Joyce's KP Adventure mikepasini.com headlines
Good News, Bad News
16 October 2020
Good news first. The visit with Dr. Tong yesterday went very well. And even Dr. Tong, who had not been anxious to do it, said it was a good thing Joyce came in to appraise her progress.
And it is progress. Things are going well, Dr. Tong said.
I wasn't able to stay in the small exam room. Dr. Tong and a nurse were with Joyce. But I had a long chat with Dr. Tong afterwards as my phone kept announcing texts from Alice about the washer and dryer delivery, which was happening at exactly the same time.
She said she did clean it up a bit, removing some yellow and white tissues but nothing major. It looks very good, even the skin, everything exactly how it should look.
She used Lidocaine to numb the entire wound area and she sent Joyce home with two tubes after ordering more from the pharmacy, which will be mailed to the house.
The Lidocaine addresses the pain Joyce is feeling in the wound. "That's a good thing," Dr. Tong said. "It means the nerves are regenerating." Take the Tylenol, too, to manage the pain.
I asked about the smell. She thought it didn't indicate a problem but was normal for an open wound, perhaps exacerbated by the hot weather.
But she did take a culture and sent it to the lab. She'll let us know if they find anything.
And the swelling? She treated that with a big Ace bandage over the entire thigh, acting like a compression stocking. "But keep taking the antibiotic," she advised.
I asked her when the next dressing change should be: Friday, Saturday or Monday? She said Joyce vetoed Saturday so Friday. She doesn't want to wait until Monday.
She confirmed she got my email with the phone numbers of the nurses. She had thought they were in the Kaiser system but they have their own system as home care nurses. There should be a way for them to contact her directly, she added.
She said in the future, she'll try calling when one of the nurses is doing the dressing change so she can see with a video call what's going on.
She said they were both doing an excellent job. And she was going to tell them so.
Later I texted them both to let them know when to do the next change, which will involve Lidocaine. And both texted back thumbs up, confirming Friday at 10.
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THE APPLIANCE DELIVERY was scheduled within a 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. window and at around 2 p.m. one of the guys phoned me to say they were 25 minutes away. I was just walking into the medical building, so I called Alice, who we had left at the house, to let her know they would be there in half an hour.
Around 2:30 p.m., she texted me that they had arrived.
By the time Dr. Tong had come out to fill me in, she had send a few photos and more news. "Dryer is damaged," she wrote. "I told them I didn't want it and to leave the old dryer. Will hook old dryer back up."
She got a photo of the dryer damage (the bottom of the front panel is punched in). And so did the crew. They file a report with Lowe's and Lowe's is supposed to get back to me with a replacement delivery date.
That didn't happen last time.
So after we got home, I called Lowe's, whose customer service was closed. So I called the delivery company and asked just what the usual procedure is when an appliance is damaged and not installed.
The woman who took the call was very helpful. She said a few people had complained about not being able to reach the company. And, she added, they have even gone to the store to find a body to resolve the problem.
She confirmed the crew had filed a report with photos and then she offered to email Lowe's to let them know she had booked a Tuesday delivery for me, assuming they have stock. So I don't have to wait longer than that for a truck.
I thanked her. She did more than she might have. Then I went upstairs to have a scotch and eat the Mediterranean dinner Alice had thoughtfully and generously brought over for us.
So we have a new washer (which plays a pretty little tune when you turn in on and off). Joyce likes it. The control panel with bright blue lights is very easy to use (turn it on, pick the kind of stuff you want to wash and then how you want to wash it and press the start button) and remembers the modifications you make to the default settings.
And we have the trusty old dryer, hooked up to the new gas line. Everything tested, Alice confirmed. So we're in the laundry business again.
But come on, Whirlpool. Three out of four appliances damaged on one order? You are giving "Made in America" a bad name.