Woke up Friday morning at 5:45, totally dreading the day. Lou saw my eyes fly open and said “what’s wrong”? He could tell from across the room, I was already spinning and I had just woken up. I had found out Thursday, that the MRI follow-up I have been trying to schedule for Tiara since November was suddenly in one week. The nurse called and said I got you a date, BUT she needs to have a health and physical assessment and blood work done before the test. OK, I thought, no biggie. “All the results must be in our office by next Thursday or she won’t be able to get the MRI on Monday. Can you do it?” she asked. Humm, that means I need to get into the doctor for a physical tomorrow and get her blood work done tomorrow so I can guarantee everything will be ready by Thursday. “Yes,” I told her, “I can do it.” Of course, it isn’t the hardest thing in the world, but dragging Tiara from place to place is never a treat. And of course there is always the blood draw.
Tiara is fine getting her blood taken. She sits on my lap perfectly still watching the needle go in but the phlebotomists can never seem to get her blood on the first stick. Every time they stick her with the needle Tiara tells them “good job, good job.” “All Done?” And of course, it is rarely ever all done with the first poke. I warn them about the veins rolling, and not to move the needle side to side when they get in her arm and show them the best veins to use, but apparently it isn’t helpful enough. A great phlebotomist is such a gift. It always surprises me some are just so much more skilled than others. Two weeks ago it took 4 technicians 4 different attempts to get her blood. So frustrating for TT but she is always such a trooper.
So today was the day I had to accomplish these tasks. In addition to the tasks Trinity didn’t have school, Lou had to finish up selling our old car and Trinity had a softball game in Fountain Valley at 7pm. I am not a night person, so going anywhere after 6pm totally freaks me out. I am so exhausted by the end of the day, I have my sweats on and am drinking my wine by 7pm whether it is Friday, Saturday or Monday. My nights all look the same, the only difference is that on the weekends I don’t have to stress about Trinity doing her homework. Just to clarify, I actually start drinking wine anytime after 5:00 pm every single day unless some rare illness strikes me. I drink the same amount of wine each night. Just enough to calm me down, but not enough that I can’t respond in an emergency. Always such a control freak, yes I am…..
Anyways, the day actually turned out fine, except my neck took a beating. I kept my hair back today in anticipation of our schedule and apparently it worked against me. TT did great at the doctors appointment and when I congratulated her on doing a good job, She grabbed my neck in excitement and dug her nails in. This is a common theme with her, but today I suffered as you can see from the picture. She loves to grab my neck all day long and pull me in for a big hug. It’s just that she doesn’t realize how strong she is and the fact that she has fingernails is problematic. I mean they are short but the nail is still present. The good news is that the doctor was on time and we only had to wait 20 minutes at the lab. The lab is always so somber and everyone always seems so stressed out, including the reception people. “Sign in”. “Do you have your paperwork?” “Sit down.” “Wait. Everyone is always sooo quiet. Tiara really mixed up for the group today. She had on her iPod and stood up and danced for everyone. Only one person acknowledged her dancing with a smile. Everyone else just pretended not to notice she was singing at the top of her lungs and swaying her hips back and forth. It was actually really funny, they all looked a little freaked out that TT was rocking out, but pretended she was invisible. I was laughing inside. Once they called us back, I gave my instructions to the phlebotomist about how to draw Tiara’s blood. She looked at us and said, ” I will have Doan, the other technician, do the draw.” I was really happy because I had a bad feeling about her. Doan came over, checked her arm and got the blood on the first stick. Yeah…. We were out of there and got to go home. The whole process only took 2 1/2 hours.
We got everything done but I didn’t make it to the game, Lou went in my place. It was either he or I because someone had to stay home and do Tiara’s night time routine and I was just too tired. He loves the games and is a rather obsessive softball fan, so he was happy and so was I even though I was sad to miss the game.
You won’t hear from me until Monday as we are going to the Comedy for a Cure in Los Angeles on Sunday night to support the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. Yes, super stressful (night event, out of Orange County) but fun, so I am taking Sunday off.
Have a wonderful weekend…
