Finer in the Recliner

Stan here:

Somehow I hit the wrong key and lost the stuff Deb had written about the doctor visit today so I will do the best I can to give a little update.   The first thing that happened is this assistant had to come in the room and record in the computer the meds that Deb is taking. I must admit it is quite a list.  It is all stuff that she would really like to not take but it is needed now because of the various issues.  Perhaps the largest problem right now is some pretty strong bouts with nausea and last week she started with some new meds that have given some relief from this. She is able to be unhooked from all of the stuff for about 5 hours and now she is taking advantage of this. Like right now she is out with Mieke going to some store here in Holland.  She is not painting the house yet but she is able to do some of the things around here.  I think one of the problems is that much time has been spent in the recliner and every bit of that goes against all parts of her personality.  However she finds it needed to have some bend in her midsection or otherwise that tube that is in her really hurts.

At the doctors visit today they told us they are going to start trying a few things.  On Thursday they are going to do another CT scan and after they review that they are going to try and start feeding her through that stomach tube.  The doc drew a picture today of how that thing works. It goes from the stomach into the intestinal tract and they hope they can introduce some feeding and stimulation to that area to get things working again.  It is very true that one of the common themes of this whole adventure is that they still seems confident that all of this will work someday.   Some of you have expressed that this entire matter has taken way to long.  But I think we all have to realize that Deb's body has been though a lot. So what we have is a little off of the charts and the common thought is that patience is the key thought in all of this.  Although it is hard and frustrating sometimes it is the only path we have right now.

This past Sunday Deb could have gone to church.  That gives you some feel for  the fact that some things are getting better. However, if at this point she would contract the flue or a bad cold it would make things even harder than they are right now so we have decided to keep contact with the outside to a minimum for this very reason. So she is shopping right now but trying her best to control the distance from people. It is people she likes the most so I am sure this will be kind of hard for her. But staying home all of the time is not all that great either so I think she is being real careful out there.

For now we are feeling OK with her feeling finer in the recliner. Somehow things feel like they are getting somewhat better. No great news yet in the medical area but some improvement in the overall outlook.

Stan