Yesterday I cruised on over to NOLA for my monthly biopsy, echo, and clinic visit. Rather than staying in the hotel the night before, I decided to drive over early in the morning because I did not feel like the whole packing/unpacking deal. Well, let me tell you. I needed an industrial crane to keep my eyelids open nearly the whole two hours over.
- The morning of labs you are NPO from midnight the night before until after your labs are drawn: usually around 8:00 a.m. NPO = no food or drink (nothing per oral)
- Prednisone (steroid) wires you, keeps you awake, prevents any hopes of an early bedtime - Those of you that have kept up with my CB from the beginning know of my sleeping horrors. Even though my dose has been drastically reduced, my sleeping patterns are still completely unpredictable, and I never know when I will fall asleep.
Of course I did not fall asleep until around 1:00 a.m. Monday night and I had to get up at a little after 4:00 a.m. and be on the road by 5:45 a.m. with no fuel...in my body. i.e. no coffee, no PowerBar. Plus, it was dark for the first hour of the drive. I was really nervous about falling asleep, but my hubby called to check on me a little before seven and that helped wake me up.
When I got to the lab, it was slammed! I have never seen that many people waiting for labs. I waited for 45 minutes which left me only 30 minutes to find something to eat. Typically this would not be an issue; however, Stacy (Mandras), my main cardiologist, suggested that I eat something heavy and salty the nights before biopsies because the excess water make the vein in which they insert the catheter in my neck much easier to navigate. I also have to have enough time for the anti-anxiety medication to kick in before the procedure. For some reason, my neck is especially sensitive to everything they to do to prep for the procedure. This is very unusual because needles do not bother me, and medical procedures in general do not bother me. Anyway, that is why I have to take an anti-anxiety meds on biopsy days. Immediately after lab, I ran down to Zucchini, the hospital cafe, and had some sausage, bacon, and cheese grits. It was like a little vacation from bland and doctors orders. =)
The procedure went well and even though I have been feeling some different feelings around my heart everything looked fine on the echo. I will have to wait on the biopsy results for more details if there are any, and if everything looks good then I can come down on the steroids again. Yippee!
As I was getting was getting my stuff together and chatting with the girls in the cath lab, Dr. Mandras was watching me while I was talking about my blogs and my Go Red group that I am trying to raise money through. They all told me how good I looked, how amazing it is, etc. Then Dr. Mandras looked me square in the eye and said, “I lost sleep over you...I was scared to death.” Then she began to tear up, couldn’t speak, and began wiping her eyes. She just rushed over and hugged me. This was funny because she about a whole head shorter than me; we giggled. How lucky am I to have such an amazing staff holding my heart in their hands? They are amazing from the top down: the attendings, the fellows, the nurses… I also got to see the other members of the transplant team that have worked so closely with me: Patel, Alkadri, Ventura. They are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! They are like family to me now. I never thought that I would feel so comfortable with a bunch of cardiologists. I discuss books, writing, and education with Patel, movies with Alkadri, and hair, journals, and food with Mandras. Oh, and I didn’t to leave out the P.A.s: I ♥ you, Moriah!
Upon leaving the hospital I decided to hit the quarter and enjoy the weather. Though I didn’t make it far (my boots were pinching), I soaked in every minute of it. I dipped in Peaches, the last true record store; Urban Outfitters, cannot believe I walked out empty-handed, a true sign of increasing self control; and Hard Rock for fajitas. I am usually not a big Hard Rock fan since it is typically food I can get anywhere, but it was by far the cleanest and the cool breeze just blew me right into their open doors. (I still have to be uber careful about germs.) Let me just say, those were the best fajitas that I have ever had! I do not know what they sauteed the onions and meat in, but it was divine and probably loaded with sodium. It’s ok to cheat for a day every once in a while.
After being in the hospital for three months, careful watched for two, and a few weekend stays, I have begun to relish those moments on my own. It was such an incredible feeling just strolling down the street yesterday in a hat, cute outfit, and boots - not pj’s and slippers. I could have walked for hours. Next time I will have to remember to slip some Dr. Scholl’s in those boots so that I may extend my stay.
I go back tomorrow for a neurology appointment and hitting up some antique stores and markets for some dirt cheap home decor. I am trying to warm this place up a bit; it’s coming along slowly but surely.
To tweet or not to tweet? I am thinking of joining the masses. Do you like it or is it all a bunch of hoopla? 
Upon reading it, I flashed back to those first few seemingly hopeless weeks in September when I was thinking: “This is crazy. I am only 24! I have never smoked, and I only drink on special occasions. There are people who drink everyday and smoke like chimneys for longer than I have been alive that barely have a cough!” I thought, “I just want to walk through my back door, across my back porch, and through my back door.” Then I remember with almost complete certainty knowing that would never happen, that I would never go home again, never scoop Finn up again (at the time he was only six weeks old), never see the gulf again, never feel the sand again, never sit on the swing with my husband again. I remember thinking: he is going to have to raise this little boy on his own. He is going to have to answer questions about where Finn’s mom is or if Finn’s mom is coming, then worst of all knowing that Finn would never even remember me at all. Would Zac change Finn’s name to Levon? ;) -That’s what he so desperately wanted to name him - after Levon Helm of The Band. 
