JOAN’S BLOG – THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2009 – NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU PLAN………………

Here I am, the woman who writes blogs about planning ahead to smooth the way for both yourself and your spouse with Alzheimer’s Disease. Whether it is for a trip, a holiday, or a short jaunt to the grocery store, planning for the pitfalls is the key to stability – for both of you.

That is what I THOUGHT I did on Wednesday for my cardiology tests. However, someone forgot to clue my doctor’s office in on the “planning ahead” strategy.

The plan was to take Sid with me; he would be fine in the waiting room for an hour; then I would drop him off at our friend’s house down the street from the testing facility. He would spend the day with 2 friends, while we wives went out to lunch. So far, so good. Excellent planning.

I was scheduled for a treadmill stress test, an EKG, and an echocardiogram at 9 AM.  I was told not to eat or drink anything before the tests, and that is where the problem should have been caught by me. I SHOULD have asked why, since my last treadmill stress test (3 years ago) did not require fasting.

We were at the medical facility by 8:45 AM. When it was my turn, I left Sid in the waiting room, and off I went in my sneakers and t-shirt, all ready to hop on the treadmill. Instead, a technician comes in with a box of needles and an IV drip  (always a bad sign). She tells me that I will sit hooked up to an IV for about an hour, then get hooked up to wires, and get on the treadmill.  There was something about 2 hours; an hour in between; and then more wires, pictures, and tests – about 4 hours worth. “What are you talking about???”, I demanded angrily. I’m not having a chemical stress test. I’m having a regular one, and I can’t leave my husband in the waiting room for 4 hours!!!  “Oh”, she said sweetly, “Didn’t your doctor’s office tell you what was involved?”  “NO, if they had told me, I would have made other plans for my husband!!!!”, I retorted.  She cheerily informed me that it was not a good idea for me to get stressed before my stress test. She then went smiling down the hall to explain everything to him. I would have gone after her, but by this time, I was in a hospital gown 3 sizes too small, with a needle stuck in my hand. Not so sweetly, I yelled, “I need to talk to him. You need to get him in here for me to explain this to him.” (I did tell her about the AD)

Now, it just so happened by no planning on our part, that my friend was down the hall having the same procedure as me, also clueless about the time involved. It was to her house that my husband was going. I carefully explained to Sid that he had to wait at least an hour in the waiting room, and that I would take him to our friend’s house during my hour break. UNLESS my friend was finished first, and then SHE would take him to their house.

In the meantime, my friend is arguing with the technicians that no one told her it was going to take so long, and she and I had a lunch date with two other women at noon. She was politely informed that she wasn’t going to make it by noon, and to reschedule the lunch for 1 o’clock.

2 ½ hours after we had arrived, with Sid sitting in the waiting room the entire time – thank goodness he has been so calm lately – I had my break. I took him to our friend’s house (she still wasn’t finished), did an errand, and came back for my next set of tests. 2 MORE hours, and 3 more tests later, I was FINALLY released, and able to meet my friends at the restaurant.

Thursday, I had to return again for more tests. This time I asked what was involved, and when I heard IV, I told Sid that I would leave him home, to which he happily agreed.

So sometimes, no matter how much planning you think you do…………….things still go awry. I am lucky that Sid is aware, functional, and calm. I hate to think what would have happened if he had been in the angry, agitated state of a couple of months ago.

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©Copyright 2009 Joan Gershman 
The Alzheimer Spouse LLC
2009 All Rights Reserved

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