Long
weekends are not what they used to be. While we were both working, long
weekends gave us the opportunity to take a road trip out of town for a
few days or stay at home and work around the place. Now, long weekends
typically mean
that the home-care scheduler has to be rearranged and this typically
results in a reduction of home-care hours for the shortened week. I have
managed to obtain another two hours per week for home-care which is
good. This additional time should result in less
stress in getting home from Ottawa on Mondays and will allow me to do
some shopping on Saturday which was virtually impossible to do with one
hour.
Laurie's situation appears to me to by
more-or-less stable and has not changed much since the last update. She
did have a good MRI taken on August 8th. This MRI has a long time in
coming but contrast was injected which resulted in better
images being taken compared to the last time. The MRI report indicates
that lesion has decreased in size but also that there is some
enhancement or progression of the disease in a different area of the
brain. In meeting with the oncologist in August, he felt
that Laurie should continue with chemotherapy and that another MRI
should be done in October. Laurie did complete her August five day
chemotherapy cycle alright. We meet with the surgeon in mid-September to
review Laurie's situation in general and her MRI in
particular.
Laurie's speech pathologist is continuing to
come to the home every two weeks. She and Laurie work for about 90
minutes on a variety of exercises to help Laurie regain some of her
brain functionality. Laurie's ability to convey her thoughts
remains a large challenge. I can not report much progress myself but
others who visit on occasion have noted some improvement. Physically,
Laurie is doing better over time. The length of our walks have increased
as well as the frequency. We are getting out
and about more often as well. Her strength and balance is improving but
it is still important that she carries her cane with her outside. There
are times during some days where she is quite confused about things. I
am not sure why some days are better than
others in terms of cognitive abilities.
The nurse is coming now once per month to check
Laurie over and we usually see the GP once every two months. Laurie's
dilantin level is being checked every two weeks and her dosage has
remained the same for quite some time now. In the
past, this dilantin dosage was a real issue. Laurie needs to
rest almost every day and this is partly due to the interrupted sleep
the night before. Usually a nap of an hour to 90 minutes occurs in the
mid to late afternoon. This gives me some time
to fiddle around with my backyard project or catch up on other things
outside. I did buy a new and bigger chainsaw for the tree clean-up which
is progressing along alright. I received a DVD on "Chainsaw techniques
and maintenance" which, for some reason, Laurie
is not really interested in watching. We do watch about one hour of TV
each day - usually something that we have on a DVD. Although an avid
reader before the operation in July 2011, Laurie is not engaged in books
and only really looks at magazines and local
papers. She can read the text but she does not have the ability to
absorb and recall what she has read. This is something that I find is
very difficult. I continue with giving Laurie verbal queues for her to
pronounce something. Once a small queue is given
she is usually able to say the word.
Since the last update we have had visitors over
which Laurie seems to appreciate. A couple of our nearby friends brought
over some frozen and fresh foods which was very nice of them. Our last
visitors kindly brought lunch with them so
that Laurie and I enjoyed some different food. It was a nice change for
me in that I did not need to think about what lunch would be and then
prepare it. Not a big deal in the scheme of things but little things
like lunch being provided make a bigger difference
now. The emails that continue to arrive from those thinking of Laurie
are appreciated as well.
As I write this, I must note that Laurie started
her radiation treatments on September 1, 2011. The "advent" calendar is
still on the refrigerator door and Laurie does look at it sometimes. It
is indeed important to remember the past
as well as looking forward to the future. Septembers were usually our
holiday period and this is something that I will especially miss. We
have a combined air mile total of over 500,000 miles and with changes to
the rules and regulations we must begin to use
these miles or lose them. Good grief. It seems like some politician is
now working with our air miles company. So, I am hopeful that Laurie
will be well enough to someday resume travelling - at least to places in
Canada. We do meet with a specialist related
to Laurie's incontinence issue and I hope that something positive will
come out of this. If this problem can be minimized then further travel
becomes more of a possibility.
Laurie is having a cat-nap now and I am about
to begin making one of my "comfort" dinners that Laurie quite enjoys
(see "recipe" below). I like it too because there is lots of left-overs
which makes future meal preparation quick. We
are eating lots of salads, especially the Greek, and also one using
spinach and arugula. The BBQ is used about twice a week now and I guess
that I am becoming a better chef as I seem to be dropping less food
through the BBQ grill (and onto the deck too). I
appear to have mastered the BBQing of mini potatoes which Laurie is very
keen on. It is good to see her eat and enjoy her meals.
In summary, it seems that the summer has been
good to Laurie and I. Although some issues continue - like difficulty in
sleeping at night - Laurie's health has not appeared to decrease. I
would report her as being stable in many respects
with some improvements in others. I am hopeful that the surgeon will be
able to give us a positive interpretation of the last MRI. Please keep
your positive thoughts and prayers for Laurie coming as our favourite
season of autumn arrives.
"Comfort Dinner" Recipe - basically reminiscent
of your macaroni and beef and toss in whatever you have lying about in
the cupboard. Fry one large onion and in another pan fry about 500-600
gm of lean ground beef. When the onions are
done add to the ground beef. Add secret seasoning (i.e. Montreal steak
spice). Add a 796 ml size can of chopped tomatoes, preferably organic
(or fresh from your neighbour's garden). Cook two cups of 100 % whole
wheat fusilli pasta to al dente. Add pasta to
the pan with the other three ingredients. Add more secret spice
according to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat from about 45 minutes.
Serve in a warm bowl along with seasonable vegetables or a salad on the
side. It's that easy and makes many servings. Enjoy.
Thank you for reading the update -
Mark
