Tank was sad as we packed our bags to leave Monday morning. It’s funny how animals get when they see things coming. Zoey was always pouty pants the night before we’d leave for a trip. Tank changed his attitude quickly when I took him to the front door, where his bag was packed and ready to go; he just needed a reminder he was going. He was happy all morning then and exuberant when I finally got his harness out! Amanda is getting more on board with our StarBs potty stops even when our coffee isn’t from that location. Hey, they are typically cleaner than most other public bathrooms, at least our small-town ones.
Tank is a good travel dog; we don’t get him out of the car at every stop and try to keep him on his regular schedule. So we’ve been letting him out just once on the trips. He’ll just hang out in the running car and watch us as we are inside and wag, with big boxer wiggle butt when we emerge. With all the trips and expenses, I’d mentioned to Amanda several times that we’d need to ease off on Starbucks eventually. Then, random gift cards would appear from one of you, like she’s summoning coffee money. Very nice, but y’all are enabling her, and after all of this back and forth is over, I don’t think I’ll be able to financially support this habit of hers!
We swapped one of our Starbucks stops for a taco lunch stop instead. We have our regular towns we stop in now, and it’s pretty well planned out before we leave. We were on track to make it to the medical center before rush hour, but that didn’t stop the big city traffic from holding us up. Amanda liked the clothes that her friend got for her the other day. Comfy and fit her ever-changing figure with the fluid retention, but didn’t look like frumpy sweats. She always likes to look fab! So, she wanted to stop by a Marshals to see if she could find some. We knew where one was that didn’t have a long walk to get in, like our local store, and stopped by before heading to the hotel. She found a couple more sets.
It seems like there’s always a reminder of some procedure or hospital stay in our FB memories. I noticed one that said day 13 of our hospital stay and of my recliner sleeping. We aren’t good at hospital stays just by chance, but from experience. Just like how I knew the way through the back streets by heart to avoid the traffic. My regular spot was available in the garage; I wheeled on like I owned the place. With a half spot on the driver’s side, it’s easy to park the big Yukon there and still have room to get Tank in and out easily. We had the wheelchair to take in for the long walk to the hospital, but Amanda didn’t need it to get into the hotel, so I needed to make two trips with Tank in tow. I got everyone settled, then went to get the wheelchair, loaded it with a couple of bags, and pushed it to the room. Tank is doing much better this trip. I think he likes everyone staying the night in the hotel together rather than us dropping Mom off at the ER; he’s not the only one. I grabbed Poke from downstairs. All the medical center restaurants are on the ground floor of our hotel, so it was a quick run to grab dinner.
I woke early in the morning and spent a couple of hours tossing and turning before I fell back asleep just about when Amanda’s alarm went off. I woke again to her hard-headed butt dragging a bar-height chair in the bathroom instead of waking me to move it for her! Tank and I slept in a little more before we got up to make a potty run. I’d grabbed a dark green pair of clearance pants when Amanda was getting her things yesterday, and I wore them this morning with a cap of the same color. I looked like a Border Patrol agent walking my K9 on our morning walk!
When I walked in to get coffee, a barista, getting mobile orders ready, yelled welcome in, Barkley—pointing both hands at me in a shooting motion! Not long after he handed my order directly to me, I felt like a VIP. I grabbed lunch from a brown bag place in our building. Since then, we’ve just been waiting for the call to go over to the hospital, so much for a quick trip here and back. If it’s much later, Amanda won’t get the Soliris today and spend a needless night in the hospital prior to the treatment. Waiting is a hospital game we are all too familiar with. Though annoying today, at least we aren’t in the ER waiting with sick people all around. Tank sure is happy we were all hanging out together!
Amanda had a heart friend from El Paso in town who was staying at the medical center for multiple office visits of her own until the weekend. She finished with some visits, and we met her at Starbucks, which is on the ground floor of the hotel. We brought Tank with us, sat outside, and talked with her for a while, probably longer than Amanda should have, with as bad as her fluid retention. Tank was happy with the long stay! He eventually laid down and watched all the passersby’s every move. Of course, he got a puppuccino and enjoyed every bit. Plus, a lady brought another out to him after we’d been there a while; she asked if he could have it and even fed it to him.
After we returned to the room, it was not only Tank’s dinner time but ours, as well. I ordered Mexican and went to grab some bottled water. Being a transplant patient, Amanda shouldn’t drink tap water, not that the Houston municipal supply would be acceptable anyway! Since we declined housekeeping because of the Tank, we didn’t get a water bottle refill today. The hotel panty is nothing less than highway robbery, so it was StarBs to the rescue. The afternoon barista also knows me by name; they’ll all know me sooner or later! With my bag of water bottles and ice cups in tow, a drink carrier cut in half fits in a StarBs bag perfectly, by the way. I stopped at a BBQ restaurant next door to the hotel lobby to have a beer while I waited for dinner to arrive.
While I sat, I messaged the hotel to extend our stay, and they replied there was no availability. I was fretting, thinking about what we’d do, especially with Tank. So, I checked the app to verify, and it showed there were rooms but double the rate. I messaged them back to tell them I was confused since I showed room available. When I walked back into the room, the hotel phone was ringing. The first thing Amanda does in a hotel room is put the phone on the floor to free up nightside table real estate. So, after crawling on the floor to answer, it was the front desk. He informed me they did have rooms after looking again, but the rate was as I’d seen. But because of my Marriot status, they would honor the medical rate I had already booked. Finally, some benefits of my status pay dividends even if we hardly ever get a suite upgrade!
Our dinner was fajitas, but they forgot the tortillas and our sides, all four of them. I was livid. Dinner was good, but I sure wish we’d had our sides and at least tortillas for our fajitas! Amanda was a little emotional about things today, and the dinner was just the icing on the cake. My anger at our missed items didn’t help much, either. After we ate, I was perusing for something sweet, and Amanda wanted something else to eat, but in typical fashion, she didn’t know what. While we were trying to figure out what else to get, Amanda missed a call from the hospital; they finally had a room. I took Tank out while Amanda called them back and got dressed and ready to leave. It was still time to catch a ride with the hotel van, so I called to have the driver ready. As we left, Amanda checked the ring to see how Tank was doing. No, crying or barking, he was already on my pillows, but not for long. He was jumping back and forth between beds like a kid with absent parents; the old man got a spurt of energy!
We still needed to check in at the ER. I told Amanda she needed to sit down and I would check her in. She is having a terrible time with fluid retention; she can barely walk, and when she does, it is at a snail’s pace. She just felt like crap all day. They will have to do something about the fluid this visit; a couple of rounds of IV diuretics will not cut it. We got transport to the room not long after I checked her in. Nothing can happen until a doctor comes by the room; there is no IV, no pain meds, and nothing. Amanda was in tears, emotional, and pain tears, both. I encouraged her to push the button to get the nurse to come by, but the doctor still hadn’t placed orders. After the doctor came by, I told her to push it again, but I guess she doesn’t want to inconvenience them. This is a constant fight we have in the hospital. It is literally their job, but she will wait till she is in excruciating pain before she’ll call.
The cardiology fellow just came in and noticed how tight Amanda’s legs were. He ordered some IV diuretics and also mentioned they’d transfer her to the ICU for the Soliris infusion this time. I guess the email to the PA made its way to Dr. Nair since he wanted her to be more closely monitored this round. The fellow said Dr Nair was on service tomorrow, so we’d see him. He rounds early, so I’m about to leave Amanda to get some rest. Tank is already sawing logs on Amanda’s bed, so I’ll join him, and we’ll each have our own beds. Amanda just got an IV and pain meds, so hopefully, she get comfortable soon. I pray they get the fluid under control and that she generally feels better tomorrow. Also, I have a tickle in my throat; with all that’s been going around, I pray that I’m not getting sick. I can handle being ill, but I just don’t want to pass anything on to Amanda.