A New Experience
Unfortunately, we had to get Dennis back to the clinic yesterday. The first batch of the 5 day fast track of antibiotics was finished on Sunday and yesterday morning his temp was 102.2 with all the same hacking, aching to go with it. I realized the antibiotic would still be in his system for another 10 days, but we were 8 days out from his carotid surgery. No way do we want to have to postpone that important surgery. Dennis’ regular doctor was not available. Urgent care is something we had never visited in the clinic before. You show up and take what you get. A 21 year old looking young doctor came in. I thought “Oh-my-oh-my-oh.” This young fellow graduated high-school from the town just east of here, Madelia. He wanted to come back to his community and . . . here he was.
The doctor checked and saw that the last chest X-ray was for the pre-op in October of 2017. He could hear a rattle in the right lung. Off to X-ray Dennis went. Nothing serious in that right lung, but several masses that needed to be broken up. Fast forward . . . Dennis and I were so impressed with his attention to every detail of Dennis’ history and the state he was in currently. Another, stronger antibiotic was prescribed. Yes, it will interfere with the Warfarin Dennis takes for his Atrial fibrillation (an irregular heart beat), but . . . yesterday was the 19th and Dennis needs to stop taking it on the 21st to prepare for the surgery. Doctor Luis felt this would be the way to get him in shape and not have the surgery rescheduled. In addition he is to take 4,000 mg of acetaminophen spread over four times during the day. When the coughing spree starts, get it up and out. Napping may be the way Dennis will spend these next days as everything he is taking has the ability for drowsiness. Here we are 24 hours later, his temperature is down. The rest I am sure will follow to getting him back on his feet. My job is to make sure the meds are laid out and to push liquids so he can get the crap in his system and out through urination.
The city streets were icy yesterday and we opted to get the prescription out of the automated vending machine in the clinic. Talk about something that is oh so cool. You enter the code from the doctor’s prescription and there begins a blue task message at the bottom of the screen. It takes a credit card. It asked for Dennis’ birth date and off the blue line took. “Looking up drug.” “Counting out drug.” “Printing label.” “Attaching label.” “Dispensing drug.” This took about 10 minutes, but I was amazed. Dennis took his first dose right there in the clinic.
The Urgent Care and the med dispensing were both a new experience. We came away feeling comfortable in having a new doctor that we will feel comfortable with. Luis questioned Dennis on things that had never been broached before.
All I need to do is keep the house quiet, though he may be able to sleep through a freight train coming by. His sleep is deep. He says there are no nightmares or dreams . . . just out. Two feet from the 
recliner and he begins to list towards it. I did find some putzing to do in the sewing studio. I have never worked with flannel . . . so why not. Today the tracking info allowed us to know Dennis’ granddaughter’s scrappy quilt hit their home. With all the snow they got over the last day or so, it won’t go unused.