I don't think this is a good sign

When Jeff first showed symptoms of the tumor his left eye would not move past center - to the outside. After the tumor disappeared in November his eye had full lateral movement. Today I noticed when he was looking at me his good eye (right) was focused dead straight at me - but his left eye was way to the right side (by his tear duct). I'm certainly concerned about that because this is what happened last year - but now it seems to be worse.

I am thankful he has an appointment with the eye surgeon on Thursday afternoon. She wanted him to come in to check the eye that had the cataract.

Please pray that this is not what I think it is (return of the tumor). He has been complaining about eye pain - and I had attributed it to nerve regeneration. I think my theory has been blown out of the water.

Productive Monday

We had quite a rain storm on Saturday evening accompanied by lightening and thunder. We must have had a ton of pollen in the air because on Sunday the deck was all stained yellow. Even hosing it off didn't remove the stain. Today, while Jeff was resting, I pressure washed the deck after applying pool chlorine. Thank goodness all the stain was removed. I also used the opportunity to wash off all the lawn furniture. Chore completed.

Jeff had a restful weekend - but still was plagued with pain. Fortunately he has no chemo this week so he can regain some strength before starting again the following week. I did ask him today how he was and his only comment was he felt "down". That is so sad - I wish I could encourage him to feel positive. When you are DOWN to nothing... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

Have a great Monday.

A calm Friday and Saturday

Last night Jeff decided that he would try sleeping in our king size bed instead of his usual couch. He discovered it was much more comfortable and he got a pretty good night's sleep considering he must have gotten up in the middle night and moved to another bedroom. At least he was in a bed and not on that couch.

Good news yesterday - he actually ate 3 teaspoons of cream of wheat and also a fork full of my dinner salad. I'm sure you are saying to yourself "what a combination". At least he was willing to eat something. Now I call that progress.

His pain level must really be down because he's not asking for pain Rx. His balance and speech is so much better when he's not taking the hydrocodine. I'm thankful for that.

So all in all - the past two days have been a welcomed change and I'll take that whenever God wishes to give it to me.

Have a great weekend.

I guess my hearing is not too good .... let me explain

I took Jeff for his sixth chemo this afternoon and had three questions for his "Harley riding" Oncologist. I knew we weren't scheduled to see him - so I just hand a note to the nurse who administers the I.V. (Not that I don't slip into his office on the way out for some light conversation). He's such a neat guy and great bedside manner with his patients.

Now to the hearing problem I must have ..... this was NOT his last chemo. When Dr. H had originally told me 6 treatments it was really 6 (3 session) treatments = 18. Every fourth Thursday he has that off. So in reality Jeff has only had 6 treatments - next week off - and then another 3 treatments - the following week off, on and on until he has completed a total of 18. Then a PET scan will be scheduled. Duh! So we have a way to go before the dreaded PET.

Also he has a urinary tract infection - so will pick up a Rx for that. Thank goodness for Medicare and his supplement Rx insurance.

That's the update ...... I just hope I can keep all of this straight because not only my hearing must be getting bad but I've heard the memory loss follows....

Have a great evening!

Wacky Wednesday

I THINK I accomplished quite a bit today. Not only did the speech therapist arrive to work on Jeff's facial muscles but my screen men showed up. I had to have three screen panels replaced as well as hardware on the man-door. The screening and spline only last about 10 years and you can see where the spline is shrinking. They gave me a good tip - if a hurricane is headed our way I should slash all the screens - which would save the cage. Replacing a cage would cost around $9K versus replacing all the screens at $900. I never thought of that.

After that was all completed I had to take Jeff's van in for an oil change along with having the new tire put on. Thank goodness there were no customers so it only took about 45 minutes to accomplish those two chores.

Tomorrow is Jeff's last chemo in this series - then we will schedule the PET scan. He's plugging along - but last night he was very confused. That always worries me when I'm trying to fall asleep. To be on the safe side I've taken the car keys out of the ignitions. That would be my luck - if he got in the car thinking he could drive and then end up in an accident. I don't need that on my plate as well.

My mother should be moving to the new assisted living facility shortly. There was a big open house reception last night - but with the van just having the temporary tire I couldn't risk driving up to get her and then drive her back. The mechanic said I should not drive far with that tire. I know she was disappointed - but it was not in the cards. Hopefully they will have more open house receptions (complete with a band) after she moves in so she can see what she missed out on.

Have a great Wednesday evening....

When it rains it pours - addition to post earlier today

All went well with the early appointment my mother had with the new nurse. On the way back I took her over to the senior community center to visit with all her old friends prior to dropping her off at Cedar Creek. After dropping her back - I turned around in the parking lot and apparently hit the cement curb - tearing the back tire of the van. Thank goodness there is a foreign auto repair right on the corner - so walked over there and they had me drive the car over. They changed the tire and on the way home I stopped by the place where I get the oil changed and the tires rotated. Al - the owner is ordering me a new tire and it should be in by Wed. It is time for an oil change so will use that opportunity to do both at the same time. I just wasn't planning on paying an additional $165 on Wednesday.

Oh well - it was my stupid mistake - not judging the distance to the curb. Better believe I will back out of that parking lot in the future.

Survived another Sunday night

Thank goodness it's Monday. Last night was no picnic! I truly believe Jeff has his days and nights mixed up. As I had posted in the past - for three days after chemo his sense of time, etc. is on target and this I believe is from the steroid that is mixed with his chemo drug that he gets on Thursday. When that wears off we are back to confusion and roaming all night.

He slept most of the day on Sunday only to be up pretty much all evening. I woke up around 4AM to see all the lights and TV on with him walking around without his walker. I think I found the walker outside on the lanai. Not using the walker poises a real danger because we have all tile floors and one fall could result in broken bones. I got him situated so I could go back to sleep only to hear him up again five minutes later. Around 5AM I decided that I might as well get up and start my day. If only I could find a way to keep him awake during the day so he'd sleep at night. That's next to impossible unless I put him in the car and drive him around during daylight.

The nurse at my mother's new assisted living facility called last week and wants to meet with her this morning to go over her medical needs prior to her move there. The move is getting closer and as soon as they receive their state occupational license they will be allowing everyone to move in. Hopeful this will take place the first of April. That will also depend on the availability of the movers.

Jeff's cataract surgery has been successful as far as I can tell. It's really strange not seeing him wear glasses. The only downside to the surgery is all the eye drops that are required for two weeks after. At least we have five days under our belt so we can see an end to this chore in the not too distant future.

This week should be an easy one - with only three days of facial stimulation by the speech therapist and chemo on Thursday. This is last one (of this series) and then we will schedule the PET scan to see where we are. Hopefully, with all your prayers, it will show that the new chemo drug is doing its job. Unfortunately I think that the radiation he received last summer did a number on his memory and response time. I hope I am wrong on that front and the chemo he is receiving is causing this because then it would be temporary. That's a question I will ask the Oncologist on Thursday.

TGIF

What a whirlwind this week. Yesterday we had an appointment with the eye surgeon. Great news on his cataract removal - they had him read the eye chart and he could read all the lines except the very last line (the smallest print). She said his vision is now 20/30, which is great for the day after surgery. Most likely within the next two weeks it should get to 20/20. He will need glasses for reading. It's so strange not to see him with his glasses on.

She also said she is going to wait until his right eye is completely healed before taking off the other cataract.

After that appointment he went for his chemo. He has one more treatment next week and then the PET scan.

Now I can look forward to 5 days with nothing on the calendar except a much needed haircut. Time to treat myself.

Have a great weekend everyone.