In The Hospital

Be and I got away later than we planned on Sunday but the trip seemed to take less time than before. So we arrived at Tinker and Betty's at just the right time -- they were home from church and just finishing supper. We were supposed to be at MD Anderson at 8:00 this morning, and Tinker said that traffic would be bad at that time, so we headed back for bed about 9:45. One delay in getting away Sunday was a very nice thing. Our small group that has Bible study together most Sunday evenings came to our house after the morning service and prayed over us. That was a great blessing.

This morning we arose about 6, planning to leave at 6:45. We ate breakfast, and got away at 7:00. But the traffic was not too bad, so by the time we parked in the remote parking and walked (slowly) to the hospital, it was about 8:15, and we were pretty much on schedule. I had my vital signs taken, then they drew several vials of blood, and we rode a cart to another building, arriving at 9:00, the correct time for my next appointment.

This appointment was so they could place a port in my arm in which to give the chemotherapy. The port is on my upper right arm, and the tube runs through my vein to a point near my heart. I had a moment of light-headedness during the insertion and felt quite hot, but it passed quickly. The nurse (male) doing the procedure said it was a bit unusual for a person to experience this, but he did not seem concerned. By the time the procedure was done, I was fine. But then I had to go for an X-ray to make sure that the tube was in the correct place. It was.

Next we went on to another place to have my heart examined so that I could be accepted into the clinical trial. They made Be stay in the waiting area while this happened, and they did not tell us how long it would take. I began to feel sorry for her because I was in there a long time. First I went to get an injection that would "mark" my red blood cells. Then I had to just sit there for 20 minutes. Next they injected some radioactive juice in me, and sent me down the hall to a "men's waiting area." They separated the men from the women because many of the patients were wearing the gowns that are open in the back. I had on my regular clothes. After some time I heard a female voice down the hall call out, "Mrs. Green?" So I yelled out, "That's MISTER Green," and all the men in the room laughed. The girl was very embarrassed.

I was taken to a room, put on a flat bed, and rolled under this cover that was to take pictures of my heart. The first picture took one minute. The second and third pictures took 10 minutes each! Poor Be had no idea what was going on. Finally I came back to where she was waiting at about 1:15 and we headed to eat before our appointment with the Dr. at 2:15. This meant that we rode the cart (actually I rode and Be walked) back to the main building and had lunch in the cafeteria. We did not have to rush and had plenty of time.

But we were taken in to a private room pretty quickly. We answered questions for a nurse, then a PA, and then the doctor came. The latest bone marrow biopsy confirmed the other one. I have 21% "blasts" in my bone marrow, so I officially have AML. I passed the heart test, and the process for starting to admit me began. This was about 3:30. Also I had to sign papers that I understood what terrible things could happen to me.

At the admission area, we learned that a room would not be available until about 8:00 pm. It was about 4:45 at this time. So we decided to go out for one last fling. We tried to go to the Galleria Mall, but three different people could not describe how to get there in a way that worked for me. We ended up at a very nice strip mall, and ate at a mexican food place called Esperito's (I think.) We split an order of fajitas (chicken and beef combination) and it was very good. We arrived back at the admission area about 7:30 and they got us in a room right away. But it is probabaly a temporary room because one was not available in the "isolation" area where I am supposed to be. But they plan to start my chomotherapy tonight anyway. Be stayed here until about 8:30 and she is driving to Tinker's now, by herself for the first time. She was not looking forward to that.

Well, if you made it to here in this story, I'm amazed. It is long. More to come later. Please keep praying for both Be and me.