Finding a good Doctor

We had to make a trip to Danville a few weeks ago.  Danville is about a 2 hour drive from house.  It is huge.  The parking lot is so big that you park your car and can ride the shuttle to the door, and they have 5 different locations that one can be dropped off at.  It is where you can go to see a specialist.  Our trip was for my son Parker, age 7.

Parker was seeing a GI specialist.  He had been seeing a doctor for a few years, but I felt the doctor didn't listen to me.  I requested to see a different doctor.  The new doctor's name was Dr Sabri.  I was a little nervous when I saw his name, fearing that there would a language barrier with this guy.

When the doctor and medical student walked into the room, Preston gave a hug to the medical student.  They dr then asked where his hug was.  He welcomed Preston's hug.  He listened to me explain our situation.  He asked Parker his opinion.  When it came time for the exam, Parker was very nervous.  The dr was finished before Parker even realized it happened.  He then explained the how and why to me.  I felt comfortable with him, because instead of just telling me what to do he explained why.  He also used terms that I could understand.  I think we have found a good doctor.

As I am talking about drs, I want to expound upon a few other positive encounters  I have had.  I love our pediatrician.  He is goofy and gets on the kids levels when he is working with them.  When I have gone in and was very worn down by my sick children he showed compassion to me, and this made me feel wonderful.  When I was undergoing my cancer treatments and afterwards, he takes an interest in my health.

My medical doctor typically runs behind schedule.  The reason for this is that she listens to her patients and wants to know how they are really doing.  She is observant to them and their needs.  I have been one of those patients that needed vent my frustrations and concerns and she listened.  I don't get mad when she runs behind, I just realize that someone else needed her attention.  I also realize if I am in a hurry to get in and out, I will request another doctor in the clinic.

My surgeon who is so skilled with the knife, that after time my scars are almost invisible.  This is truly a gift.

My oncologist who is very thorough with me.  This gives me peace of mind that he is covering all of my basis's.  And he makes jokes.  That always eases the tension of a doctor's visit.

My OB who was in tune to do a complete exam and not gloss over a breast exam.  He too listens and answers all of my questions, even the ones that are embarrassing.  And he was great at coaching me during delivery of Preston.

And my radiation doctor, well actually I prefer the PA.  She is so personable and showed great compassion to me when I needed it.

I have been so blessed to have good doctors in my life.  I am so grateful for their skill and knowledge and their willingness to take care of others.

Foster Kittens

A few weeks ago I stopped by the Humane Society to look at the cats and dogs.  My cats seem to go MIA at times and they choose when they want to be with me.  The animals at the shelter are always excited to see visitors. 

One of the workers asked me if I was still fostering.  I mentioned that I didn't have anyone right now, but that I could.  She then walks me back to the infirmery room, with a note on door "Do Not enter."  She tells me that tomorrow is the day that they euthanize the animals.  A lady had dropped off her Mama kitty and 7 kittens.  If I didn't take them they would be put down.  Nothing a like a little pressure to pull the heart strings.

Jim has given me strict instructions that I need to ask his permission before bringing any more animals home.  I stepped outside to call him.  When I told him the story, he agreed that we could save this family of cats.  Later on he admitted that he thought I said "some kittens"  and not "7 kittens."



At the time that I agreed to do this, I was feeling very overwhelmed with my own life.  I could barely keep clean clothes on my kids and have room in my kitchen to make them food.  I did not need 10 cats in my house to take care of.  I have 2 cats, but they require very little work.  They are old and indoor/outdoor.  I put food in their dish every morning and maybe scoop the litter boxes once a month.  I have a hard time saying no.

We got off to a rocky start.  Mama kitty wanted nothing to do with her babies.  She would not nurse them.  In desperation we laid her down and tried to soothe her, laying 1 kitten at a time on her.  She would hiss and growl at them.  At the same time she would occasionally groom them. I was concerned that nursing was hurting her.  So I called the shelter and they told me to bring her back in.  When I asked if they could look at the mama, they sent me next door to the vet's office.  I went over and waited my turn.  When a technician came out, she took one look at the kittens and said that Mama kitty was weaning them.  Her nipples were sore and she was done with the whole nursing thing.  Ok this made sense to me.  She also told me that the kittens were  not appearing to be starving and to feed them wet food a few times a day.

We returned home and let Mama kitty do her thing, hiss and keep her distance from her babies.  It appeared that she was done with the nursing so we separated Mama and put her in the bathroom.  The kittens remained in the cage.  Mama was making herself quite at home, escaping every time the bathroom door opened, laying on my bed, the couch, exploring the basement and trying to get outside.  I took Mama back to the shelter this past week.

Now there are only 9 cats in my house.  The kittens are starting to get plump.  We have 1 that still manages to get out of his cage.  I think he is just lonely.  He often follows me around, sits on my lamp and keeps me company.


The kittens go back to the shelter this week for their first set of shots, then we have them 2 more weeks and then they are old enough to be adopted.

I have decided no more fostering for awhile.  I even plan on returning the cage, food and supplies.  I need to get in control of my own life.

My Port

WARNING  This post includes detailed information about needles and a has picture of me showing my surgery site.  If you are sensitive, you may want to skip the post.

My port was placed in March 2011 for the purpose of receiving chemo.  My cancer had spread to my lymph nodes and I am supposed to be extra careful with my right arm, meaning not using the right side for needles or blood pressure.  If I were to get an infection it could lead to permanent swelling of the arm and the need to wear a compression sleeve.  No thank you.

The port also saved my viens.  Having had 16 doses of chemo, the drugs are so powerful they can destroy your viens.  The port saved me from this.

The port was connected into a major vein very close to my heart.  There was quite a procedure involved in accessing it.  The area had to be cleaned with 2 or 3 different cleaners.  Then a special needle was inserted.  The line had to be flushed with a saline solution, which I could taste.  This was not very pleasant.  After accessing the port, they would again inject something to help the blood clot and I would taste it too.

The port worked wonderfully for chemo.

Because it was inside my body, it was necessary to have it flushed every 6 to 8 weeks.  This involved a trip back to the chemo room and tasting the saline.  It was not a pleasant experience for me.  In fact it brought back the feelings of naesea too.  I liked to take an anxiety pill when I had to do this, but often I was driving myself and it really isn't a good idea to take those pills and then drive.  My most recent port flushes have ended in tears.  It has just been a flood of emotions as the needle pierces my skin.

My oncologist likes to wait until you are a year past your last chemo treatment to even consider having it removed.  My last chemo was Aug 31, 2011.  As I went in to have my 6 month check up, he ordered a body scan and as along as everything came back I would be permitted to have my port removed.  I had the scan and everything was good.  There was some scar tissues in the breast and they could see the effects of radiation, all those things were expected, but nothing was growing.  I was permitted to get my port out.

I only had to call my surgeon, Dr Newlin and setup an appointment for a consultation and then get on his list for surgery.  I love my surgeon.  Several times when I was in having radiation the people working on me had a hard time seeing my scar.  This is quite a compliment to the surgeon.  One of the girls giving me a mammogram even complimented him and said that 5 years out you would hardly see my scar he was that good.  I even wrote him a hand written thank you note telling him all the compliments I get on my scars.

When I went into see Dr Newlin, he mentioned that I would feel some tugging as he was taking out the port.  I told him I was a little nervous watching him cut into me.  He told me there would be a drape over my chest going to the ceiling that I wouldn't be able to see a thing.  He then offered to sedate me, and after a moment of hesitation I said yes.  Modern medicine was invented for our good.

My Mom offered to take the day off of school and be my driver.  They only use twilight sedation.  The last time they did this, I crawled off the table but I have no memory of this.  I mentioned to my mom we should go get manicures afterwards.

The day of the surgery I had to be at the surgical center at 7:30 and was scheduled for a time slot of 9 am.  The surgery itself would take 20 minutes.  As soon as I awoke and took a few swallows of gingerale they were moving me out the door.



I had a wonderful day with my mom, something that as one of 5 kids I cherish the alone time with her.  We went and got our nails done, went to lunch and then did shopping.  It was a really nice day.



As I write this it is 3 weeks post surgery and everything is healing quite nicely.  They went in the same spot that they put in, so no new scar tissue. There really isn't much to see, I snapped a picture but didn't think it was worth posting.