Sunday, May 4 started out as usual. My back pain persisted. I did lie down on the sofa, but having taken a Lasix at breakfast time meant multiple trips to the loo. Our dear friend Phyllis and her brother Marvin paid us a visit in the afternoon. It was good to see them both. They left just as the Warrior game began at 5:30. It was a good game and the experience of the Warriors paid off. They won the seventh and final game. So, now it is off to play the Minnesota Timberwolves which we have beaten three times this season, all without Jimmy Butler.
Monday was not a good day for me. We went to Peninsula Hospital at 7:45 in the morning for an endoscopy with ultrasound done by Dr. Verghese, a wonderful and caring doctor. He found the tumor had almost blocked the esophagus completely. He could not get his instruments through the blockage area and into the stomach. He was amazed that I could eat as well as I could. He said to revert to a liquid diet until the surgery and to go back on the feeding tube. He will have a conversation with Dr. Dalal about his findings.
We left the hospital around 10:30 and went home, Then, at 12:30 we went back to the PAMF (Palo Alto Medical Foundation) facility at Peninsula Hospital for an appointment with Dr. Gordon Sakamoto, a neurosurgeon. He is the doctor my oncologist, Dr. McLain, recommended to us. He reviewed the new MRI with us and said that a cortisone injection might help. But, he does not do injections, only surgeries. We said that Dr. Sun would have done the cortisone injection but his X-ray machine was broken at the time. We asked if he, Dr. Sakamoto, could convince Dr. Sun to once again do a cortisone injection before my cancer surgery on the 19th. Dr. Sun only does injections on Mondays so next Monday would have to be it if it can happen at all. Meanwhile, the back pain persisted. We left PAMF and stopped at ARCO for gas and at Mickey D’s for a milk shake. When we got home, Mar made me a bowl of Anderson’s pea soup.
After I ate the soup, I did lie down on the sofa and the back pain lessened somewhat. I slept until about 5:30. I did not take any Valium because I was still working off the effects of the anesthesia from this morning. Tuesday I was supposed to have an appointment with a new dentist, but Mar canceled the appointment. There is just too much going on to deal with another issue. Dr. Dalal responded to my message about going back on a liquid diet. She supported Dr. Verghese’s direction to revert to a liquid diet. So, no more cookies or Tovala meals, but lots of milk shakes and ice cream sundaes. I still eat wheat thin crackers with my soups. I crunch them up into cracker dust and it works.
Tuesday morning I got a call from Ron in Dr. Sun’s office who told me that I have an appointment with Dr. Sun next Monday morning at 11AM for a cortisone injection in my back. I guess the pleading from Dr. McLain, Dr. Dalal, and Dr. Sakamoto worked. I asked all three of them to ask Dr. Sun if he could do the injection. The power of one doctor pleading to another. In this case, three doctors. Ron will check with Dr. Jasmer my pulmonologist about stopping the Xarelto prior to the procedure. I now think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is not the light of an oncoming locomotive. As much as I love locomotives, this is the one time I don’t want to see one.
Tuesday afternoon we walked to Ryan Park and I sat on a bench while Mar went to Safeway to get a couple of items. The walk was 4300 feet one way. We took our time and stopped along the way. I brought a Snapple to keep hydrated. Mar brought back a Five Guys milk shake which we shared on the way home. So I walked a total of 8600 feet, 1.63 miles, and my back pain never varied. But, on the way home my legs told me that that was too far to walk at one time. Mar was an absolute trooper. Her normal speed is probably three+ miles per hour. With me today, it was probably less than three feet per second. It was difficult for her to walk so slowly with me, but I could not have done it without her. She kept urging me on. She is my coach and my cheerleader.
Tuesday night the Warriors played the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the NBA playoffs. The Timberwolves are favored to win, but the Warriors dominated the game even after Curry was injured and had to leave the game. The Warriors won decisively. After the game, Mar once again hooked up the feeding tube system and I connected it. I slept comfortably all night.
Wednesday morning we had to get up early because we had an appointment at the Cancer Center for a PET scan. Because of my macho need to walk so far yesterday, my back was howling. It really hurt a lot, but I could not take anything before the PET scan. We got to the Mills Health Center at 8:30 and Mar got a wheelchair for me and wheeled me into the Cancer Center. We checked in and were immediately escorted into the PET scan prep room. They injected a radioactive tracer into me and I had to wait 30 minutes before they did the scan. Getting onto the scan platform was very difficult for me as my back was hurting so badly. I finally made it onto the platform and was okay through the scan. Getting back off of the platform and onto the wheelchair was once again very painful. The technician said the results of the scan would be available by Friday for Dr. Dalal to review.
We came home and the first thing I did was to eat a big chocolate chip cookie. Sorry Dr. Verghese, but I did it to get some substance in my stomach in order to take an Aleve. I took all my meds including a Valium and Tylenol and then lied down on the sofa and put the heating pad on my back. I slept from 11AM until 2PM when I had to make a trip to the loo. My back pain had subsided considerably so that I could function much better.
Wednesday night we watched the Peninsula Speakers Series and the speaker was Ambassador Susan Rice. Oh my, what a speaker. She spelled out where we are with the current administration in Washington and what we need to do as a nation to defend and protect our democracy and constitution. It was a very informative and welcomed event.
Thursday morning my back was hurting a lot. Seven+ on the pain scale. I was beside myself as to what to do to lessen the pain. I ate breakfast and took all my pills including the Valium. Nurse Kristine Miranda came and closed out the Home Health program for me. Then, I went to lie down on the sofa to relieve my back pain. It helped a lot. My back pain diminished significantly and I fell asleep. The Home Health PT administrator came and talked to Mar while I was sleeping on the sofa and then he left. I didn’t hear a thing.
Later in the afternoon we watched the Timberwolves dismantle the Warriors without Curry. Doesn’t bode well for the Warriors without their shooter. My back pain continued to rage, but there was little I could do to lessen the pain.
I got instructions in the mail for what to do prior to my appointment with Dr. Sun next Monday morning. I printed out a calendar page for May so that could keep track of which meds I need to stop and when prior to the cortisone injection and the surgery. It is basically the Xarelto, the Prednisone, and the baby aspirin that I have to stop on certain days. No Aleve at all.
Dr. Dalal sent me a message that it would be okay for me to eat baby food and other soft food in addition to the liquid diet food. I haven’t had baby food in 83 years and I don’t want to start now. Back to mashed potatoes, puddings, yogurt, and ice cream. Soup for lunch and dinner only goes so far. Then, you can’t look soup in the eye any more. May 19 can’t come soon enough.
Friday morning we went to Mills Health Center for a liver function test ordered by Dr. Osterhoff. He lowered the prednisone to 2.5mg and said to stop taking it on the 14th. Prednisone and surgeries don’t mix.
Starting Friday, no more baby aspirin until after the surgery. I have to stop the Xarelto two days in advance of the cortisone injection and three days in advance of the surgery. Engineers love graphics, so the calendar page is very helpful.
Friday evening we watched the PTS service on Zoom and Shark Tank on ABC. At 9PM I went upstairs to the bedroom. I wanted to put my Apple Watch on the charge cable. Our charge cables are located near the foot of the bed and near there is a stair step for Minnie to walk up to the bed from the floor. The stair step is very close to a low cabinet so walking around that area is tricky. Well, I tripped and fell onto Minnie’s stair step. I could not move. I called Mar and she came up from the kitchen, but she could not move me. My legs were pinned under me, so Mar called our next door neighbor Ofer who came with his friend Edo. The two big men took hold of my arms and slowly lifted me up to a standing position. They walked me around to the other side of the bed and slowly sat me on the edge of the bed. I was ever so grateful for their help. Otherwise, it would have had to be the fire department to get me up from my fall. I am super cautious of where I walk so that I don’t fall, but this fall happened so quickly I had no time to react.
Saturday morning my legs ached a lot so Mar brought the walker up to the bedroom so I could walk safer and with more support. After walking around a little, the leg pain subsided but the back pain was intense. Mar said lie down and rest, so I did. I rested and slept until after 10AM. I got up and had scrambled eggs for breakfast, took my meds and a Valium. I then went to lie down on the sofa to reduce the pain in my back. Mar went on some errands and took Minnie to the dog park in Foster City and came home at 1PM when I woke up from my nap. She brought me a big vanilla milk shake from Mickey D’s.
In the afternoon I rested on the sofa to reduce the back pain. At 5:30 we watched a heartbreak game with the Warriors losing to Minnesota. Dinner was soup and a small bowl of mashed potatoes. This liquid or semiliquid diet is very discouraging. I can eat everything, but I am not allowed to. Tomorrow is Mother’s day and our dear friend Nurit is coming over to spend the afternoon with us.
Monday morning I have my appointment with Dr. Sun to get a new cortisone injection. I hope and pray that he hits the right spot in my back because two months of intense back pain has to stop. Monday will also be one week before the surgery. The intensity is increasing and my mind is on overload with worry, fear, concern, and a million other emotions. I want so much for it to be completely successful.
I close the week once again thanking all of you Substackers and Followers for hanging with me. As I have said before I dearly love you all. You are the foundation of my support and it means the world to me that you are. Take care of yourselves and those who can’t.
Praying that all goes well tomorrow and no more back pain. Continuing my prayers for you, Richard. ❤️
Prayers for your relief from the pain and for successful surgery. God give you strength and healing and faith. Amen 🙏