The problem with wayfarin (sp? the bottle is upstairs)

In my last post I mentioned that we were expecting a physical therapist and a blood draw. The physical therapist told Dad that his first homework assignment is building up endurance. I think Dad was expecting a full-on exercise routine, which may come in the future, after he can walk in a straight line without assistance. He was told to walk next to objects so that he can touch them with a hand or leg, and to practice walking sideways for balance. He did all of this and was very pleased with himself.

Then we went for the blood draw. Neither of us knew that this was an orientation to the Coumadin Clinic (again, might have spelled that wrong, am tired) (and he is taking Wayfarin, the generic equivalent), of which he will be a member for the rest of his life, I think. Since we didn't know, it took a while to get the blood drawn, and then we had to wait to have the whole shebang explained, the INR test and levels and medication adjustments and such. Scott was very interested, he found a computer keyboard, some tape, and a room divider which he knocked over. Then he pooped.

After all that, Randy was back to square one for dizziness. Enough so that he mentioned how much he must have been improving, since it was now horrible and awful. We put him through a lot. He used Scott and the stroller as a walker on the way back to the car.

This morning did not start out much better (although he has been sleeping through the night). He was using his walker again. Barbara left him some phone messages to return and a bid to work on, but he couldn't focus his eyes for most of the day and didn't get much done before noon. He had some visitors to pep him up, and Scott and I bought him a balloon. Scott kicked the balloon around the house for Randy's entertainment. The good news for today is that his INR results were "great," and he does not need to be tested again until Monday. For the first little while they will be testing him every few days, to make sure the medication dose is correct. Eventually he will get down to once a month. He's feeling like a pincushion, so everyone think healthy level thoughts so he won't need daily tests. And no one bring him kale to eat! Apparently that is very high in Vitamin K, and Vitamin K really messes with the wayfarin/coumadin effectiveness. Not that it's a bad vitamin, he just shouldn't be eating a lot of it, and it mainly exists in dark leafy green vegetables. Like a cup of parsley? Too much. It's all in the handy booklet, in the handy color-coded chart.

The cardiac rehab center also called today and scheduled an appointment for him for next Thursday. I think that will begin some real workouts. Randy felt better this afternoon, so if he continues to improve he'll do well at rehab. Meanwhile, the physical therapist will come back tomorrow, and he'll have a chest x-ray and a visit with the surgeon on Tuesday to make sure everything looks good.

We've been having dinner brought to us, which has been great because Barbara has been working late at Randy's office and I'm not one for cooking dinner. Right now they are both working on finishing the bid; Randy needs Barbara's eyes to read some fine print. On Saturday Barbara shouldn't have to go in to work at all, so hopefully she can relax and enjoy Randy's "vacation" with him.