The “C” Word – Day 63 Anniversary and Graduation Day

We went to bed relatively early last night to try to catch up on some sleep.  At first it looked as though I would not get much sleep as the need for the bedpan was quite frequent.  Finally, just after midnight things calmed down and we slept for a few hours.  But, today our day started once again very early.  I think it was around 3AM.  George awoke to use the bed pan.  Shortly after that the nurse came in with his anti-diarrheal mediation.  Then George asked for a popsicle to start the day off. 

A little bit later he wanted another popsicle so I told the CNA that he needed to get weighed before he started eating and drinking too much.  His weight this morning was six pounds less than yesterday morning.  This means more of the liquids that have been in his body are finally starting to shed and/or absorb into his system.

It did help that he was able to lay nearly flat all night along with wearing the TED (Anti-embolism) compression stockings to help get the swelling down in his calves and feet.  While his feet still have some swelling the calves were visually smaller than yesterday. 

George was ready to order breakfast quite early (too early to request it) so we looked at the menu and he decided what he wanted.  He ended up choosing Rice Krispies with a carton of milk, a blueberry muffin, and a fresh cut pear.  He managed to eat all of them despite the fact that his tongue is still suffering the side effects of the liquid potassium he had to drink the past two days.  As he was drinking water this morning he wiped off some residue that looked like small sugar crystals from his tongue.  He says that is like a layer of tongue that was chemically burned from the potassium. 

George’s spirits were more uplifted today.  Partly due to the fact that he is using the toilet slightly less than yesterday.  When the on-all doctor for our surgeon came in to check on us, he asked if the anti-diarrheal was working.  At that point George was only going about once an hour.  While we seemed happy about that, the doctor looked quizzically at us as if to say non-verbally “you’re kidding, right”?  He then wrote orders to up the dosage so that the once an hour will become even less.  George’s potassium levels are still very low as he is unable to hold that particular element in his body for any length of time. 

Keith and Bonnie came today and brought George a Jamba Juice.  This tasted really good to him and ended up being his lunch.  They also sat with him a spell to enable me to run home to shower, check the mail, change out a few clothes, etc.  Bonnie also massaged his swollen feet and hands.  She felt good that she could do something to help him out. 

I managed to get George to take three walks today, each one progressively longer than the previous one.  He still runs out of breath and is tired after each one, but he is able to do it and that counts for a lot.  The physical therapist (my favorite one, Julie) came at 4:30.  George was reluctant to go as we had just gotten back a short while earlier from our longest walk of the day.  I told her that I hoped she could practice stairs with him today and she replied, “absolutely”.  It turned out that her practice stairs were buried in a corner so she took George to the real stairs down by the nurses’ station.  They returned to the room to review how to get in and out of bed, after which Julie declared, “You are done!  You don’t need me anymore!”  We chatted with her for a few minutes.  George expressed his appreciation for her help.  I told her I wanted to bottle her up and take her home.  She said she was glad to work with us and said that the next time she saw us she hoped it was in a restaurant having a good time.  She had thought that George would have been gone and off the schedule by now so when she saw his name on her roster she said, “I am going to make him my last client of the day because I know he will do beautifully.”  After she left George broke down in tears he was so happy that he had “passed” the test by being able to climb a flight of stairs.  He now knows that once he is physically stable (internally) that he is capable of making it to and from our bedroom on the second floor. 

Today was our 12^th anniversary so I decided that we would try to eat our dinner together.  We ordered up George’s (soup, salad and fruit) to come around 5PM while I ran down to the cafeteria to get myself dinner (I had previewed the menu so knew I would enjoy this particular one).  We sat across from one another for a meal for the first time in several weeks. 

I have seen George smile more today and engage in conversation more today than I have in months (ever since the diagnosis).  While it has not all been a bed or roses today, we have crossed a major hurdle and are now on the down side of this huge hill that once looked insurmountable. 

Graduation Day (from physical therapy) was the best anniversary present I could ask for.  Seeing George smile today – well, that was pretty sweet as well.  This may not be the place I would ever want to spend an anniversary, but as long as we are together it does not matter where we are.