The day flew by in a flurry of appointments. To be perfectly truthful, while we were sitting in various waiting rooms, it felt more like time crawled by at a tortoise's pace. Suffice to say the day was taken up by other obligations so I didn't have time to compose a nice blog post and find an apt photo and a quote to go with it. But I know some of you have been waiting for the after clinic report, so I'll give you the scaled down version.
First, the not so great news: Roger lost another pound. One pound does not a crisis make, but if he continues to lose weight, this could become a real problem. This week he needs to maintain his weight or even better, gain a pound. Also on the not-so-great front, his vision is still very blurry. It's difficult for him to either read or see at a distance very well. He can see well enough to watch television, but he can't read. He can see well enough to walk, but he most certainly can't drive. We need to figure out if the vision problem is a side effect of medication, which would make it temporary, or if it's a side effect from the transplant, which would make it permanent, or if it's being caused by something else which would make it an unknown. Hold this thought for us: it's only temporary.
Now the good news and the really good news: There is still no sign of Host Versus Graft disease. He is feeling a little stronger each day. Even though his stomach is in no great shakes, he's tolerant of a wider variety of food with each passing day. His kidney function has improved, probably due to the quart and a half of IV fluids he gets every night now. And, drum roll, please....all his blood counts: neutrophils, red blood cells and platelets have improved again!
You know Roger is competitive, right? He always wants to do things just a little bit better than the next guy. The quote of the day is from his P.A., Andrea Arnold, who says Roger is "miles ahead of most transplant patients at day 42." That was all the encouragement he needed to make him want to go home and eat something.
Great News!!
ReplyDeleteWHEW! I'm lovn' it!
ReplyDelete(btw, how about a Big Mac?)
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ReplyDeleteThis is great news. Here are some suggestions for food (you have probably already thought of these). Chocolate Nutella has 500 calories in a serving. I haven't actually tasted it...but that is pretty amazing. Pudding made w/ half and half would pack another 400 to 500 calories. Plain peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is another 500 calories.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, my visualization is tuned in to the intention that Roger's eyesight has clarity and goes away immediately.
Here is another thought. Eyesight (actually all the senses) are sensitive to 6th Chakra energies. Roger, you might want to think about what three things you can do to nurture yourself. Can you find ways to do something that feels good so you can create space for nothingness. Mediating may also help. It may take the pressure off this energy space so you can heal even more thoroughly... another challenge, right?
Congrats and hip hip hooray on all the good news!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of the pudding too just the other day as I was reading your blog. That might be something Roger can get down easily and pack some calories on.
If you can stomach one, McDonald's might help! Clare could be on to something there!
Hello! I'm a newcomer to the blog and enthusiastic about following the unfolding story.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the opportunity to stand with you and for you, Roger and Candi, as witness to your infinite willful wrangling with the "what is" of each moment of each day.
You're also deepening my understanding of the dance with gratitude.
As I read the blog from start to 1/5/11, the image which comes to my mind is you two skillfully rafting the white waters of life's ups and downs, twists and turns, changes and adjustments. It's like you've prepared your whole lives for this.
Also these words come to mind for me as a reader of this blog: "It is only through letting our heart break that we discover some unexpected: the heart cannot actually break, it can only break open. When we feel both our love for this world and the pain of this world - together, at the same time - the heart breaks out of its shell. To live with an open heart is to experience life full-strength." ~ John Welwood
Thank you so much for inviting me to participate, and I"ll visit here regularly.
Hugs, Kisses, and Blessing to you both, Roger and Candi!
I love reading the comments... I re-read mine and thought you might appreciate my changing my intention to something that won't result in his eyesight going away. So here is my revised visualization: I see Roger's eyesight as being clear...no fuzziness allowed!
ReplyDeleteHere's what you need, Roger . . . Elvis Presley's Grilled Peanut Butter
ReplyDeleteand Banana Sandwich. He would eat 12-15 of these in a sitting. And look how fat he was!
•2 slices of white bread
•2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
•1 small ripe banana mashed
•2 tablespoons butter
Spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread and the mashed banana on the other. Press the slices gently together. Melt the butter (or to be truly Elvis-like, melt bacon fat!), over low heat in a small frying pan. Place the sandwich in the pan and fry until golden brown on both sides. Eat it with a glass of buttermilk.
And for a simply scrumptious variation of this sandwich, try adding some bacon and honey.
Bon appetit!
And there's nothing like an Irish Seven-Course Meal to pack on the pounds. What is an Irish Seven-Course Meal, you ask? Its' a six-pack and a potato.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, what about baked potatoes, with lots of butter and sour cream--and not the non-fat kind. Or mashed potatoes made with real cream (not milk or non-fat cream) and butter.
Another idea for packing on calories is to tune into the Paula Dean show on the Food Network. Her two favorite cooking ingredients are butter and oil. And for her, these constitute a food group. But you won't find them at the tippy top of the food pyramid occupying some dinky triangle. Oh, no. Instead, butter and oil form the very foundation of the food pyramid itself.
So, y'all might want to check out her show for some recipe ideas.
The Top Ten Things you Should Avoid for Fear of DECREASING your Appetite:
ReplyDelete10) Watch “Sarah Palin’s Alaska”
9) Listen to Sarah Palin’s voice
8) Look at this video of two-headed calves eating http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp=40965170�
7) Visit John Boehner’s and Snooki’s tanning salons
6) Open your medical bills while watching Kourtney and Khloe take Miami
5) Any news report—if you can even find one—that has the word “Haiti” in it
4) Watch reruns of Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest
3) Eat a hot dog
2) Imagine Michelle Duggar in bikini
And the number one thing you should avoid for fear of decreasing your appetite is . . . Tropical Green Jello-O Shots served in hospital specimen cups.
(I'll be out of touch until Tuesday, January 18. Keep up the good work!)