My husband, George, had a bad problem when we had a record heat wave and the power was out for a week or so. He simply couldn't get a deep breath and felt doomed. And had an icy sweat.
That sweat galvanized me because I know that an icy sweat means that there is a coronary issue. I finally talked him into ER the next day and his doctor felt he should have further appointments with a coronary specialist.
He went to Kentucky (from Summersville, WV) to have a heart cath and consult done. Our nephew works in a few hospitals from WV to Ky to Oh, and he's a heart cath specialist along with a few other specialties. His name is Steve.
George's cath took approximately 10 minutes when his doctor made half an entry into our waiting room and said, George? We said yes. He said he needs to have a triple bypass and I'll talk with you later.
We were shocked. We is my sister in law, Ernie, and her husband Kenneth. We're next door neighbors and Steve is their eldest son.
At any rate, George duly had the bypass a week later. The hospital had made arrangements with one of their extensions called Hospitality House. It's a free place to stay for people who live a long distance away and it's for the family of patients in extended stay admissions to the hospital. There is a TV room, a kitchen and of course your room to sleep in. No food allowed up there and no TV in rooms. It was perfect. Like a very lean hotel which is sparkling clean.
I was there at least 5 days and it was a good place to rest in. They provide an envelope for you if you want to leave money. I did.
In George's hospital room, it was a 1 person room. There was a small padded bench and I spent some days resting on it with a blanket. George was hot and couldn't cool off. Probably it was the fact that circulation was better. The leg veins they wanted to use were too clogged so they used two from his chest and an artery from his left arm.
Anyway, that took care of August. When it was time for George to come home, he surprised me by asking Steve if he could go home with him. George knew he could not tolerate the long drive home. (They live close to Kentucky) So Steve and Linda, his wife, took him home with them. Linda asked her son if George could use his room and Austin said yes. He stayed there for 3 weeks and it was a deal made in heaven. Both are RNs, tho Steve is a specialist, so there was no fear to leave George there.
They walked him 2 or 3 times a day, fed him well, got him fresh fruit all of the time and helped with other needs. They were wonderful. When George was nearing time to come home, Linda drove him around on short jaunts like McDonald's and ice cream parlors where he had a huge banana split. :-) And they brought him home after his doctor's appointment 3 weeks later.
George is doing a remarkable job of rehabbing. He has Cardio workouts which tire him just enough to help his heart heal.
I am so happy with King's Daughters Hospital in Kentucky and his 2 attending physicians. I can't begin to tell you.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Friday, July 16, 2010
Our Oldest friend, Jim.
I developed oral cancer and we had to move away from our best friends Jim and Carol so I could seek treatment in West Virginia. I had great success from a young doctor and so far no recurrence but that's another story.
Last year, Jim was diagnosed with cancer. Below is his story.
Jim has been fighting death for a year + some. He had a terrible back ache and his sinuses were killing him, he said.
The doctors said, It's not your sinuses you know, nor is it your back. It's cancer of the kidney, liver, lung and pancreas. You may have two days up to possibly a week to live - that is without treatment. You may have up to possibly a year if you choose treatment consisting of chemo and radiation. You must also quit smoking and you may not have any beer if you choose to have treatment.
Jim didn't even think it over for a moment. He said, I have things to do. I will have the chemo. I will not have another cigarette. I won't have any beer, tho that will be a very hard thing to stick to.
So he had a couple of rounds of chemo and radiation. Or perhaps it only seemed like a couple.
Maybe it was only one. I cannot remember. The cancer spread to his spine. He was in great pain from it. He began on pain patches and his pain pills were increased. He spent a lot of time in no man's land dozing, fighting with demons and giving nothing to those demons from nowhere.
He had shots to build up his blood, iron shots, shots for this, shots for that and shots for the other thing. He received blood a few times when he looked like a walking ghost and felt worse. He became dependent upon oxygen and it was a gasp to walk two feet.
They drew litres of fluid from his lungs countless times because he could not breathe. He did not complain about this either really. He lost his good head of hair and had to wear a knit watch cap to keep from being cold. He complained about that a little. I sent him a West Virginia Mountaineer watch cap. He's from WV and we now live there.
Jim who had always been a very modest man, had to rely upon his very modest wife of forty three years, to help him into the shower and to wash his back and shoulders and hair. Modesty changed a little in direction, but never has left this man.
The smell and thought of food made this man of great appetite, sick to his stomach, so he changed his diet. It didn't help. He who had been a life long cold man became too hot. The air conditioner ran constantly. He kept a fan aimed at him around the clock. He nearly froze Carol.
On top of all of these problems, he developed an itchy sore spot on his leg. It didn't look like anything they'd ever seen before. They treated it with an over the counter antibiotic cream or something and it cleared right up - for a day or so - and then he broke out in shingles from his knee, all the way up his leg and thigh to his hip around the back, to the inside of his thigh and up towards his belly and around to his back. He complained about that!!
He was a very miserable man for a while. After the shingles began to clear up approximately a month later, their leaving gave him a damaged nerve which caused him a great deal of pain. He complained about that a little bit, too.
Slowly, Jim emerged from his nowhere land. Summer came around and he felt a bit better. He wanted to work in his yard and the doctor told him to do what he felt like he could do. The doctor didn't know Jim!! His tumors had not grown in size, some had reduced a little so if he was not on the mend, at least he had not lost ground.
Jim was all for that and so were the rest of us. He mowed his yard on a riding mower. It felt good to get out there. He didn't realize that having radiation therapy weakened his bones. He could have a fracture simply by bending over and here he was out on a lawn rider mowing his green grass lumpy, bumpy, hard clay Ohio ground he loved.
Jim liked to play cards on the internet. He was very good at it and when we lived next to him, my husband played there with him. They had some GOOD times. Sometimes they played the horse races. They had good times there, too.
It did not dawn on us that the doctors had SAID he had maybe a year and he'd already HAD it, and he was ALREADY living on borrowed time. We all knew he was dying..had known it for a year or more, but we never knew he would actually DIE. We'd forgotten that the day to pay would get here.
On Labor Day, Jim came out of the bathroom and looked a little odd and his dear wife said, what's wrong, dear? Jim said, you'd better call our neice. You're going to need her to help get me to the hospital I think. With that he flopped down on the sofa. Jim simply doesn't flop.
Carol duly called their neice, Hazel. She came, took one look at Jim who by that time had slid off the sofa onto the floor and said, we need to get 911. We cannot get you up, Jim. We'd drop you and you might break an arm or hip or whatever. I'm calling them now. And much against Jim's will, she called 911. And Jim then in the ambulance he had a stroke instead of at home with only the women to help him. Thank God for all of the little favors.
After more than 24 hours in the hospital, and more scans, xrays and tests, it was discovered that the ugly cancer that had been stopped, had begun its path of ugly growth once more. It had followed the easiest path of all - up the spine, thru the neck and into the brain. Jim's metered sand is running down thru the hourglass once more.
He cannot remember exactly what happened last Monday though everyone has tried to explain it to him. When he asked the first time if he were dying, he was told NO!! - Don't be silly! After the second time, he was told no. I suggested that if he asked again, people might say, "what do you think, Jim? Do you think you are?" and if he says yes, they might respond with, I honestly don't know. That's something only God knows and maybe you think. And to leave it alone. But with that answer, he said then I want my shoes. I want to go home...and that just isn't possible. O my God.
Our thought is this: IF Jim leaves this hospice facility, he will not be re-admitted. It is against all rules. (who made these rules?) He will still be under hospice care at home. That will consist of 3 hospice aide visits for bathing, or whatever the patient wants and a nurse visit approximately every 2 weeks to see if a medicine adjustment is necessary. That is the best that hospice can do. They're stretched rather thin. I have walked that lonesome road with my mother. Had it not had my sister, I don't know what we would have done. Mother weighed only 68 pounds and we were able to handle her. JUST.
As it happens, all the worry that he would get his shoes and go home was in vain. Carol took his shoes to him. He walked around the grounds outside on the hospice hospital but only managed a few minutes at a time. He goes to the porch, the kitchen and around there.
One time, the nurses were a little frantic when they thought he had actually left. As it turned out, he hadn't. He was with the family down in the kitchen. *whew* Big grin.
Byron came to see Jim for the first time since his admission and said, you'd never know that Jim is sick. He doesn't LOOK sick. He doesn't sound sick. Are you sure he is dying? Is HE sure he's dying? They told Byron, if you're here daily, you can see that he's wandering. He needs to rest very often and he will tell you that he needs to rest - very unlike Jim who is the living word of humble and welcoming. Never has been rude in his life. Not really being rude now. But he knows he must conserve himself.
The nurses there sat down with Jim and Carol. They told Jim that while they don't know when he will die, and the doctors don't know when he will die, they know that Jim must conserve what energy he has to live every day to the fullest that he is able, to enjoy the life that he has now for as long as he wants. Jim seemed to understand then that it's his time to do as he wants for as long as he can.
Last year, Jim was diagnosed with cancer. Below is his story.
Jim has been fighting death for a year + some. He had a terrible back ache and his sinuses were killing him, he said.
The doctors said, It's not your sinuses you know, nor is it your back. It's cancer of the kidney, liver, lung and pancreas. You may have two days up to possibly a week to live - that is without treatment. You may have up to possibly a year if you choose treatment consisting of chemo and radiation. You must also quit smoking and you may not have any beer if you choose to have treatment.
Jim didn't even think it over for a moment. He said, I have things to do. I will have the chemo. I will not have another cigarette. I won't have any beer, tho that will be a very hard thing to stick to.
So he had a couple of rounds of chemo and radiation. Or perhaps it only seemed like a couple.
Maybe it was only one. I cannot remember. The cancer spread to his spine. He was in great pain from it. He began on pain patches and his pain pills were increased. He spent a lot of time in no man's land dozing, fighting with demons and giving nothing to those demons from nowhere.
He had shots to build up his blood, iron shots, shots for this, shots for that and shots for the other thing. He received blood a few times when he looked like a walking ghost and felt worse. He became dependent upon oxygen and it was a gasp to walk two feet.
They drew litres of fluid from his lungs countless times because he could not breathe. He did not complain about this either really. He lost his good head of hair and had to wear a knit watch cap to keep from being cold. He complained about that a little. I sent him a West Virginia Mountaineer watch cap. He's from WV and we now live there.
Jim who had always been a very modest man, had to rely upon his very modest wife of forty three years, to help him into the shower and to wash his back and shoulders and hair. Modesty changed a little in direction, but never has left this man.
The smell and thought of food made this man of great appetite, sick to his stomach, so he changed his diet. It didn't help. He who had been a life long cold man became too hot. The air conditioner ran constantly. He kept a fan aimed at him around the clock. He nearly froze Carol.
On top of all of these problems, he developed an itchy sore spot on his leg. It didn't look like anything they'd ever seen before. They treated it with an over the counter antibiotic cream or something and it cleared right up - for a day or so - and then he broke out in shingles from his knee, all the way up his leg and thigh to his hip around the back, to the inside of his thigh and up towards his belly and around to his back. He complained about that!!
He was a very miserable man for a while. After the shingles began to clear up approximately a month later, their leaving gave him a damaged nerve which caused him a great deal of pain. He complained about that a little bit, too.
Slowly, Jim emerged from his nowhere land. Summer came around and he felt a bit better. He wanted to work in his yard and the doctor told him to do what he felt like he could do. The doctor didn't know Jim!! His tumors had not grown in size, some had reduced a little so if he was not on the mend, at least he had not lost ground.
Jim was all for that and so were the rest of us. He mowed his yard on a riding mower. It felt good to get out there. He didn't realize that having radiation therapy weakened his bones. He could have a fracture simply by bending over and here he was out on a lawn rider mowing his green grass lumpy, bumpy, hard clay Ohio ground he loved.
Jim liked to play cards on the internet. He was very good at it and when we lived next to him, my husband played there with him. They had some GOOD times. Sometimes they played the horse races. They had good times there, too.
It did not dawn on us that the doctors had SAID he had maybe a year and he'd already HAD it, and he was ALREADY living on borrowed time. We all knew he was dying..had known it for a year or more, but we never knew he would actually DIE. We'd forgotten that the day to pay would get here.
On Labor Day, Jim came out of the bathroom and looked a little odd and his dear wife said, what's wrong, dear? Jim said, you'd better call our neice. You're going to need her to help get me to the hospital I think. With that he flopped down on the sofa. Jim simply doesn't flop.
Carol duly called their neice, Hazel. She came, took one look at Jim who by that time had slid off the sofa onto the floor and said, we need to get 911. We cannot get you up, Jim. We'd drop you and you might break an arm or hip or whatever. I'm calling them now. And much against Jim's will, she called 911. And Jim then in the ambulance he had a stroke instead of at home with only the women to help him. Thank God for all of the little favors.
After more than 24 hours in the hospital, and more scans, xrays and tests, it was discovered that the ugly cancer that had been stopped, had begun its path of ugly growth once more. It had followed the easiest path of all - up the spine, thru the neck and into the brain. Jim's metered sand is running down thru the hourglass once more.
He cannot remember exactly what happened last Monday though everyone has tried to explain it to him. When he asked the first time if he were dying, he was told NO!! - Don't be silly! After the second time, he was told no. I suggested that if he asked again, people might say, "what do you think, Jim? Do you think you are?" and if he says yes, they might respond with, I honestly don't know. That's something only God knows and maybe you think. And to leave it alone. But with that answer, he said then I want my shoes. I want to go home...and that just isn't possible. O my God.
Our thought is this: IF Jim leaves this hospice facility, he will not be re-admitted. It is against all rules. (who made these rules?) He will still be under hospice care at home. That will consist of 3 hospice aide visits for bathing, or whatever the patient wants and a nurse visit approximately every 2 weeks to see if a medicine adjustment is necessary. That is the best that hospice can do. They're stretched rather thin. I have walked that lonesome road with my mother. Had it not had my sister, I don't know what we would have done. Mother weighed only 68 pounds and we were able to handle her. JUST.
As it happens, all the worry that he would get his shoes and go home was in vain. Carol took his shoes to him. He walked around the grounds outside on the hospice hospital but only managed a few minutes at a time. He goes to the porch, the kitchen and around there.
One time, the nurses were a little frantic when they thought he had actually left. As it turned out, he hadn't. He was with the family down in the kitchen. *whew* Big grin.
Byron came to see Jim for the first time since his admission and said, you'd never know that Jim is sick. He doesn't LOOK sick. He doesn't sound sick. Are you sure he is dying? Is HE sure he's dying? They told Byron, if you're here daily, you can see that he's wandering. He needs to rest very often and he will tell you that he needs to rest - very unlike Jim who is the living word of humble and welcoming. Never has been rude in his life. Not really being rude now. But he knows he must conserve himself.
The nurses there sat down with Jim and Carol. They told Jim that while they don't know when he will die, and the doctors don't know when he will die, they know that Jim must conserve what energy he has to live every day to the fullest that he is able, to enjoy the life that he has now for as long as he wants. Jim seemed to understand then that it's his time to do as he wants for as long as he can.
Where'd the time go?
Mercy! :-) I love that word. lol It conjures up someone wanting to not swear, someone begging for mercy, or a loved one's name, Mercy!!! haha. I love it.
Anyway, where DID the time go?
If I'd blogged about all that has happened it might be an interesting blog. To me anyway. Or the family. Not sure about anyone else.
E. has been trying hard for 3 years to lose her mind and this spring she finally succeeded. What a grand mess. She swore that someone was following her every move. It was almost dangerous to let her drive. The car who was trailing her, passed her and then was watching her from in front of her. It's a scary proposition.
Our newest baby, Riley, learned to walk. She never did get the hang of crawling. She sort of learned to crab it. One leg was always straight out - no knee touching there, and from there into an upright, straight ahead walk.
She has this way of lowering her brow in a frown and frowning her lips and chin if she doesn't know you. She has a "glowering" look she casts upon you as if to frighten you away until she knows you a little better. Then all is well.
Perhaps 3 months after Riley learned to walk, we had another baby born. This child is Gracie. We love the name and cannot wait to see what SHE teaches us. The name is the only game in town right now.
Anyway, where DID the time go?
If I'd blogged about all that has happened it might be an interesting blog. To me anyway. Or the family. Not sure about anyone else.
E. has been trying hard for 3 years to lose her mind and this spring she finally succeeded. What a grand mess. She swore that someone was following her every move. It was almost dangerous to let her drive. The car who was trailing her, passed her and then was watching her from in front of her. It's a scary proposition.
Our newest baby, Riley, learned to walk. She never did get the hang of crawling. She sort of learned to crab it. One leg was always straight out - no knee touching there, and from there into an upright, straight ahead walk.
She has this way of lowering her brow in a frown and frowning her lips and chin if she doesn't know you. She has a "glowering" look she casts upon you as if to frighten you away until she knows you a little better. Then all is well.
Perhaps 3 months after Riley learned to walk, we had another baby born. This child is Gracie. We love the name and cannot wait to see what SHE teaches us. The name is the only game in town right now.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Only 7 reasons, BillP?
I wonder why only 7?
I have lots. Maybe it's only my imagination, but I truly believe that Windows 7 actually LEARNS.
It auto logs me off any more when I click shut down. No more of clicking "log off" or "restart" depending upon what I am doing. "Log off" and I'm gone. No delay. No hemming and hawing. I'm gone. That's all she wrote. I love it.
In fact, I simply love 7.
The only little complaint I have with Windows 7 is that there's no native email client. I don't like that.
I've tried everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Nothing else works. Nada. Not Windows Live, tho that would be sweet if it were desktop. It would truly be sweet. My second choice, and it would be first if it were desktop is Google.... (are you listening Google?)
As for anything else, I've tried 'em all. Nothing is even in the far reaching stage. de nada, por nada, NADA, NADA~~!
Well, I could load my old OLD office. But it's probly so full of holes that it's got moths, if it would load, which with Windows 7's cleanliness is doubtful.
And did I mention that 7 is clean? It's fast and slick as a whistle. MAN it's fast. I absolutely love it. Or did I say that?
I'm getting redundant. And 7's smooth. I've turned off quite a few of the showy desktop items, but I can't turn Aero off completely - uh uh. I love flipping my cursor over the desktop and watching the windows snap open, snap shut, over the desktop, and snap open. SUWEEEET, slowly lay it over the taskbar and see all windows in thumbs ahh...but I'm slobbering.
Trust me (and I don't like people who say trust me) if you missed the chance to try this for free, you have my sympathy. You really do.
And so it is.
O....and Happy Birthday to me. :-) 9.24.09 63
JJ
I have lots. Maybe it's only my imagination, but I truly believe that Windows 7 actually LEARNS.
It auto logs me off any more when I click shut down. No more of clicking "log off" or "restart" depending upon what I am doing. "Log off" and I'm gone. No delay. No hemming and hawing. I'm gone. That's all she wrote. I love it.
In fact, I simply love 7.
The only little complaint I have with Windows 7 is that there's no native email client. I don't like that.
I've tried everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Nothing else works. Nada. Not Windows Live, tho that would be sweet if it were desktop. It would truly be sweet. My second choice, and it would be first if it were desktop is Google.... (are you listening Google?)
As for anything else, I've tried 'em all. Nothing is even in the far reaching stage. de nada, por nada, NADA, NADA~~!
Well, I could load my old OLD office. But it's probly so full of holes that it's got moths, if it would load, which with Windows 7's cleanliness is doubtful.
And did I mention that 7 is clean? It's fast and slick as a whistle. MAN it's fast. I absolutely love it. Or did I say that?
I'm getting redundant. And 7's smooth. I've turned off quite a few of the showy desktop items, but I can't turn Aero off completely - uh uh. I love flipping my cursor over the desktop and watching the windows snap open, snap shut, over the desktop, and snap open. SUWEEEET, slowly lay it over the taskbar and see all windows in thumbs ahh...but I'm slobbering.
Trust me (and I don't like people who say trust me) if you missed the chance to try this for free, you have my sympathy. You really do.
And so it is.
O....and Happy Birthday to me. :-) 9.24.09 63
JJ
Sunday, August 23, 2009
It Must Be Sunday....
......The cows are once more out and running like wild things - and we are once more getting our weekly exercise herding them back to pasture. This time they have been left without water. That is a terrible thing to do to an animal. We've connected the hoses for 500 or so feet and filled their container.
How can a man of God be that lazy? Not to feed nor water his helpless animals first? hmmm.. I must ponder on that for awhile. I confess to being bemused and ANGRY.
A PREACHER???
I'm very glad I saw no need to go to church to pray and so I stopped going at 18. I'm still very free to pray, thank God.
How can a man of God be that lazy? Not to feed nor water his helpless animals first? hmmm.. I must ponder on that for awhile. I confess to being bemused and ANGRY.
A PREACHER???
I'm very glad I saw no need to go to church to pray and so I stopped going at 18. I'm still very free to pray, thank God.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Meanness
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Delores left to be with Earl
It was very unexpected and it shocked us. It has been a very
long, LONG time since last she saw him. We will miss her greatly.
Even though she has been ill over the past two or three years, she never
failed to have a warm " come IN! Come in! Come in and sit down! I was
just fixing something to eat. Your timing is perfect", followed by a big
hug and "what have you been doing, hon?"
She had bad times and sad times and missed her "Earl" but she loved
to laugh about little things they'd done. She'd sniff a little, wipe a
tear and then laugh. She'd ask me if I still miss Jim, and of course I'd
say "yes, always". You never get over the hurt - Just like she and
Earl.
We had the "remember whens" as in remembering when we'd gone scooty
pootin' down to Troy to ride the kids' rides in the park across from
the Troy Police station at 3:00 in the morning because we felt safe
there. 5 or 6 grown women after work at 3:00AM riding the go-round and
laughing like maniacs. We had fun, we did.
Well, it's enough to know that we had her in our lives and she'll remain a very big part of the rest of my life. She shaped my life. She was the most influential person I've ever known.
I never dreamed just how mean people can be - to their children, neighbors, spouses, and to people they've never met.
I saw, in the news, that a mother killed her week old baby by sawing off it's head. Voices told her to do it. She also did far worse that I won't mention here. Heaven help us.
A son shot to death his father and tells us he's crazy as he spelled out every step he is going to take in his Columbine twisted mind. He's crazy like a rabid fox. He also intended to kill students in his school, both boys and girls, because if he looked at either one, they'd know. Know what?
That he was crazy? or that he liked their looks or body? Who knows?
Men & women in Charleston, WV literally running over, with their vehicle, men who owed them money/drugs. Killed them for $300.00 or for drugs. What is the world coming to?
A father beat his year old child to death with his hands. Another father let his child die on the floor while he prayed for her diabetes riddled body to heal itself. They'd not been to the doctor because they don't believe in medicine and they did not know that she had diabetes. So she died of a very treatable illness.
I don't understand. Maybe, at 70, I am too old for this world. I didn't used to think that. In fact, I still don't realize that I am 70 unless things hurt, but that is neither here nor there. I simply don't understand this world I am in.
Delores & Earl Morgan, together again.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Delores left to be with Earl
It was very unexpected and it shocked us. It has been a very long, LONG time since last she last saw him. We will miss her greatly. Even though she has been ill over the past two or three years, she never failed to have a warm " come IN! Come in! Come in and sit down! I was just fixing something to eat. Your timing is perfect", followed by a big hug and "what have you been doing, hon?"
She had bad times and sad times and missed her "Earl" but she loved to laugh about little things they'd done. She'd sniff a little, wipe a tear and then laugh. She'd ask me if I still miss Jim, and of course I'd say "yes, always". You never get over the hurt - Just like she and Earl.
We had the "remember whens" as in remembering when we'd gone scooty pootin' down to Troy to ride the kids' rides in the park across from the Troy Police station at 3:00 in the morning because we felt safe there. 5 or 6 grown women after work at 3:00AM riding the go-round and laughing like maniacs. We had fun, we did.
Well, it's enough to know that we had her in our lives and she'll remain a very big part of the rest of my life. She shaped my life. She was the most influential person I ever met.
Delores & Earl Morgan, together again.
Monday, July 20, 2009
It is Sunday and All is well.
On Thursday when I went to my Cancer Doc, he checked a few things in my nasal cavity, listened to a few of my complaints about my throat and then said he wanted to do an endoscopy. That is, he wanted to look down to my voice box by putting a small straw-like tube down thru my nose.
He sprayed thru my nose, down my throat and the liquid slid right down into my lungs. It felt as if I could not breathe very well.
A few minutes later, he deemed my throat well enough sedated to peer down into it. I felt as if he were the captain of a submarine peering thru the periscope and I was what he was looking at - which incidentally is quite right. :-)
He said, Holy Smokes! Your throat looks as if you have had radiation! Since I had not, he asked if I feel as if I am full of dry mucous and I said Yep. All the time. The roof of my mouth feels like cracked clay when I wake up and it's very uncomfortable. I told him that my eyes are always dry and the corners of my mouth always are cracked and my nose is also dry.
He asked if I have Sjögren's Syndrome and I said I'd never heard of it. So he wrote an order to test for it.
I really doubt I have anything other than dryness from some medication or other. He wrote me a prescription which increases the moisture in mucosa. My eyes are no longer dry, nor my mouth, throat nor nose. I am absolutely in HEAVEN. Whew. If you know someone who has had radiation and is suffering with the dryness, tell them to ask their doctor for a prescription to help relieve the dryness. There IS such a thing and it is called Pilocarpine HCL.
JJ
He sprayed thru my nose, down my throat and the liquid slid right down into my lungs. It felt as if I could not breathe very well.
A few minutes later, he deemed my throat well enough sedated to peer down into it. I felt as if he were the captain of a submarine peering thru the periscope and I was what he was looking at - which incidentally is quite right. :-)
He said, Holy Smokes! Your throat looks as if you have had radiation! Since I had not, he asked if I feel as if I am full of dry mucous and I said Yep. All the time. The roof of my mouth feels like cracked clay when I wake up and it's very uncomfortable. I told him that my eyes are always dry and the corners of my mouth always are cracked and my nose is also dry.
He asked if I have Sjögren's Syndrome and I said I'd never heard of it. So he wrote an order to test for it.
I really doubt I have anything other than dryness from some medication or other. He wrote me a prescription which increases the moisture in mucosa. My eyes are no longer dry, nor my mouth, throat nor nose. I am absolutely in HEAVEN. Whew. If you know someone who has had radiation and is suffering with the dryness, tell them to ask their doctor for a prescription to help relieve the dryness. There IS such a thing and it is called Pilocarpine HCL.
JJ
Thursday, July 16, 2009
My exercise today.
I spent today rounding up cattle.
The neighbor neglected to put feed out for his cows so they decided to jump the fence and come visiting. Glad they didn't come to the garden - rather they headed straight to the tall, lush, green grass near the woods. Boy, I agreed with them that it DID look good.
I took my trusty flyswatter and headed toward them at an angle, making a loud SHAAA SHAAA noise. They totally disregarded it. They didn't disregard the flyswatter on their rear tho. They moved off in the general direction of home at a trot.
The general direction proved to be very general. They headed south, too. Fortunately my brother in law, Kenneth has a 4wheeler and he gently (and LOUDLY) headed them back to the gate. With not much further ado, they went back in.
Most exercise that I have had this summer.
3 hours later what did I see? The cattle back grazing. This time our neighbor, Kelley, came with a feed bucket full. The cows docilely trotted along behind her into their pen. All's well that ends well.
Tomorrow I see my cancer doctor for a 6 month checkup. Let's hope all's still well there, too.
The neighbor neglected to put feed out for his cows so they decided to jump the fence and come visiting. Glad they didn't come to the garden - rather they headed straight to the tall, lush, green grass near the woods. Boy, I agreed with them that it DID look good.
I took my trusty flyswatter and headed toward them at an angle, making a loud SHAAA SHAAA noise. They totally disregarded it. They didn't disregard the flyswatter on their rear tho. They moved off in the general direction of home at a trot.
The general direction proved to be very general. They headed south, too. Fortunately my brother in law, Kenneth has a 4wheeler and he gently (and LOUDLY) headed them back to the gate. With not much further ado, they went back in.
Most exercise that I have had this summer.
3 hours later what did I see? The cattle back grazing. This time our neighbor, Kelley, came with a feed bucket full. The cows docilely trotted along behind her into their pen. All's well that ends well.
Tomorrow I see my cancer doctor for a 6 month checkup. Let's hope all's still well there, too.
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Big "C"
My 62 birthday was last week. Never thought I'd make it. For that matter, I was surprised when I made it to 40. Who'da thunk it?
Finally after nearly 2 years, I had my neck "fixed" by a plastic surgeon so that it no longer resemble a turkey's neck. Unfortunately for me, it is still under wraps til Friday next. (Had the surgery last Thursday).
Also, unfortunately for me, after they'd put me to sleep, they were not able to immediately intubate me. It was discovered that I have a truly BAD case of GERD. Stomach contents had backed up to my lungs and I had to be suctioned first. I can tell you that the colour is bright green as in a fresh picked pea which has been squashed. I can also tell you that when it is in your lungs, you will cough and it will ache til you clear yourself of it. Then you will most likely develop pneumonia for which I am on antibiotics.
This GERD thing runs in my family, but since my father, mother and younger sister all have passed on, I am not sure how they found out they had it. My sister knew because she also had scleroderma and had MANY things diagnosed. Also morbid heart failure which she neglected to tell me of so I didn't know she was dying til about 3 hours before she did. We DID get to speak with each other, tho, and confirm that we loved each other.
Back to the present. I cannot lay flat in bed now, which is the only way I can sleep. Fused neck bones from a previous surgery and slightly curved back from a break when thrown from a motorcycle preclude otherwise. Unless I am sitting in this chair typing away. :)
Finally after nearly 2 years, I had my neck "fixed" by a plastic surgeon so that it no longer resemble a turkey's neck. Unfortunately for me, it is still under wraps til Friday next. (Had the surgery last Thursday).
Also, unfortunately for me, after they'd put me to sleep, they were not able to immediately intubate me. It was discovered that I have a truly BAD case of GERD. Stomach contents had backed up to my lungs and I had to be suctioned first. I can tell you that the colour is bright green as in a fresh picked pea which has been squashed. I can also tell you that when it is in your lungs, you will cough and it will ache til you clear yourself of it. Then you will most likely develop pneumonia for which I am on antibiotics.
This GERD thing runs in my family, but since my father, mother and younger sister all have passed on, I am not sure how they found out they had it. My sister knew because she also had scleroderma and had MANY things diagnosed. Also morbid heart failure which she neglected to tell me of so I didn't know she was dying til about 3 hours before she did. We DID get to speak with each other, tho, and confirm that we loved each other.
Back to the present. I cannot lay flat in bed now, which is the only way I can sleep. Fused neck bones from a previous surgery and slightly curved back from a break when thrown from a motorcycle preclude otherwise. Unless I am sitting in this chair typing away. :)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Technorati
I've joined a tech site called technorati and it looks to be one for good info. This is a link to my profile there.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Yearly or Semi-yearly?
It seems as if I run into this again a couple of times a year. I still miss my sister like crazy. Wish I had gone when I felt the "niggle". Won't delay again, however I am the end of my immediate family.
We're happily settled in WV where I get to shoot cardinals, deer, fishermen, etc. (camera, folks. Camera) We ran out of money before we got the front porch, but I've got a dilly of a back deck to watch everything from.
I'm glad to say I am still cancer free. I still am checked every 3 months. My speech sounds as if I am tongue tied a bit, but that hurts nothing. Eating is still an ability I have and USE. :) Much better than at this time a year ago.
For the very first time in this 60+ life, I am home.
We're happily settled in WV where I get to shoot cardinals, deer, fishermen, etc. (camera, folks. Camera) We ran out of money before we got the front porch, but I've got a dilly of a back deck to watch everything from.
I'm glad to say I am still cancer free. I still am checked every 3 months. My speech sounds as if I am tongue tied a bit, but that hurts nothing. Eating is still an ability I have and USE. :) Much better than at this time a year ago.
For the very first time in this 60+ life, I am home.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
And THEN
I was diagnosed in December with Oral cancer. Was I shocked? Nope. Seems to be the way things go. My husband told me a week ago that his mind went AWOL til recently.
I've had surgery. 1/4 of my tongue was removed on the left side, all of the bottom inside of the floor of my mouth on the left side, as well. All lymph nodes from the ear to the bottom of my throat were also removed. It has left me looking as if I've swallowed a tennis ball, but because of the lymph node removal, the incidence of recurrance is now 5% down from 75%. GO DOC!!!
My doctor is a VERY young looking Duke graduate of otolaryngology. I THINK that used to be EENT doctors. No matter. :) He also will receive his Majority soon in the military. He's most likely not as young as he looks which pleased me to no end. The younger the better when it comes to cancer surgery, at least for me.
We made a very hurried house buy in WV from Ohio because of the diagnosis of cancer. I knew that the coal fields of WV has a very high incidence of head/neck cancers. I wanted someone very experienced in that field. I was extremely lucky in the physician I drew by chance. I have had a six week checkup. My speech is improving daily. Eating seems to come naturally, so we won't get into that :) My next appointment is in mid March and I expect no less than a clear report.
My physician's name is Dr. Michael Beasley. If you're in WV (or anywhere else for that matter) SEEK him out if you need help. He's absolutely top drawer.
Michael S Beasley MD
(304) 353-0213
1306 Kanawha Blvd
E Charleston, WV 25301
Physicians & Surgeons-M.D., Physicians & Surgeons-Allergy & Immunology, Physicians & Surgeons-Otolaryngology
I've had surgery. 1/4 of my tongue was removed on the left side, all of the bottom inside of the floor of my mouth on the left side, as well. All lymph nodes from the ear to the bottom of my throat were also removed. It has left me looking as if I've swallowed a tennis ball, but because of the lymph node removal, the incidence of recurrance is now 5% down from 75%. GO DOC!!!
My doctor is a VERY young looking Duke graduate of otolaryngology. I THINK that used to be EENT doctors. No matter. :) He also will receive his Majority soon in the military. He's most likely not as young as he looks which pleased me to no end. The younger the better when it comes to cancer surgery, at least for me.
We made a very hurried house buy in WV from Ohio because of the diagnosis of cancer. I knew that the coal fields of WV has a very high incidence of head/neck cancers. I wanted someone very experienced in that field. I was extremely lucky in the physician I drew by chance. I have had a six week checkup. My speech is improving daily. Eating seems to come naturally, so we won't get into that :) My next appointment is in mid March and I expect no less than a clear report.
My physician's name is Dr. Michael Beasley. If you're in WV (or anywhere else for that matter) SEEK him out if you need help. He's absolutely top drawer.
Michael S Beasley MD
(304) 353-0213
1306 Kanawha Blvd
E Charleston, WV 25301
Physicians & Surgeons-M.D., Physicians & Surgeons-Allergy & Immunology, Physicians & Surgeons-Otolaryngology
Monday, September 18, 2006
It's now September . . .
and I woke up in shock yesterday. I'll be 60 on my birthday. How'd that happen? I was only 26 when I went to bed !! Walking by the mirror was the schocker. My grandmother jumped in front of me before I could blink. I REALLLLLY haven't any idea how that happened.
June was a most terrible month. My sister died unexpectedly. She had scleroderma and a host of other problems, but she hadn't seemed bad the last time I saw her. And we had talked frequently on the phone. She called me one Saturday and said, I don't think I can make it any longer. I said, because of the medicine? She said yes, but they're cutting it back. I'm only having a pity party today, so bear with me, will you?. I said Ok, but I'd rather come up Monday. No dice, she said.. I'll be at work. So I said Ok, but there was a little niggle at the back of my mind that said, Go see her..it will shut your brain off - stop it from complaining, but niggle.....niggle...went my mind.
Of course I have a life and my husband's disabled..she DID say NO and I know she'll tell me when she needs me. I took her to the University of Michigan a couple of times for some tests which had OK results by the time I was told. Niggle.....niggle......
She died on June 22nd '06. She was 56 years old.
I live in a different state and when I was told she was dying, I immediately called the nurse's desk to see if I had time enough to make it. No. Not more than an hour, she thought.
They hunted up a telephone and called me back so I could speak with her. I said, she's alert?? Yep, so I hung up and then the phone rang.
She was alert - and coherent and we discussed what she wanted done for a funeral, who would keep an ear out for her kids. They're 21 and 19. She said they're old enough and have their father and Aunt to keep an eye on them. They'll be fine.
With shock, I realized we were having this NORMAL conversation and I said, Barb!!! This can NOT be right. You're making sense, not short of breath, NOTHING. It can NOT be right. Oh, she said, it's right. I do not think the pain medicine is working.
We spoke another minute. She said, I love you, but I need to go now. I said, I love you and hung up the phone. I was called the next morning by our good friend, Deb, who told me she had died around 4:45am - which was the time my brain settled down and I drifted to sleep.
I still have no death certificate, nothing that says "Barb", nothing to remember her by. If any of you needs a reminder, here it is. We don't get to stay here forever, so if you love them, tell them. You probably will not have the same chance that I did.
So many things change and we think, next week. and next week....niggle, niggle... And then they're gone.
Sugar.
June was a most terrible month. My sister died unexpectedly. She had scleroderma and a host of other problems, but she hadn't seemed bad the last time I saw her. And we had talked frequently on the phone. She called me one Saturday and said, I don't think I can make it any longer. I said, because of the medicine? She said yes, but they're cutting it back. I'm only having a pity party today, so bear with me, will you?. I said Ok, but I'd rather come up Monday. No dice, she said.. I'll be at work. So I said Ok, but there was a little niggle at the back of my mind that said, Go see her..it will shut your brain off - stop it from complaining, but niggle.....niggle...went my mind.
Of course I have a life and my husband's disabled..she DID say NO and I know she'll tell me when she needs me. I took her to the University of Michigan a couple of times for some tests which had OK results by the time I was told. Niggle.....niggle......
She died on June 22nd '06. She was 56 years old.
I live in a different state and when I was told she was dying, I immediately called the nurse's desk to see if I had time enough to make it. No. Not more than an hour, she thought.
They hunted up a telephone and called me back so I could speak with her. I said, she's alert?? Yep, so I hung up and then the phone rang.
She was alert - and coherent and we discussed what she wanted done for a funeral, who would keep an ear out for her kids. They're 21 and 19. She said they're old enough and have their father and Aunt to keep an eye on them. They'll be fine.
With shock, I realized we were having this NORMAL conversation and I said, Barb!!! This can NOT be right. You're making sense, not short of breath, NOTHING. It can NOT be right. Oh, she said, it's right. I do not think the pain medicine is working.
We spoke another minute. She said, I love you, but I need to go now. I said, I love you and hung up the phone. I was called the next morning by our good friend, Deb, who told me she had died around 4:45am - which was the time my brain settled down and I drifted to sleep.
I still have no death certificate, nothing that says "Barb", nothing to remember her by. If any of you needs a reminder, here it is. We don't get to stay here forever, so if you love them, tell them. You probably will not have the same chance that I did.
So many things change and we think, next week. and next week....niggle, niggle... And then they're gone.
Sugar.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Found this from Dec '04 - my best bud, Bk2u
My mother is dying. Isn't that a note to celebrate Christmas on? A friend asked me is it better to know that they're dying, or would it be better to have it be a shock and they simply fall over dead?
Let it be a shock! You don't have to hear them sob in pain, be up all night rolling in agony, have them be sick to their stomach because of the pain medications etc !!
Now: The friend who asked me if it is better to know....died before my mother...and I so regret having given him that answer. I believe that he knew he was dying and was asking me if I'd want to know. Wish he'd told me...I'd give a different answer today. We all should have a chance to say something.
So. Bk2u..Cya later. You were a right good friend and I'll be glad to share some of your Granny's peach cobbler when I get there.
My mother is dying. Isn't that a note to celebrate Christmas on? A friend asked me is it better to know that they're dying, or would it be better to have it be a shock and they simply fall over dead?
Let it be a shock! You don't have to hear them sob in pain, be up all night rolling in agony, have them be sick to their stomach because of the pain medications etc !!
Now: The friend who asked me if it is better to know....died before my mother...and I so regret having given him that answer. I believe that he knew he was dying and was asking me if I'd want to know. Wish he'd told me...I'd give a different answer today. We all should have a chance to say something.
So. Bk2u..Cya later. You were a right good friend and I'll be glad to share some of your Granny's peach cobbler when I get there.
Found this where I'd kept a note. It was Dec 9, '04
My mother is dying. Isn't that a note to celebrate Christmas on? A friend asked me is it better to know that they're dying, or would it be better to have it be a shock and they simply fall over dead?
Let it be a shock! You don't have to hear them sob in pain, be up all night rolling in agony, have them be sick to their stomach because of the pain medications etc !!
Now: The friend who asked me if it is better to know....died before my mother...and I so regret having given him that answer. I believe that he knew he was dying and was asking me if I'd want to know.
Let it be a shock! You don't have to hear them sob in pain, be up all night rolling in agony, have them be sick to their stomach because of the pain medications etc !!
Now: The friend who asked me if it is better to know....died before my mother...and I so regret having given him that answer. I believe that he knew he was dying and was asking me if I'd want to know.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
How time flies
If it is going to be 6 months between postings, then I suppose one might think that my life is very humdrum. Quite the opposite in fact.
My sister and I finished up on Mom's affairs. My sister discovered that she, herself, is very ill with Scleroderma. She's been ill for quite some time (years) and unfortunately it reached crisis last fall. She's had a port implanted thru her chest wall direct to the heart with medicine which is pumped in to help decrease the pressure within her lung and heart. She's feeling much better now after nearly bleeding out last fall. I'll tell yolu, folks...it's been a year to...remember? forget? Whatever!
After I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in October, I've been learning how to deal with it - and everyone seems to have their own way of dealing. I am seeing a pain clinic doctor and he ordered an xray on my neck. He said it looked funny - and here I was going to him because he is a pain specialist. My neck didn't hurt!
The Xray showed that there was a problem and an MRI said that it was a disk which was pushing on the spinal cord. I had a diskectomy with a bone graft from a cadaver bone donor and a titanium plate screwed into the bone. Guess where the surgical incision began...
Oh, c'mon....Guess.
Right above the collarbone at the base of my neck!~ After 3 months, the bone still has not healed as the doctor wished, so I am on another 3 month stint of limited activity. It doesn't hurt much so I can live with that. The reason it is slow healing is because I'm diabetic. I'm not on any meds, and my blood sugar is normal but when it comes to healing, a diabetic's body is still diabetic.
We've been updating our house a little. I want to move to West Virginia where my husband's family lives. He left there 45 years ago and we've gone back for visits, but now it's time to go "home." He and I have been expecting to hit some bumps while discussing this, but so far we're still getting right on!! We've decided on a Modular, but haven't decided on the builder yet. If you have an opinion on which is the best, leave me a comment. :)
Cya sooner than 6 months!! (I hope)
My sister and I finished up on Mom's affairs. My sister discovered that she, herself, is very ill with Scleroderma. She's been ill for quite some time (years) and unfortunately it reached crisis last fall. She's had a port implanted thru her chest wall direct to the heart with medicine which is pumped in to help decrease the pressure within her lung and heart. She's feeling much better now after nearly bleeding out last fall. I'll tell yolu, folks...it's been a year to...remember? forget? Whatever!
After I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in October, I've been learning how to deal with it - and everyone seems to have their own way of dealing. I am seeing a pain clinic doctor and he ordered an xray on my neck. He said it looked funny - and here I was going to him because he is a pain specialist. My neck didn't hurt!
The Xray showed that there was a problem and an MRI said that it was a disk which was pushing on the spinal cord. I had a diskectomy with a bone graft from a cadaver bone donor and a titanium plate screwed into the bone. Guess where the surgical incision began...
Oh, c'mon....Guess.
Right above the collarbone at the base of my neck!~ After 3 months, the bone still has not healed as the doctor wished, so I am on another 3 month stint of limited activity. It doesn't hurt much so I can live with that. The reason it is slow healing is because I'm diabetic. I'm not on any meds, and my blood sugar is normal but when it comes to healing, a diabetic's body is still diabetic.
We've been updating our house a little. I want to move to West Virginia where my husband's family lives. He left there 45 years ago and we've gone back for visits, but now it's time to go "home." He and I have been expecting to hit some bumps while discussing this, but so far we're still getting right on!! We've decided on a Modular, but haven't decided on the builder yet. If you have an opinion on which is the best, leave me a comment. :)
Cya sooner than 6 months!! (I hope)
Monday, August 29, 2005
Found again
I said this began as an accident and so it did. A friend asked me if I would like to try this and I did, however my mother was dying and I was taking care of her. Caring for her was a full time job and I forgot that this blog was created immediately upon its' creation!
I'm glad I emailed myself a note, tho, and today, 5 months later, I found my emailed note so HERE I am again. Yes, it's me. My mother passed from this earthly plane on April 4th and my sister and I only recently finished clearing up her affairs.
Now to carry on with my own. Or try to.
I've taken up photography in the past year or so - photography brought about with gifts of money from my recently departed mother. Her gifts bought a very nice camera, a Canon Rebel DSLR. I hope to post some of those pictures I've taken in here and let you see some of my work and play. Not only does the camera do a very nice job, but I also have a fairly good eye for a photograph.
I belong to a photography discussion group located at ThirdAge and have learned a lot from being critiqued and because we receive "assignments" monthly. Our discussion host is a retired Art teacher who does like to teach and is a boon for us. I am also an administrator at the ThirdAge Chat and assist people in learning a little bit in navigating the chat and site itself.
This is a picture of my Simon cat, a Devon Rex.
I'm glad I emailed myself a note, tho, and today, 5 months later, I found my emailed note so HERE I am again. Yes, it's me. My mother passed from this earthly plane on April 4th and my sister and I only recently finished clearing up her affairs.
Now to carry on with my own. Or try to.
I've taken up photography in the past year or so - photography brought about with gifts of money from my recently departed mother. Her gifts bought a very nice camera, a Canon Rebel DSLR. I hope to post some of those pictures I've taken in here and let you see some of my work and play. Not only does the camera do a very nice job, but I also have a fairly good eye for a photograph.
I belong to a photography discussion group located at ThirdAge and have learned a lot from being critiqued and because we receive "assignments" monthly. Our discussion host is a retired Art teacher who does like to teach and is a boon for us. I am also an administrator at the ThirdAge Chat and assist people in learning a little bit in navigating the chat and site itself.
This is a picture of my Simon cat, a Devon Rex.
He is quite a character. He likes to play "tag", catch the fly, climb the window and all sorts of fun games. He sleeps all night and plays most of the day. I have another Devon Rex, the SugarBaby. She's an older cat and is quite content to sleep all day, but that is anathema to Simon and he INSISTS she rise and shine. She tends to hiss at him and run to Mama to make him go away. He rarely listens although the fly swatter I wield does catch his attention occasionally.
We live in the country, the flat as a pancake part of NorthWest Ohio. Our intent is to move to West Virginia next spring (where it is not as flat as a pancake).
Here's an odd coloured sunflower growing in a burn pile out back.
The original sunflowers were burned last year but some seeds survived and these are those seeds. Quite unusual and very pretty. Baltimore Orioles feed on them and I'd like to get a shot of THEM. :)
I hear stomach's rumbling so it must be time to fix dinner. Cya on the flip side.
"My mind works like lightning. One brilliant flash and it is gone"
Saturday, March 19, 2005
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