Decisions

The team started the new oral diuretic today, but it didn’t work. So they did a Bumex push later in the afternoon and another in the early evening. Dr. Nair mentioned an injectable diuretic we could do at home. They had some samples in the office we could take for a trial run once home, and they also called in a prescription, but it will need prior authorization. They started back one of the other rate medications she usually takes at home. She doesn’t think it helps much with the rate, but I think she did better walking around with it on board.

Methodist called to do an intake questionnaire in the afternoon. It took a while, nearly an hour, to go over everything. They had all the information and access to the same system as our hospital, making things easier. The nurse that called still needed to go over everything, though. It will be about three weeks before they can get her in, but we don’t have a date yet. She wasn’t sure about our exact insurance policy to know if they would be in-network. I have fantastic insurance, so I’m not worried, and I already checked myself to see if they were covered. The nurse mentioned that Amanda’s case was already on the transplant director’s radar, and she’d already been over her case. The director of the heart failure clinic was the one Dr. Nair had mentioned to us, so it seems everyone is in the know. Hopefully, this will streamline things.

I contacted a corporate medical rental guy I’d spoken with before. Those are the way to go, but they are nearly twice as much, and he didn’t have any one-bedrooms available till mid-March. They have a shuttle to the hospital, all units allow dogs, medical equipment is available, two queen beds are in each bedroom, sleeper sofa and lift recliners are in the living room, and all the apartments they offer are luxury places with great amenities and larger units. The caveat is the price, but they are move-in ready. With pots and pans, towels, and everything in between, we just need to unpack our undies, and that’s it! The problem with March is that it is rodeo season, so all the hotels in the area are booked or three times the regular price. We’ve run into this before. Even the medical apartment is in short supply; he mentioned they’d usually have five properties to offer me, but only one was available now because of the rodeo. 

We still have other options. The unfurnished apartment we’d planned on for one, but we’re still hesitant to sign a lease without knowing if she’s listed yet. If we don’t go with a March 1 move-in date as planned, we’ll likely miss the first-floor unit. They were really willing to work with us, too. We could go with hotels, but if that goes like last time, we’ll end up having more tied up in hotels than an apartment, even the furnished one, real quick. Especially with the rodeo prices coming up. It’s hard to know which way to go.

The schedule now is to come home tomorrow or Saturday. We’re thinking Saturday, with how things are going with the fluid retention, but who knows. We’ll get a little over a week home and then back the first Monday in March for the first new “mab” treatment. Followed by a clinic visit with Dr. Nair the next day. I have serious doubts that we’ll make it that long without a hospitalization for the fluid. I’m really hoping the new home injectable diuretic will work well enough to keep up with the retention and keep us out of the hospital.