Another week of waiting...

It's been more than a week since I've written. Not much has changed; I'm still unsure when the chemo and hospital stay begin. That sort of put life on hold...including thanksgiving.

Last week, I got switched to a different pill for the edema. 40 mg of Lasix is supposed to be stronger than what I was taking for my Meniere's. That doesn't seem to be the case. I've gained lots more weight, all in fluid retention I think/hope. My blood pressure is way up; usually 110/65, it was 133/85 the other day. A call to the nephrologist has again gone unreturned for a day; hopefully they call back today with something stronger. I'm swelling all over now, not just my feet and ankles. Of course, the added girth must be fluid, right?

Last Friday, I had a tooth pulled for this. Other than wisdom teeth, this was a first. I had some gum trouble more than 10 years ago but was able to keep all my teeth. This one, a molar, had less bone and more tooth showing so, when it got sensitive to cold, it became an infection threat and had to go before they wipe out my immune system. Some of you may remember Lewis Grizzard; he had a tooth infection that traveled to his heart's pig valve and killed him. Knowing that, it's easier to accept the loss of a tooth. After all this is done, I'll get an implant for it. For now, it really feels funny to be able to stick my tongue between two teeth back there.

This past Saturday & Sunday, I sat around...a lot. I'm getting tired easier now. I'm also getting tired of the waiting. To be honest, it sucks. I'm ready to get this show on the road...the sooner it starts, the sooner it ends!

Even though the doc told me I can work while in the hospital, I'm having a time getting our HR dept. to understand. The official policy doesn't cover someone who's fine...just a little weak and confined to a mostly sterile ward. We got past the 'you will not work while on sick leave' to 'the company can have no demands or expectations while on leave'. I don't even want to call it 'leave'. Now the assigned social worker (yup, got one of those of the team) is working on a note for them. We'll see how that all falls out over the next few weeks. I just know I'll go stir-crazy if I can't work.

My wife, Alice, is one incredible woman. Several people have said they'd be going nuts if their husband was going through this. Unless you know Alice, you'd never know she was going through something.

She loves Thanksgiving and looks forward to it every year; it's an opportunity to have lots of people over. This stuff isn't going to stop her. Always a very determined woman, she's decided that this year Thanksgiving would be on Nov. 10th instead. Most of our regulars have changed their schedules and will be here. I'll be on the growth hormone but should be fine...maybe even a bigger appetite than usual;-). Just in case, Alice is prepared to do it all without my help. Yup, if I want to, I can just sit back and watch everybody else work while I lay back and relax. Wonder if I can just fake it:-).


That's it for now...things to hope for in the next few days:
A new diuretic prescription that'll have me losing LOTS of weight
A shipment from Amazon with some books and music to help pass the time at the hospital.
A MASSAGE on Thursday!!! I should mention that I'm addicted to my massages. 90 minutes every 3 weeks is absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend it to everybody. (but I will not give my masseuse's name out. I did that once and she got so busy, I couldn't get any appointments anymore).