Welcome to Week #6

Last night Helen (l) and Linda (r), our friends from Canada who are on their way to Cuyutlán, arrived just in time to trick or treat. Their appearance was all treat. Even the patient got up to say (actually, whisper) hello. For me it was wonderful to see someone who is NOT in the medical profession or is NOT ringing up my groceries. This morning they headed south for a few days, then they will turn east to El Paso, cross the border there, and in a jiffy -- perhaps 3 days +/-  they will be lolling around their pool and basking in the warm sun. We, meanwhile . . .

Today was "see the doctor" day. We asked him about post-treatment care. We especially wanted to know about travel. Six weeks after treatment ends they will do another CAT scan to check out the tumor. Depending on what they find, or don't find, then we can make our plans. If all is as they hope it will be, we should be able to get on the road in early February. If anything further needs to be done we may be delayed. But the doc is optimistic overall, thinks Jim is doing well, again offered stronger pain meds which Jim declined politely at this point but will keep in mind over the next few days. Right now he is up to about 6 Vicodin in 24 hours and that seems to keep him relatively comfortable. I keep reminding him that pain is not a sign of moral weakness, but you know how he is!

As of today he has lost 18 lbs. in 5 weeks. Better than Weight Watchers. And this treatment will also thin out your hair, dry up your skin, destroy your vocal cords, shut down your taste buds, and make you gag. What a way to lose weight. The liquid supplement has also driven up his blood pressure because of its sodium content. So that's something else we have to monitor and chart. Tonight he tried some Popsicle; just a bit of strawberry flavored. He got it down, thought it was soothing, but the taste was enough to make him quit. I made some raspberry Jello, which seemed like a good idea to him at the time. Maybe tomorrow.

We've had a lovely evening walk. Although the weather is turning colder there are low clouds tonite so the air is warm. He is still quite cold all the time so the heat in the house is cranked up. PG & E is going to love us this month.