OCTOBER 3 to OCTOBER 12 (including my meltdown on Oct 10)

Ok... so now its October 3rd... the day after the finger tumor was removed.
Chris is feeling ok... but the finger is painful...
He has a few uneventful days... but his joints feel achey/painful here and there...
By October 8th, the joint pain worsens. We have an appointment for Friday October 10th to sit down with the doctor about the timeline leading up to transplant. Its coming soon

Basically, in the national bone marrow database, of millions of donors, they found a few close matches... there is an exact match. I read something like 70% of patients have trouble finding a donor.. so this is excellent news.
If there were whole siblings, there would be a 1 in 4 chance of having an exact match
Otherwise, you rely on un-related donors.
We do not know who the donor is or where they are from. After 1 year, if the donor chooses, we can find out how to contact them
Donor has to get clearance from their doctor, and Chris has to get a few standard tests as well...
Then the transplant is scheduled. Chris gets admitted. gets chemo and then gets new bone marrow...
Well, the day before this meeting, (OCtober 9) Chris's joint pain is so bad that he cannot walk down the hall to the bathroom on his own..
So we get to the doc on October 10th.. they see him in a wheelchair and see his leg weakness...
they do bloodwork and send him right across the street to the ER...
What a day!! Dr Strair called over with all the info on Chris.. suggest MRIs etc... they suspect something is going on again in his spine causing the leg weakness
We sit all freakin day in the ER waiting for a room (cus they will admit him) and for MRI
See, remember, Chris needs anastesia with his MRI. major claustrophobic
So, we see a ton of doctors.. the ER doc, the head of ER, the nurses, some fellows and residents, the head oncologist on duty from Dr Strair's group... everyone asks the same questions
Chris is feeling ok cus they have him on steroids and pain meds.. after a few hours in the ER, he can stand a lot easier...

So listen to this bullshit... the fellow on duty, she is a doctor right? well there is major language barrier. major..
She is asking him questions, he cannot understand her.. I interpret.
He says his answer.. she doesn't understand.. I interpret.
She asks for some history on him (look at the chart, PLEASE)
She comes back at one point and actually says "I am sorry, my brain is not so efficient") Yea, that's what she said. Poor Chris. I was frustrated...
So, they finally take him to MRI. Its gonna be a few hours.
I go home to get clothes, freshen up, shower, and then I stop to get him food (he requested)
I call the ER desk, as I was told was the best place to call to find out where he was after MRI
I am told he is all done, recovered, in the ER, awaiting transport to his room in 5North
So, i get the food, I rush back. I have 2 laptops on my shoulder, a bag of clothes, my purse, the food... and i get to the ER and they tell me he is probably in a certain room.. he isn't there.. finally someone else says, oh no he is in recovery still
It was the worst day... the person on the phone was explicit that he was ready to go to his room.. and after talking to seriously 5 people in ER, they tell me they will call recovery.... Did I mention that i have a million bags on my shoulder?
I normally do not complain, but I have been so stressed, that a few screw-up nurses, and i am ready to either cry or scream... poor Chris is gonna be starving and now his food will be cold.. they direct me to the recovery room and give me an extension to call
So, I travel across the hospital and cannot find the damn place.
I call. She tells me i cannot see him yet.. go back to the waiting room
are you kidding? he was groggy from anaesthesia...
I told her what i was told (about him being all recovered)
So she calls me when i can sneak in and see him.. she tries to give me directions on the phone to the recovery room. I am listening, and she is telling me stuff like "walk away from the parking deck, down the hall, it curves, pass PACU (whats PACU?), pass blah blah, make a left, go through double doors, then left and double doors"
I seriously thought i was going to have a nervous breakdown. It wasn't her fault.. it was the damn day i had.. but do you know how big this hospital is???? I am tired.. i want to see Chris but i seriously want to cry... i am so mad that they misinformed me in the ER.. so mad i could have had an extra hour laying down at home... and the damn ER person couldn't tell me the right info...
I know this all sounds silly and petty... but these people.. the least they can do is give me correct information... don't they realize how many months both of us have been in and out of this place?
Oh and did I mention that during the day, they were trying to give him meds that he wasn't even on anymore... so much for giving updated drug info when you get to the ER... they pulled up old info anyways
So... I go through restricted areas and find the recovery room... i felt like i was on greys anatomy.. except there was no mcStreamy and it was uneventful.. his nurse was nice...
she tells me i can see him for a few.. and then that they will be bringing him to his room soon.. and asks if i want to meet them up there (as she is about to wheel him there).. huh? where am i going that i will meet them there if they are going now??? so she tells me i can come with them if i want... weird day i tell you
so, his eyes are all scratchy from the anaesthesia... and he isn't hungry... and i need xanex... but i left it at home... and i have a 3 day weekend.. thank goodness

So, they keep him on steroids... he is walking so well now

All they see on the MRI is one small new nodule...
they schedule a pet scan and a spinal tap
The doctors on duty are ok.. except the fellow that has already on our bad side

They try to do spinal bedside on sunday the 12th... i watch... (cus i have a new interest in this whole nursing/medical thing) Dr Naylor and Dr Dodzie (spelling?)
they numb him.. and they poke and they cannot find fluid.. they try 4 times.. i felt bad for the doctors and for chris...
they finally give up and say they will do it in radiology the next day....
so i will continue tomorrow