Last Day Visit to the "Dizzy" Doctor & Top 10 Things We Won't Miss About Rehab

MICHAEL GOES "WHEE! HANDS UP FOR THE 'E' TICKET RIDE" ON THE CHAIR LIFT INTO THE TRANSPORT VAN FOR A TRIP TO THE "DIZZY" DOCTOR
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Our last day we got to take advantage of the opportunity for Michael to see a doctor who specializes in dizziness. She felt he had a form of vertigo that can be caused by a small stroke. It can usually be corrected with specific movements of the head to reposition crystals in your inner ears. Today, she did one side, and she'll do the other side in a couple of weeks.

No, I am NOT making this up. (Google "BPPV" if you don't believe me!)

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Top 10 Things Michael Won't Miss About Cottage Rehab (with Apologies to David Letterman)
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10. The guy sitting next to you at breakfast has his left hand resting in his scrambled eggs.

9. Getting stool softener, whether you need it or not.

8. The Nurse's Aid leaning over you to check your Blood Pressure just finished a plate of spicy enchiladas for lunch.

7. Tasteless mashed potatoes and gray gravy with every meal.

6. An alarm tab attached to your shirt at night that pulls out when you roll over and screams like a fire alarm, giving you a heart attack.

5. Having at least 3 people be alerted to your bodily functions, in detail, with viewing privileges, at all times.

4. The guy sitting next to you at lunch just hocked up a lung.

3. The 5 a.m. blood draw, whether you need it or not.

2. Sounds like the incessant dinging of a call light being ignored by the nurse's station; the clanging of metal trays being dropped; the midnight cocktail party at the nurse's station across the hallway; the banging of the waste baskets as they change them...at 1 a.m.

AND #1. The guy sitting next to you at dinner has his left hand resting in his mashed potatoes and gray gravy and his right hand resting in his applesauce.

AS WE LEAVE REHAB, WE MURMUR OUR FAVORITE FOND FAREWELL (coined on our first "Phase Two" trip outings to restaurants):

"See Ya, Suckers!"

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

WE'RE GOING HOME THURSDAY!!!!

(OOPS! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PATRICIA SENDS A PHOTO FROM THE BLACKBERRY - THIS ISN'T THE ONE I THOUGHT IT WAS!)

LET'S CALL IT "MICHAEL AND PATRICIA GRINNING DOWN AT THE WHEELCHAIR MICHAEL WON'T NEED VERY SOON."

We went to Solutions Rehab for a tour...we saw...we talked...we reconsidered...we decided: we're going home!

Sister Karen researched and discovered an out-patient physical therapy place in our own home town of Paso Robles (yay, Karen!) that does physical and occupational therapy - and there's a well-recommended speech therapist (for spatial and cognition work) in San Luis Obispo.

Although it was worth considering the value of 6-8 weeks of 8 hours a day at Solutions, Michael is so sensitive to smells, sounds and disturbances in his "Force" right now, that it is entirely disruptive to his system to extend our life elsewhere.

Out-patient may only be two hours 3x a week - but Michael will be there wholeheartedly and with more energy after being in our own comforting and controllable home.

Everyone together now: click your heels. "There's NO place like home! There's NO place like home!"

Yes, Dorothy - we're going back to Kansas (only with wineries everywhere).

Thank God!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mr. B.'s Eating Out; Touring New Rehab

Above are real photos of Michael thoroughly enjoying food in places that are NOT Cottage Rehab!

One's my hotel room, with a hot fudge sundae (and 3 cherries) and the other is Stacky's in Summerland, with a real, NOT digitally inserted, French fry and our fav turkey Ortega sandwich. (Best Valentine's Day ever splitting that sandwich with him, like old times!) Mr. B. bragged he'd only eat ONE French fry; I bet he'd have to eat at least 4: I won the bet! Hey, we ordered a small fries to share and left 7/8 of it. Who DOES that? This is no time to limit oneself to one fry...

Transitions galore!

It's been difficult to post here because I'm with Michael in a whole new way now that he's in his right head and we've both been cleared for travel. Not complaining, mind you.

I'm just tired in a different way when I do get back to the room. I don't have much left and am desperate for sleep.

My sweetie, being the sweetheart he is, tried to impose an 8:30 curfew on me so I'd get back to the room earlier in the evening - but we both have trouble observing it. We start cuddling in his narrow Rehab bed and I get all peaceful and dozy. Before we know it, it's 9:30, then 10.

RESTRICTIONS REMOVED! No more shrieking "Tab" alarm clipped on him at night. No more being belted into the wheelchair. No more aspiration precautions. No more soft foods only. No more walking only with staff - Patricia qualified. No more stuck in Rehab!

Today we get a tour of Solutions (all Rehab/no hospital) in Goleta, where we'll be for 3-6 weeks. We transition Thursday morning. Everyone together now: YAHOO!

SWEET TIME OF US-NESS. Michael and I feel so much in love. We're keenly aware of the gift we have in each other. And Michael's being a sophisticated communicator about how we can get through this sometimes tricky part of healing and transition without our relationship taking a hit.

I respect him so much. I tell you there's nothing better than being with a trained Marriage and Family Therapist, with high communication skills, who's in touch with his "feminine" energy - but is 100% heterosexual!

Gotta jet. Promised my guy a bagel.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

PHOTO ADDED! Wed & Thurs: Walkin', Steppin' & Preppin' to Leave!

Michael With Physical Therapist Erin As We Practice Getting In and Out of the Highlander. It Was Easy-Peazy! Our Car's the Perfect Height - No Stepstool Needed. And Michael's Ready to Boogie!
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SHORT ENTRY DAY.

Cute Anecdote. When the time came for me to leave for my Oxnard/Ventura comfort mercies Wednesday, (chiropractor massage and dins with son & grandbaby), Michael cleverly expressed his conflicted feelings about it.

"I want you to go and have a good session with Dr. Knight -- don't leave -- and then have a wonderful, soothing massage with Cathy -- don't leave -- and then have a warm, loving dinner with Mike and Liam -- don't leave."

We laughed -- and I left.

While it was good to tend to myself this way, it made me realize just how numb I've made my body since mid-December when all this started. The body work just poked and prodded the nerves awake enough for me to go "OW!"

I was sore everywhere - and almost worse off for starting a process that couldn't be finished quickly. But it was time to start.

So I go back to the chiropractor and masseuse Friday and hope for more relief than pain.

WHY IT'S SHORT ENTRY DAY. The reason this is a short entry day covering three days is that last night Michael started asking questions about the time he doesn't remember. I began with good stories (the miracle of Chris Van Huff showing up the day we asked if the former Swine Flu/Pneumonia/Stroke ICU patient, fully recovered, could be called) - and it progressed to Michael hearing some of the bad moments.

He was in awe. And had even more increased empathy for my part of the experience, all a blank to him.

When I got back to the hotel room last night, I was emotionally drained. I hadn't relived those memories at all, especially since the present is still demanding, though a much happier kind of demanding.

Now it's morning and I've got to jet.

More next time!

P. S. We leave here Thursday of next week for Solutions Rehab (it's Rehab minus Hospital environment) and Michael practiced getting in our Highlander, which is the perfect height, no step stool needed. He also practiced stairs, which we have at home. His progress is AMAZING!!!! (And he knows it now on a deeper level after hearing how far he's come.)

Sweet Tuesday; Getting to the New Normal

This picture is from Saturday when my brother Russ briefly dropped in on his way down from our Paso Robles house to his own in La Crescenta, bringing us more clothes and a this-and-a-that. (He's going back Wednesday for more housesitting.)

He also brought Mr. B. a new watchcap that says PASO ROBLES and looks quite dashing on him, as you can see. DON'T I HAVE THE BEST BROTHER??
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Well, the tummy tube hole in Mr. B. has healed overnight, as predicted, and he was able to eat without leaking, as hoped. However, he did suffer some stinging and asked for the painkiller midday (Norco). That always affects his head/dizziness a bit, which affects his physical therapy effort - yet, he continued to walk 50 feet distances with Erin and me by his side for safety and do arm exercises with elastic bands.

He did so many leg exercises yesterday that the legs were a bit shaky today (Tuesday) as well. Understandable.

Calling Testosterone! Epiphany! We realized that before this, with aging and chemo taking its hormonal toll, Michael had not successfully built muscles at the gym until he'd gotten testosterone shots. We ran that concept by the fabulous Dr. Ross, and he's looking into getting Michael a patch for testosterone, so he can have more success at rebuilding his atrophied muscles.

Coumadin Too! Another epiphany! The fact that Mr. B. had been on Coumadin for blood thinning in the ICU, which was halted due to some test, got lost in Michael's voluminous medical records. Dr. Shapiro (here) had to call Dr. Shapiro (in Templeton) to affirm my affirmation that he'd been on it - and they started him on it him again, with a 5-day overlap with the other blood thinners until the Coumadin takes over. He'll only have to be on it for about six months, and Michael's relieved about it, because he expressed that he does fear another stroke.

The reason they prefer Coumadin to Locinapro & Lopressor is if they need to thicken his blood for clotting purposes, they can do so more quickly by using Vitamin K; with the other stuff, they have to wait 24 hours. (and Margaret, I did take the opportunity to ask Dr. Ross if he'd ever actually seen a vitamin, which you had once posed as a fascinating question. He stared at me blankly for a minute, then said, no, but there were special microscopes that could. Humph! Says he!)

Love & Marriage. Michael and I had a sweet afternoon, talking about our relationship and how this has brought us closer. He expressed unselfish concern for my health and well-being, urging me to take care of myself, leave earlier and sleep in a bit - although, he adorably added he would miss me terribly.

I'm actually taking myself to my old friend and chiropractor, Dr. Roger Knight, today in Oxnard, as my hips have gone out without me. Then I'm going to take my son, daughter-in-law & grandbaby out for Chinese food, all things I've longed for. But isn't he the best fella - worrying about me in all this?

Then Michael and I spoke of getting really, thoroughly & legally hitched when all this is over and we're back to our life. Not the walk-down-the-aisle kind of wedding, as that's not us. But the huge-party-with-a-ceremony-in-the-middle kind of wedding. We've actually got about four friends who can marry people, and may have to have them all take a shot, so no one's miffed!

More importantly, my darling said the most romantic and touching words to me about how much I mean to him and how this whole bizarre journey has solidified his belief that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me - and I say DITTO!! Mr. B. is the love of my life - and marriage is the 1950's happy ending in all the Cary Grant/Doris Day type movies I grew up on, so I'd like it, though I haven't pressed for it. Although, my best friend, Shelene is gleeful to the point of delirium, as she predicted it right from the beginning. To me, it's just a cherry on top of an already delightful banana split.

But, hey! Any excuse for a party!
DORIS AND CARY!

RED LETTER DAY! Stomach Tube Out!!

Hurrah! The last invasive medical solution-that-becomes-the-next-problem is GONE!!

Dr. Shapiro took out the tummy tube Monday morning while Michael squeezed my hand (a local anesthetic was used, but basically they just take it out quickly like ripping a band aid off a hairy arm).

A bandage with stupid, insufficient tape was applied - I pointed the stupid tape out, of course, but they had to see it leak and get all over the bed and Michael's clothes before they would bring out the industrial strength bandage and then put a cotton pad with the same stupid tape over that.

(See, just when I try not to be overly assertive, something like this happens and I kick myself for not wrestling them to the ground on what I know should be done differently!)

Anyway, it required yet another bandage change after lunch - and Michael was grossed out and afraid to eat dinner. They told him the wound would heal overnight and just to cut down on liquids.

"But I don't want dinner to seep out," Michael said to PT Erin and me.

"Wow!" I said. "You hardly ever hear that sentence!" And we all laughed.


ARM EXERCISES WITH BOSSY DORIS - IN THE PATIO - WITH BILL LOOKING ON.

AND YES, THAT IS MICHAEL'S LEFT ARM, AND DORIS IS ONLY PROVIDING SUPPORT. HE'S TOTALLY LIFTING A TWO-POUND WEIGHT...AND HE HAS A FRESH HOLE IN HIS STOMACH, TOO. THAT'S HOW MUCH STRONGER HE IS!

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SPECIAL GIFT FOR SPECIAL PEOPLE.

I took this picture of my necklace, which I bought at the Cottage Hospital Gift Shop soon after we got here. Its message has been symbolic to me of our journey, and I've worn it daily. (Boy, my Blackberry takes great photos, doesn't it? Looks just like a photo in an ad.)

Anyway, I gave mine to Karen before she went back to SD to thank her for being my special ICU nursing buddy as we battled Michael's constantly spiking fever and illness back in Templeton (shudder).

I'll be gifting a few more of these as thank yous to other special women who have been in the front lines with me on this strange and stressful turn of life.

If I could afford it, I'd get this necklace for the less visible, but equally important people - men and women - also on the front lines of prayer and healing energies sent Michael and me during all of this, but I'd have to buy hundreds, maybe thousands of them. So many people have been prayer warriors for us and we have gone so many group prayer lists! I feel strongly that everyone's loving efforts have been an essential part of Michael's recovery. Thank you ALL!

It's not over yet, of course, but with the tummy tube out now, I can really see us going home in a couple of weeks and starting to pick up our lives.

Keep tuning in, folks - I think it all gets better and better from here on out.

Hugs!

Weekend Update: This Just In...

KAREN CAME FROM SAN DIEGO AND "PUSHED" MICHAEL AROUND!

On the top, Michael's all bundled up, but on the bottom, he's celebrating the warmer weather by wearing gym shorts.
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Surprises Galore: Saturday...
Therapy sessions on Saturday here runs light and - surprise! - Mr. B. was not signed up for any therapy sessions Saturday. So someone got to sleep a lot (it wasn't Patricia). Yet, there was still time for surprises.

It was not a surprise that sister Karen came in on Amtrak from San Diego late Saturday, and brought with her a gift of several needed and requested wonderful soft, long sleeved T-shirts. Though she did surprise her bro with homemade brownies, which he tremendously enjoyed. Good job all around, Karen!

But it was a surprise that, before she came, Michael had an upset stomach in the morning (which was better than outright nausea) and achy shoulders all day (a new complication of left arm having previously hung heavy and right arm being over used for pulling forward in bed).

Patricia, whose card now reads "Medical Detective," continued her problem-solving for the morning tummy upset - and figured out that Michael's given way too many meds in the morning after breakfast, which, in this case, had way too much sugar (blueberry pancakes with syrup) to be substantial. (If Michael wasn't nauseous or dizzy, he says he would be able to work harder at his Rehab Recovery - and knowing him, I know it's true, which is one of the reasons why I try so hard to solve this.)

A quick conference with the adorable Dr. Ross, an extremely personable doc with the charm and expertise to play one on TV, resulted in at least one of the meds being moved to evening. A Maalox chaser helped Michael, as did a little pain med for the shoulders.

After Karen showed up, Mr. B. began to suffer from what he later dubbed SGS - Severe Grumpiness Syndrome - and actually had to apologize a couple of times for biting our heads off and chewing them soundly.

Another weekend challenge was to count Michael's calories for each meal. Dr. Shapiro (who would play the experienced, irascible older TV doc with a forced bedside manner) said he would remove Michael's stomach tube Monday morn if no canned food was needed all weekend. The goal was 500 calories per meal minimum - and Michael was with the program, eating extra bites of the highest calorie stuff (per printout) and drinking whole fat milk to top it off.

It was no surprise that we successfully caloried Michael up and totally expect that tummy tube to be ga-gone first thing tomorrow morning. (And the extra benefit will be that Michael can eat more now, I'm thinking.)

Sunday, Sunday...
It was a surprise that when I reminded Michael that his dad was coming to visit today, Michael asked me to call him and see if he could come another time, as Michael felt overwhelmed to have both Karen and Bill at the same time (even though he'd said yes earlier). Sometimes, how Michael feels surprises even himself. Thanks for understanding, Bill.

It was a good surprise today that Michael's stomach discomfort was cut by half, with one less pill and the pills taken closer to a breakfast. Dr. Alexander, Medical Detective here!

Yes, it was the Superbowl today and it was on the dining room big TV, but - surprise - Michael was barely interested because - no surprise - it was noisy, crowded and hard to follow. And the TVs in the room don't cut it.

But the really big surprise came later today when an aide asked to talk to me in the hallway while Michael was taking a shower. She introduced me to a blonde lady in a wheelchair with her foot extended and in bandages. Her name was Kim and she had recognized Michael - because they used to be college sweethearts!!!

Poor Kim, who lives in Santa Ynez with her teenage son, had slipped on a freshly polished floor, and broke her ankle in two places.

Later, Kim and Michael and Karen and I got together after dinner. What fun to hear their stories! They were each other's first sweethearts when they were only 18 - and had stayed friends for years. Kim and Karen remembered each other, too.

Okay, someone. What are the odds?

So, it was not a surprise that we had a good Sunday, enjoying Karen's visit, extra naps for Mr. B., extra food for Mr. B. - and ended with the surprise of a double wheelchair hug!

(FONT CRAZINESS DUE TO FAILED EXPERIMENTATION WITH A NEW BUTTON. SIGH! I GIVE UP!)