blockage, supply company disaster and other tidbits

The trial and tribulations of my life right now seem to be all centered around my health. But I rather it be me in poor health than one of my children. Oh, I just cant even think of how much harder it would be to dealing with a child that is ill right at this very moment.

Let's see. Where to begin. How about with I think I may have a blockage in my small intestine. Pretty straight forward right? No beating around the bush here. I don't know for sure what it would feel like to have a blocked intestine but I am thinking it might hurt just a little. So as I analyze my pain I will in fact call the on call doctor if I don't feel well soon. I just really ache all over and my stomach seems hard and distended. I have been drinking plenty of water and I haven't eaten much of anything. So not sure why I feel this way. I am defiantly having to empty my "bag" so I suppose it might not be blocked but it is all liquid. I know, I know gross but refer to the disclaimer....it might get gross here at Thirtysomething. Lately I have been dealing with more of a sauce like out put but today all liquid. Liquid and pain....hmmm, not sure what the deal is.

Oh on to the next topic. Maybe my mind will wander from the discomfort and pain. So in the beginning of the month and the first visit from my nurse we went over the supplies I would need to order. She circled the items and marked the pages so there would be no question as to what I needed. She calls me the next day with the number of the company that my insurance coverage is valid with. I dial the company. Let's call them Sterling...oh yeah because that's the name of the company. I place the order. I give the man on the other end all my information and the items I needed. He tells me that once they verify my insurance and my diagnosis from the doctor's office they will ship the items. So far so good. He tells me this could take up to a week. I don't sweat it because although low on supplies I had enough. Enough to get by. Then a week goes by and I call to verify because I haven't received an email to confirm the shipment. I speak to an agent and she politely tells me that yes everything was keyed in and all my products were to ship that day. Relieved, I say thank you and we end the call. Later. Much later that day I get a voice mail saying to call them because their is an item on back order. Well when I get the voicemail it is after a nap. Come to find out they are eastern time and I have missed them. So then I call the next morning. The representative tells me that all my items have shipped except for the pouches. Ugh. No pouches? I then say it out loud. "no pouches, what the hell am I suppose to do with no pouches?" This of course is said in a not so polite tone. Right after I say it, I hear the instant play back in my head. Did I really say it like that? YEP! The lady on the other line says to me "oh, I see you are a new patient. Let me see what I can do." I breathe and say "thank you and sorry for sounding so rough, your news just pushed my panic button." She tells me to "hold." Apparently girl on other end doesn't care for my "sorry." She comes back on and lets me know that an alternate bag will be shipped out. It will be shipped out that same day and that the correct item will ship when it is no longer on back order. My question is how can something like this be on back order? Of course I know how but seriously when it's your item that is needed you never want to be on "back order."

We end the call and I plan to let it roll off my shoulders as this is nothing to hold on too. But not 10 minutes later the phone rings. Its Sterling Medical. It's the same representative. She tells me that the bags she told me would ship are on back order too but that another type of bag (the clip kind....a kind I don't like to deal with) would be shipped instead. "sorry." she says. Call it karma, but I suppose I deserved that for the above mentioned "hell" comment. So yes sorry I was to hear the news. Not only would I be getting all my supplies at once but I would be getting bags I don't want to deal with. Ugh.

So fast forward to Friday evening. The UPS man stops and drops my supplies. I open the box and although prepared that the bags wont be in there I wasn't prepared to only get two of the items I ordered. Yes, I got an incomplete order. I was missing like three other things. I emptied the box. Looked for a concealed compartment and nothing. Nothing. Just two of the items. Not only that but by the time I got the package, Sterling was closed so I couldn't call them to find out what happened. the call I got was only about one item being on back order...not three. To top it all off, the bags still have not arrived. I though maybe they would come on Saturday delivery but no that didn't happen. So I suppose I will be up first thing and on the phone. Inquiring about the missing items.

Well let's see what else, what else can I tell you. I will interview my first oncologist tomorrow. Her office is less than 12 minutes from my house so that is a plus. It is at a hospital and I know the hospital well so that is another plus. Am I nervous? Yes. I wont lie. I am very nervous. Trying to focus on the positive and asking God to guide me but my fears are in the way. Damn you fears.

My nurse comes tomorrow to help me change the appliance. Cant wait. They are built to last five days but day four my skin gets super itchy and it is very bothersome. You see you just cant get to the itch.

I am out of pain medication and will have to call the doctor and beg for more. I am sure I will feel like a junky begging for more but really it is what helps me sleep at night because of the pain and discomfort. I cant get comfortable and my back kills. I am fairly pain free during the day but I think it is because my focus is shifted. I have to think about the babies and be or rather try to be on my "A" game so that they can still get the love and attention from mommy even though they describe mommy as "sore and slow" with the sweetest little voices.

Lance is gone to KS for business. This week should prove to be a tough one w/o the hands of another. My mom will be roughing it till Friday morning. Pray for her to have extra super powers this week. She'll be dealing with three babies.

So all the while I have been blah, blah, blah. My mind has forgotten about the pain in my belly and back. So friends, Thanks for reading and helping me find some comfort if only briefly.

My cuff is cancer free!
ML