Tony’s Back in the Hospital

It was kind of an ironic day yesterday.  I had to go to the hospital to get my blood work done.  Didn’t take too long, but I do have to get an I.D. bracelet just as if I was a patient.  They always double check your name, date of birth, etc.   Since I couldn’t eat or drink anything before the blood draw, I went into the main hospital’s cafeteria and rewarded myself with a huge ass Starbucks!

I have to apologize to blog reader and Instagram friend Meg for giving her a scare.  I was actually stuck at a freight train for about 10 minutes when I took this picture while I was waiting.  Not to worry, I don’t text and drive!  Sorry to scare you Meg!

So I have intimated that Tony hasn’t been feeling well.  I guess it started on Friday.   He hasn’t been sleeping well, so he’s super tired and lethargic.  He has no appetite.  He feels like gagging if he eats any type of food.   That’s why I was shocked that he made me food on Saturday night when I got home from work!  Talk about love.   Sunday we both thought “something isn’t right” and he got in to see our GP yesterday afternoon.  Around 3:00, Tony calls to tell me that his electrolyte numbers are off, and that they want to send him to the hospital for tests.  Not going to lie, I kind of knew this might happen.  I even contemplated not grocery shopping for the week! 

I asked him if he wanted me to leave work right away, and he said no – he would drive home, the GP would call ahead and get a room ready for him.  We know the drill that everything in the hospital takes 4x as long as you think it will.  So I talk to my bosses and I tell them I need to leave at 4:30 – no problem.  So I text Tony when I am leaving the office, and this was his reply – not the Texting with Tony episode I would normally want to get!

What??!!  “I’m sinking fast!”  I call the house.  No answer.  I leave a message telling him to call 911 if he thinks he can’t wait for me and I can just meet him at the hospital.  I wait a few minutes, and call his cell phone.  Um, he was just in the bathroom – by “sinking fast” he meant he was falling asleep!  Whew!  If he hadn’t answered his cell phone I would have called 911 myself!

I have to say this was the easiest admit I’ve ever witnessed.  We literally walked into the ER, gave the front desk his name, she scanned his license and insurance card, asked a few questions, and within a few minutes his wheelchair chariot awaited him to take him to his room.  From walking in the door to getting into his room – a maximum of 10 minutes – nice!

But here’s the deal.  Tony is on blood thinners for his aortic heart valve replacement – yes ladies, he is more than bionic – artificial heart valve AND two knee replacements!  They can’t really do any scope or anything of that nature until they get his INR number down just below 2 – so his blood is thick enough so he won’t bleed if he gets nicked, and it’s not too thin that he’ll bleed out.  So there was nothing to do last night other than to hook him up to an I.V. since he was dehydrated (which is weird because he drinks more water than anyone I know!) and they will start running tests tomorrow. 

So my dinner wasn’t oven baked barbecue chicken like I had planned.  It was Subway, because by the time I looked up and saw I should get something to eat, it was past 7 and the cafeteria was already closed.

I made it down to the ER valet right as it was closing at 10.  This kid was so cute – he pointed to some cupcakes behind his stand and told me I could help myself to one while he went to get my car.  I like how the cupcakes are between lotion and hand sanitizing wipes!

I’ll be headed to the hospital before work this morning.  Who knew yesterday morning when I breezed through with a blood test I’d be spending five hours there the same night?!

Thanks to everyone who sent hugs and prayers our way on Instagram last night – every time I saw a comment or like I felt your hugs!  I’ll keep you posted!