Joan on the Road...of Life

It has it's ups and downs. Today we are "woohooing" because Grandpa Harry sat on the edge of his bed. It's been quite a week. He had a third TUR (bladder procedure) on Friday and a third tumor and a mass of blood clots was removed. We think his new urologist is good; he's very open, direct and honest. He says he's not sure where the continued urine blood is coming from. So he cleaned the bladder out and we can only wait to see what happens.

Harry has been eating much better so is gaining some strength. The back infection seems to be under control although still some pain. So sitting up on the bed was no picnic but he said it felt good to be upright. Maybe it will help his psyche too :)

Jim continues to spend hours each day with Harry hoping to chat with the docs and trying to keep on top of things. There's talk that Harry may move to the rehab facility this week. That would be so great because he'd be encouraged to build his strength and move around more. It's really easy to lie still and do nothing when every move causes pain. We hope he's past that. Remember ...he just went in to have a bladder tumor removed. Oh you'll be home in 3 days :) Right!

My knee is improving every day. Yesterday I managed to walk up and down a few stairs normally, without dragging my leg. It is still a little stiff and weak but it's only been 9 days. And if you looked you'd never know anything had happened to my knee.

We're hopeful that "global warming" keeps the midwest mild until we can head for CA. Right now I guess it's not so pleasant with several fires burning in the hot Santa Ana winds. And thanks for sticking with me dear readers. I hope to be "on the road" again one of these weeks!

Posted by Joan at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is a Murphy Law of the Unspoken...once you speak or write a prediction then the opposite will happen. That's Harry. After we thought he was improving a bit he went downhill again Friday with more urinary bleeding, dropping blood pressure and another trip to the ICU. Today, stable, he returned to "the floor". But at the doctor's recommendtion and our agreement he is moving to a hospital in the Chicago area where he'll get more agressive, intensive care and hopefully get some answers to these health problems. This will be a stretch for all of us because he'll be an hour away from us.

I did have my meniscal tear arthroscopy done on Friday. It was a very low key, laid back and calm procedure in the "boutique" surgery center my doc recommended. I really can't compliment them enough. Today, after 3 days. I am walking pretty well. I don't feel confident going down steps normally; I approach them one step at a time. But otherwise all seems well. The pain I had is gone. Now I just have some achiness from the surgery trauma. But no black and blue, little swelling and just two tiny lines on my knee. Can't even see stitches. I'm glad I had that done :)

So there's not much else to report or write about as we are focused on keeping things going and keeping up with Harry's medical trials.

Posted by Joan at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can hear my daughters telling me, "Remember to breathe, Mom," When times are stressful and uncertain taking deep breaths signal your body to relax. So OK...I'm breathing.

Harry is improving very slowly and it looks like he may move to a rehab / nursing facility in a couple of days. He's able to move a bit more without overwhelming pain so the docs think the meds may be hitting the infection. He's eating better and wanted a couple of pieces of pizza last night. So we baked it at home, wrapped it in foil and Jim delivered it piping hot. Harry said we could not imagine how good that tasted.

Tomorrow I'm having my knee fixed. I started to read a little about how they do the arthroscopic surgery and quickly stopped. Too much information :) I'm sure all will go well. The doc says I will walk out of the surgery center without cane or crutches...and I could be playing hockey in three weeks! (Well he works on the Chicago hockey team.) Kind of unbelievable.

I know...where are the pictures? I've just not felt like getting out and about to take any. Next week that will be my goal. There is a huge tree right in front of us that forgot to turn colors and a couple of days ago the leaves just started falling. I'll capture some of the fall scenes around here.

Bit chill, big wind has arrived here. Last week 87, this week 57 if we're lucky. Well this is more seasonal temps. Our furnace and little heater do fine keeping us warm. I had to reorganize my closet to get the long pants and shirts out. No more shorts for awhile :)

Posted by Joan at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jim pumped the MH tanks out using the macerator yesterday. Yeah!! No move required. It was a little klugy because he had it temporarily wired in but we are on empty tanks now. The biggest advantage is that we feel safe in taking showers in our little home. You know how those tank level indicators are in motorhomes....worthless. So it's hard to tell what's up with the tank levels. Now, at least, we won't be stuck with full tanks and no time to drive to the beach to empty out. I should have taken pictures of the 40' black snakey hose and us holding our breath that all would work :)

Harry is still having up and down days. It's a bit of a vicious circle. He's in pain from the infection so he can't move but needs to try to move so he can get back on his feet. One day at a time is the best we can do at the moment.

Harry and I were hoping to see the Cubs play the Angels but after yesterday that's a dream for another year! Maybe the Angels will keep it going today :)

Here it is, October 7th and we are having to run the AC because it's 82 and humid. Looks like a couple of more days of summer and then fall will hit. However, we have lovely trees surrounding us so we can enjoy the fall colors.

Posted by Joan at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today things are looking up for Harry. He's out of ICU, eating a little solid food, in less pain and generally feeling better. And now he has a phone so he can be networking again :) It's been a really rough few days for him so we are very glad to see this improvement.

I saw the ortho doc today to get the results of the MRI on my knee. After he read me the descriptive diagnosis I said, "Jeez, I don't feel that bad!" I have several meniscal tears around the knee but thankfully the repair can still be done arthroscopically....three little holes in the knee. One for the camera, one for the tools and one for fluids. He offered a complete knee replacement and I declined the offer :) So next Friday is the day and I'm hoping for a quick recovery.

We are having wonderful, above average temps here so we can enjoy more summer weather. I hear the geese flying south and see the leaves turning red so the brain is saying...get outta town! But the furnace is working, we have long pants, winter coats and scarves so I guess a bit of cold won't hurt us. I just hope it delays for a few more weeks.

Posted by Joan at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm sounding like a broken record. Harry had surgery 27 days ago."Oh, you'll be home in a couple of days," the doc said. Yeah, Right!!! Last night we got a phone call at 3:22 AM that he was being moved to ICU because his blood pressure had dropped precipitiously. So Jim was at the hospital at 5 AM and stayed all day trying to catch all the doctors and find out what's going on.

After getting oxygen and two units of blood, Harry looks a little better. But if I were trend charting this the line would be going down. He's not getting better, at least that we can see or he can feel. The doctors seem to be at their wits end to figure out what to do. Today his primary care doctor recommended that he be transferred to a "tertiary" or teaching hospital where he would have on-call doctors and top line care. So we are contemplating that.

Finally, someone at the hospital came by today and said, "We are so sorry this is happening to you, Harry." Well it's about time. But the lady who came by happens to be his friend. I wonder if anybody official has the nerve to acknowledge that something went way wrong here.

So...good news. The macerator pump for the motorhome arrived today and all Jim needs to do is figure out how to get power hooked up to it and we'll be in business. I wasn't looking forward to running between house and motorhome with a towel around my wet head and the temps down in the 20's. And I'm pretty sure we'll be here when it gets that cold! Oh well. You do what you gotta do and right now I could not be anyplace but here. And I'm soooo lucky to have a guy who is giving his all to support Harry and help him through this crisis.

Speaking of plates....GO ANGELS!!!!

Posted by Joan at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)