector (basically) it shows how the mist is transferring to her blood from her lungs. This test was fine, also her pulmonary function tests were fine (how well her lungs expand and exchange O2 and CO2, pressures and the like). She had a high resolution CT scan of her lungs and blood tests to rule out blood clots. After all this she had a heart catheterization. This consists of threading a small tube from the femoral artery (in the groin area) up to the heart. Once there the surgeon can deploy a variety of devices through the tube to do a bunch of different things. In Joe'ls case they took some samples of tissue in the area and pressure readings. They also injected some Calcium Channel Blocker drugs into her while taking pressure readings to see if these would help bring her pressure down. CCB's are used in treatment of the more common peripheral hyptertension (High Blood Pressure). These drugs did very little to help her.
After searching on the internet I found a clinic in Louisville, which is about as far away from us as Bloomington is, but has much larger hospitals and more specialty doctors. We have had two appointments at Kentuckiana Pulmonary Associates with Dr. McConnell. After the first appointment he prescribed Norvasc, a CCB for Joe'l. She had very minimal improvement with this drug, and after a couple of weeks she was feeling the same as she was before taking it. We had another apointment and the doctor has put her on a drug called Tracleer. It is a known tetragenic, which means it causes major birth-defects. It is also very hard on the liver. She has to have monthly pregnancy tests, be on two forms of birth control (and not the pill, as the two drugs don't get along well) and have monthly liver enzyme tests to see how the drug is affecting her liver. It is the lesser of the evils involved.
The doctor also wants her to lose some weight, but she can't exercise because of the strain it will put on her already strained heart. So we are both eating smaller, healthier meals.

Any way we look at it, there is a rough road ahead for our little family.