The Lost Blog Post

I was so bothered by the "lost blog post" that I attempted to recreate it from memory.  I know the original was better but this is pretty close.

The Monday visit to the clinic was less than satisfying for me.  We came there a day early because we thought here was a problem with the discharge from the incision.  The clinic visit was all about checking kidney function which is great and the questions about the incision was being left to the surgeon... who didn't have time for us on Monday. 

But hey, we still have the Tuesday appointment so we'll just have to come back.  At least that's what we thought before the 4:30 phone call on Monday told us that the surgeon didn't feel the Tuesday visit was necessary.  It seems he heard all was well from the clinic and so it was cancelled.

Bullshit!

A phone call back and forth and the appointment with the surgeon was reinstated.

So we show up Tuesday morning and we follow the protocol: weighed, pressure checked, temperature checked and oxygen level in the blood checked.  Then they ask Yvonne how tall she is.  They asked her that question yesterday.  Were they really looking for much of a change in 24 hours?

Next up is the Physician Assistant, the very same PA that told me the surgery was routine (see this entry).  She said that Yvonne was doing OK considering how complex the surgery was.  That's all I needed to hear. I pounced.

Here you are telling us it was very complex and when you saw me after the surgery you said everything was routine.  I have been hearing ever since that it wasn't and I was frankly annoyed that you didn't take the time to tell me the truth.

She started to defend herself but instead dug the hole a little deeper.  "We don't typically say things people can't understand".

If you know anything about me you know that wasn't what I wanted to hear.  I glared at her saying that we've dealt with 3 dozen people in these fancy white coats over a 19-year period and never did we feel this way before.

She countered by asserting that there were not one but TWO expert craftsmen involved in the surgery and everything was done the proper way.  She wasn't getting it. 

It was clear that what we have here is a failure to communicate....

I made another attempt to explain that I wasn't complaining about the medical decisions but rather the communication that should accompany them.  Finally I said that she should consider this as feedback others might not give her but she was getting it from me.  Do with it what you want...

She was quiet for a few seconds and then left to get the surgeon.

Mr. Big strolled in and glanced at the incision and declared everything was fine.  He was unaware that I was armed with charts with dates, times, lab results and questions.

"On Day 9 Yvonne had no pain and no discharge but here on Day 19 she had ample amounts of both. Why is that?"  He began explaining the complexity of the surgery and I interrupted saying "do you know this is the first time I'm hearing this?"  He seemed confused and Yvonne reminded him he said he didn't have time to see me after the surgery so he sent the PA.

I went on to say this was the first time I saw him since the pre-surgery meeting a few weeks in advance.  I thought his expression changed at this point and he was aware that there might be something to this.  He started to explain...  You could see the gears shift as a person who was mentally out the door now realizes there is more work to be done here.

Mr. B. explained that the surgery was so complicated because he decided to attach the kidney to the "main line" which is very difficult to access.  The surgery to clear a place for the kidney was far more involved than either of Yvonne's first two transplants.  The two prior transplants caused the internal organs to adhere to each other requiring a lot of cuts and bleeding. That's why the recovery time would be so much longer.

"Ummm, ya know Yvonne's been telling the world she's back in 4 weeks or so...."

No way he said.  8 to  12 weeks is more realistic.

I again reiterated the point about the lack of information on the day or the surgery. I told him I had bloodied his PA on that point. He jokingly said that's why he sends her in first.  Then he asked why I didn't call his office if I had questions. 

I sat here silently.  The answer was that it never occurred to me.  Checkmate.

We left with the understanding that there was probably some fluid trapped in the layers of skin/fat/muscle that was leaking out and it would continue to do that for another few weeks.  He wanted Yvonne to take pain killers if need be but to keep walking.

We left there to get a CT scan which proved he was correct about the pockets of fluid. He's always correct. Damn it.

Conclusion: The big news of the visit is that the surgical "wound" would take a lot longer to heal than was anticipated.  We will therefore be spending a lot more time at home together which can be somewhat dangerous.  Today we started off screaming at each  other over how long it takes a lozenge to dissolve. I'm thinking we have the ingredients for the next big Reality TV show...