He’s Home!

For the last two days, the goal for Tony was to bring his INR number up to a safe level so they would let him leave, and GO HOME!  When I got to the hospital yesterday morning he was sound asleep.  I never know if he’s been asleep for hours or a few minutes.  He woke up 15 minutes after I got there and had a taste for coffee so I did a quick coffee run. 

We weren’t sure what the day would be like, so I went into work, telling him to call me when they were going to cut him loose.  I had day 3 of my pork chop and quiche!  I didn’t even take a picture of it, so this is a re-run picture from the day before.

I was going to work out, but turns out i had a phone interview!  Tony sent an email to our local paper back in December about my national recipe contest win, and they finally contacted me and want to run a story in our local paper Sunday.  Brooke, I feel like you!  Except, um, I think you losing 176 pounds is a bit of a bigger deal!

I ended up making me and my co-worker a taco salad.  Ground sirloin, romaine lettuce, broccoli slaw, a tiny bit of ranch dressing mixed with hot sauce, and guacamole.

I found this six pack of guacamole at my store.  Avocados are $2 EACH, so paying $3.99 for six didn’t seem too bad.  And you always know that you are getting something delicious with these packs.  Love them Wholly Guacamole!   So not bad for .50 cents to make this taco salad go from good to wow! 

I was trying to cut out of work early, but one of my bosses came in late and I worked right up until 5:00.  I left so quick I forgot to put my boots back on!  But turns out I didn’t really have to worry.  Tony had been waiting since 12:30 from the time they said he could go home, and they wouldn’t let him go until the doctor came by – which he didn’t until 6:15!  But after talking to the doctor, we feel good.  He still has to follow up with his liver to make sure that they don’t cause more verices, which in turn could bleed.  But we’ve switched up a couple of his meds and working with our primary care physician, I know we’ll come up with a game plan.

It was just the longest 8 days of Tony’s life.  And a roller coaster of emotions.  One doctor would come in and say “if your biliruben numbers get any higher, just so you know, I plan on rushing you to Rush Presbyterian to do a liver transplant.  Um, turns out his coumadin medication causes a false high biliruben count – none of the other factors associated with liver failure were high or abnormal at all.  So we went from one extreme to another day after day.   I’ve never seen him so tired.

By the time we got out of there, it was nearly 7, Tony was hungry so we ended up picking up Jimmy John’s.  Yep, I ate bread, but it was quick and easy.  I think I have been doing pretty good on the 21 day detox diet considering everything that is going on!

Even though he was so tired, we stayed up until 10:30 and then both went to bed.  I slept like a rock, per usual.  Tony woke up around 5:00, but seems rested, so that’s good!  He has to go back to the coumadin clinic today to test his INR – it wasn’t high enough but Tony compromised and said he’d go to the clinic every day until it reaches the 2.5 number they were looking for.  Beats spending all day in the hospital!

I have to thank you guys for your generosity!!   On January 1 I mentioned that the pediatric ward, which Tony just happened to be placed because it was a private room, didn’t have any current DVDs.  So I asked if you could help me pay it forward and send me a new DVD to be donated.  So far, I’ve gotten $130 dollars in my paypal account, 12 DVDs shipped to my house already, and probably at least a dozen more on their way.  With my donation and the money in paypal, I think I’ll be able to donate 50 DVDs!!!  If you want to help, just email me at mybizzykitchen@gmail.com.  I pass by this hospital on my way to work every day, so it’s not a big deal to drop them off.

Alright, off to scrape Tony’s car so he can get to his appointment this afternoon.  Today is our last cold day – right now its –4, with a wind chill feels like –15.  Tomorrow our high is 36 degrees!  I’ll probably wear shorts!

Make it a great day!!