A Drive to Nashville

Yesterday, you may have noticed, I was out of pocket. That’s because I drove my grandparents to Nashville for my granddad’s follow-up appointment with the surgeon who operated on him a few weeks ago. My dad usually drives them up for their Nashville doctor’s appointments, but since it was a holiday at work and I therefore had the day off, I volunteered to take them. It worked out well since my dad had to have a medical treatment of his own yesterday.

We met up at 7:00 a.m. and headed north; first stopping at the Hardees in Ardmore so my grandmother and I could get a bite to eat. My granddad had eaten earlier in the day since he was having a cat scan and couldn’t have any food four hours prior to the appointment. After we got our breakfast, we got on the interstate and it was smooth sailing all the way to Nashville. Really it was one of the best days as far as traffic is concerned and I have driven to Nashville many times.

We arrived at St. Thomas hospital around 9:00 a.m. to check in for the cat scan which was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (I realize this is close to where you work Melissa – would have met up with you if I had had the time.) only to find out that the scan was supposed to be done at a completely different location. I got directions from the receptionist and off we headed to the other location which was closer to down town.

When we arrived at the correct location, we didn’t have to wait too long before my granddad was called back. He had his scan and then we had to wait another 30 minutes before the disk would be ready. We needed to disk to take to the doctor. This was the longest part – the waiting. I think everyone would agree, and we were all getting hungry by this point too. While we were waiting on the disk, my granddad discovered his elbow was bleeding. His skin breaks easily, just like my dad’s and apparently he had bumped it on something and it started bleeding. I got him some alcohol wipes to clean it up and the nurse bandaged it up. Then my grandmother saw that I had blood all over the sleeve and side of my shirt – I had been sitting by the bleeding elbow. So, when I got home last night, I poured peroxide on the blood stains and it came right out. I learned this trick from a friend of my mom’s when I had my foot surgery. It’s amazing how fast it works.

Once we got the disk we headed back to the hospital to see the doctor. This part, surprisingly didn’t take too very long. My granddad got a good report and we left the hospital and headed towards the nearest Cracker Barrel. My granddad said he wanted some country cooking and then he ordered breakfast. It made me chuckle inside.

We headed back home around 2:00 and arrived back in Huntsville a little bit before 4:00. We made one pit stop on the way back because I had downed too much Diet Coke and needed to relieve the pressure building in my bladder. Sorry if that was too much information. I was pretty tired when we got home. I don’t know what it is about driving and sitting around all day but it can really drain a person. I skipped the gym last night and didn’t feel one bit guilty about it. I watched yesterday’s stage of the Tour de France and then watched a movie – a lovely relaxing evening. It was a good day and I was happy to help them out.