Today is a Sunday, and I should be home getting my family ready for church, but I am not, I am sitting in the hospital with Chris. Chris needs red blood cells today. Red blood cell days are my least favorite days...it means a long day, two hours per pint of blood, with a minimum of two pints.
Today, it took us about 35 minutes to drive to LDS Hospital, but it can take up to an hour or more, depending on traffic.
We pull into the smelly, dark parking garage and find a spot close to the elevator because it is hard for Chris to walk too far. We ride the cramped, dirty elevator down to the street level, where I grasp Chris' hand and help navigate him up and down curbs, stairs, and finally we make it into our "second home."
Chris and I wait in the waiting room, surrounding by many other people in the same situation; spouses waiting for loved ones, loved ones waiting for blood, scary receptionist who may snap (yes, I am horrified), doctors coming back and forth from clinic to inpatient, and my favorite...the nurses we call family.
Finally, they call Chris back to get his CBC, which is an every visit thing...they need to see how much blood he will need for the day, and if he needs fluid or other IV medicine to maintain his levels. Potassium and Magnesium take four hours to infuse...fortunately I can do his IV magnesium at home through his "pick-line," in his right arm.
We wait an hour, sometimes two for the results of the CBC...and when I say wait, we literally wait in the waiting room, doing nothing but breathing, staring at the walls or each other and an occasional phone check.
Today, being Sunday, it only took about 45 minutes to get the results...a good day. The results are, Chris needs red blood, it is low.
We are then, moved back into the stalls, the ones with the thin, beige curtains I have mentioned before. We then wait for the blood bank to deliver his blood products, which can take anywhere from half an hour to four hours! Today, we only waited about a half hour...again, it is Sunday.
Chris' vitals are continually checked throughout the transfusion process. Sometimes, blood pressure can sky-rocket, and other times allergic reactions can occur requiring a little medicine. Chris usually pulls through his transfusions well...he has had so many I have lost count.
So, after a long day at the hospital, Chris and I trudge back to the car which is sitting in the smelly garage across the street from the hospital...and drive another hour home, exhausted from our adventure at the clinic in East 8. We return home to our family, and pretend everything is normal...cleaning, homework, dinner, playing with kids, watching some TV when the kids are finally asleep, and praying the next day is better than today.
Today, I am struggling to keep my eyes open...tired from my day of chores yesterday. I managed to till the garden, plant a few plants, weed, put the pool up, wrestle with Cody, play some catch with the kids, and some crafts with the girls; a full week of fun squished into one day. Now, I did not do housework yesterday, which I feel horrible about, but I guess I will get to it....maybe tomorrow.
Here are some pictures of Chris getting his blood, and his impersonation of "Bane" from Batman...notice the curtain I have written about in other posts. I am the one sitting behind the camera in the hard-as-rock chair!
This is the street view in front of LDS Hospital, a pretty view...notice the parking garage to the right.
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