August 24, 2005

• Spending Time in Dr’s Offices

  Good Morning, friends

  I mentioned in my post yesterday that I was spending the afternoon at the clinic with Nathan while he had allergy testing indicated because of a reaction to a bee sting he had earlier this summer.  This was the third round of testing he has had.  The first test was in the emergency room the day he had the reaction. It was a simple blood test…tryptase, I think, that indicated that he was indeed suffering from a systemic anaphylactic type reaction.  That indicated that he should have another blood test done, called a RAST test.  The RAST test showed he had elevated sensitivity to hornets and yellow jackets.  Yesterday he had the infamous skin tests, where he got individual injections (pinpricks, really) with serum from two different types of hornets, wasps, yellow jackets and honey bees.  This test told us that he is most sensitive to the hornets, followed in order by yellow jackets, wasps and least of all honey bees.  We think the insect bite he reacted to was a yellow jacket. 

  Now we have to decide if we want to go ahead with desensitization shots…a 5 to 5 1/2 year process consisting of weekly shots for 3 to 6 months, then monthly shots for an additional 5 years!  That’s a lot of shots!

  

   

  When I got home from the clinic with Nathan, my hubby had just gotten home from work and was getting ready to head to the cities to have LASIK eye surgery performed.  My oldest son, Kyle, was prepared to take him down there (I didn’t think I would be back from the clinic with Nathan in time to go with him), but since I was home, I decided to go along instead of sending Kyle.  Once we got there, I was asked if I would like to observe the procedure.  Being the medically curious person that I am (in my “former” life –before kids — I was in the medical field) I said “Absolutely!”  I was told I could watch from outside the room where the procedure took place, through an observation window, and that if I decided that I didn’t want to watch I could just sit down in the nearby chairs.  Apparently some observers get a little queasy.  I’m not the queasy type.  The guy on the left isn’t my hubby, but he looked just like this.  There was also a TV screen that I could see with a huge blown up image of his eye that was fascinating to watch.  The wierdest part was when the cut the flap from the

  

  front of his eye, about the size of his iris (slightly smaller) and folded it back to access the part of the eye that they zap with the laser.  The whole procedure took less than 10 minutes.  He only had one eye done (his left eye).  His right eye isn’t so bad, so they left it alone for him to use for near vision (reading and such) so in effect he has the vision correction they refer to as “monovision” — one eye functioning for distance vision, while the other one functions for near vision.  He had to wear an eye patch and has 4 different types of drops he needs to put in his eyes for about the next month (I’ll be putting them in as he can’t put his own hand anywhere near his eye without blinking….the main reason he was never able to wear contact lenses — he couldn’t get them in his eyes!)  He is not going to be a good patient, I don’t think.  He thinks he is so tough, but really he is a little wimpy when it comes to stuff like this.  (Sorry, sweetie, it’s true).  This morning I put the first drop in his eye…then he is supposed to wait 2 minutes before the next drop, and 10 minutes before the third drop (the fourth drop is only at bedtime).  After the first drop I went to help Isaac get ready for school.  Next thing I know, hubby is getting ready to head out the door to work!  I asked him if he got the other drops in his eye by himself, and what do you know…he had FORGOTTEN that we only put one of the three drops in!  Sheesh!  Plus, he really wasn’t supposed to drive himself to work today, but since it’s a short drive ( 3 miles) and there is relatively little traffic (not like commuting in the cities) he thought he could handle it.  He is probably right about that, but it just goes to show you how he resists following “doctor’s orders”.  You would think being a health care provider himself, he would know the value of compliance, but he is a MAN, after all, LOL!!!

  Guess I really didn’t get much done yesterday.  I sat around in doctor’s offices a lot.  Tomorrow my neighbor and I are having a garge sale, so I’ve got to get busy pricing stuff for that.  We are using her garage because it’s bigger (and cleaner) than mine.  I’ve already got a lot of stuff over there, so I’m just pulling out some odds and ends today.  I hope to get rid of a LOT of stuff.  Whatever I don’t sell, I DON’T want back, I’ll donate it to some worthy organization.  The epilepsy foundation comes around with a truck about once a month and collect stuff, so maybe they’ll be in the area soon.  We also have a local used clothing/household goods store called the Shalom Shop that I can take some of the items to.  Some of the nicer clothes that don’t sell might be worth taking to the consignment store, but it’s an hour away, so I don’t get there too often.  I’m sure there will be plenty of work after the sale just in deciding what to do with the “leftovers”.  I’ve got to make some signs today too. AND, I have a planning meeting with the church youth group I volunteer with this afternoon –I’m geting tired just thinking about the rest of my day.  I think I need another cup of coffee before I do anything else.  Java, java!

  • 10:05 am
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