Hi, All.
I started this morning's post last night, so it mistakenly says "Monday" above the "Thanks, Patagonia People" at the bottom of this post, but I was writing about this morning.
We had a good day today. A nice visit with Nancy and no nausea to speak of, minimal pain and a fair amount of lucidity, although Andrea just told me she had consulted with Dolly Parton about what to wear to some lunch this weekend, because, you know, it's going to be hot. This after we were talking normally about the night's pills and other routine things. Very different. When Andrea told me about the conversation with Dolly Parton she already knew it wasn't real.
So what WOULD Dolly Parton wear to a hot-weather lunch?
I don't know, but she might have a root-beer float, as Andrea did today. She had a sudden craving, so of course I was off to the store in a flash. I don't think she drank much, but she said it was good.
Ms. Brothers declined an Ambien tonight, but I still have a slight headache, so maybe I'll take something.
Sleep well.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thanks, Patagonia People
Good Morning.
First off, we are/I am remiss in not acknowledging some very generous donations by friends at Patagonia who have covered the costs of making the "Life Chronicles" video. Extra thanks to Val Franco who set this up, too. I was going to send a check after I got the still photos ready to add to the final video, but I haven't gotten my act together on this task yet. So much to go through. Now I guess that check will be an extra donation, but it's worth it for Jack and others to come to have that video, so thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.
The latest Andrea news is a mixed bag. Andrea started having nausea issues around 7 last night and vomited around 8. I gave her an Ativan, but she stayed awake or somewhat awake for the next few hours. I think her body wanted to sleep, but she wanted to watch "House" and "The Closer". She drifted off during the latter show, and I went to bed shortly after. I woke a little before 2am either because Andrea was talking in her sleep or I was getting a headache. In any event, Andrea continued talking almost non-stop for the next two hours. Food, work (a constant theme), cancer, friends. After two hours I split an Ambien and popped half in her mouth and half in mine. I slept until 6:30, but Andrea is still sleeping at almost 9:30. We shall see what the rest of the day brings.
First off, we are/I am remiss in not acknowledging some very generous donations by friends at Patagonia who have covered the costs of making the "Life Chronicles" video. Extra thanks to Val Franco who set this up, too. I was going to send a check after I got the still photos ready to add to the final video, but I haven't gotten my act together on this task yet. So much to go through. Now I guess that check will be an extra donation, but it's worth it for Jack and others to come to have that video, so thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.
The latest Andrea news is a mixed bag. Andrea started having nausea issues around 7 last night and vomited around 8. I gave her an Ativan, but she stayed awake or somewhat awake for the next few hours. I think her body wanted to sleep, but she wanted to watch "House" and "The Closer". She drifted off during the latter show, and I went to bed shortly after. I woke a little before 2am either because Andrea was talking in her sleep or I was getting a headache. In any event, Andrea continued talking almost non-stop for the next two hours. Food, work (a constant theme), cancer, friends. After two hours I split an Ambien and popped half in her mouth and half in mine. I slept until 6:30, but Andrea is still sleeping at almost 9:30. We shall see what the rest of the day brings.
12 O'clock High
Hello, Again.
Yes, "12 O'colock high". And 10 and 11 and 1 and 2. I guess I overdid the medication this morning because our gal was high all day. There were moments of lucidity, but Andrea was seeing things all day long. Examples: "Did you bring the cookies to work?".."Weren't there two sticks of butter on the night table"..."Did you see those birds fly over" and on and on. The good thing is that there has been no pain and no nausea all day long. I think we can cut back on the medication and bring her down a little. I'll just have to figure out what the right dosage is for each of the three drugs she's getting that can cause hallucinations. It HAS been amusing, and I'm so glad we have a day without pain, but we do want the real Andrea back. Or maybe Andrea after a glass of wine.
Yes, "12 O'colock high". And 10 and 11 and 1 and 2. I guess I overdid the medication this morning because our gal was high all day. There were moments of lucidity, but Andrea was seeing things all day long. Examples: "Did you bring the cookies to work?".."Weren't there two sticks of butter on the night table"..."Did you see those birds fly over" and on and on. The good thing is that there has been no pain and no nausea all day long. I think we can cut back on the medication and bring her down a little. I'll just have to figure out what the right dosage is for each of the three drugs she's getting that can cause hallucinations. It HAS been amusing, and I'm so glad we have a day without pain, but we do want the real Andrea back. Or maybe Andrea after a glass of wine.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Same old Same old...
Another difficult day, though Andrea has been sleeping for the last couple hours with the help of phenergan, marinol and methadone. She was nauseous from the moment she woke, but she did sleep through the night. She also complained of shortness of breath/difficulty with breathing and is worried about the trend. Will it get to the point where she has to struggle to take a breath? It is possible we'll need to up the drug amounts to keep her comfortable. We did move her back into the bedroom, which took some logistical planning, a wheelchair and a break. The hospital bed just didn't work out that well. The mattress is not comfortable and the adjustments are problematic. It is a little easier for Jack and I to carry on with our days if she's in the bedroom, but our convenience is secondary, if that.
No visitors today, but Joyce came by for a couple hours while I took Jack out. We'll see how she does tomorrow.
That's it. I wish I had more positive news to report. I'll add a few lines tonight if Andrea feels any better.
No visitors today, but Joyce came by for a couple hours while I took Jack out. We'll see how she does tomorrow.
That's it. I wish I had more positive news to report. I'll add a few lines tonight if Andrea feels any better.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday
This Saturday has not turned out as I'd hoped, but how much can you expect from a day that has the word "turd" spelled out right in the middle of it? Okay, that was a bit much, but the day hasn't been very kind to Andrea. She did get a little visiting in this morning, but she's been sore and/or uncomfortable a good part of the day and thrown up three times. I'm finally understanding where a good part of the nausea comes from: the device implanted in her stomach. There seems to be a bulb of sorts inside the stomach and anytime it moves Andrea experiences some nausea. Other factors are at work, but any movement of the device just seems to trigger a reaction. I will go online later and see what others have experienced.
So it has not been a great day. Sarah S. kindly came by again while Jack and I went to a Tee-ball game. Lynne and Karen O'neil stopped by for a low-key hour, also. And Steph and Eric hung out for a good part of the afternoon. It took all three of us to move Andrea off her bed and into the recliner while we changed her mattress. Not sure if she'll be any happier with the change, but "we'll see" (as my mother said a thousand times).
What else? Another prescription for nausea arrives late tonight. Phenergan. It may work similarly to Ativan (nausea relief at the expense of wakefulness), but..."we'll see". Andrea is sleeping now (6pm) and has been sleeping for the past couple hours. I suspect she's down for the night, but sometimes she surprises me.
Hope your Saturday is a happy one.
S
===============
10:15
Andrea woke at 8 and vomited several times. Phenergan suppositories arrived and were duly inserted. Andrea drifted back to sleep but woke a few times and asked non-sensical questions, in one case something about a book. In another she said something about "wonderful colors". I hope her dreams are happy ones. Yours too.
-o0o-
So it has not been a great day. Sarah S. kindly came by again while Jack and I went to a Tee-ball game. Lynne and Karen O'neil stopped by for a low-key hour, also. And Steph and Eric hung out for a good part of the afternoon. It took all three of us to move Andrea off her bed and into the recliner while we changed her mattress. Not sure if she'll be any happier with the change, but "we'll see" (as my mother said a thousand times).
What else? Another prescription for nausea arrives late tonight. Phenergan. It may work similarly to Ativan (nausea relief at the expense of wakefulness), but..."we'll see". Andrea is sleeping now (6pm) and has been sleeping for the past couple hours. I suspect she's down for the night, but sometimes she surprises me.
Hope your Saturday is a happy one.
S
===============
10:15
Andrea woke at 8 and vomited several times. Phenergan suppositories arrived and were duly inserted. Andrea drifted back to sleep but woke a few times and asked non-sensical questions, in one case something about a book. In another she said something about "wonderful colors". I hope her dreams are happy ones. Yours too.
-o0o-
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday
The name Friday comes from the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige the Anglo-Saxon form of Frigg, a West Germanic translation of Latin dies Veneris, "day (of the planet) Venus." However, in most Germanic languages the day is named after Freyja—such as Frīatag in Old High German, Freitag in Modern German, Freyjudagr in Old Norse, Vrijdag in Dutch, Fredag in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish—but Freyja and Frigg are frequently identified with each other.
The word for Friday in most Romance languages is derived from Latin dies Veneris, "day (of the planet) Venus" (a translation of Greek Aphrodites hemera) such as vendredi in French, venerdì in Italian, viernes in Spanish, and vineri in Romanian. In most of the Indian languages, Friday is Shukravar (or a derived variation of Sukravar), named for Shukra, the Sanskrit name of the planet Venus. In other Indo-European languages the day is not related to the planet Venus. Russian uses an ordinal number for this day of the week-- piatnítsa, meaning "fifth." Similarly, the Portuguese is sexta-feira, the sixth day. ....
Okay, lesson over. This IS Friday, so I don't see how anyone could possibly accuse me of padding this post. Actually, I'm stalling. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this day did not start out well. I better just get on with it. Andrea woke with a lot of pain in her chest, which got worse when she took a deep breath. I gave her a bigger dose of methadone and a dilaudid, but she still was in quite a bit of pain for hours. In addition, she said her shoulderblade hurt. I decided we need to get her out to the hospital bed in the living room for a change of scenery, a different mattress, a more easily adjustable bed and a kind of air bed that uses a pump to stimulate parts of the body in waves or something so as to reduce the chances of getting bed sores. Moving Andrea was a short ordeal, but we used a wheelchair and I enlisted Lynne's help to get her moved without extra pain. And there she lies now, talking with Judy and Mary Ellen, but for how long I'm not sure. She seemed kind of dopey to me a few minutes ago.
A nurse came by a little after noon and checked on Andrea. She didn't have any explanations for the pain, but did take notes to give to Dr. Vielma (also known as Dr. Issac). We'll see what develops . I'm about ready to fall asleep, but I have to go get Andrea's car from the dealership and coach T-Ball at 4:30. Maybe I can fall asleep for a few minutes...
More later.
Today did not start or
The word for Friday in most Romance languages is derived from Latin dies Veneris, "day (of the planet) Venus" (a translation of Greek Aphrodites hemera) such as vendredi in French, venerdì in Italian, viernes in Spanish, and vineri in Romanian. In most of the Indian languages, Friday is Shukravar (or a derived variation of Sukravar), named for Shukra, the Sanskrit name of the planet Venus. In other Indo-European languages the day is not related to the planet Venus. Russian uses an ordinal number for this day of the week-- piatnítsa, meaning "fifth." Similarly, the Portuguese is sexta-feira, the sixth day. ....
Okay, lesson over. This IS Friday, so I don't see how anyone could possibly accuse me of padding this post. Actually, I'm stalling. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this day did not start out well. I better just get on with it. Andrea woke with a lot of pain in her chest, which got worse when she took a deep breath. I gave her a bigger dose of methadone and a dilaudid, but she still was in quite a bit of pain for hours. In addition, she said her shoulderblade hurt. I decided we need to get her out to the hospital bed in the living room for a change of scenery, a different mattress, a more easily adjustable bed and a kind of air bed that uses a pump to stimulate parts of the body in waves or something so as to reduce the chances of getting bed sores. Moving Andrea was a short ordeal, but we used a wheelchair and I enlisted Lynne's help to get her moved without extra pain. And there she lies now, talking with Judy and Mary Ellen, but for how long I'm not sure. She seemed kind of dopey to me a few minutes ago.
A nurse came by a little after noon and checked on Andrea. She didn't have any explanations for the pain, but did take notes to give to Dr. Vielma (also known as Dr. Issac). We'll see what develops . I'm about ready to fall asleep, but I have to go get Andrea's car from the dealership and coach T-Ball at 4:30. Maybe I can fall asleep for a few minutes...
More later.
Today did not start or
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Thursday Morning / Evening
Good Morning.
We've had a good start to the day. Andrea is alert and chatting with Angela (from Patagonia)and hasn't mentioned pain or nausea except briefly after a bathroom break.
One positive thing I haven't mentioned is that Andrea is getting oxygen and it seems to help. She has one of those little plastic tubes in her nose and a machine tucked away in the closet pumping away. It seems to help with nausea and also makes breathing easier. We know the tumor/s are all around the stomach, creating pressure, and probably now the lungs, too, which makes taking a breath harder. Not a pleasant thought, but most likely a reality.
More later.
===================
Hello Again.
It's been a relatively quiet afternoon and evening for Andrea. Joyce stayed with Andrea for a few hours at mid-day, which allowed me to leave the house for a doctor's appointment and a quick half-hour at Helmut and Laura's in Hollywood (some of the nicest people I know and clients, to boot). A social worker from the hospice care came by to check in on Andrea, then Steph came by around 5 and hung out until 7. Andrea watched television for a little while, then asked to be hooked up to the oxygen again as she was feeling a tightness in her stomach. The pressure hasn't gone away as of 9:30. I gave Andrea an Ambien, so I'm hoping she'll sleep through the night. We'll see what tomorrow brings, besides a few visitors and T-ball practice.
So. Quiet is good. And no vomiting all day = good, also. Another couple days like this and I'll have to start posting vacation slides and mother's recipes (if I could ever read her writing).
Good Night
We've had a good start to the day. Andrea is alert and chatting with Angela (from Patagonia)and hasn't mentioned pain or nausea except briefly after a bathroom break.
One positive thing I haven't mentioned is that Andrea is getting oxygen and it seems to help. She has one of those little plastic tubes in her nose and a machine tucked away in the closet pumping away. It seems to help with nausea and also makes breathing easier. We know the tumor/s are all around the stomach, creating pressure, and probably now the lungs, too, which makes taking a breath harder. Not a pleasant thought, but most likely a reality.
More later.
===================
Hello Again.
It's been a relatively quiet afternoon and evening for Andrea. Joyce stayed with Andrea for a few hours at mid-day, which allowed me to leave the house for a doctor's appointment and a quick half-hour at Helmut and Laura's in Hollywood (some of the nicest people I know and clients, to boot). A social worker from the hospice care came by to check in on Andrea, then Steph came by around 5 and hung out until 7. Andrea watched television for a little while, then asked to be hooked up to the oxygen again as she was feeling a tightness in her stomach. The pressure hasn't gone away as of 9:30. I gave Andrea an Ambien, so I'm hoping she'll sleep through the night. We'll see what tomorrow brings, besides a few visitors and T-ball practice.
So. Quiet is good. And no vomiting all day = good, also. Another couple days like this and I'll have to start posting vacation slides and mother's recipes (if I could ever read her writing).
Good Night
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