I'm feeling burdened today to pray for a couple of special people..and thought perhaps I'd mention them on the blog and ask for you to pray for them also..
Nicki... Sandi... the Panichelles.. these top my list today as well as Wendell.
We went into the hospital today for Wendell's testing.. the high resolution CT scan of the chest took all of about 5 minutes.. he did well. I had dropped him off in front of the hospital and then went inside and asked for one of their wheel chairs. We have one, but it seemed dopey for me to struggle with the one in our trunk when I could just ask for one and they'd let me use it in the building. He just never would have made it alone.. it was a super long walk with friendly staff giving wrong directions to out patient services.. they have a building project going on right now and according to one source, OP location changes daily..ugh! Not so good if you are short of breath and just want a couple of little tests done that couldn't be done at one of the off campus sites.
He did well having his ABGs done.. arterial blood gasses. It's normally pretty painful. I joined him as the tech was getting him ready for his ambulatory pulse ox test. He had to wear the oximeter on his finger and walk down the hall. Easy for most people, but Wendell never got any further than out of the chair. His reading was 86%...bad bad bad! So the tech put 2 liters of oxygen on him and he sat for 20 minutes till it saturated his system...and they tried again. This time his readings were good till the last stretch when he had some steep desaturation and ended up in the wheel chair puffing pretty hard. So the tech moved his oxygen to 3 liters and he repeated the procedure. This time he made it down the hall and back, just a little short of breath, but good color and his readings stayed in the low normal range. He sent us home with a tank of oxygen and the concentrator (as seen above) will be delivered tonite.
Now the next thing we would like to get is a Rollator.. it's like a walker with wheels, brakes, and a seat.. Our favorite doctor of PT (Rick) suggested it, and I think it'll be a real help for Wendell. He has arthritis in his knees, so he hurts when he walks.. then the shortness of breath.. well, who can exercise with that going on? So, the plan is to get the portable oxygen and put it in the basket of the Rollator, and take a short walk outside.. and when he starts to hurt or needs to sit down, all he has to do is turn around and sit. Sounds wonderful.. they cost around $150.. can't afford it yet, but soon. I'd like to see if our insurance will cover it first..
We saw one in town today.. a guy walking down the sidewalk.. Wendell saw it first and noted.."not so bad.. I could handle that".. And then on the way home, I noted that Klingensmith's have them in their showcase window.. I know where to get one.
So that's the scoop for the day.. pray our finances will permit us to purchase this item for Wendell. It's not a necessity, but would make life so much easier for him.
Remember to pray..