Will the Universe please give me a break.  Either that or a glass of wine.  Either/or.  I don’t mind.  But at least one of them.

So, as alluded to in the post pain, pain, go away, Moo is on some heavy drugs.  One of those drugs is clonidine.  As Moo was discharged from hospital on a Sunday, we were kindly given four doses of the clonidine to take home with us to get us through the following day and a half.  The pharmacy did us up a prescription in a liquid form when they opened on the Monday and hubby picked it up on his way home from the Supreme Court.

When hubby picked up the clonidine, it had been refrigerated.  Hubby had a work experience student with him so he put the liquid on the floor of the car as he drove the hour trip home.  He went straight home so that he could return it to the fridge.  However when he picked it up off the floor of the car, he noticed that it was warm.  Then he realised that it had been sitting on the transmission.

Hubby gets on the phone to the hospital and is told it should be right.  However, he should check before he administers it and it should be a clear liquid.  If it’s not then there might be a problem.

Do you see where this is going?

First dose where we need to use the filled prescription is midnight.  I try to be smart enough to load up the syringes so that his 10 o’clock and midnight doses are ready to go instead of me trying to work them out bleary eyed.

I go to draw the clonidine and it is milky.  This is around 9.30pm when I am just about to hop into bed.  I call hubby and show him.  ”Oh,” he goes.  Oh, indeed.

Hubby gets on the telephone.  This is something that he is really good at is talking to people on the phone.  I hate telephones.  I find it too impersonal so I would rather talk to someone in person.

He rings the local hospital.  Too busy to speak to him. Try State Health.

Rings State Health.  Lovely nurse.  Quite sympathetic.  However has no idea whether the drug is okay to use.  Suggests he rings a local chemist.

By this stage, it is almost 10pm when the local chemist closes.

Hubby rings local chemist.  They have no idea, they don’t stock clonidine.  Try another pharmacy a few suburbs away.

Rings other chemist.  Nope.  No idea, don’t stock drug.

Hubby rings back local hospital.  Still too busy, ring State Health.

Rings State Health.  Nurse is still very lovely and helpful but in the last fifteen minutes, still hasn’t worked out the answer.  Suggests he rings Poisons hotline.

Rings Poison Hotline.  They think the drug should still be okay but isn’t absolutely certain.  Maybe it’s best that he skips the next couple of doses (not an option as drug is not one that can be stopped suddenly).

In desperation, rings big city hospital and asks to speak to pain management team.  Doctor that discharged Moo is on duty.  Is put straight through to him.  Tells hubby that he will ring pharmacist on call and run it past that person.  Takes hubby’s phone number and will ring back.

Rings back.

Yeah, I know.  I’m still trying to pick myself up off the floor about that one too.

Spoke to on call pharmacist who said no, too risky and don’t use.  He suggests hubby rings back local hospital to try and get make do script to get us through until big city hospital pharmacy opens in the morning.

Hubby rings local hospital.  Still too busy.  They don’t care.  Suggests he rings back big city hospital as it’s not their problem.

Hubby is just about to loose it.  By this stage he has been on the phone for over an hour.  Rings back big city hospital to tell pain specialist doctor that he is hopping in the car to make the hours drive to pick up the make do provisions until the pharmacy opens in the morning.

And get this – turns out that the pain specialist doctor is at home.  The switch board is transferring calls to him at home.  He says, don’t do that, I will ring local hospital for you and ring you back.

Rings back.

(OMG – Are these people amazing or what?)

Has arranged with local hospital pain specialist doctor the medicine.  He is expecting you soon.

Hubby goes to hospital and picks up medication.  Moo’s midnight dose is administered at 12.10 am.

Moral of the story is – don’t put medicine on the floor of the car.  Oh, and there are some amazing medical practitioners out there – you just need to find them.

Woke up this morning and the fabulous Miss A was sick.  Don’t get me wrong, she is fully entitled to her sick days and she sounded really bad on the telephone but was just another one of those head butting episodes.

On a brighter note, Moo had hydrotherapy this arvo and did fabulously.  PT is so much happier with his presentation.  She is also amazing.  Moo loves her already.  He doesn’t complain about going to her.  He doesn’t complain about hopping in the water and as he considers it in similar distaste to bathing, that is a big point.  She is also a feldenkrais practitioner so I am really looking forward to the time where we move beyond the pool.

Now, where is that glass of wine?

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