Update

I might have posted this yesterday, but I was too tired.

I was admitted to NY Presbyterian hospital Thursday afternoon. (By the way, who are they kidding? "We have a bed for you; come in right away." Please. Single people like myself have a lot of things to make sure get taken care of if we're away from home - it's takes a couple of hours to arrange all that, pack, and get on the subway.)

The doctor wanted me in for the whole weekend, and I initially agreed w/ the stipulation I had to check out by Sunday night. Being a fellow New Yorker, she understood my reason - alternate side parking. Alternate side can be of great leverage in this city.

Well, after a series of tests, including CT scan, chest x-ray, and numerous blood tests, I closed out Thursday with only a peripheral in my arm. Why the hell did I go INTO the hospital, if not to avoid the bullshit of having a peripheral placed and then replaced the next day by a cath? I mean, this was the kind of crap the home nursing agency pulled the last time I was on IVs and I wanted to avoid it. But no...I didn't get my PICC line placed until 11:30 a.m. Friday.

I talked to my doctor Friday morning and said that being an in-patient isn't worth the problems it was entailing; that I could take care of myself better at home. She agreed to let me go home late Friday.

I have to admit the PICC nurses were worth waiting for, fast, efficient, and very good at what they do, but what the hell? To make matters worse, despite numerous prompts, I didn't get a chest x-ray to confirm placement of the PICC until 4 p.m. That is entirely too long for my comfort to have a cath in without heparin lock.

So after the first treatment through the PICC, I got to check out. And go fill some prescriptions for orals. I got home last night about 10:30. Couldn't sleep 'til 5 a.m., despite having only gotten five hours sleep the night before.

I suppose I wouldn't have been so hot to trot if the room were actually comfortable. The bed itself was very comfortable, but the rest of it sucks. Their wireless network for guests wasn't operational, the TV would turn itself off if you so much as looked at it funny, I couldn't get into the bathroom and close the door unless I put the IV pole in the shower, and the food.... well, I needn't go into that. I'll just be reinforcing what are already widely held beliefs.

But the tipping point was the contact isolation. I don't care if everybody has to gown up before they come into my room, but being unable to leave the room, even to go outside between treatments and grab a cup of real coffee or buy something edible... well, it makes home IVs all the more attractive.

Of course, even home IVs have their requirements. The home nurse came at 10:30 to change my PICC dressing and go over the details of the home IVs, which I already know quite well, but I appreciated her attention to detail. Unfortunately, this meant I had a second night of only five hours of sleep (morning, really). Worse, I had to skip the Fred Lebow classic. Hopefully things won't get in the way for the Manhattan Half-marathon. I don't know how well I'm going to run that, especially if I don't get out for a seriously long run this week, but I just have to do it.