Pods and walkers, grief and ornaments

Yesterday didn’t start out well. I rolled out of bed a few hours earlier than I like because Ernie had an early appointment/infusion at the Cancer Center. I went to the bathroom only to find there was no toilet paper in the vicinity. Thanks, men I live with.

I was so damn wobbly that although I brought Joe the shillelagh with me I had to give in and use the big girl walker. The doctor’s offices are so small that everyone has to shuffle around it. I hate it.

Lots of confusing stuff with Barnes. They called Ernie last week and wanted him to get bloodwork. They said he couldn’t just go get it done at Carle because they wouldn’t get the results in time. I don’t really understand that as they use the My Chart system and all his stuff is linked but, ok. First they told him to go someplace else in town. I looked it up and it was permanently closed. He talked to them again and this time they sent him to someplace on S. Neil. So I went online and registered him, entered all the info and made an appointment. He went Monday and got it done. Tuesday they called and said they hadn’t gotten the results and asked him if he could go there and ask. He said, “uh, no, I’m busy today.” So they decided they could just use the results of his bloodwork he was getting done at Carle on Wednesday—which he had told them about. Again, uh, ok. Then they wanted Vasireddy’s contact info. Really? So I dutifully googled it and Ernie gave it to them.

I’m sorry…I know this is long and boring. When we saw Vasireddy yesterday (❤️) he said Barnes thinks Ernie’s platelets are too low so he needed an infusion after he got his immunotherapy. Vasireddy assumed Ernie was getting treatment at Barnes today…but no, it’s not until December 22. He couldn’t figure out why they would test this early. We shrugged our shoulders, feeling clueless.

We got freaking Pod Two again. We have not had good pod luck lately. Let’s all pray to the pod gods for Pod Four next visit. Despite that it was a pretty quiet day there. Oddly, only the column behind Ernie had tinsel garland around it. They must have known he was special. Midway through getting his platelets, Barnes called him. There was some confusion about whether he was the patient that was going to Florida soon. He said no. This is why you just shrug your shoulders sometimes.

For some reason it took forever to get the platelets. They finally got him started. Drip, drip, drip. Then when it was done he had to wait for half an hour so they could get bloodwork for Barnes.

The whole time I was painfully groggy. One of the volunteers even came over and offered me a pillow and a blanket. I said, “Does it look like I need that?” She nodded yes and we both laughed. The last thing I needed was a blanket…they keep it warm in there. We finally escaped sometime after noon. Four hours overall. Not the worst but on top of my grief for Peter Cooper it felt like too much. When we got home I laid down on the couch and slept.

Later Owen and Trinity came over and we all got the tree started. Trinity did the lights. Poor girl, this is what happens when you’re good at things.

Owen and I had planned to make chili but it got too late so we ordered Chinese food. Still lots more ornaments to put on, but a good start. I am so unutterably grateful for what we have.