I took Cindy to her new primary care doctor today.  She is getting stronger and is walking better than she did when she left the hospital.  Her balance isn’t great yet and she needs to use a walker or hold onto something while she’s walking.  If she is walking for a while, her oxygen level goes down and she relys on an oxygen tank to help her breath.   Her oxygen tank is good for an hour.  The ride is 1/2 hour each way and the appointment is usually about 15 minutes.  Thankfully she didn’t need to use the oxygen tank.

Getting into the car wasn’t too bad.  When I got to the doctor’s office, I parked the car six parking spots from the front door.   Cindy used her walker and did well.  But by the time she got in and registered with the front desk, she was having a problem breathing.  She tested the oxygen level in her blood by using the finger oximeter that you see in the picture above (it also measures your heart rate).  The one that Cindy has comes with a cool carrying case – also seen in the picture.  She clipped the device onto her finger and within a few seconds your saturation level (percentage of oxygen in your blood) and pulse are displayed.

When Cindy finally sat down her saturation level was 84 (should be 90 – 100) and her pulse was 81 (normal for her).  She took some deep breaths and her saturation level went up to 91.  We were not terribly impressed with the new doctor.  Thankfully, her pulmonary doctor is very good at managing her total health plan.  By the time we got back to her house, Cindy seemed a little tired.  The car was parked close to the door but walking was a little more difficult.  When Cindy got into the house, she  used the finger oximeter again to tell measure her saturation level.  Again, it was low – 84 – and this time her pulse was 156.  She was able to get the saturation level up by taking deep breaths again.  Sitting still helped her heart rate come down.

As for Pauline, her lab results came back.  As usual with her, the results were all normal.  This is pretty disappointing for her because she is still feeling so sick.  The doctor hasn’t figured out what’s going on yet, so getting any relief isn’t in sight yet.  She has an appointment to see her primary care doctor after she finishes physical therapy on Thursday morning.

In case you’re wondering whose measurements are being displayed in the picture above, they are mine.