A chemo room?

I didn't sleep well last night, with my digestive issue.  I got up and took my shower, then I got Ron to take his bath.  That was fun, Ron screaming bloody murder as I scrubbed various spots on his body.  The neuropathy makes bathing painful. 

I tried to look up the medical office online, so I'd know where to go.  I just found a cancer center, which really freaked me out.  No one wants to be sent to a cancer doctor. 

We left, found the place, it had XYZ group on the door, and unloaded.  I spent about half an hour filling out paperwork.  Ron was honest about his drinking, in the paperwork and later, talking to the NP. 

I didn't see anything about cancer on the building but later I found a chemo room, which freaked me out. 

At any rate, they took us back to a room with a bed.  I told Ron about the bed and helped him get into it.  He prefers to lie down if at all possible.  After a while the "Doc" came in.  She seemed very professional and kind. 

She gave us samples of Ron's blood thinner, and said there were 2 problems.  One, there were a lot of issues with his blood production, size, shape, and color of his red blood cells.  That's not good to hear.  She said it could be a problem with his kidneys, as they produce a hormone that tells the bone marrow to make more blood cells.  He is either not making blood, or it is going somewhere.  We need to figure that out. 

So, let's recap.  Ron's new doctor has a chemo room.  They are talking about kidney damage. 

But we're not done yet.  It could be his liver.  I thought his liver numbers were OK but he can apparently still have liver damage.  If the liver is hurt, it could explain some of Ron's issues. 

This is where Ron was honest about his drinking, with the NP.  She asked him if he ever had DT'S and he said no.  And he hasn't. 

So she wants to do an ultrasound of his liver.  And a lot of blood tests.  She would see us in a couple of weeks. 

We went off to get Ron's blood drawn.  I was worried, remembering the horrible, bloody, messes at the hospital, but apparently this blood thinner is better.  They took us to the chemo room, which had a lot of loungers arranged around the room.  One bald woman slumped in her chair, exhausted.  Another woman on an infusion eavesdropped on Ron making his Dr Pepper order and chatted with us. 

They put Ron in one of the chairs, and drew a lot of blood.  He didn't bleed excessively and they tied him off with one of those "blood donor" wraps we used to get when we donated blood.  They look sort of like an ACE bandage. 

We had a horrible wait to go home.  We waited an hour.  Our ride came and then said, oh, silly me, I forgot I had 2 big walkers in the back, no room for you guys, later.  I couldn't believe he didn't notice he had 2 big walkers (after all, he had to put them away).  Didn't he look at the pickup notes and see one ambulatory, and a wheelchair?  Why didn't he notice all this, call dispatch, and say "Sorry, guys, you will have to find another driver"? 

Ron has the number for a high-ranking person at the agency.  He called the guy and explained the problem.  We had a ride in 10 minutes.  That guy has some pull, but Ron doesn't abuse it. 

The driver was a nice woman we like.  We had to take her other client home first but it was sort of on the way. 

We got home.  It was too late for me to take a nap, but I said yes when Ron offered to order Chinese.  I got combination chow fun with no onions.  They stuffed it full of meat, hardly any noodles - just delicious meat.  I wasn't complaining. 

Ron got shredded pork, I think, in garlic sauce.  He had a good time working on that. 

I called my aunt, and my parents, giving them the update.  Like I told Ron, I can't give one the update and not the other. 

Tomorrow will be pretty quiet. 

I don't know if I am hoping the tests find something we can fix - cheaply - or whether I'm hoping all the tests are normal range.  I'm just tired. 

It seems to me Ron's blood clots may have saved him.  If he didn't get the blood clots we wouldn't have known about the anemia.  And he wouldn't have gotten the transfusion. 

I just hope I can sleep OK tonight.