When James' urologist lined up a course of examinations for his problem, he didn't include an MRI, but a couple of weeks ago he wanted one added to the "investigation." He just said "for a further look," and I really would have preferred a better explanation, but today we went: had to get up at 6:30 to beat rush hour traffic (didn't I retire to avoid this crap?), neither of us having slept, James because he was having an MRI and me because even the thought of him having an MRI made me want to curl up in a fetal position), and I drove in case they had to give him a sedative for him to get through the MRI. And of course this was at Glenlake, the most irritatingly-located Kaiser location, right near the office buildings around Perimeter Mall and near the new Mercedes-Benz headquarters they are building (and damn, it is an ugly building).

But he got undressed and prepped to go in. They let me sit in the power chair outside the door to the MRI room (actually outside the door to a CT scan room) and wait for him rather than go out into the waiting room. He walked in there looking pale and apprehensive, but he did walk in. I would have been in a fetal position screaming for my mother; I get claustrophobic in small elevators. Heck, I was perspiring sitting in the chair outside the room. I finally plugged earphones into my phone and listened to Leo Laporte and read my copy of "The Simple Things." He walked out seventy minutes later, still looking pale, and in the car told me that he had the "panic button" in a death grip the entire time, but never hit it. You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din.

So he hadn't had breakfast, and oatmeal and yogurt wear off quickly. It was now 10:30 and we were starving, so we figured we'd head home via some restaurant and have lunch. Alas, we got halfway home, at Interstate North Parkway going over the river, when the urologist called James. He wanted us to turn around and go back to Glenlake immediately; his nurse was awaiting our return.

What happened????? The nurse who replaced his foley catheter—the one that fell out on Saturday, remember?—at Urgent Care on Saturday, after four hours of us cooling our heels, put it in improperly. It was in his urethra, not his bladder as it should be, so once again, his bladder wasn't emptying out properly.

!#$!@#%!$!!@#$!

So back we went to Glenlake, up to the fourth floor, let him know we were there, then James had to have the catheter reseated. 1200ml of urine promptly filled up the bag. I repeat: !#$!@#%!$!!@#$!

We just came home and had lunch and fell asleep; so much for him working this afternoon.

!#$!@#%!$!!@#$!

Labels: health, sickness

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 4:29:00 PM

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