The “C” Word – Day 84 First Surgical follow up

We did lab work yesterday in preparation for today’s appointment.  While some of the chem levels were high or low, they were just .1 - .3 off the “norm” so nothing worrisome.  The surprising thing was to see the potassium levels were high – that is a first since we started all of this.  The doctor said he ordered the labs to see how George was tolerating the Lasix (to relieve the edema).

When George got up this morning he had another part of the stitch line that had opened up and had a good deal of bloody fluid on his clothing.  After his shower I carefully covered that and was glad that we had an appointment today.

Upon weigh in, George is now under 200 pounds.  He probably has not seen that weight in nearly two decades.  It was also a significant drop from just 10 days ago when we were at the oncologists office. 

The doctor came in and discussed how things are going.  He did say that the recovery is going a bit slower than expected…. He expected slow but this is a little bit more.  We talked about the breathing issue and he said we should get an xray by Sunday or Monday in order for the oncologist to look at the scan on Tuesday and determine if there is fluid around the lungs again.  He said to wait a couple of days before doing so to see if the Lasix will release fluid or not.  It is not unusual for fluid to build up after having it pulled off once (which George had done on the day we were released from the hospital). 

He looked at the now-open wound and stuck a q-tip deep inside and said that the wound was clean.  He showed me what I was going to have to do in order to ensure that the wound stays open long enough to heal from the inside out.  Kind of gross.  I had to stop and buy a ton of gauze on the way home in order to do this procedure.  I hope my stomach can handle it.  Otherwise I might call my nurse-neighbor over to give me a hand!!  [I can remember when Mike had a large sunburn boil on his shoulder that he wanted me to ‘pop’ and got nauseous just thinking about it – fortunately in that case it broke on his own so I did not have to do it.]

The doctor asked George how often he ate and George said, “three times a day”.  He told him he needs to eat six times a day and that he should always have some sort of high protein snack or similar thing with him at all times.  He said George should set a timer to go off every two hours to remind him it is time to eat something.

After our appointment we went over to CancerCare Point, a non-profit that supports cancer patients, survivors and caregivers.  We need to “plug in” there for some support.  As we spoke with the social worker there it was evident to me that I am not dealing as well as I think I am.  Like George, I am very independent and do not like to acknowledge the fact that this whole ordeal has been more difficult than we both realize.  I don’t like to admit that I am not as strong as I look. It has taken its’ toll on us physically and emotionally.  Our feelings are just beneath the surface. 

It is also evident that I need to take better care of me. While work is my daily “escape” from the doldrums at home, it is work.  I have pledged to get back to starting my work outs next week.  I am signed up for the monthly caregiver support meeting next Wednesday night, and the social worker signed me up for a free hour long massage next Friday afternoon at the center.  Being with other caregivers will be an outlet for me and will give me an opportunity to meet other people dealing with cancers.  Ours is a bit more unique but there will be some similarities.  When George is ready, he too will do some of the activities that the center has to offer.  It may be awhile for him – he will not be driving for a bit still.  He has a journey to travel still in order to get his strength again – but he will need the support of other “survivors” for his emotional well-being also. 

Tonight is Halloween.  Normally we would sit outside with some props and hand out candy.  But today we got some rain and it is dismal and cold out, so I will be popping out of my chair handing out candy while George sits and watches TV.  We may call it a night early and try to get a decent night sleep.  George was able to “dial down” his CPAP last night and that helped – and the doctor told him he can dial it back even further.  We will see how he does with that. 

Last night, at 2AM, our fire alarm started to beep that it had a low battery…. The beeping continued even after I pulled the battery out so I put it in the garage to let it die down.  That meant that I was awake for a bit last night so I am a little tired today.  Hopefully sleep will not evade me and I won’t be awoken in the middle of the night again!!