Medical update and becoming a Ace

Its 1:38 pm


  Wow......President Obama has won a 2nd term despite a strong effort by Mittens Romney. But that is just a sideshow as to what has been happening as of late.

I hadn't have much of a chance to blog lately....been trying to work as much as I can and my hours have been all over the map. Between that,dashing to Ann Arbor and the Oakwood ER,it feels like Superstorm Sandy landed in my own damn house.

  Medical update.

      The 2nd round of chemo is so much rougher then before. We are both tired and run down. Last Saturday saw Lori develop a 100.4 fever that landed her in the E.R. at Oakwood. For those of you who have been following this story,you KNOW just how much I love Oakwood.
  We got there at 10:30 pm....and left at 1:30 am. Turns out she had a nasty urinary tract infection which also happened to her the first go round as well. This is because her immune system is being flattened by the chemotherapy. It makes any illness a serious matter,which is why you see cancer/chemotherapy patients wear masks,especially in the hospital itself.



After seeing Dr. Weaver for the 3rd time,we went by the local CVS store and fill her medications that she had to have. We got home at 2 am and went straight to bed. Made it through Sunday okay and then on Monday we had our regular appointment with Dr. Johnston in Ann Arbor. Did our blood draw first,then had to kill an hour before our appointment.
  The waiting room was pretty busy,I had brought along a British mystery novel written by Martha Grimes...



Tried to get into it but just didn't have it in me. Lori was dozing in her chair when she suddenly had to use the restroom. She came back and said she saw blood in her urine.
 Sort of didn't surprise me,UTI cases often has blood,its because the urethra is inflamed and irritated. I just encouraged her to wait before seeing Dr. J before going to the restroom again so they could get a good sample.
   Finally they called her back....for her vitals. I tried again to get into my book when I saw a shadow fall across my lap. I looked up and saw Terry,one of our nurses from the infusion clinic near our house. Terry is a supervisor and Mel is Lori's favorite chemo nurse. We really bonded with them last year during Lori's first round. In fact,we had seen both ladies at the first infusion just 2 weeks ago. Terry was there filling in for a nurse who is expecting and Mel was rotating through the main hospital on Mondays for a while.
  Lori and I made both ladies coupon books as a way of saying "thank you" for their kindness.
I stood up and Terry gave me a big hug....Lori said while she was getting vitals,Terry popped up and sat on her lap....she explained Lori was "one of my patients" at the infusion clinic.
   We made some small talk and then Lori got called in and I waited outside.
Turns out everything is fine (as well as can be expected for a cancer patient). The UTI is being treated gently,no real string antibiotics because that would produce our old pal C-Dif and we don't want that!
 She had a mucus discharge that is also a good sign and the blood in the urine is also normal. I was told to have her keep pushing the liquids.

So we'll keep on  doing that as much as we can. That night Lori said she started seeing her hair starting to fall out now. This too was expected so we placed a call to her hairdresser,a delightful lady named Donna,who will take care of Lori's hair. We had to dust off the wig again and come next week,she'll be wearing that again.
  We both had a good cry....we really wish we had more friends. Lori was very upset because when she was first told she had cancer,suddenly all of these folks she had rarely heard from suddenly popped up. It was nice getting the cards and calls but when she went into remission,that all stopped.
  We have hosted many people in our house...but rarely do we ever get a invite back. Its a real mystery as to why that happens...I only know that we bust our asses getting ready for our guests and make sure they are  fed a excellent meal and have a good discussion about just about anything.
   It really upsets her,especially around the holidays...
I was thinking about inviting 2-3 of my co-workers over for a "orphan's dinner" for Thanksgiving but I don't really know them that well as to be comfortable with that idea.

   Derek becomes a "ace".

So last Thursday morning I get up for work at 5 am. I stumbled out of bed,got my clothes ready and headed for the bathroom. I turned on the heat light as its softer,Lori was still sleeping. As I came back into the bedroom,I heard Derek make a ruffling noise. Ruffling is catspeak for "I love you". I glanced down and there it was,a dead mouse on the top of the stairs,this is where Derek sleeps during the night....unless he is killing mice.
  
Derek got his first two kills in Northville.....then 2 more a couple of years ago when our neighbors had a bad mouse infestation problem. In fact,he killed those 2 a mere 10 minutes apart.
And now this...his fifth kill.
   The term "ace" comes from from World War I when a pilot shot down 5 enemy planes,he was a called a "Ace". Its requires great skill and daring to become a ace and despite being 13 years old and a strictly indoor cat,Derek still has lightening fast reflexes.


 
Doesn't look different then a Me-109 does it?

   
Lori had to work yesterday so I waited for her at home...we always vote together at our polling place. I had watched the news and heard about the crazy long lines in Detroit. People lined up around the block waiting for their chance to vote. The local branch manager at Chase Bank said he had to wait about 40 minutes but it went it by fast.
   So when 5:30 pm came,I was a bit worried.




If the lines were really that long,we might have to chance coming back because we can't risk standing outside
with Lori undergoing chemo. We decided to take a chance and brave it. We got there at 5:30....and left at 5:50 pm with  our "I voted" sticker proudly displayed on our sweaters.



We had no real lines to speak of and the process went smooth as silk in our town!

Well that is it for me.....

Thanks for stopping by and I'll and throw something up tomorrow as well!



- Denise in Texas,we're praying for you! Such an amazing spirit!
- Joan,DJ and I are proud of you on the new job!
- Theodore,thanks for having a open mind.
-To everyone who actually reads this blog and leaves a comment---THANK YOU!