Getting out

Julie, you need a break, don't you? A break from caring, and a break from worrying. And don't we all? You are so brave, handling this by yourself. I remember when my mother-in-law went through the same exact thing, with her husband in another room at the care center, and she wouldn't even tell him what she was going through, so he wouldn't worry. She had no one to even take her over.....didn't want to "bother" anyone. She was brave, but lonely. I'm glad you had a friend.

I hope you get the biopsy really quickly. And call them and ask if you can take tylenol, instead of the NSAID, for your pain. I'm guessing they probably don't want you to take anything that might cause bleeding after the biopsy, but that doesn't mean you can't have some pain relief.

And thanks for the dryer tip....never thought of that. Altho, my house cleaner did give me the tip of using the dryer to clean drapes of their accumulated dirt and dust, without having to clean them.

My oven went out, finally, this week, too. It was over 50 years old, and I got 10 more years than I deserved out of it. So, it's just something all the time. A friend loaned me a toaster oven to use in the meantime, and I was looking forward to trying it out, because my son just loves the one he has with his roommates.

But, maybe when Doran gets home. I just talked to him this morning, and he wants to "get some exercise" so he must be feeling better. I'm going to work out and then go over and take him for a walk. His doctor said at least Saturday for discharge, so I think I just might escape and go shopping. Kohl's is having a sale, and I feel the need to buy a bargain:woohoo:

I hope you are not in as much pain. I hope you get to celebrate with Dick, and I hope you get to sit down and just be "in the moment" for a while, hold hands, and celebrate life.

I ate a half bag of popcorn last night, and went to bed a little "tipsy". Felt good.

Stephany in Iowa

Hi Stephany, It was one of the long days. I had my friend drive me to the biopsy appointment. I said that needle seemed a misnomer as they actually used a vacuum to suction out the sample. It is really called a vacuum assisted core biopsy. The little lump wanted to escape but they caught it and left a titanium clip in it's place to mark the site. I signed up to get the results by phone as soon as the pathology report is released. I hope it will be ready by Friday. I realized after I was done that I was not going to be able to put on Dick's compression hose so I phoned him to ask the Nurse's aide to do it. The aide wasn't at the house but the nurse was but his socks were still on. The aide came later in the day after I got home. When she took his vitals he had a temp of 99.5. I calmly said "we will have to give him Tylenol as they have told me not to call unless it is over 101." Inside I was thinking "He has to keep the appointment tomorrow with the Lymphedema Clinic as it took weeks to get. Fortunately it was down a few hours later.

He wanted to go out to eat with our friends as we planned to go to the Olive Garden. We finally made it. Dick had his two bowls of his favorite soup. He didn't eat much during the day. Learned a new trick today and don't know why I didn't think of it myself. Dick was cold when the aide started his bath so she put a couple of towels in the dryer to warm up and used them to help him feel warm. I am sore and learning that I use my left arm a heck of lot more than I realized. My knee is really bad at night and they said I can't use the pain med until after 48 hours. I had planned to come home and take it right away.

I'm sorry Doran had to go back to the ER. I hope it is worth it. I know what you mean about being able to finish a meal when you go out. It seems like it is always something.

I hope we will be able to go out Friday night. We are celebrating 50 years since our first date on October 17, 1958. I don't think we will see our 50th Wedding Anniversary so this is as close as we get.
I am having a glass of wine but no popcorn for me.

Is 23 hour admit a different status than other hospitalizations? You mentioned taking in his meds. Will they let him take his own meds then if it is less than 24 hours inpatient.

Give Doran our greetings from Wisconsin and we hope he is soon home.
Julie

Hey, Julie...how are things today?

Doran is back in the hospital again.....he was getting better after the UTI last week, but evidently the Cipro wasn't doing the job.

Last night, we even went out for supper, and he felt well enough that he was able to give me time to finish my meal....there's a first for a long time!

But this morning, he wasn't hungry, so I watched him all day, and this afternoon, he was still in bed, so I called the doc, and they said, take him to the ER for evaluation.

As you well know, after four hours on the "table" they admitted him. I came home, warmed up some stew for him, and packed his pillow, splints, catheters, meds (he was on 23 hour admit), and a sandwich for myself, and trucked back to the hospital.

He actually ate the stew, and then just wanted to sleep, so I finished my sandwich, and came home to feel sorry for myself. I'm going to have a glass of wine, some popcorn, and some TV. Grey's Anatomy is calling.

Tell Dick hi for us.

Stephany in Iowa

Julie,

I found this after I asked how things were at your house.

You are surely a trooper!

Clara

Couldn't get to the pool today as it is a saline pool and the balance wasn't right. I hope we can get in this weekend. Dick spent most of the day sleeping. He got up for the Social Worker's visit then had a nap. Got up had a meal and went back for a nap. When I wake him up for his midnight medications I have to go to bed otherwise I won't get any rest. We also have company arriving tomorrow for a week. We will try and not do too much but it is difficult when we also want to show off Tucson.

I don't notice any improvement from the nerve block. I don't know if it takes time to take effect or if the pain is from a bigger area than the block would cover.

Stepany, I can sure understand Doran's reluctance to go to the ER again. We absolutely dread the idea as it is such an ordeal and uncomfortable lying on the gurneys for hours on end. The chairs are hard on me, my sciatica acts up as well as my knee. We wound up discussing with the Social Worker about what his wishes would be about resuscitation if his heart stopped when Home Health was here. We learned we need 3 advance directives, one for Home Health, one for the hospital, and one for the EMT/Ambulance that is orange if he doesn't want any resuscitation efforts. Hard things to talk about and it presents him with issues that he thought he had dealt with. Dick has always thought that Alzheimers would get him and now it is something different. We also talked about the concept of having Hospice and Home Health as he would be admitted to Hospice because of the Bladder Cancer while Home Health would be managing the MDS. Dick and I felt overwhelmed by the end of the interview. More decisions to make. We are still brooding about what to do if the fluid on the lungs and around the heart gets bigger. They can stick needles in and drain the fluid but the fluid will come back. The procedure has risks and would have to be done by interventional radiology. These are decisions that only he can make. I don't know what to say if he asks my advice. Julie

Doran was up and in the hot tub at 2:30 this morning. I hope Dick will get as much help as possible from it, like Doran did.

My pond now has plants in it, and it looks very peaceful. I hope you have some peaceful days, too.

Doran spiked a fever last night, so it looks like we're going in again today. He said "I don't want to go to the ER again" and I told him, this time we're on top of it, and we can do the doctor's office! What a change:P

I look forward to hearing more of your scooter adventures.

Stephany in Iowa