Too Many Doctor Appointments!

It seems like all Fabgrandpa and I do anymore is go to doctors. Between us, we have an endocrinologist; a pulmonologist; a dermatologist; a gastroenterologist; a urologist; a podiatrist; pain management, and a MOHS surgeon. There may be more that I am forgetting. Fabgrandpa also has a physical therapist who comes to our house twice a week. The list of appointments just seems endless. 

Fabgrandpa went to the dermatologist in May. He had another skin cancer on his nose, so we had to go to a surgeon out of town to have MOHS surgery done again. This time it did not require a skin graft, which is good, but there was a lot of swelling and bruising. He has his last follow up visit next week. 

I had another incident of my leg swelling up, and turning red. I went to the ER to have it checked out because it was hot, like there was a fever in my leg. The doctor in the ER told me it was cellulitis, and prescribed a strong antibiotic. He advised me to go to my Primary Care Physician a couple of days later. The PCP said it did not look like cellulitis to him. Instead, he called it stasis dermatitis, which means that my leg swelled up and my skin turned red. He told me to finish the antibiotic, and I didn’t have to go back unless there was still a problem. Just about the time I finished the antibiotic, my leg broke out in a horrible rash that itched like crazy. I went back to the PCP and told him that he needed to give me something to stop the itching before I chopped off my leg. He looked at my leg, and said he thought it looked like poison ivy. 

I have never had poison ivy before, ever, in my 66 years of life. And, I told the doctor, I had not been outside. I had been sitting in my recliner with my legs up due to the episode of swelling that I had had .He asked me if I had a cat. Well, you know the answer to that! Those three little stinkers had been outside, and had gotten into some poison ivy, and then rubbed their little selves on my leg. The doctor gave me a steroid shot to help with the itching, prescribed an extra strength cortisone cream, and another, different, antibiotic. 

As soon as I rubbed that cortisone cream on my poison ivy rash, the itching stopped. I was so thankful for that. It took about four days for the rash to clear up, with me putting the cream on it three times a day after washing it with soap and water. I really hope I never get poison ivy again. 

In between my legs problems, I had to take Fabgrandpa to his pain management doctor, and to the pulmonologist. The breathing test they did showed his numbers down by 10, which means his COPD is getting worse. 

There doesn’t seem to be a let up in doctor’s appointments for us yet. I have to go to the pain management doctor next week, then the day after that I have to take Fabgrandpa to the MOHS surgeon for his last follow up appointment. He is back to good looking self, though, so this visit is just to let the doctor take a look. I’m ready to give the car a rest, and me too. I have sewing to do!