Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Day 16 – shhhh don’t tell

Wednesday August 1, 2012
Quail Run RV Resort Lot 15
Marriott Residence Inn room 118

 

Today was the day for a little less togetherness. 


So shhhhhh don’t spread this around.  The patient was sleeping when I slipped out to run over to Lettuce Leaf Park in the heat of the morning.  It was a cloudy morning which was helpful and then it rained while I was running which was even more helpful.

About an hour later when I let myself back in the room, there he was dressed and sitting in a chair reading email.  He had gotten up, gotten dressed, gone out and gotten his breakfast from the kitchen, come back and eaten it, made his bed and put away the sofa bed so the room looked neat and tidy. Out of the hospital only 3 full days. 

Color me IMpressed.

And THEN he decides he wants to go for a walk before he takes a nap.  But I really have to go up to Quail Run in order to get the information on arranging for my father’s medical appointment tomorrow.  I didn’t remember to bring it but I have to call and arrange his transportation.  It’s also August 1st and I need to pay our monthly rent for August and our July electric bill at Quail Run.  Also need to throw the water off those slides. Sooooooooo

I make an executive decision and tell him to take his phone and go on out for his walk rather than force him to come with me just because the guy who says he doesn’t need a mask says he does need a 24/7 attendant.  We both know this is just no big deal for him.

 

Back up to Quail Run I go.  I know this route well enough to drive it in my sleep.

I get the information on the number to call for VA Transportation, make the call, sit on hold about 7 minutes, and then my phone battery says beep beep, sorry I’m out of energy.   So I hang up, replace the battery, call again.   I’m on hold again and about 5 minutes into it when my phone rings.  It’s David.  OH NO I think and I’m getting ready to jump in the car and high tail it back.  But he’s calling to tell me everything is great and he’s having a wonderful time.   Whew…….feeling justified here.   So I call VA Transportation again and once I get through the if you know your extension….. and then the press 2 if you want….. someone actually comes on the line.  Less than 5 minutes and it is all arranged. 

I call my dad to remind him they will be picking him up at 9am.
I walk up to the office and pay the rent but the electricity bill isn’t ready yet.   I go back to Winnona and call David who says everything is fine.  He’ll call me if there is any problem. ALL RIGHT! 

I walk over to see Catherine, Jo Beth, Grace and Phiona.  Phiona is a beauty that’s for sure.  Grace is charming.  Catherine and Jo Beth gracious as always.  They are parked just a street or two over from us so when we get back we’ll be able to see more of them.

It starts raining while I’m visiting but it’s a short shower so after it finishes, I go up on the roof and sweep off the water.  And then it’s time to head back.

He’s doing great!

When I walk in David is sitting on the sofa watching the Olympics.  He says he’s had a nap, had some lunch and is feeling pretty good.  No back pain just now.  Not a great sleeping night but not terrible.  No fever all day.  

He took the camera along the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake Park today and I’ve made this slide show of his walk.  If you know what the pink “caterpillar”???  on the cypress tree is could you let us know??
Sure looks dayglo doesn’t it?

 

 

Life is moving back toward normal where we more frequently each did what we wanted to do.  Things are definitely looking good.  Not sure how much longer we’ll be staying at the Residence Inn.  It’s wonderful being so close to Moffitt and Lettuce Leaf Park and having the hotel make breakfast every morning but even at the reduced rate afforded Moffitt patients we are paying two rents.  One for us and one for Winnona.  I was really happy to spend the time in Winnona and wasn’t all that excited to come back to the hotel.

He spends the afternoon watching Olympic rowing and volleyball AND answering emails.   Multi-tasking, things are definitely looking up.  :-)

 

Day  16 034

At one point he looks up the Olympic TV scheduling on his laptop and comments “If I’d gotten up at 5am I could have seen women’s hand ball.”   HA!  RIGHT!!   You, 5AM, not likely even if you were at your physical best.

He used to be a hand ball player as well as a basketball player and a volleyball player and a table tennis player and a racquetball player and a kayaker and he spent a short stint on the swimming team so these are some of the sports he’s particularly interested in.  I on the other hand have always hated anything that had a ball in it after making it a habit of getting hit by any ball in any sport I ever tried.  Gymnastics was the only thing I was ever the right size to do.  But that gives us a lot of Olympic games of interest.

 

Again in late afternoon he begins having troubles.

I notice his feet and ankles are swollen and insist he lie on the sofa with his feet on pillows. He complains of stomach pain which saps his energy.  He takes another nap but that doesn’t solve the stomach problem.  We go out for a short walk but that doesn’t help.  We have spaghetti, garlic toast and broccoli for dinner.  But that doesn’t solve the problem either and he lays down on the sofa again.  I wish I’d brought the heating pad back with me from Winnona today.

I can understand his energy flagging later in the day but this is the second instance of stomach pain.  He had a more severe episode in the hospital on his next to last day.  We don’t seem to be able to discover either what brings it on or what takes it away.

43 comments:

  1. Well, until the last paragraph, this post warmed my heart. I am so happy for you and David. A return to normal life must be very satisfying and a big relief.

    I'm hoping the stomach pain is just a passing thing that will resolve itself. Did they tell you to expect swollen feet?

    David's pictures are really pretty. I remember that place so well. There were alligators in it. The pink caterpillar--I think David's pulling your leg. It's bubble gum. :)

    Glad to got out for a while. This stress has taken some toll on you, I'm sure. Hoping for a good night, tonight. I really hope someday that I can meet you and David. If not, I feel as though I know you, and I care about you.

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    1. You have been a wonderful support Nancy. We can never thank you enough. I'm sure we will meet in future days. Not sure about the "bubble gum". :-)

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  2. I loved the upbeat air of your post until the end. What a great day for you both!
    At the risk of sounding non-healthy, might it be the broccoli? I absolutely love it but, at times, it does not love me...at all.

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    1. Hey Gail, We actually have always eaten a lot of broccoli and the stomach trouble started before dinner so I don't think it's that.

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  3. Glad you both had a breath of freedom. It is always an amazing reminder how far you have come. Keep up the great work! Karen

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    1. We have come a long way in the past two weeks Karen thanks for your support! This is just a little blip.

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  4. What an encouraging report...at least until we see his problems in the end. So sorry David is not feeling well.

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    1. He's not feeling terrible Nan. But I know he's disappointed since we was feeling very well this morning.

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  5. Dang, and the day was going so well, too! Great pictures of the walk at Lettuce Leaf. Never seen a pink caterpillar. Interesting :)

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    1. Just what we though Laurie, Dang. Hope someone of my great followers will know what that thing on the tree is.

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  6. I think the pink caterpillar is just some sort of fungus. I've seen a lot of different colored things similar.

    Sorry the nice day didn't end on a positive note. I hope the doctor can give you an answer for the swollen feet and stomach problems. Could it be medicine related?

    I'm glad the day was pretty good until the end.

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    1. AFTER I posted this Karen, David tells me he saw this all over the area and that he too thought it was a fungus. But when he originally gave me the pictures, he asked me what I thought of his "pink caterpiller". For sure the swollen feet or medicine related I think but the stomach isn't consistent enough to be that I don't think. The day was pretty good for sure.

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  7. Great pictures David, eeew to the pink worm... :(

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    1. Thanks Loree for the picture compliment. Pink thing turns out to be a fungus. Not quite so eeew! :-)

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  8. What lovely photos! Could it be pink fungus of some sort? Too fuzzy to me to be bubblegum and sure doesn't look like a caterpillar. Hmmmm . . . Glad you each some more normal "me" time doing your own things. David, do hope your distress is just part of the recovery process . . . doing things and then perhaps becoming fatigued. Hope it passes soon and that you will feel increasing strong and better all the time. Gentle hugs . . .

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    1. I think you are right Yellow Rose that he becomes fatigued and that's normal. Not sure about the stomach thing. Hope it disappears over night. Your constancy is so appreciated especially given your own on going challenges. We have you in our hearts!

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  9. Did David taste that pink thing? Maybe that's what caused his stomach ache?

    So much progress in such a short time! Maybe you can get back to Winnona sooner than originally planned. I'm sure she misses you as much as you miss her.

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    1. No doubt that would be it Paul if this were the pre transplant David. He would taste anything but not so much anymore. We'd thought we might go back tomorrow but now with the stomach thing we aren't sure.

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  10. Love the pictures and love that you can take a bit of time for yourselves. Yay1

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  11. What a bummer he had problems later in the day, but it's encouraging that he had so much energy earlier. I'm very happy to read that he's continuing to have good sleep at night.

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    1. I'm so happy to have your comments Danielle. Thank you for being with us.

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  12. So glad to see you both enjoyed (most of) a great day. Regarding the water accumulating on your slides...Rather than climbing up on the roof and sweeping the roof, what we do is run them in and then out. That takes care of it! We much prefer pushing a button over climbing on the roof! You might want to give it a try. Take care! Our thoughts and prayers are with you both!

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    1. That was suggested earlier Paul. We may try it but we've always been told to turn on the engine and bring the slides all the way in and all the way out. I did a post a few days ago about how much I actually love being up on the roof. Although I didn't write that song. Thanks so much for your suggestions and for all your comments.

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  13. Well at least the majority of the day was a good one. Really impressed with his energy level -- that's heartening. Hoping the swollen feet and stomach pain are quickly resolved.

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    1. He seems slower this morning. Not such a good night's sleep but feet are OK and so is the stomach. How's your PT coming??

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  14. So glad to hear that David felt good enough in the morning to multitask. I think he looks quite nice with the shorter hair, what's left of it. I'm really glad that Lettuce Lake Park is close by so the two of you can enjoy walks there. It's important to heal the soul with a healthy dose of nature.
    Syl

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    1. And I'm so glad to hear from you two again and to have read about what a GREAT time you are having. You are so right about the importance of healing the soul.

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  15. It's wonderful to hear that David had a terrific day, even if there were wrinkles at the end of it. Hoping that the stomach troubles and swelling issues will straighten out soon....Hugs to you both...glad you have such great company to visit with!

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    1. Wrinkles is a great way to put it Jeannie. He's actually doing very well. Love hearing about Maine. Those temps are fabulous!

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  16. Great slide show. It was good to see you and glad you got a little time for yourself.

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    1. Thanks for the compliment. I like the slide shows too. And thanks for the good company!!

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  17. excellent to hear that David had a good day...and felt good enough to go for a walk and make beds, and get his own breakfast...and am happy to see you had some time away to get your things done for your dad without too much worry...your patient has come along way when we compare to this time last week...hopefully they can get the swelling issues straightened out soon and find the cause of it and the stomach problems...nice to see the energy level coming back on board for him....have a super day today....thinking of you both..

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    1. He really has come a long way Elaine. These things are just little blips. When he does better we get very excited and then it's a downer when reality hits. But we're adjusting. I really appreciate your being with us through this.

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  18. Some "alone time" for each of you is a good thing... all of us enjoy our alone time. I know, Sherry, you were fearful of leaving him, but he has a cell phone and he can call at a moment's notice. It was so exciting to read about David's day... that he had enough energy to do the things he did. Perhaps the ankle/feet swelling is from being on them too much... but the stomach thing remains a mystery... and a challenge. I know you both long for the time that each day brings FUN challenges... not health challenges. Bless you for being there for him... It sounds like most the day was a good day for each of you. Who would have thought that just being able to take a walk by yourself would be so exciting... but I get it!!

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    1. You are right Carol about the cell phone that's why we decided that given how good he felt perhaps the doctors didn't know quite as well as he did. You hit it right on nose (isn't that a weird expression) He needs those walks and they are very exciting given where he's been.

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  19. And the day was going so well, too. I'm sorry to hear about the stomach pains; hopefully nothing serious, just his body's way of telling him to take it a bit easier.

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    1. Just what we thought too. Maybe a little over do. He's rather excited when he feels more like "normal" so it's hard to dampen his enthusiasm.

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  20. Keeping current with prolific bloggers is utterly futile. Surrender declared.
    Altho' the various ups and downs may not seem insignificant when you're the guy on the roller coaster... this could be the most perfect BMT in the history of forever.
    Stem cells are just magical. Those neutrophils? GORGEOUS!! But don't misbehave quite yet you two. With the platelets lagging, hold off on the fencing duels, sword fights, jousting and axe throwing for a few weeks more.

    Pinky looks like a slime mold!
    One of my absolute favorite groups in nature, so weird, so alien :-))

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    1. You write the greatest comments! They make me laugh. And you know so much. I wouldn't have a clue what neutrophils are if I weren't in this.

      Ha ha! There are times when I'd like to bonk him but probably no duels or fights, even in his condition, I'd lose.

      You even know what slime mold looks like and love it. Guess I'd better start looking it up. Love the color. Wonder if it comes in Lime green too!

      Woof woof to Sir Duke.

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    2. There's no end to MBZs knowledge :-)))

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  21. Dad has talent in the photography department, I think. Very nice walk photos. I am so glad to hear that he did great without you there and you were able to run and return to winnona and deal with a few of your own things. I hope the feet swelling in the afternoon and the stomach issues aren't recurring and that they went away last night. If not, time to ask the doctor. But, overall, here's a cheer for improvement - hip, hip, hooray!!

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  22. Glad to hear that there is some improvement! Hope the stomach pains don't persist :/

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