Sorry no pictures to post on this one. Today was going really well, until we got to the hospital in St. George, UT for Frank's test and found out we were on NV time and not UT time for the appointment. So we were an hour late, well not quite an hour as we are always early for appointments. So as soon as we got there it was like a big rush. A nurse handed me the paper work and told me to do it while she took Frank back and got him ready for the procedure. They took me along with Frank paperwork and all. So while they were getting him into a hospital gown, hooking up an IV, etc., I was trying to fill out the paper work, listening to instructions, and hearing the side effects that could happen. The whole thing had my nerves in an uproar, and I bet my BP was up. Glad no one took it or they may have put me in the hospital.
When Dr. Emphy came to talk to me after the test was over, he was very puzzled as to the results. Frank had not experienced pain in the areas that the doctor thought would pinpoint the problem. He said that Dr. Snook, the spine specialist, would have a puzzle to figure out; but maybe the CT Scan would show something. Which was the next step of the procedure.
I was trying to digest the directions for the next step of the procedure which was getting Frank to the new hospital for the CT Scan. We were at the old hospital. My family knows how much I hate to drive especially in places with a lot of traffic, so I was getting anxious about finding the right place at the hospital. I went over the directions with the nurse and felt I had it down. We had to have Frank there within an hour of the test, so I felt I had to get there as quickly as possible. We arrived at the hospital, and I knew the place I had to be was by the Emergency entrance, so I pulled over by it and I felt it wasn't right as there was supposed to be a circle driveway with valet parking available and I was supposed to have Frank go in a wheel chair which they would have available. I wanted to drive around the corner to another side of the hospital as I felt that it would be where we needed to be.
From the day we were married Frank took over the driving and I became the passenger and navigator. So when it is reversed it doesn't work out too well. Since he retired I have done very little driving and like it that way, but at times it is necessary for me to drive and this was one of those times.
Frank got frustrated with me and told me to drive up to the Emergency entrance and he would go in and find out where to go. So I did and was scared to death as I had been told he needed to be in a wheel chair. Keep in mind that he had been given some kind of a sedative in his IV. Well, by the time I parked the car and walked to the doors, here came Frank in a wheel chair with a volunteer lady pushing him. She said he wasn't walking too good so she had put him in a wheel chair, and told me to meet them on the other side where I was headed in the first place. I was relieved to see Frank safely in a wheel chair and that we were being directed to the right place. I had to go back to the hot car (108 degrees) and drive around to the valet parking area and I met them there.
After the CT scan, we were starving as Frank had been fasting and I had just a few nuts that I carry with me. It was 2 PM our time, and I was starving too. We stopped at an Olive Garden and had soup, salad, and bread sticks. Then I was worried about getting back on the freeway, but everything went really smooth and Frank was able to put his head back and sleep some on the way home. The traffic wasn't too bad, and I felt blessed and started to relax at this point.
We both feel a let down as we were hoping that they would pin point the cause of the pain he is experiencing, and I am not sure when we will get the results of the CT Scan. I guess they will call us to make an appointment with Dr. Snook, the Spine Specialist. Dr. Emphy the Pain Management Doctor who did the test did give Frank another Pain medicine to try and control the pain. To add to my frustration when I went to have it filled at our small town pharmacy, they didn't have it on hand and wouldn't be able to get in until Monday. So now we will be making a 45 mile trip to Mesquite tomorrow to get it. I had driven right by Mesquite on the way home and could have stopped there had I known.
Oh well, at least we are home safe and sound and Frank is relaxing in his lounge chair where he gets the most relief from pain. Like I said in an earlier blog, this process of finding the problem in Frank's back is going to take more time than we want to even think about. Why does it have to be so hard?
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I am just hurting for both of you. I want the answers to be found. I so hopeful that Frank will find some relief. May Heavenly Father guide your doctors in finding what is right for you.
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