Fill in the blanks

Now that I have had some sleep and today got some stuff accomplished, I can focus more and fill in a few blanks about the past few days.

I am not happy with the VA Clinic.  I called them and told them I was worried.  I told them exactly what I was doing (charcoal, honey, soaking in hot salt water, etc) and things were not looking good.  The nurse told me to keep doing what I'm doing and to call or come in or go to the ER if things got worse.  What should have happened was she should have had us come in right then.  But, it didn't happen.  (Keep in mind this is the same clinic that advised Vaseline of all things for wound treatment and never reordered test strips or any other testing supplies for a diabetic and said to just weigh himself instead.  Losing weight is great.  He's lost a lot of weight already.  However, he is still diabetic and still needs to test his sugar daily and has been unable to because of a lack of basic common sense.  Diabetic with a family history three generations deep at minimum of diabetes means he NEEDS to be testing.)

Things got bad with his foot and we both went from worried to scared.  I had called O after I talked with the VA and asked "if it comes up, could you watch the children?"  She said she would and she did.  So, Wednesday night, I am calling her as we are heading out the driveway and we met her at her church and delivered the children.  I filled her in on Bethany's sensitivity to cow milk, talked for a minute and we were on our way.  We got to the ER around 11:00pm. 

He was diagnosed with cellulitis due to the spider bites.  When they drew blood to test his WBC, it was normal.  They did other testing which involved taking blood from both arms and it went into vials I had never seen before and had liquid in it.  It said "bacteriostatic" on the label.  I had asked for the results of those and they had not come back by the time we were discharged.

One interesting thing that they do that I had never seen another hospital do.  When a patient is admitted, they do a MRSA test at intake time and again at discharge time.  (His tests are negative.)

The staff was really nice and very accommodating.  One of the night nurses had offered to have someone bring a recliner from 3rd floor ICU waiting to the waiting room on the floor Husband was on.  Although very sweet, I declined.  They did not need to go out of their way for me.  I did take them up on the offer of going up to the ICU waiting and I slept there for an hour or so.  I would have been allowed to sleep in an empty bed in Husband's room, but he had a room mate.  So, that was out even though there were other empty beds.  (There are four beds per room.)

On a good note, we did find out that even with this infection in his foot (infections raise blood glucose levels) and stress (which raise levels) and having had a candy bar during the ride there (raises glucose levels) his fasting level was 135!  Keep in mind, he is also not on ANY diabetic medication.  (Another thing this doctor never renewed.)  So, I wonder what his levels would be if he didn't have the candy bar and he isn't fighting an infection.

Someone was telling me about the VA hospital in Columbia and spoke highly of it so I am considering checking it out.  I can't have this again.  I need a doctor that will respond when I call and say "I am worried."  Not brush me aside.  A doctor that looks at family history as well as the patient.  A doctor that doesn't say "Put Vaseline on it to heal it."  What the blink kind of healing properties does Vaseline have?  Enough of that.  I need to stop before I get on a roll.  Hospital staff = Nice.  Even the doctor that we had while inpatient.  She was very nice and very knowledgeable about natural as well as pharmaceutical.  She even took it upon herself to make sure we knew enough to feed him yogurt because antibiotics kills healthy bacteria in the gut.  I have never had a doctor actually tell me that before.  I was stunned.  (In a good way.)  I wonder if we could have her?  Although I doubt she does clinic work.  That would be too good to be true.

Anyway, with O having watched the children during an emergency and the children surviving, I feel much better leaving them with her during the all day Cub Scout training that is coming up.  Both Husband and I are getting trained for every position within Cub Scouts.  (I'm pretty sure I had talked about this before.)

I was joking around with someone about all the background checks I have gone through and am going to be going through with everything coming up.  Too bad these agencies don't talk to each other.  "Oh, that Kim?  Yeah, she's fine.  We ran her last week." 

I do need to remind myself to not get involved in girl scouts.  I will be at every meeting which I already told them.  (And subsequently had to fill out a form for "insurance purposes" and have a background check done.)  But from what I saw at recruit night, there are enough moms involved in Daisies that I can just sit back and keep an eye on Bethany.

Fall Fest is coming up and I am nowhere near ready for it.  It's a one or two day event and I am going to have an information table.  I am going to need a couple of hours uninterrupted so I can get everything done.  I also need to pick up a couple of books

I almost forgot!  We got our windmill!  We haven't set it up yet.  We got busy with that whole ER, hospital admit thing.  But, we got it!  YAY!  I am so excited and so thankful.  We will now be able to produce electricity at night as well as during the day.  Let the energy flow begin!  I wonder if I will be able to do the wii now?  heh.