More Breathing Matters

Things just haven't been that much better. The only new medicine Michael had been prescribed on Monday was taken just twice before he decided he wouldn't take it again. Sleep continued to elude him. I was all dressed and ready to leave for work today when I was seized by the realization that I needed to take some action and get him a better treatment. So, I called for a substitute teacher, and started making phone calls.

The first call was to the GP's office. It turned out that Michael's GP wasn't in the office this week, but a colleague of his had an open appointment in the afternoon. Michael was not happy about having to go to the doctor again. He'd told my mother that he didn't think he could handle the walking required to get in and out of the doctors' offices anymore. So, my mother, being the amazingly resourceful and generous person she is, rented a wheelchair for him. That made getting around far less stressful for him. Thanks, Mom!

Then I called Dr. K's office, but I only got the voicemail. This has been a problem for about a week now. Turns out that Dr. K's original assistant has returned to work after a leave of absence, and the young woman we were dealing with for months and months is no longer there. Anyway, I finally got through to the new/old assistant, and she contacted Dr. K with our concerns and now Michael will see him on Thursday afternoon.

At the GP's we were very pleased with the doctor we saw. She asked a lot of questions and had some good ideas. Initially, I thought she would just refer us to another pulmonologist for a second opinion, but I think she could see that Michael needed something done immediately. She ordered a chest x-ray, told him to resume taking his cough medicine (he had decided not to take this a while back - ugh!), and she prescribed a nebulizer for home use.

Michael had a nebulizer treatment before we left, and I think it really helped him. He really seemed to perk up afterward. We will have to wait until tomorrow to get the home nebulizer unit, though. That's my task for tomorrow morning.

As for me, I've arranged for a substitute for the remainder of the week. I just feel like I need to be here for Michael. I was hopeful that we'd be able to attend a healing service at church tomorrow night, but with our late afternoon appointment tomorrow it's not going to work. I think I'll ask our pastor friend to arrange for Michael to be prayed over at home instead.

Never in my life have I felt like I was living so day-to-day before. But that's what a serious illness does to one's existence. It's hard to make plans beyond the day you're in. It's contrary to my nature as a planner, but I'm trying to just go with it as this is the season of life I find myself in.