On Friday June 8th we traveled to OHSU (Oregon Health Science University Hospital) for more blood tests to
evaluate my Graft vs. Host disease that has affected my liver. I have been
taking drugs to reduce iron, increase potassium and magnesium, plus steroids,
and lots of fluids to keep the liver flushed. Drinking a minimum of 2 liters a
day does not let you get too far from a toilet! Also on insulin for
steroid-induced diabetes (seems like it’s always something, as Gilda Radner
used to say!) The Medicare coverage for the rehab facility expired on June 17
so we were hopeful to see improvement and be released from the rehab center where
I have been for over 3 months now! We travel to OHSU in Portland for the blood tests and Dr. evaluations
of progress and changes to my liver. We got off to a shaky start with my
breakfast coming late, Nancy
running late and documentation for Dr. not ready to send with us. The I-5
Bridge over the Columbia
was open but reported moving slow as it was commute time. We did arrive at OHSU
nearly on time and the nurses drew lots of blood samples for the required tests
and the results showed continued improvement so the Dr. stopped the 1 hour
infusion and changed a few medications but did require me to continue drinking
2 liters of liquids a day to keep flushing the kidneys and liver. The best news
was the doctor ordered me to be released me from Rehab! Being Friday we
expected I might be released sometime the following week. When we shared the
news at the rehab facility they said it could take until Sunday or Monday to be
released. We decided to go for Sunday if possible. Then on Saturday my day started with the nurse saying I was leaving that day. I called Nancy and she was not aware of the change and
indicated it was happening too fast and she was not ready. On further
discussion we decided to give it a try as it would be easier to go to church on
Sunday morning in Ridgefield
Methodist where we were scheduled to transfer our membership from the Roseburg Methodist. We were hopeful of going to
Roseburg to attend
a gathering but thought that might be a long shot to make the trip.
Sunday morning was a bit stressful as I now needed to take my own
diabetes test and we had been trained, but had not yet done it ourselves. Our
first attempts kept reporting errors until Nancy noticed in the small print that we were
inserting the strip backwards. It worked fine when we inserted the strip correctly!
We realized we were going to be short on syringes for a trip to Roseburg and
almost cancelled the trip but we both needed to have a trip out of town after
being cooped up for 3 months! We decided to go for it. We hurriedly finished
packing after church and stopped at the rehab center where we were able to get
more syringes. We arrived in Roseburg
about 5 PM and luckily everybody was able to stay later. We had a nice dinner
and then sat around a fire pit and visited, which was great! Talking with
friends and being in a new environment was just what we needed! It felt like we
were camping and just the environment we needed. It was not until we were
getting settled for the night that we realized we had somehow overlooked
getting the diabetes test kit packed. We knew the basic injection needed and
knew the warning signs to look for so decided to stay the night and return on
Monday as originally planned, with stops in Roseburg
and Eugene to check
into some financial situations that had been put on hold because of my being in
rehab and not able to complete. We were able to meet with the required people on short notice and
accomplished the tasks, arriving home about 8 PM, missing the Portland rush hour! The tester was right where
I had packed it, next to my chair. A
quick test showed I was in the safe zone and did not require a different dose
of insulin at this time. That was a big relief to both of us for sure. You can imagine we were concerned
since we discovered we had no way to check my glucose level since Sunday
evening. We had a quick dinner and went to bed exhausted after the quick trip
to Roseburg and
back which is about a 4 hour drive each way. I should mention that Nancy did all the driving
and did a great job!
