updates wanted

Sheila, how is DH?

Howie, how are you & DW?

pheland, how are you & DS?

Who else hasn’t updated in a while?

1 Like

Give me a bit. Gotta get some work done.

Quick story, all OK and pretty boring.

–Peter

1 Like

“how are you & DW?”


Well - when you get out of hospital following a few weeks you tend to tire easily.
By the same token, when you get out of hospital following a few weeks all the doctors you
have ever seen suddenly need to be seen for checkups (note that all the doctors and nursing
folks at the offices get really annoyed if you drop the “ups” from that particular word).
The general result is that DW and I are continually exhausted - DW more than I since I was
“out” while she was “in” over the last few weeks.
My swelling is more under control - my new family doctor increased the lasiks dosage as well as
the potassium dosage. Not normal yet but am doing better and walk with more stability. Still
seeing wound-care doctors, the gastroenterologist, visiting nurses and visiting therapists.

DW is getting around well and has dropped weight by about 42 lbs since September. We need to
keep track of what she eats and her family doctor is going to check her blood work every
2 to 3 months. She is also seeing visiting nurses and therapists - but not as frequently
as of yet.

Howie52
I am getting back to fixing meals and cleaning up here and there - plus getting out to watch
hockey games on occasion. But I tend to pay for the added efforts the next morning - and afternoon
— and evening.

6 Likes

Hang in there, Howie! Sounds like you & DW are trending up :slight_smile:

1 Like

Than you for asking!!

An overview… Cognitively, still no sense as to what is causing this. He seems generally the same, although I think there’s been a minimal increase in things that confuse him. He’s given up on trying to sleep with the CPAP equipment, and has an appointment with a sleep medicine dentist to talk about a dental device to keep his airway open while he sleeps. And if that’s successful, then it’ll be about 6 months before we start to see cognitive improvement as white matter is gradually restored. There was a point at which he was suddenly not sleeping so much at home, but that came to an end. :frowning:

He saw a derm recently for 2 lesions on his face. The one on his nose is nothing that will become a problem. The one on his cheek, near his nose, is an infiltrative basal cell carcinoma, which is an unusual type. It grows down as well as horizontally, sending strands down between collagen fibers. We met with the Mohs surgeon yesterday, and he’s scheduled for surgery on March 11. Won’t know if he’ll need a plastic surgery repair until the surgeon sees how deep it is. He’s very pissed at having another cancer. And he’s got something going on with his thyroid and/or parathyroid, and the timing of the appearance of a problem points to it as damage caused by the immunotherapy that saved his life. He has some further tests to do, and hopefully it won’t turn out to be anything of real concern. If it’s a parathyroid problem, have to be sure his bone health isn’t being harmed. And when he recently saw our ENT to get his ears cleaned out, he finally FINALLY told him that his hearing has diminished, and asked for a hearing evaluation. It only took a few years. And of course it had been scheduled for…March 11. So with the skin cancer surgery, that has to be rescheduled.

Progress on getting started on dealing with our Ida damage has been at a snail’s pace, and I’ve found another mold remediation/restoration company that gets great reviews and is responsive. They’re coming to assess things tomorrow morning. And at least we finally got the mold evaluation done recently (it’s not good). Before getting started, my daughter will come home from Paris to help us pack up our entire downstairs. Then all of the boxes and furniture have to be moved out. Then once the mold remediation is done, new floors have to be put down, the drywall repaired, and painted. And everything brought back in, unpacked, etc. Then I can start to think about scheduling my ankle replacement surgery.

Struggling full-time with being overly tense, underproductive. But no huge work demands for now, as 2 weeks ago I got the news that the dermatology publication I’ve been researching and writing for 30 years has been discontinued by the new foundation director! That was rough to learn!!

=sheila

9 Likes

I’m sorry for being so late getting back to my own thread.

You’re dealing with so much, Sheila–Ida was a low blow on top of your husband’s health issues and your poor ankle. I’m so glad your daughter is able to come home to help.

Fingers crossed for no repeat of such a storm! Maybe a good time to winnow possessions, see if the kids want anything?

As painful as the end of your wonderful job will be, perhaps a blessing in disguise so you won’t have such divided attention with all you’re handling on the home front this spring/summer.

Perhaps a little freelance medical editing on the side if you miss it too much? Or teaching a technical/medical editing class (online?).

Is your husband still working? I’d be amazed with all he’s been through, but I can’t recall your saying he retired (of course, my memory isn’t so hot lately myself).

1 Like