Well, another week, another blog. Just wanted to touch base with everyone, and see what's up!
Not too much going on here. Another long day at the VA last Monday. Waited 2 hours to see the doc (a very nice doc, I might add), but he said he didn't really need to see us, a phone call from the cardiologist would have been appropriate. If you recall, we were there to see if Dave's brain tumor would be a consideration in terms of blood thinners and anesthesia. Well, turns out the MRI he had at the VA didn't even show a brain tumor.....enough said! I guess it vaporized or something :))
A few updates...Dominick started high school at Saint Bonaventure on Friday. He was really excited, but almost got into a fight when an "upper grader" made a rude comment about his nose. Now for those of you who know Dom, you know he has a...well trying to find the right word, here, oh what the hell. He has a rather large nose, okay? That said, he's absolutely adorable, and I will kick anyone's ass who says differently! Just kidding. He's never been sensative about it, and it's never been an issue until now. He told me not to worry, though. His exact words were "once I own the school, nobody will care about my nose". He's got the best attitude ever. I just love him!
Debbie got some news from her doctor yesterday. In addition to everything else going on with her pregnancy, she's extremely anemic and has gestational diabetes. I immediately jumped on the internet and read everything I could about the subject. turns out it's not that big of a deal if she follows the diet the doc gave her. Now she is on complete bed rest, I'll let you know how that goes!
Tomorrow (Sunday) Dave and I are going to the Port Hueneme Beach Festival with Debbie and Rob. (Debbie is my life-long friend, and Rob is obviously her hubby). Dave is really looking forward to it, and it should be a blast. This year it has a Woodstock theme, so we're all wearing our tye dye! I'm a little worried about my knees and all the walking, but I'll load up on Advil and should be fine.
Dave lost my wallet, but I found it. That's the only Alz related deal that happened this week. It was a good week, I guess.
Well, thanks for checking in, leave a comment if you like, and continued health, happiness and love. See ya next time in the blogosphere! Love you all!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Boy oh Boy
I know, I know. I promised to blog several times a week and here it is 3 weeks later. I can only apoligize, I have no excuse.
I'm at work today (Saturday) and I brought my assistant with me. Dylan (5) is helping me out, and he's quite excited to be starting Kindergarten in a few weeks. His mom and dad are taking him "back to school" shopping next week. I would think that to go "back to school" shopping, you would have to have been in school at some point.....oh well1 :))
Things are pretty much the same with us. Dave continues to be exhausted, takes a 3-4hour nap every day. He's not swimming or riding the bike at all anymore. I'm so worried about him. We're off to the Neurologist on Monday to discuss the blood thinner/surgery issue. We're also going to have a long conversation regarding the effects of anesthesia on Alz patients. At this point, not sure we're going to move forward with the surgery. If the anesthesia could possibly progress Dave's Alz to the point of him having no quality of life.....
I think he may have progressed to the next stage of this shitty disease. Some of the things that are happening to him suggest a progression. At night, in addition to occasionally falling out of bed, he sleeps very fitfully. He flails around, waving his arms, yelling, not words, just sounds, and hitting the pillow. This doesn't happen every night, but several times a week. It really upsets Tasha (the dog) and so she doesn't sleep, and so I don't sleep. I know, just put the dog out, right? Wrong! She is the protector of the family, and will stand outside our closed door and cry and bark all night if we leave her out. When the boys spend the night, she divides her time between their bed in the den, and our room down the hall. She's such a precious pit!!! :))))
Anyway, lots of worry going on right now. Not only with Dave, but Debbie is having a very complicated pregnancy. Her doctor is concerned about 2 things right now. #1 is the baby's kidneys are abnormally large, and #2, the umbilical cord is wrapped pretty snuggly around her neck. Not much they can do about either right now. They've suggested genetic testing, but her insurance won't pay for it. They are looking for the genetic marker that may identify Downs Syndrome, as abnormally large kidneys could be an indicator of Downs. I guess at this point, that's not an issue. We've all come to love this little girl, so it really doesn't matter to any of us. It just puts a little strain on Debbie, who worries about how Steve will handle it. I say if he can't, hit the fucking bricks, right? The umbilcal cord issue will be addressed as she nears delivery. They may end up doing a c-section, but there is a chance that it could cut off oxygen to her brain before delivery. She's not on complete bed rest, but pretty close. Boy oh boy....if it isn't one thing, it's ten others.
My boss called me "a brave women" yesterday. I must have look at her with a look of bewilderment on my face, because she then went on to explain to me how I have all this crap in my life, a husband with Alz, a grand daughter that may have issues, a son that won't take his meds, teenage grandkids, having to do everything involved with running a home, and yet, here I come every morning with a smile on my face and a great attitude. She thinks I'm brave......what a joke. I think I plaster this stupid grin on my face and stumble through my days, because the alternative would be to curl up and die. Too many people need me for that to be an option. I just hope that if I ever need help, someone will plaster a stupid look on their face and be there. I'll let you know how that works out.
On a positive note (and yes, there are many, perhaps I'll dedicate my next blog to just happy stuff) we are going to a bbq tomorrow with a bunch of my co-workers and their families. The plumbers I work with, who are a tight knit group, have sorta taken Dave and I into their fold, and I love them for it! I'm going to take a big bowl of something, I just haven't figured out what yet, but whatever it is, it will be delicious! (inside joke!) :)))
I see an uneasy theme starting to emerge on my blogs. I even made it the topic of my last blog. It feel's like what I write is all about me. That certainly isn't my intent, and if I sound self-centered, I'm really not, and I apologize.
Thanks fopr stopping by, if anyone does anymore. I appreciate your reading this stuff. Post a comment if you like, and please take care. My wish for all of you is love, health and happiness. See you next time in the blogosphere! Love you all! :)))
I'm at work today (Saturday) and I brought my assistant with me. Dylan (5) is helping me out, and he's quite excited to be starting Kindergarten in a few weeks. His mom and dad are taking him "back to school" shopping next week. I would think that to go "back to school" shopping, you would have to have been in school at some point.....oh well1 :))
Things are pretty much the same with us. Dave continues to be exhausted, takes a 3-4hour nap every day. He's not swimming or riding the bike at all anymore. I'm so worried about him. We're off to the Neurologist on Monday to discuss the blood thinner/surgery issue. We're also going to have a long conversation regarding the effects of anesthesia on Alz patients. At this point, not sure we're going to move forward with the surgery. If the anesthesia could possibly progress Dave's Alz to the point of him having no quality of life.....
I think he may have progressed to the next stage of this shitty disease. Some of the things that are happening to him suggest a progression. At night, in addition to occasionally falling out of bed, he sleeps very fitfully. He flails around, waving his arms, yelling, not words, just sounds, and hitting the pillow. This doesn't happen every night, but several times a week. It really upsets Tasha (the dog) and so she doesn't sleep, and so I don't sleep. I know, just put the dog out, right? Wrong! She is the protector of the family, and will stand outside our closed door and cry and bark all night if we leave her out. When the boys spend the night, she divides her time between their bed in the den, and our room down the hall. She's such a precious pit!!! :))))
Anyway, lots of worry going on right now. Not only with Dave, but Debbie is having a very complicated pregnancy. Her doctor is concerned about 2 things right now. #1 is the baby's kidneys are abnormally large, and #2, the umbilical cord is wrapped pretty snuggly around her neck. Not much they can do about either right now. They've suggested genetic testing, but her insurance won't pay for it. They are looking for the genetic marker that may identify Downs Syndrome, as abnormally large kidneys could be an indicator of Downs. I guess at this point, that's not an issue. We've all come to love this little girl, so it really doesn't matter to any of us. It just puts a little strain on Debbie, who worries about how Steve will handle it. I say if he can't, hit the fucking bricks, right? The umbilcal cord issue will be addressed as she nears delivery. They may end up doing a c-section, but there is a chance that it could cut off oxygen to her brain before delivery. She's not on complete bed rest, but pretty close. Boy oh boy....if it isn't one thing, it's ten others.
My boss called me "a brave women" yesterday. I must have look at her with a look of bewilderment on my face, because she then went on to explain to me how I have all this crap in my life, a husband with Alz, a grand daughter that may have issues, a son that won't take his meds, teenage grandkids, having to do everything involved with running a home, and yet, here I come every morning with a smile on my face and a great attitude. She thinks I'm brave......what a joke. I think I plaster this stupid grin on my face and stumble through my days, because the alternative would be to curl up and die. Too many people need me for that to be an option. I just hope that if I ever need help, someone will plaster a stupid look on their face and be there. I'll let you know how that works out.
On a positive note (and yes, there are many, perhaps I'll dedicate my next blog to just happy stuff) we are going to a bbq tomorrow with a bunch of my co-workers and their families. The plumbers I work with, who are a tight knit group, have sorta taken Dave and I into their fold, and I love them for it! I'm going to take a big bowl of something, I just haven't figured out what yet, but whatever it is, it will be delicious! (inside joke!) :)))
I see an uneasy theme starting to emerge on my blogs. I even made it the topic of my last blog. It feel's like what I write is all about me. That certainly isn't my intent, and if I sound self-centered, I'm really not, and I apologize.
Thanks fopr stopping by, if anyone does anymore. I appreciate your reading this stuff. Post a comment if you like, and please take care. My wish for all of you is love, health and happiness. See you next time in the blogosphere! Love you all! :)))
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