Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The last Richard update of the year.

Yes, we did a Portland run this morning. We met Dr. Seung, Nurse Nancy, and Social Worker Dawn. It was a full morning!

I learned many things.

#1. The pituitary gland is pretty worthless in mature men.
#2. My high school biology class did not prepare me for oncological conversations.
#3. Gamma knives are not an upscale cutlery option. (Although, I didn’t learn what gamma knives are!)

I also learned that Richard is going back into radiation therapy. He starts a week from today and has 10 sessions, every weekday for two weeks (in Portland). The other options were the gamma knife, but there was some reason that was less desirable and surgery. They start the surgery by going up the nose, so that was obviously not going to be anything that I was going to listen to. Place your hands over your ear and chant, “Puppy dogs and ice cream, puppy dogs and ice cream” over and over. It makes unpleasant things easier to listen to.


Happy New Year!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Commentary on the picture from the last post.

I think what started this all is that I remember the bathrobe that Mom is wearing. That is why I really like the picture. And yes, Mom is beautiful in this picture.

Dad could be in pajamas, or it could be a wool shirt and he has been out shoveling snow and plowing out the driveway before Christmas breakfast. Karla and I are obviously in our night wear. Jane seems to be in the costume of the cult that she had joined the week before. (Mom made her put her hood down for the picture.) Beth and Trudy look like they got home late the night before and are in the clothes they wore on their hot dates.


I love old pictures. 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

It was a simpler time


And a Happy Boxing Day to you all!

I’m sure you have all logged on to find out what is going on in the never-ending saga of our new Roman shades. I tell you it is just an event-a-moment catastrophe in the making.

What? That isn’t why you are here? But you’re missing all the intrigue and suspense!

Oh, I see where you’re at. You just want a quick and dirty Richard update, and then you’re going to log off and fix dinner. Fine be that way. I’ll give you an update.

We got good news and bad news at the oncologist in Portland today.

First, the good news; they have figured out what is causing Richard’s malaise and there is a moderately easy way to make him feel better. One pill four times a day and he will be damn near as good as new, pdq. Ah, the miracles of modern medicine!

And the bad news; they have figured out what is causing Richard’s malaise. It seems that his cancer has metastasized to his brain. And it seems that the tumor is wreaking havoc on many of Richard’s systems. The pills they prescribed will lessen swelling around the tumor easing the symptoms, and we have an appointment with an oncological radiologist on Tuesday to see what kind of longer term solutions there may be.


You know, there are times I just want to sit down on the floor and throw a temper tantrum. 

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Update?

Well, there really is nothing to update. Richard is still home. He had his local doctor’s appointment this morning. He has put back on 6 of the 10 pounds he lost, mostly water gain. His blood pressure is still low (96/60), but it is above the crisis level. The trip to town took it all out of him. He is sleeping now.

Today, I’m going to try making cheesy cream of broccoli soup, the kind you send through the blender. It’s not full protein, but it meets all the other criteria for Richard’s food: blandish, smooth, high fat and calories. I tried a Cauliflower/Tofu Soup the other night. It met all of Richard’s needs, except the high fat and calories bit. It wasn’t a rip roaring success, but Richard ate it.

Okay, I’m taking menu suggestions. It just needs to be:
                Full protein
                Not spicy
                High Calorie
                Easy-to-swallow format

                Low sugar

I will accept four out of the five!

Just an old picture


Back row: Frank Vagg, William Nelson, Ida May McCracken and Ira McCracken
Front row: Lucille Nelson, Gertrude Vagg and Juanita McCracken


Mom had always said that the Vagg’s and the McCracken’s were family friends. My guess is that Frank and Ira were co-workers. I’m not sure where the picture was taken, but Oneonta is a waterfall and gorge near Multnomah Falls, so it is possible they were on a Sunday drive up the Columbia.

Monday, December 23, 2013

The Christmas Tree of 2013


Our tree has been selected.

 It is a 1970/80’s ceramic tree that was made by Richard’s Aunt May. There were three Sloan girls. May was the oldest, then Anna and finally Richard’s mother, Bernadette. Of the three, Anna was the only one I ever met. May and Bernadette had been gone something in the 10 year neighborhood when I met Richard.

Now, there is a long and short version to this story. I look pretty damn fine in the short version. The long one shows some of my warts and other unattractive characteristics.

So, let’s go with the short version.

The tree had lain broken in a box in the attic for many years. I got it out and fixed it as best I could.


I know, even I wish I had a boyfriend as thoughtful as me.

Safely home and tucked into bed.



Warm and hydrated, just need to keep him that way!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

It's like Stephan Pastis knows my heart!


Sunday morning update!

If some of what I write seems disjointed of even more marginally logical than normal, it is because little Tom is assisting me in this post. His writing style is very different than mine. He prefers soft and fluffy prose, while I’m more into the hard driven style you’re all used to.

I’ve been into town to see Richard already this morning. He was in good spirits and seemed to be better. He had a test yesterday (barium swallow), which showed nothing special other than he is old and decrepit. We knew that already!

His doctor is trying a new tact. He has Richard on a plethora of new medicines. Okay, four new medicines, two for nausea/indigestion and two appetite stimulants. They are going to keep him in the hospital until at least Monday, to make sure he has no unfortunate reactions to the medicines. They have no real idea what to do for Richard’s difficulty swallowing, as they have no idea what causes it.


And a happy day to you all!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

And so this is solstice.

It’s the shortest day of the year for those of us who dwell in the northern hemisphere; the longest for those lucky bastards south of the equator.

Yeah, spending the winter solstice in Buenos Aires might be a pretty good way to go! Ooh, ooh… even better, Montevideo, Uruguay!


And I bet the summer solstice in Reykjavik would be pretty fine!


And he's gone again

Yes, Richard is back in the hospital. He woke me up at about 10:30 PM and I drove him down to the emergency room. Of course, they kept him for the night. It is almost 4 AM. I finally got home at about 3, and Max darted out the door. I had to wait until he was in the mood to come back in the house. If it weren't for coyotes, he would have spent the night outdoors.

Yes, he is the second cousin of the devil, once removed.

Same story with Richard as last time. We (meaning "he") were just a little more pro-active this time.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Okay, I am officially pissed!

Same sex couples in Utah are getting married and I’m working the streets in Hood River trying to get people to sign a petition to get gay marriage on the ballot in Oregon. Does anyone else see the absolute incongruousness of this absurd situation?

Oh, and this is totally different than that time I tried working the street before. I found out the hard way that there was already a glut of middle-aged male prostitutes on the market in the Upper Hood River Valley. It was a bitter lesson, but I learned it well.

So suddenly Utah is following the footsteps of New Mexico, which follows Illinois, which follows Hawaii, ad nauseam. And where is Oregon in this procession? We better be ahead of Alabama, or I am going to throw a temper tantrum unlike one I’ve thrown since I was a child. (College students are children, aren’t they?)

Congrats, Utah!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

He is home.

Yes, Richard came home yesterday afternoon.

I have to admit that as we left the parking lot at Hood River Memorial, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. Halfway home, when he started to cough, I was pretty damn sure it wasn’t a good idea. And when he skipped lunch and went straight to bed, I thought about warming up the car so he would be comfortable as we sped back to the hospital. But he was okay. He only ate a small dinner but stayed up a couple of hours after I went to bed.

I stayed home this morning until he woke up. He actually seemed perky to me. Okay, that is a term that needs to be compared to how bad Richard had been. I was pleased. I still left work early, but Richard was awake when I got home and seemed good. Okay, he wretched that one time, but it wasn’t a bad wretch!

He has an appointment with his local doctor on the morning of the 24th. Then he has an appointment with his oncologist in Portland on Boxing Day.

Positive vibes, warm thoughts and even prayers are welcome.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

And a Richard update

I seldom do a straight-laced write. Straight is so hard for me to do, but let’s give this a try.

First, it seems to me I never really told anyone about last night, so let me catch you up. Richard had finally agreed with me that it was time for him to see a doctor. His doctor’s docket was full, but there was a Nurse Practitioner who could see him at 5:30PM. So, we drove down the mountain into Hood River, parked in the closest parking lot and entered the medical building. He checked in, we sat down. Shortly, they called us back. In the short distance from the lobby to the exam room, with a minor detour to a scale, Richard grew winded. He became woozy. The Nurse Practitioner talked to Richard for only a few sentences until she said, “My only real question is, ‘Do you think you can make it to the hospital across the street on your own, in your own car, or should I call an ambulance?’”

An ambulance was there quick as a wink and Richard was rushed across the street. And there started the four hour process of going from a sick, sick man to an emergency room admittee, to a full blown hospital patient. It is an arduous task: one not for the ill or faint of heart.

This morning, I was a mere seconds behind Richard’s ‘Hospital Doctor’ getting to Richard’s room. I had met him the night before. The ‘Hospital Doctor’ is a really pretty cool concept. Not only does your regular or surgical or whatever doctor see you, but there is an additional doctor who is there all the time, and he/she comes to see you, too. The doctor works as an additional advocate for you.

So, I get there this morning just in time to hear the latest. Some good news, and some less than sterling news. They got the blood pressure back to an excellent rate. He is not longer short of breathe, but he also has not been allowed to walk without assistance since his admittance. His blood counts were all reasonable from the test he had last night; all abnormalities with within acceptable ranges considering Richard’s recent treatments. The nausea medication they gave him is working well, the opiate is working to control his headaches and he has lost over 10 pounds in about 6 weeks. They have no idea why he is having troubles swallowing and no clue as to his loss-of-appetite.

Today he had a couple of test. First, he did one of those oh-my-god-oscopies. This one was a colonoscopy that started on the other end. More information than I needed. I’m totally cool with it, just don’t expect me to hold Richard’s hand during the procedure.

His esophagus looks good.

Then he has a CAT scan. There was nothing unusual in the belly or lower tract. There was something in the lung, it could be another tumor, or maybe it is scar tissue. Probably just scar tissue. I forgive the doctor, he is young.

Scar tissue pressing against the esophagus is a reasonably common problem for people in Richard’s position.

Richard is spending another night in the hospital.

Friday, December 6, 2013