Day 39 - Grateful for Little Frustrations...

Ever have a bad day? I guess most of us have had days like the one Eric and I just had. It was full of frustrations and ended without any of our "issues" being resolved.

Today Eric was scheduled for his first post transplant follow up in 'MOD L'. From here on, all Eric's appointments will be with the BMT team in the BMT clinic. In Ottawa, everyone who needs to see a hematologist knows about MOD L.

To start off, the scheduler did not have Eric's info and no appointment had been booked. That was an easy fix - they squeezed him in at 11am. Arriving at 11, we realized how hard they had to squeeze to fit us in.... The waiting area was a sea of masked BMT patients (they are easy to spot!). We settled in for a long wait and finally got into a room at 12:45. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that everyone had waited equally long and that the admins, coordinators and doctors weren't going to see a lunch break. So that little irritation was quickly squelched.

Eric has been plagued with a sore stomach... No one has really been able to figure out what's wrong so today, our goal was to tackle two issues -- see what we can do about the sore gut (that is impacting eating and exercise) and get prescriptions filled. The doctor could easily locate the pain but wanted to see what was going on. If we could get to the ultrasound unit immediately, they would do a scan and send the report back with us. WOW -- gotta love when things work out like that. An hour later scan done and report in hand, we head back to MOD L to find another full waiting area. Made sure they knew that Eric was really continuing his 11am appointment and they got us back in within 20 minutes.

The ultrasound didn't shed any light on the sore gut... A slightly enlarged spleen and liver were expected (remember his blood system is working miracles right now). In good news, there were no signs of fungal infection and all bile ducts looked good. That eliminates two of the most concerning possibilities. But it left us with no idea why his stomach hurts.

On to prescriptions. After several trips back and forth between MOD L and the pharmacy, I gave up! Several approvals are needed to fill his prescriptions under his insurance and they had not been filed. The BMT pharmacist will work to clear this up tomorrow. I have learned that sometimes waiting for the right people is the best solution - even if it takes another day.

By now it's end of day. I am trying to start back to work this week so headed back to the office to retrieve my laptop and briefcase (we expected a 1 hour appointment) then fought rush hour traffic to get Eric home and head back to Morrisburg. Morgan had already had to leave mid afternoon to make it to work.

I get to go back tomorrow to get the prescription challenge sorted and we both go back Friday for a follow up on the sore belly.

And while we all hope that our upcoming twice weekly appointments are less frustrating and more goal oriented (not to mention shorter)... tonight I have to stop myself and be grateful that Eric is here with us. That he has been to hell and back and still smiles. And that he has come through a risky transplant safely.

If I have to have frustrating days, I am sure glad I get to spend them with Eric and the rest of my wonderfully supportive family and friends.