A Very Joyful Christmas

Christmas Day

Michele had perhaps her best day in a month, aided by having good friends over for a semi-traditional British Christmas dinner prepared by Mae.

Geese are not common in Austin, so we had duck, which I suppose is kind of like a little goose, but not as greasy.


Mae began her work on the Christmas "pud," shown in the photo, days in advance. Her pudding was delicious, even for those who are not used to the Brit's style of cooking.

Mae came to Cat Mountain Christmas morning, took command of the kitchen, and spent all day preparing the dinner. She did a wonderful job and made Michele very happy--perhaps the best Christmas present ever.

Ups and Downs

The Roller Coaster

11pm Saturday 18 December 2010

We never know what a new day will bring. Some days Michele is almost like her October 2010 self, other days she has very limited communicative ability and only wants to stay in bed all day and sleep. On those days, we must cajole her to do anything else.

She has lost about ten percent of her body weight in the past two months. Add that to the ten percent she has lost in the last year and a half and she is down to 85 pounds.

She still enjoys short visits from friends and has done a complete turn-around concerning therapists. Now that the evaluations are completed, they ask her what skills she wants to develop.

The speech therapist is working on a picture book. It is similar to foreign language traveler’s cards. Michele can simply point to a picture to show what she wants to discuss, say one of her grandchildren or a doctor. Food items are also included. The book gives us high hopes.

On her good days, she moves around the house with her aid and the walker, and is able to stay up for about an hour and a half each trip. Her driving is improving, but she is not ready for traffic yet. After last week’s trip to the doctor in her walker, we got a wheel chair for trips outside the home.

We have two or three routine doctor trips planned for next week, but we do not expect anything exciting to happen.

Next posting next weekend.

RKS

Quiet Friday

　

Easy Day

2345 Friday 10 December 2010

Not much happened today. A nurse came by to refurbish Michele’s port and a speech therapist tried to get Michele to talk to him -- with little success.

This was our first day with our new “Vital Signs Monitor.” At ten o’clock, the monitor started asking Michele to “Step onto the scale,” which, of course, Michele ignored. A minute later, it repeated its request. It continued to nag, so, always being a management challenge, Michele left the bedroom for the kitchen for a second cup of coffee. She hid out there while the scale continued to plead for a full half hour. When it finally shut-up, Michele returned to the bedroom.

But the scale was not about to give up. It secretly phoned a cohort human who then phoned Michele and asked her to step on the scale. Michele then handed the phone to me. I promised to endeavor compliance. Every two hours the scale or its cohort requested Michele to step up to her duty until I unplugged the machine and blocked the phone number. We shall see how cooperative Michele might be tomorrow.

Things seem to be settling in to a routine of two daily activities with a lot of sleep, so this blog will switch to a weekly summary unless something different happens. Check back in on Saturday, 18 December.

RKS

Worn Out

　

Too Pooped to Pop

830 pm Thursday 09 December 2010

Michele was booked solid from 10am to 2pm today and it wore her out. The 1pm therapist finally just moved Michele’s arms to determine her range of motion while Michele slept. Kind of funny to watch, but it was also very sad.

We had to cancel the afternoon speech therapist. What could he do when the only thing Michele could say was “ZZZZZZZZZZ?”

We only have one activity scheduled for Friday.

RKS

PS: The 15 Dec social has been canceled.

Busy Days

Early to Rise (for Michele)

1150pm Wednesday 08 December 2010

Michele was up this morning before 9am to get ready for a busy day.

We saw a psychologist this morning. He began evaluating her amnesia. The physical therapist worked with her on balance exercises.

I am beginning to be comfortable giving Michele infusions (IV) through her power port every six hours. ( Yes, we are talking about 4 am infusions. ) My high school guidance counselor warned me to stay away from “touchy-feely” occupations like nursing and social work and to stick to math-science-engineering stuff. I wish she could see me now as Bob Schultz, home health care nurse. However, in my counselor’s defense, some observers have stated that I still could improve on my bed-side manner. No matter, I get the job done; on time and on budget.

Tomorrow is packed with more therapy and exercise. In her spare time we hope to get her to go outside on the deck.

She is beginning to get motivated to accept the home rehab program and no longer says “No!” to everything she does not like. She is beginning just to give us all dirty looks--which is a big improvement from “The Look.”

RKS

Resting

Sleepy Time Down South

11pm Tuesday 07 December 2010

After a busy day yesterday with the surgeon and entertaining visitors all afternoon, today Michele lived a life of ease by sleeping the day away. We woke her up at 10am for her meds; she had a cup of coffee and immediately fell back to sleep. So much for a caffeine high. We woke her up for her 4pm meds, and again she went right back to sleep.

She finally woke up herself at 630, and said she was hungry. She went back to sleep immediately after dinner.

Not a very exciting day.

RKS

　

Doc Report

Getting There

930pm Monday 06 December 2010

We went to a post-operation appointment with Dr Kit Fox, the surgeon, today. We reviewed last week’s MRI and CT scan.

No cancer was observed. Michele does have some other problems with fluid collection and pressure. Dr Fox thinks that the fluid accumulation will be reduced over time as Michele’s brain heals. There are a few patches of blood in several areas of her brain. There is nothing that can be done about the blood patches and they will be watched closely.

The infection appears to be under control. Michele will continue the every six hours infusion treatment through early January.

Dr Fox believes that Michele should recover from the Thanksgiving eve surgery in three to six weeks. Our next appointment is scheduled for Monday, 27 December.

Dr Chadha, the oncologist, may restart chemo treatment in mid January.

========

Michele had her first home visit from a physical therapist today. They worked on using the walker. She does not drive a walker any better than she aims her automobile. She sometimes gets frustrated and simply carries the walker in front of her. I guess that she would put it down on the floor if she started to fall. I learned today that using a walker is not as easy as it looks.

She made progress today in all areas, although as always, she does much better in the mornings and experiences great difficulty talking if she does not get to nap from about 2pm to 4pm.

In summary, we are getting there, but still have a long way to go.

RKS

Progress

Gaining Strength

1130pm Sunday 05 December 2010

Michele continued to improve in all areas today.

For the first time in several days she was able to talk on the phone.

Small steps to recovery.

RKS

At Home

The First Day

11pm Saturday 04 December 2010

True to form, Michele spent most of her first full day at home sleeping.

Her physical abilities are improving. In the short time she was awake, she walked (with help) to several rooms and sat in the dining room and kitchen. That may not sound like much, but remember that Michele was flat on her back for two weeks in ICU and could not even roll over without help.

She still has all of the same mental problems (disorientation, speaking, word selection, intermediate memory) evident before and at the hospital.

Our 24 hours a day helper staff has been fantastic. We could not have come home without them. I do not think that I have ever encountered a more helpful group of people.

RKS

Home

Back on Cat Mountain

10pm Friday 03 December 2010

We came home this afternoon. 'Nuff said.

RKS

Looking Better

Home Friday ??

10pm Thursday 02 December 2010

For Michele’s birthday present, Dr Fox said tonight that Michele might get to go home Friday. This time I think that he really means it.

The wound area from the surgery was tightly wrapped all day and the fluid bulge did seem to decrease in size. Dr Fox has also ordered a head scan for early Friday morning. If the fluid bulge continues to subside and if the scan looks good, we can go home. Warren and I have arranged for 24-hour home assistance help standing by to tend to Michele’s needs and to allow me to finally get some solid sleep.

Never one to let an opportunity slip by, Mary Ann organized a birthday party for Michele and carefully filled the room to capacity. Nurse Meanie would not allow us to light the candles. But she did allow the crowd to sing “Happy Birthday. “

Wish us luck tomorrow.

RKS

　

Fluid Problems

A Step Backward

10pm Wednesday 01 December 2010

No progress today. Michele slept most of the day.

We are experiencing severe fluid build-up in the surgical area between the scalp and the skull, but no leaks.

RKS