Doctor Day

When I checked in for doctor day, the lady at the front desk said, "Weren't you just here?" I call it a promotion when you get to stay away longer. Of course, it had only been a week so she was right. The good news is that my PFT scores are heading in the right direction versus the deep south. It also put the threat of the big house to rest. The scores have a way to go but something is helping. It was also good to get input from another doctor. The not so exciting news is that I am going to try a new medicine to help my stomach move food faster. The drug has some weird side effects so I am really hoping they don't appear. The thought is that it will help both my weight gain and that it might impact my lung function.

We did manage to put the issue of the port to rest for a little bit. I learned that it won't likely go in my left arm due to my blood clot hanging on from the fall. We will wait until I am done with my picc line and it will have to come out. The port works in a similar way but the end cap is sewn inside of your arm. It is threaded up your arm and into your vein in a similar fashion as the picc line but it has less risk of infection and can work much longer.

The other news of the day is that this doctor thinks I should do pulmonary rehab again. I did it last summer but he suspects things have changed enough that we should do it again when I am feeling better. It is held up half way between my house and the U so the drive isn't so bad. I do have to arrange for someone to hang out with my darling daughter but we have more flexibility in the summer.

One of the things about Doctor Day as it usually results in more to do rather than less. The latest thing to increase is checking my blood sugars more often. There is some concern whether the long acting insulin is really enough or if I need shots during the day again too. I used to count carbs and do shots when I ate but now I just do one shot in the morning. It is much easier for me but we will see what the numbers say. Both infection and Prednisone make your blood sugars go up even more than normal.

The highlights of Doctor Day included my friend who met me for lunch and some last minute calories before the weigh in. She took my daughter home because it is "boring" to go to the doctor. When I got home again, my house was clean and another friend arrived with dinner. I have been dreaming about chicken and she brought chicken from the very same place. She also brought lettuce salad, fruit salad, corn bread, and ice cream balls. She could really do this for a living. I have never in my life eaten so much corn bread. We are rationing the ice cream balls in hopes they last longer.

Blessings,

Cindy

Lunch!

We are still enjoying spring break around here! Today we went to lunch with a friend and I have to say that I so appreciate eating out once in a while. We went to our favorite Chinese place. The food was good and the company was good not to mention that we left the dirty dishes behind. We spent this afternoon playing with another friend before dance class. I really appreciate the friends who don't care if your house is messy or your daughter picked out your earrings again today.

I said no today to one of the things on my not to do list. It seems obvious since it is after all on the not to do list. If it is on the list, it doesn't make it any easier to say no. It is a lot harder to stick to the list than you might think. I still have this false sense that I really can do it all. There are a lot of things on the not to do list that I would really like to do. I just don't have enough time or energy without running up against other priorities right now. I guess that is really what it is all about. You have to figure out what the priorities really are and how you are going to break it to folks kindly that you just can't do everything you or they would really to do.

I mentioned before that I appreciate people who invite me. I also appreciate people who invite me again even though I have to say no sometimes. I am trying to quit explaining myself. It gets really old to talk about being too tired or having to be home by such and such time for the next treatment or IV. Some people just get it and they don't take it at all personally. I do get a lot done but most of it is within a few miles of my house.

I was telling a friend lately how I like to make a list and postpone things that can wait until my IVs are done. For example, this is a four week run. Well, it was a four week run. I had this great list of things to do for weeks five, six, and seven. The problem is that a four week run is turning into a seven week run and even that is our very best estimate. So, please do invite me (especially to lunch) but don't feel bad if I can't always make it.

Blessings,

Cindy