After my union meeting, our first stop Monday was at wound care. We got one of the better nurses for the bandage change. The change was much easier without the wound vac. I was antsy to see how it looked with the new treatment plan after the collagen mixture failed. It looked great and had closed well, but it still had the hole at the top. The doctor was eager to see the progress, and I excitedly told him it looked better. He agreed once he took a look and was relieved as well.
When the nurse went to place the new bandage on I told him he better get it straight or Amanda would cuss him once we got in the car! He did a great job and made the bandage much more petite and shaped to stay in between boobs versus all over them as before. Funny how a man would make that so much better than the previous woman nurse who just slapped the last bandage on haphazardly.
We didn’t make it far past San Antonio before we needed some food, so we stopped in Seguin. All that did was activate the hungie button, and we made the next stop not far away at Buc-ee’s. With the new PICC line extension, Amanda could dose herself with the afternoon antibiotics at highway speeds rather than in the Hobby Lobby parking lot!
There must have been something going on in the Astrodome area because the hotel prices were high. I ended up booking the cheapest I could find within the medical center, the Mariott, right across from the new hotel we now stay at; it was still $300 a night. After checking back to see if prices would lower, I booked at our regular the Westin to save a little. We like this hotel because it is connected directly to the hospital and an easy walk to appointments; it is also higher-end and newly remodeled.
I had already checked in via the app and had a mobile key so that we could go straight to the room. However, we still had to go by the front desk to get the last of the antibiotics and supplies. We just had the pharmacy send a courier to drop it off instead of shipping it in case our stay was extended. We didn’t stay in the room long before we headed out for dinner. We went to the Intercontinental restaurant, which was just down the street and across from our old hotel where we used to stay. We frequently would get their hummus and housemate pita chips for a snack during our transplant stay. Their outside bar area is where I would also go to write many of my posts. The walk there, once we crossed the street, was a familiar one. It was on the loop I would take the dogs on for their potty walks, sometimes five or more times a day.
The restaurant was Mediterranean, hence the fantastic hummus. Dinner was good. We had a sampler platter, which was great, with falafel, veggie samosas, goat cheese, and artichoke beignets. Our entree was a lattice ratatouille, which is just a vegetable ratatouille in puff pastry. I also added grilled asparagus and thyme-glazed baby carrots. I was all good, but the beignets and carrots were both the stars of the show.
On our walk back, we stopped by MOD Pizza. I had a coupon for a free dessert that would expire before our next visit. We promptly hopped in bed with Buc-ee’s sweet treats and our free Mod cake and watched TV. You know, the first stop the next morning, that’s right, Starbucks, which just so happens to be connected to our hotel!
Labs are always first for transplant visits. After that, the surgery PA came by to take a look. He was followed by ID, the same doctor we had been seeing in the hospital; we both like her. She was happy and didn’t think we needed to extend the antibiotic course. Surgery had differed to ID about our knee questions, and she approved and said there was nothing to worry about and we could go ahead with the planned surgery. That’s right, another knee surgery was scheduled before all this mess happened. I’ll cover all the particulars in a later post, though.
It was a bit of a wait for the transplant doctor to come, as it always is. He was happy with everything and didn’t want to see us until the yearly check-up in October. Amanda had a few extra labs and an EKG that needed to be done preop for the knee surgery. So she asked the corridor if they could just get them done for us now, and they obliged. Even with the labs, extra testing, and waiting for the Transpant team, we saw all three doctors within a couple of hours. That is the perk of being a transplant patient everyone comes to you!
We walked back to the room and still hadn’t figured out what we would do for lunch. We decided to try a sandwich shop just outside the hotel entrance that we hadn’t tried before. It was takeout only, so we grabbed a couple of veggie sandwiches and ate in our room. Lunch was good, even if they forgot to press our sandwiches on the panini as we had asked.
Traffic was horrible when we got on the interstate and didn’t get much better after that. We were in at least five pretty lousy traffic jams on the way home. Two were 25 to 30-minute delays just for traffic going down to one lane. It was a long and frustrating drive home. I can’t remember the last time we had a trip with that bad of traffic.
Once past Castroville, the traffic calmed down, as usual. We made a stop in Uvalde to grab some HEB sushi. To our surprise, there were a few veggie rolls left even in the evening. Usually, they are out in the late afternoon, which was a relief since Uvalde isn’t the best for quick paint based fare.
Just as I walked into the house, I knew something was up the AC. It was hot, and our HVAC wasn’t cooling. I did a quick diagnostic check and realized the outside unit wasn’t coming on. I have dealt with a similar issue and thought I knew what I needed. I was up early the next morning to grab the part, but that didn’t fix it, and some other fixes didn’t work either. I had to call for reinforcements, but in typical railroad fashion, I was called to work when I was up in the attic working on the AC. The only good thing about this is we have two units, one for the living areas and one for the bedroom side of the house. Thankfully, we were able to retreat to the bedroom for relief.