Hi Friends,
On Thursday Dr. Ebrahim decided to involve a Palliative Care person in Anne's situation. Dr. Cindy Frost visited us around noon Thursday. She had a good approach and we liked her very much. She talked about the amounts of drugs Anne has been using as of late, and her recommendations for changes. She was on board with our plan with Dr. Ebrahim to go home the next day, it being Friday.
As an aside: I myself could've used some good drugs after the Lakers beat the Celtics by one point in overtime this evening. I'm used to it tho, it's nothing different than any other regular season Laker game at Boston for the past 6-7 years.
Anyway, after Dr. Frost analyzed the amount of Dilotted pain med Anne had used, she recommended a larger dose of the Fentanyl patch. She increased that up to 75 micrograms every 3 days and would have that first patch applied to Anne's arm within minutes. This way she could evaluate it's affect in the morning. 75 micrograms is twice the then current amount, 37.5.
The Dilotted would continue to be available 'as needed' for pain. The hope is that the amount of Dilotted requested will be reduced.
Dr. Frost also made changes to the medicines Anne uses to control the bowell. I don't want to get into the details but I believe it is called Lactulose, that still with stool softeners.
She also prescribed a new Nausea med (Haloperidol) which is scheduled every 8 hours. Plan is to get a handle on the nausea, with the Ativan and Zofran still available for backup, as needed.
She also prescribed Dexamethasone (Decadron), a corticosteroid, similar to a natural hormone produced by your adrenal glands. It often is used to replace this chemical when your body does not make enough of it. It relieves inflammation (swelling, heat, redness, and pain) and is used to treat certain forms of arthritis; skin, blood, kidney, eye, thyroid, and intestinal disorders (e.g., colitis); severe allergies; and asthma. Dexamethasone is also used to treat certain types of cancer. This one can give Anne more energy too, and she'll have to lay off of it for awhile after she tries it for a month or so.
She has coumadin, a blood thinner, in case there are any remaining blood clots needing to be treated. This will stop some day.
Overall plan is to control her pain, her nausea, her bowell, and reduce all of the extra bodily fluid in her tissues.
Anne was so happy to get home Friday at around 5pm. The last thing they did at the hospital was to remove her picc line. Don't want any chance of infection from that. So, it is gone.
Anne did well at home all evening. We organized her meds as best we could. Once we went to bed, I slept all night till 7am. I heard her snoring when I woke up but she said she really woke at 6am. She had stepped from the bed to the commode a handful of times during the night, never bothering me. Yes, she's still using 2 diuretics (Lasix and Spironolactone) which help reduce the fluid still in her tissues. When Anne got up this morning she commented on how her right ankle was not as swollen as it was at bedtime. I was glad for that, because I noticed it was definately swelling up last night.
Today, Saturday, Anne has done well at home. Her weight is down 69 pounds from Jan 17, the day she moved from Springbrook back to MMC. She needed pain meds on waking up today.
I prep'd a bowl of cereal for her and she needed nausea meds after that. I'm sure I served her too much. Certainly more than the little yellow box of cherrios you get in the hospital. Shame on me, I'll learn.
We had a very late lunch do to having company over, and Anne needed pain meds after that. She had beef stew for supper and a little desert, and did not have pain following that. She's doing some walking laps around the house right now. It is 7pm.
We hope for a great evening. It feels like everybody here is happy. Beasley, Dixie, Anne and me. the household is back together, and we have our glue here. Dixie must feel like she died and went to heaven. I think she had the toughest time with Anne being hospitalized pretty much from Nov 28 to Feb 10, give or take a week or so.
If you wish to visit Anne at home please do call ahead and check with her, and plan to stay no longer than 30 minutes. Thank you. And thanks again for all your cards, well wishes, and prayers. We continue to pray for Anne's comfort, well being, and we've not given up on asking for the miracle of asking the Lord to dry up the cancer. We know that He can do that.
PS I don't plan on doing very much blogging going forward now that Anne is home from the hospital. I want to thank all of you who have been interested in Anne's progress, and have kept up on that by reading this. Thank you for being there. Perhaps now we can pick up where we left off with our more normal, personal, close, friendships.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wednesday, 1pm
Hi Friends,
On Tuesday, Dr. Ebrahim expressed concerns about our ability to manage Anne's pain at home, but at the same time he told us to go ahead and plan to go home on Friday. He's thinking hard on the idea, trying to make it happen. His concern is mostly with her pain overnight.
Low and behold, last night at 3am Anne had an incredibly sharp chest pain which woke her up and scared her. She was pretty shook up about it this morning when I got here at 8:45am. Dr. Ebrahim had already been here by then, so I chased him around and he came back to see us together.
He said the pain is coming from right where the tumor is and where the stents are. Of course he's real concerned about that going forward, especially not knowing whether Anne will ever get strong enough to fight the disease. I just continue to think positive and have hope. There's just no other way to think about it short of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. Can't have that!
Yesterday late morning he increased her Fentanyl patch from 12.5mg, up by 25mg, to 37.5mg. Today he has changed her IV Dilotted pain med to oral form. Anne has been asked to stay ahead of the pain and ask for meds as soon as she feels it coming. The oral pain meds take longer (20-30 mins) to work, but they last longer in duration than the IV version. We continue to seek and find a balance of meds to go home on.
It's now almost 2pm and Anne has requested pain meds twice since I got here. I'm thinking that the extra Fentanyl patch medicine didn't kick in till late morning today. That's my way of trying to explain the early request. The later request was due to her choice of foods at noon. Anne has eaten cottage cheese the past few days, probably because it's comforting to eat, however it has made her sick each time. This is a hard game to watch, and I'm sure much harder to play. We'll do our best. I'm not looking forward to asking her not to eat what she wants. I'm starting to think that Anne will not be able to have much more than snacks going forward. Attempts at meals just are not working. Anne got dressed in her own clothes today though, she is ready and wanting to go home, and I'm ready to bring her.
Anne has now lost about 60 lbs since Jan 17. It's a combination of fluid and regular pounds. She isn't eating alot of food, and according to the Dr. there's still some fluid to get rid of. She continues to walk around the block here, many times per day, using her new walker.
Please pray for her, for no more setbacks, and that we'll discover a good med schedule that will work to combat her pain around the clock. Also, pray that we'll be able to combat the side effects of the narcotics. I pray that the change of scenery at home will be helpful for her too.
On Tuesday, Dr. Ebrahim expressed concerns about our ability to manage Anne's pain at home, but at the same time he told us to go ahead and plan to go home on Friday. He's thinking hard on the idea, trying to make it happen. His concern is mostly with her pain overnight.
Low and behold, last night at 3am Anne had an incredibly sharp chest pain which woke her up and scared her. She was pretty shook up about it this morning when I got here at 8:45am. Dr. Ebrahim had already been here by then, so I chased him around and he came back to see us together.
He said the pain is coming from right where the tumor is and where the stents are. Of course he's real concerned about that going forward, especially not knowing whether Anne will ever get strong enough to fight the disease. I just continue to think positive and have hope. There's just no other way to think about it short of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. Can't have that!
Yesterday late morning he increased her Fentanyl patch from 12.5mg, up by 25mg, to 37.5mg. Today he has changed her IV Dilotted pain med to oral form. Anne has been asked to stay ahead of the pain and ask for meds as soon as she feels it coming. The oral pain meds take longer (20-30 mins) to work, but they last longer in duration than the IV version. We continue to seek and find a balance of meds to go home on.
It's now almost 2pm and Anne has requested pain meds twice since I got here. I'm thinking that the extra Fentanyl patch medicine didn't kick in till late morning today. That's my way of trying to explain the early request. The later request was due to her choice of foods at noon. Anne has eaten cottage cheese the past few days, probably because it's comforting to eat, however it has made her sick each time. This is a hard game to watch, and I'm sure much harder to play. We'll do our best. I'm not looking forward to asking her not to eat what she wants. I'm starting to think that Anne will not be able to have much more than snacks going forward. Attempts at meals just are not working. Anne got dressed in her own clothes today though, she is ready and wanting to go home, and I'm ready to bring her.
Anne has now lost about 60 lbs since Jan 17. It's a combination of fluid and regular pounds. She isn't eating alot of food, and according to the Dr. there's still some fluid to get rid of. She continues to walk around the block here, many times per day, using her new walker.
Please pray for her, for no more setbacks, and that we'll discover a good med schedule that will work to combat her pain around the clock. Also, pray that we'll be able to combat the side effects of the narcotics. I pray that the change of scenery at home will be helpful for her too.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Tuesday Update, 1pm
Hi Friends,
With a new combination of drugs having been started Saturday it's hard to know exactly what's going on and where we are.
Anne had the headaches we spoke about, but they seem to be gone now. I suppose they could be attributed to 'withdrawal' from the Oxycodone which was discontinued. Let's hope those headaches are gone for good.
Last night Anne called me as I drove home, around 8:45pm. She said she was having chest pains, new pains, and she was scared. The nurses were tending to it tho, but it was alarming for me, causing me to wonder what is going on. She has had more of that sensation since then, but nothing to scary.
Today she got dressed, had a shower, and all of that. She looks nice and is getting ready to head out for a walk around the corridor. We expect to see Dr. Ebrahim within the next hour or so. I haven't seen him since last Thursday. I'm sure today we'll be discussing 'discharge'. He'll ask us if we are each ready to go, etc.. We'll need to change the IV meds to oral, and discuss the differences in the timing of use of those. And, we'll need to make sure we'll have the drugs we need when we get there.
We need to discuss the chest pains as of late. Also, his assessment of the effectiveness of the 12.5mg Fentanyl patches started maybe last Thursday. Anne has used alot of Dilotted the past 3 days, so I wonder if 12.5mg is enough for the patch. If not we could jump to 25mg.
Yesterday I purchased a new power recliner for Anne. It will be beneficial for both of us. For me, I won't have to jump out of my chair and bend over to pull a lever up or down every time she needs to move. The chair isn't too big, so I think she'll like it. Maybe it will end up in the bedroom and be an alternative place for her to sleep. She used to go out to the living room to sleep on her recliner there when she woke up in the middle of the night.
I don't think I mentioned that we watched the SuperBowl together Sunday night. We had a pretty good day that day, and prior to gametime we had some chicken wings I grabbed from Bingas Wingas, barbeque garlic, best in town. Anne ate 3 and I ate 9. NOBODY GOT SICK !!
Yesterday, Monday, we got off schedule for eating, so lunch was after 3pm. Anne had a hankering for Mexican food, so I made my way to Margarettaville and returned with 2 appetizers she had picked out on-line. Bad idea, Anne was totally miserable for some time after that. Later that night she only had a tiny amout to eat for supper after getting over that sickness. I don't think we'll be ordering any food from anywhere near the border for some time. She said it wasn't worth it. Maybe that's what gave her the chest pains later last night.
So now, we're pretty anxious about what Dr. Ebrahims expectations will be. He's due in here any minute. Her lunch made her uncomfortable earlier and she's sleeping that off now. So she won't be exactly cheerful when he comes in. I'd like to see Anne go home on Friday. Anne is apprehensive about being asked to go home as early as tomorrow(Weds). She's doesn't feel ready. I don't think that will happen. We'll have to wait and see and will let you know.
Have a good evening everybody !!
With a new combination of drugs having been started Saturday it's hard to know exactly what's going on and where we are.
Anne had the headaches we spoke about, but they seem to be gone now. I suppose they could be attributed to 'withdrawal' from the Oxycodone which was discontinued. Let's hope those headaches are gone for good.
Last night Anne called me as I drove home, around 8:45pm. She said she was having chest pains, new pains, and she was scared. The nurses were tending to it tho, but it was alarming for me, causing me to wonder what is going on. She has had more of that sensation since then, but nothing to scary.
Today she got dressed, had a shower, and all of that. She looks nice and is getting ready to head out for a walk around the corridor. We expect to see Dr. Ebrahim within the next hour or so. I haven't seen him since last Thursday. I'm sure today we'll be discussing 'discharge'. He'll ask us if we are each ready to go, etc.. We'll need to change the IV meds to oral, and discuss the differences in the timing of use of those. And, we'll need to make sure we'll have the drugs we need when we get there.
We need to discuss the chest pains as of late. Also, his assessment of the effectiveness of the 12.5mg Fentanyl patches started maybe last Thursday. Anne has used alot of Dilotted the past 3 days, so I wonder if 12.5mg is enough for the patch. If not we could jump to 25mg.
Yesterday I purchased a new power recliner for Anne. It will be beneficial for both of us. For me, I won't have to jump out of my chair and bend over to pull a lever up or down every time she needs to move. The chair isn't too big, so I think she'll like it. Maybe it will end up in the bedroom and be an alternative place for her to sleep. She used to go out to the living room to sleep on her recliner there when she woke up in the middle of the night.
I don't think I mentioned that we watched the SuperBowl together Sunday night. We had a pretty good day that day, and prior to gametime we had some chicken wings I grabbed from Bingas Wingas, barbeque garlic, best in town. Anne ate 3 and I ate 9. NOBODY GOT SICK !!
Yesterday, Monday, we got off schedule for eating, so lunch was after 3pm. Anne had a hankering for Mexican food, so I made my way to Margarettaville and returned with 2 appetizers she had picked out on-line. Bad idea, Anne was totally miserable for some time after that. Later that night she only had a tiny amout to eat for supper after getting over that sickness. I don't think we'll be ordering any food from anywhere near the border for some time. She said it wasn't worth it. Maybe that's what gave her the chest pains later last night.
So now, we're pretty anxious about what Dr. Ebrahims expectations will be. He's due in here any minute. Her lunch made her uncomfortable earlier and she's sleeping that off now. So she won't be exactly cheerful when he comes in. I'd like to see Anne go home on Friday. Anne is apprehensive about being asked to go home as early as tomorrow(Weds). She's doesn't feel ready. I don't think that will happen. We'll have to wait and see and will let you know.
Have a good evening everybody !!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Super Sunday, 5pm
Hi All,
Happy Super Sunday and Go Pats!!
I called Anne last night around 9:30pm after I got home and she wasn't feeling very well.
I called this morning around 8:30, same thing. However, she had gotten up quite a bit earlier than that and taken a walk around the block up here.
I got in today around 11:30 and she was sitting here chatting with her nurse having a smile on her face.
She had a grilled cheese sandwich and cup of tomato soup for lunch and that brought on severe belly pain and nausea.
It's late after noon now and we're getting ready to have some snacks and watch the pre-game stuff.
The on-call doctor this weekend (Dr. Diesler) has brought in a new set of eyes onto Anne's situation, and some fresh ideas in regards to the drug list available to Anne. With all of the 'belly pain', headaches, and sickness as of late, she is trying a slightly different combination of drugs. It involves a Fentanyl patch, and the more liberal use of the Dilotted. Anne likes the Dilotted. We're experimenting with eliminating the Oxycodone altogether, thinking it might be what is upsetting Anne's belly, especially if it is taken on an empty stomach. Anne has been using it like candy for the past 2 years. The hope is that if we can use an effectively sized Fentanyl Patch that it might provide enough coverage for pain so that Anne may not request so much Dilotted. No more Oxycodone for the time being. Anne and I like the plan and I pray that we can make it work.
Go Pats !!
Happy Super Sunday and Go Pats!!
I called Anne last night around 9:30pm after I got home and she wasn't feeling very well.
I called this morning around 8:30, same thing. However, she had gotten up quite a bit earlier than that and taken a walk around the block up here.
I got in today around 11:30 and she was sitting here chatting with her nurse having a smile on her face.
She had a grilled cheese sandwich and cup of tomato soup for lunch and that brought on severe belly pain and nausea.
It's late after noon now and we're getting ready to have some snacks and watch the pre-game stuff.
The on-call doctor this weekend (Dr. Diesler) has brought in a new set of eyes onto Anne's situation, and some fresh ideas in regards to the drug list available to Anne. With all of the 'belly pain', headaches, and sickness as of late, she is trying a slightly different combination of drugs. It involves a Fentanyl patch, and the more liberal use of the Dilotted. Anne likes the Dilotted. We're experimenting with eliminating the Oxycodone altogether, thinking it might be what is upsetting Anne's belly, especially if it is taken on an empty stomach. Anne has been using it like candy for the past 2 years. The hope is that if we can use an effectively sized Fentanyl Patch that it might provide enough coverage for pain so that Anne may not request so much Dilotted. No more Oxycodone for the time being. Anne and I like the plan and I pray that we can make it work.
Go Pats !!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Weekend Update, Sat., 3:30pm
Hi friends,
The roller coaster continues. Anne continues to ride with the ups and downs.
Yesterday morning she couldn't talk on the phone at around 9am because of a migrane like headache. She came down with head pain around 4am. The doctor was very concerned and ordered a CT Scan of her head, so I rushed in. As you know, I hate for her to have to wait downstairs alone where the Scans are done.
We'll, I missed that part anyway. She was back in her room when I got in here around 11. The scan came out fine, nothing bad found. However, she didn't feel any better until late in the afternoon today. It wasn't just the headache, also lots of nausea and belly pain. She's really having a hard time, sick in some way each and every day. Alot of the sickness has alot to do with her choice of things to eat, and another cause is the narcotics causing problems with her bowells. With that, I still think she may be close to going home. Once home we must determine which foods make her sick. By doing that at least there will be less of a need for pain meds, and it all should help with her constipation problem too. I hope that, along with the change of scenery, will help her to get along better. Hopefully the nice weather will continue so we can get outdoors and get some walking exercise too.
So, yesterday started off badly. By supper time Anne was doing OK. I actually left early and went over to a Portland Pirates hockey game. I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend. It was a treat.
This morning I called Anne at around 8:30. She wasn't feeling well and had just asked for pain meds. She was fixing to have a shower and said she'd call me back after that. When she did I was ready to head in town. I left Dixie outside in the sun today. Dana would check on her early afternoon and Laurie will be over to see her at supper time.
When I got in I said to Anne that I wanted to hang her clothes up so they'd be ready for her when she needed to find them. She said, "might not be too soon." I asked why and she said she had the 'eye pain' again starting at 4am this morning. She said it still hurt. I asked if the 'eye pain' is what we were calling a headache yesterday, and she said 'Yes'. She covered her right eye and cheek and explained that that was where it hurt. She was finishing her lunch when I got here. She seemed to be doing OK then, and she said she had a pulled pork sandwich from the menu. She had cut peaches for desert.
A little while later she was miserable. She got pain and nausea meds and slept from 11:30am till 3:30pm. She woke up feeling lousy and asking for more of each med. I think the pulled pork is the culprit. She is cursing food at the moment, and swearing that she'll be more careful making her meal choices going forward. Yesterday she was looking forward to some certain things to eat for the SuperBowl game, and today she is saying 'no way'.
I hope she'll have a good evening tonight and a better morning tomorrow. Perhaps I can write some better news here in the blog on Super Sunday. I hope the headaches are explained soon too. We have no clue what is causing those fhe past 2 days. Sometimes I wonder just how much Anne can take.
At this point I'm concerned, and I know she is too, about coming home. I look forward to it though, and I'll do my best to take care of her and make her comfortable.
Have a good weekend everybody, and Go Pats!!
The roller coaster continues. Anne continues to ride with the ups and downs.
Yesterday morning she couldn't talk on the phone at around 9am because of a migrane like headache. She came down with head pain around 4am. The doctor was very concerned and ordered a CT Scan of her head, so I rushed in. As you know, I hate for her to have to wait downstairs alone where the Scans are done.
We'll, I missed that part anyway. She was back in her room when I got in here around 11. The scan came out fine, nothing bad found. However, she didn't feel any better until late in the afternoon today. It wasn't just the headache, also lots of nausea and belly pain. She's really having a hard time, sick in some way each and every day. Alot of the sickness has alot to do with her choice of things to eat, and another cause is the narcotics causing problems with her bowells. With that, I still think she may be close to going home. Once home we must determine which foods make her sick. By doing that at least there will be less of a need for pain meds, and it all should help with her constipation problem too. I hope that, along with the change of scenery, will help her to get along better. Hopefully the nice weather will continue so we can get outdoors and get some walking exercise too.
So, yesterday started off badly. By supper time Anne was doing OK. I actually left early and went over to a Portland Pirates hockey game. I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend. It was a treat.
This morning I called Anne at around 8:30. She wasn't feeling well and had just asked for pain meds. She was fixing to have a shower and said she'd call me back after that. When she did I was ready to head in town. I left Dixie outside in the sun today. Dana would check on her early afternoon and Laurie will be over to see her at supper time.
When I got in I said to Anne that I wanted to hang her clothes up so they'd be ready for her when she needed to find them. She said, "might not be too soon." I asked why and she said she had the 'eye pain' again starting at 4am this morning. She said it still hurt. I asked if the 'eye pain' is what we were calling a headache yesterday, and she said 'Yes'. She covered her right eye and cheek and explained that that was where it hurt. She was finishing her lunch when I got here. She seemed to be doing OK then, and she said she had a pulled pork sandwich from the menu. She had cut peaches for desert.
A little while later she was miserable. She got pain and nausea meds and slept from 11:30am till 3:30pm. She woke up feeling lousy and asking for more of each med. I think the pulled pork is the culprit. She is cursing food at the moment, and swearing that she'll be more careful making her meal choices going forward. Yesterday she was looking forward to some certain things to eat for the SuperBowl game, and today she is saying 'no way'.
I hope she'll have a good evening tonight and a better morning tomorrow. Perhaps I can write some better news here in the blog on Super Sunday. I hope the headaches are explained soon too. We have no clue what is causing those fhe past 2 days. Sometimes I wonder just how much Anne can take.
At this point I'm concerned, and I know she is too, about coming home. I look forward to it though, and I'll do my best to take care of her and make her comfortable.
Have a good weekend everybody, and Go Pats!!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Thursday, 6pm
Hi Friends,
Well, Anne hasn't felt well today. She's had alot of nausea. We discussed this with Dr. Ebrahim when he came around 2pm, and he's thinking it may be the Augmentin, an anti-biotic that he ordered yesterday to help fight the UTI and bladder infections Anne had going on. It is known for causing nausea, so we hope he was right. He has discontinued that drug from Anne's list.
Unfortunately, he was planning to send Anne home tomorrow, and how he has changed his mind. I don't know if she could go home on Saturday or Sunday or not. Anne can ask him in the morning. He gets here so early I am usually not here yet.
Other than that, Anne is good, she continues to walk and exercise. She said the stairs really sent her for a loop yesterday, but she needs to work thru that. Anne is having her share of pain during the day still, and she's using a mixture of medicines. Hopefully we can make some sense out of all of this after she gets home. Just getting home may make her feel alot better. Let's hope so.
Well, Anne hasn't felt well today. She's had alot of nausea. We discussed this with Dr. Ebrahim when he came around 2pm, and he's thinking it may be the Augmentin, an anti-biotic that he ordered yesterday to help fight the UTI and bladder infections Anne had going on. It is known for causing nausea, so we hope he was right. He has discontinued that drug from Anne's list.
Unfortunately, he was planning to send Anne home tomorrow, and how he has changed his mind. I don't know if she could go home on Saturday or Sunday or not. Anne can ask him in the morning. He gets here so early I am usually not here yet.
Other than that, Anne is good, she continues to walk and exercise. She said the stairs really sent her for a loop yesterday, but she needs to work thru that. Anne is having her share of pain during the day still, and she's using a mixture of medicines. Hopefully we can make some sense out of all of this after she gets home. Just getting home may make her feel alot better. Let's hope so.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Wednesday, 5pm
Hi Friends,
Well, the blood test results are in and we've learned that Anne has a bladder infection as well as a UTI. These are bein treated and Dr. Ebrahim is not overly concerned about them.
He is coming back tomorrow in the afternoon, and in the meantime he's thinking about Anne's next move and the timing of it. I'm thinking she will be going home on Friday. I could be wrong. I asked Anne if she is concerned about coming home, and she responded with a question to me, whether I am concerned about taking care of her at home. I said 'No'.
Anne and I had veggie burgers for lunch today with all the fixings. She finished her burger, and tried to squeeze in some (guess what?) hummus. Well, either the veggie burger, or the extra hummus made her miserably sick for this afternoon. She had taken Dillotted before eating but it didn't do the trick this time. The eating mystery continues. We'll simply have to write down everything that goes into her mouth once we get home and try to find a pattern in there in terms of what's good and what's bad. Sometimes I feel that one extra bite might put her over the limit, like trying to follow the veggie burger with hummus today. Hopefully we can figure this mystery out over time. As you've heard me say over and over, I wish the Lord had taken some of her appetite when he took her esophagus.
Anne took a short walk today with no walker. Impressive. Then late this afternoon Anne and Corina from PT went to test the stairway for the first time. Anne climbed and descended 4 stairs and was pretty tired and dizzy from it. This will get better with practice. Anne is sleeping in the recliner next to me now as I write this.
Anne (and I) haved received tons of cards from all of you, all of our friends, old and new, and we wants to let you know how much we appreciate those. They have each one been a blessing to her spirits. Thank you everybody!!
There's not a heck of alot going on in here these last couple of days, it's almost getting boring, no IV's, no electronics (knock on wood!), and there seems to be no hurry for anyone to kick Anne out of here. It's good, that's what Anne needs. She's pretty much still in slow motion as of late, and that's not a bad thing, but she is getting more and more back to normal and 'with it' all the time. Today she mentioned being challenged with her spelling. I think she is happy that no one is chasing her out of here this time. Lord know a mistake was made last month on that note.
Aside from all of that, I myself had an awful night of sleep last night. It felt like I was awake all night, but it may have been just a flash in time. I'll never know. Anyway, I was dreaming that I was blogging from the SuperBowl Game. I was having a terrible time, struggling to convey what was going on in the game in writing, and I couldn't figure out how to make sense of it. I continued to wake up, telling myself to "STOP", that it didn't make any sense what I was doing, that the game was not being played yet, rather next Sunday. But, I'd go back to sleep, toss and turn, and struggle to try and write a conversational blog about the game again and again. It was terrible. I know what you're asking, and 'No', I don't know who won yet.
Well, the blood test results are in and we've learned that Anne has a bladder infection as well as a UTI. These are bein treated and Dr. Ebrahim is not overly concerned about them.
He is coming back tomorrow in the afternoon, and in the meantime he's thinking about Anne's next move and the timing of it. I'm thinking she will be going home on Friday. I could be wrong. I asked Anne if she is concerned about coming home, and she responded with a question to me, whether I am concerned about taking care of her at home. I said 'No'.
Anne and I had veggie burgers for lunch today with all the fixings. She finished her burger, and tried to squeeze in some (guess what?) hummus. Well, either the veggie burger, or the extra hummus made her miserably sick for this afternoon. She had taken Dillotted before eating but it didn't do the trick this time. The eating mystery continues. We'll simply have to write down everything that goes into her mouth once we get home and try to find a pattern in there in terms of what's good and what's bad. Sometimes I feel that one extra bite might put her over the limit, like trying to follow the veggie burger with hummus today. Hopefully we can figure this mystery out over time. As you've heard me say over and over, I wish the Lord had taken some of her appetite when he took her esophagus.
Anne took a short walk today with no walker. Impressive. Then late this afternoon Anne and Corina from PT went to test the stairway for the first time. Anne climbed and descended 4 stairs and was pretty tired and dizzy from it. This will get better with practice. Anne is sleeping in the recliner next to me now as I write this.
Anne (and I) haved received tons of cards from all of you, all of our friends, old and new, and we wants to let you know how much we appreciate those. They have each one been a blessing to her spirits. Thank you everybody!!
There's not a heck of alot going on in here these last couple of days, it's almost getting boring, no IV's, no electronics (knock on wood!), and there seems to be no hurry for anyone to kick Anne out of here. It's good, that's what Anne needs. She's pretty much still in slow motion as of late, and that's not a bad thing, but she is getting more and more back to normal and 'with it' all the time. Today she mentioned being challenged with her spelling. I think she is happy that no one is chasing her out of here this time. Lord know a mistake was made last month on that note.
Aside from all of that, I myself had an awful night of sleep last night. It felt like I was awake all night, but it may have been just a flash in time. I'll never know. Anyway, I was dreaming that I was blogging from the SuperBowl Game. I was having a terrible time, struggling to convey what was going on in the game in writing, and I couldn't figure out how to make sense of it. I continued to wake up, telling myself to "STOP", that it didn't make any sense what I was doing, that the game was not being played yet, rather next Sunday. But, I'd go back to sleep, toss and turn, and struggle to try and write a conversational blog about the game again and again. It was terrible. I know what you're asking, and 'No', I don't know who won yet.
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