My Cancer Journal

The Tenth Week

Sunday, February 16, started off with the exact same breakfast I have been getting for the past four weeks: scrambled eggs that have no taste, a large bowl of Cheerios which I can only eat half, instant coffee which I can’t drink, and a small bowl that could possibly be yogurt. I stare at hoping it will magically disappear. It doesn’t.

I got up and dressed around 10AM and Mar came about the same time. I got into the wheelchair. Mar took me for a spin around the block and around noon we went out to the courtyard. We were expecting our friends Gail and Marty today to pay us a visit. Well, Mar forgot she had also invited Edd and Kathy and they showed too. Mar had called Gail to stop by Erik’s DeliCafe in Foster City to bring me a bowl of soup that we had ordered online. She brought it and I preceded to eat it all. Beats mashed potatoes for lunch which I get every day. I also get the mashed potatoes for dinner every day.

We sat and talked for two hours. It was wonderful. So around 2PM I said the party was over and I needed to get back in bed on the G-tube. Mar stayed until 4PM as she had run out of gas. I had my mashed potato dinner, read my book, got my Ambien around 8:30, and called it a day.

I slept fairly well although my mind was racing through the thoughts of going home on Tuesday. Monday morning came with the usual breakfast which I just stared at hoping it would go away. I got up around 10AM and Cynthia, the CNA, gave me a shower to be squeaky clean to go home tomorrow. Mar came and so did Nelson, the PT. I wanted to walk, so Nelson put the belt around me and had Mar be the safety person holding onto the belt. Nelson brought the wheelchair along if I needed to rest. We went around “the circle” not once but twice. That is nearly a 1000 feet. The rest of the day was uneventful and I was so looking forward to going home tomorrow.

One more time looking at my mashed potato dinner. I love mashed potatoes, but too much of a good thing soon turns to resenting them. I read my book, got my Ambien, and off to dreamland I went. I slept fairly well except for some visits from Mom Nature.

Tuesday morning came and I got to stare down my last breakfast at Brookside. I wanted to stay in bed until 11AM giving me free time be home and settled before going back on the G-tube. I got up and dressed and into the wheelchair. Mar and Chris came around 2PM to pack me up and get out of Dodge City. The nurse gave us the medications, the feeding tube stand and controller, two liter bottles of Osmolite, and a walker to take home. Cris took the big stuff and Mar took the rest. An aide came and wheeled me out to the car.

The ride home was like a prisoner being let out of jail and seeing the world in a whole new light. It was wonderful. The only rides I have had in the last two months were in the back of a medical transport vehicle. We arrived home and there was a sign on the door, Welcome Home Richard, made by our neighbor’s son, a very sweet young boy. The stairlift installer was still working on the lift, so I had to wait until it was ready to use. He finished around 5PM having started at 9AM. He was a very nice man. I would recommend Arrow Lift to anyone.

My ride up to the bedroom was kind of fun, but lying down on my very own bed was heavenly. Mar put the window blinds all the way down so I could see our waterway, the homes on the other side, and all the water birds. Our neighbor brought the feeding stand up to the bedroom for Mar.

I got my Ambien around 9PM and I had a good night’s sleep except for an episode with Mom Nature. Mar did an exceptional job equipping the house to accommodate my needs so my nighttime ventures were manageable.

Wednesday morning our house cleaners came and were very happy to see me home. The rest of the day proved to be somewhat of a train wreck, but we survived. We needed additional bottles of Osmolite, so a worker from the Home Health organization went to Brookside to get additional liters. They gave him three bottles and demanded we repay them. We muddled through the day and looked forward to a good night’s sleep.

Thursday morning I got up at 8AM because the nurse from the Home Health organization came to evaluate me. I passed inspection! We were told by Brookside that all of the things we needed at home would be delivered on Tuesday. Well, that didn’t happen. I gave Cristine, the Home Health nurse, my list of needs and she said she would follow up with the people to get what we need.

After she left we get a knock on the door. A delivery man had eight large cartons stacked at our front stoop. Mar asked if he could put them in the garage. After he left, Mar went to the garage to see what we got. Hold on because this is a doozy. The boxes all contained 8 oz. boxes of Osmolite. Two hundred and thirty five of them. Come to find out, the doctor at Brookside ordered them and Home Health was just following orders. Now, what do we do with them? We thought we were going to get the liter size bottles, because that is how our G-tube system works.

After multiple phone calls to the Home Health organization, one of the people suggested thoroughly cleaning the empty liter size bottles and filling them with four of the 8 oz. boxes. A new liter size bottle contains 34 oz., so four plus a little more of the 8 oz. boxes will work. However, if you don’t use the filled container immediately, it needs to be refrigerated.

None of the other items we gave nurse Cristine have shown up, including two complete G-tube systems. The G-tube system we have belongs to Brookside, but unless we get our own systems, Brookside is SOL. They dropped the ball completely in ordering what we needed. I had a phone call from the oncology nutritionist and we discussed how many calories per day I need to consume. She said 2300 minimum, 2700 maximum. If I am eating more on my own, then we can reduce the number of hours I need to be on the G-tube.

The physical therapist Arvin came around 11AM and did an evaluation. He had me go into the kitchen using the walker and showed me exercises for my legs while standing at the sink. He said to do them every day in the morning. Next week his associate will come twice to do the PT with me.

I stayed downstairs until about 1PM and went back up to get back on the G-tube. I was bored silly all afternoon. How many times per hour do you need to check your email? I ate pretty well through the day and I estimate that I consumed around 750 calories on my own. I stayed up until about 9PM and got my Ambien. I slept through the night fairly well. If I had to get up, I quickly went back to sleep.

Friday morning I had a visit from Patrick the occupational therapist. He did an evaluation and concluded that he could do little to help me along. He said one more visit next week will all that will be needed. I have been bothered by low back pain. I have had this problem on and off for years, but now it has reared its ugly head again. Sudden moves bring on extreme pain. Standing up takes time because I have to work through the back pain. I called my GP, Dr. Bet, and he said to alternate hot and cold on my back. Well, we did not have a heating pad so off to CVS Mar went to get one. It helped a little.

Later on Zoom we watched the Friday evening service at Peninsula Temple Sholom that went until 8PM. It was too late to eat any inner and I was getting tired, so Mar got me my Ambien and off to slumberland I went.

Saturday morning at 7AM Mar said how about a shower? Yes, I said. We have a chair with arms in the shower so that I did not have to stand. It felt really good. Then I got out of the shower and sat in the small chair Mar got at MELP and I shaved myself for the first time in 57 days, but who’s counting. Brushed my teeth, got dressed and headed downstairs. Mar made me a scrambled egg and two crispy strips of bacon.

Mar went to MELP in San Carlos to return a wheelchair and get some more supplies, so I was home alone. I got up and with the walker went into the kitchen and did my leg exercises at the sink. Mar came back around 10:30 and Mark, my treasurer replacement for our Foster City Village, came over with a million questions. I spent an hour and a half with Mark explaining what I did and why. I have been the treasurer for 11 years and doing all the bookkeeping.

Mark left at noon and Chris came and spent an hour and a half with me. Mar took our bed comforter to the laundromat so it was just me and Chris. He made my lunch, cleaned the spots off of the stairlift chair arms, and did a few more things. We had a good time. He left around 1:30 and it was just me and Minnie again. Mar returned with our clean bright comforter from the laundromat and John from the Home Health organization came by to help Mar get the G-tube system properly set up. He also set up my stand up walker. I took a few spins around our downstairs with it. I love it. So easy to use and comfortable walking. It also has a seat and a bag to carry items in. I can’t wait to take it for a spin around our neighborhood.

John left around 3PM and I was pooped. So up the stairs we went and I got back on the bed and hooked back up on the G-tube. I had been up for eight hours straight. The most ever in almost two months. I really believe I am making good progress in my mobility, my endurance, and strength. I do hope Dr. McLain is impressed as well.

I have no idea what Dr. McLain has in mind as I move forward in ridding my body of this cancer. We will find out Thursday, but I am very apprehensive of what is next. I have had only two chemotherapy sessions out of the original plan of six. We stopped after the second chemo session because it literally tore my body apart. If more chemo sessions are in the plan, I hope to God they won’t be as destructive as the first two were.

Mar and I enjoyed dinner in bed and then we called it a day and the end of my 10th week battling my cancer. This next week will be busy and going into the unknown of my future cancer treatment. Stay tuned for more. Again, I thank you all for hanging with me on my journey.