BLOODY ROLLERCOASTER DAY

So this afternoon, Monday, I finally go see a doctor. Not that I need one but I want them to know my face so when I come back from NY, they will be able to do follow-up on me! I wait almost an hour for "the doctor" only to be told he's running late - duh! "Well, would you like to see the nurse practitioner or wait for "the doctor," they asked me. At first, I insist that I'll wait for him, then when they tell me how long, I decide never mind! While I'm waiting Sergio calls me from NY hospital and tells me all the tests he's done and how they drew blood. He said he had never had so much blood drawn ever before - 18 viles of blood! I freaked out over the phone! Whoah! That's crazy!" "I have to go draw blood too after the doctor appointment I tell him."

We said our good luck's, I love you's and hung up as we each continued with our medical dramas. All went well with the friendly "family nurse practitioner." Now you know that would've never flown by a few years back. Right? I mean really, you go to see a doctor, you want to see a doctor. A nurse is a nurse. I don't care how qualified you are, there's a reason the doctors go to school all those years and get paid the big bucks but considering I have no major physical dramas right now, I saw her and it went well.

Then I was off to the lab for my testing. This one is my local lab. Mine, like I own it! No, it's the neighborhood lab, you know a Quest. Anyway, I've been there so many times recently that the girl who draws blood knows me already. Really nice Cuban lady who can totally relate to me when I say "Ay Cono!" when she sticks the needle in my arm. She knows I hate it and can't look. So she tells me to sit down and I ask her to use the arm that is not sore from the I.V from last week. Remember my little CT Scan drama? That I.V.! Anyway, I sit there and she starts chit-chatting with me. I tell her we are getting closer to the final date. She ask me how my husband is doing, so I explain where he's at and what he's doing. "Can you believe he had 18 tubes of blood drawn today?. I tell her. She's talking, asking questions, I'm cringing, not looking, wondering when it's going to be over. Then she's says "ya." I turn to my right and look down at the table and see a shit load of tubes. I'm like, "Are these all mine? "Where did they come from?" "Yes, She says. She got me all distracted with the chit-chatting, and she drew 12 tubes of blood. The most ever for me! Eek! I was doing just great until I looked at those damn tubes. She wished me luck and sent me on my merry way. Well, my merry way was looking more like I was going to faint away. So I reverted back to my old ways and snuck into the pharmacy across the hall and binged on a diet coke and Large-size "Snickers" bar. All was well again.

Just in time to go pick Chi Chi up from school and take her to gymnastics.

As I'm sitting in gymnastics my cell phone rings and it's Sergio. I tell him all about my large blood draw and ask him how the rest of his day went. I can tell there is something he needs to say when he says, "Well, I spoke to Joan." (Joan is the transplant coordinator.) "Yes," I ask. "Well, they might have to change the date of the surgery." he says. "To when," I yell. Silence or cellular interuptus. Then he says Friday. "Which Friday?! "This Friday," he says, Nov. 14th but it's not confirmed and I won't know until they call me again and tell me for sure."

Can I tell you that at that very moment my heart stopped and my eyes filled with tears. How can I leave the kids in two days without any of my plans in place?

The next half hour was from hell as I wondered what in the world I would do. I called my grandmother in Tampa and told her of the possibility and she talked me through it. She told me to have faith and that it would work out no matter what. So I finished watching Chi Chi as she walked on the beam and jumped off a bouncy board for the first time. When she finished I gave her the biggest hug ever. She thought I was weird for hugging her so much at gymnastics in front of everyone.

Thankfully, by 5p.m. Sergio called me again and told me that the Nov. 20th date was confirmed. So I can go back to my original worrying and planning now.