Last Monday Dr. M, the Denver specialist, was scheduled to call us via Cisco Webex video. One of his nurses called to say that he was running late. 30 minutes later he was not available yet, so the nurse asked if he could call later rather then leaving us holding the phone. He finally did call, but we just did a plain conference call without video. That's fine with us. He said for Doug to get off the percocet and try ibuprofen for the back pain. That worked very well. Now he is not even taking that, and feeling better, except for some intestinal issues.
Dr. M asked about the plasmacytomas. They are not painful; Dr. M says if they do start to bother Doug, a short course of dexamethasone can be given.
He thinks dehydration was a big factor in Doug's falls; that he fainted. I agree. Drinking is something Doug can do. My job is to encourage him to drink more without nagging.
Talking to Dr M always makes us feel better. He encouraged us to get out of the house when we can. We will visit with him again in two weeks.
Two dear friends brought food over today. We are so blessed!
On Tuesday morning a different friend called and asked if she could bring some freshly baked peach cobbler. Sure!
We also got fresh greens from a friend's garden. Yum.
Doug has been taking long naps in the daytime. Nothing wrong with that.
I'm reading a good book: Something Has to Change by David Platt.
Today a friend from church stopped by to bring us beautiful pink roses! Such a bright spot in the day.
Today the hospice nurse came. She watched Doug walk without the walker and she thinks he is okay without it as long as he feels steady. She told me to let Doug use his judgment - she knows I tend to be over-protective! I just have to get the image of those falls out of my mind! I told her we really want to get out on these nice days. The steps going down to back patio are too many and too steep. So she watched Doug go out the front door and down the two steps without the walker. We do have a sturdy railing, thankfully. (Doug put that in several years ago with a friend's help, after I twisted my ankle.) She thought he did well. So now we can go for rides in the car!
The nurse did caution him to use the walker if we walk to the mailbox, since the road surface is not smooth.
Instead of weighing patients, hospice has a new way to check on weight loss. They use upper arm circumference measurement, using centimeters. Much easier than a scale! Today's number is a baseline, 23 cm. He still has an appetite and enjoys food but is eating less. His oxygen sat (saturation) today was 93%.
We will get a nurse visit every week.
One more bright spot today: one of the nurses from the infusion clinic at the hospital came to see us. She is such an encourager. Doug has always loved to tease her. Another of God's angels. I will say it again - we are so blessed! Of course we do have down days too, but counting our blessings is not just a corny saying - it works.
We are trying to live in the moment, not always easy, but possible with prayer. God sends us many signs of His love.
Today's quote:
"Our first and natural inclination in any trial is to pray for God to remove the difficulty. But God's first priority is often to strengthen us in the midst of the difficulty rather than to take us out of the difficulty. That's because He can see the treasure that lies at the end of the trial." Gary Thomas
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