The C Word – A New Battle Day 306 - Phew! Time to relax….

Well, George ended up being in the hospital for about 5 days total.  On release, he was instructed to maintain a clear liquid diet for a few days.  Good thing I had jello made up and also had made some vegetable broth recently.  Finally, on the Friday after release he contacted Dr. B and asked his opinion.  Only thing is, it differed from the MD at the hospital.  She said “low fiber(residue) and low fat.  He said complex carbs.  Totally the opposite as far as fiber!! 

So, given that we had started to convert to complex carbs and they (so far) aren’t having a negative affect, we are sticking with that for now.  It means reading a lot of labels… and eating at home more often.  Still not an exciting diet as we are very careful with what is eaten. 

We met with the new oncologist to go over post-hospital bloodwork.  It appears that the pancreatitis has really calmed down and we can consider it pretty much gone.  Hallelujah.  What caused it is still an anomaly.  They didn’t see any signs that the pancreas was damaged (relief).  So if we are careful, hopefully it won’t happen again…. Unless the backup was caused by an unseen (and maybe had cleared itself by the time we went to hospital) blockage.  That is the unknown here. 

Being in the hospital for 5 days and subsequently not eating too much for nearly a week to ten days took its toll on George’s already low stamina.  We are now back to walking around a block – or maybe two, at least 5 nights a week. 

During the down time I kept busy preparing for a planned yard sale which was held today. We normally don’t do yard sales because they are too much work for the money – preferring to just donate to Goodwill or similar place.  But we wanted to raise money for Appendix Cancer/PMP and add to our fundraising efforts.   It was heartwarming to have people just walk by and hand us money for this cancer fundraiser without making a purchase.  Or not take their change.  We did very well today!  And… to boot, we just bagged or boxed the leftovers and a man came over to take it away to use for another fundraiser for the local high school.  I didn’t need to load my car up and to that!  WOW!  Double blessing!  There are a few remaining items on the curb and now I’ve listed those for free on a couple of website. Hopefully they will disappear in the next couple of days.  Otherwise I will have to disassemble and throw away a little bit at a time. 

Now… I am just sitting and relaxing.  To say I am exhausted would be an understatement.  The temps this afternoon were in the high 80’s – (this morning, though warm, was pleasant and there was a breeze).  Add to that is the fact I’ve been up and running around since 6AM. 

So, now I kick more into retirement mode.  No big plans.  More crafting.  Learn how to use Etsy and sell my homemade goods (yard sales are not a great venue for that).  That or sign up for a table at a craft fair for the fall.  One day I’ll learn how to just sit and watch TV without my hands being occupied with something else… One day!  Ha!  Just not any time soon!

And maybe, just maybe, George and I can up and do something just for fun - - a picnic, a walk, a short drive…. This is our time!