Recovering

I thought it was going to be a good day when I woke up to beautiful sunshine and 3 deer grazing on our grass. By the end of the day Peggy and I were feeling better and I was even able to help her with some housework. She was able to wash a lot clothes using our new washer. Things are getting back to normal. Thank you for your prayers.

Medical Update

I want to update family and friends on my medical status because a lot has happened within the last week. As you may know I was trying to get my infected toe completely healed. I need to go back on chemotherapy but I can’t do that until the toe is completely healed. Dr Blau was treating it and had the wound down to the size of a pin. On Monday May 1 the toe suddenly became infected and was the color of a cherry. I had a high temperature, high blood pressure, and high glucose. I was was not able to think. Peggy called our neighbor, Bootsie, and she came to help. I had an appointment with Dr. Blau, my podiatrist so they manged to get me there in spite of my protests. I can’t remember this but Peggy said I threw up at Dr. Blau’s office and when she saw my toe she said to get me to the emergency room immediately.

Bootsie and Peggy managed to get me to the hospital and I was put in a room in the emergency area because a regular room was not available. That room was cramped and the bed was like a board with just a little padding over it. They started me on IV antibiotics and that started bringing the fever down. After about a half day I was moved to a regular room. Dr. Pearce, the surgeon who treated my toe for almost a year at the wound care center, came to see me and scheduled me for surgery the next day.

The surgery was done with a local anesthetic and it seems to have been very successful. He removed the entire callus that covered the source of the infection. We hope there will be no more infection when it heals back. Now I have to stay off my feet as much as possible while the toe heals.

Peggy has been a big help but she has her own problems. Our neighbors, Bootsie and Gerry, have helped in so many ways. I don’t know how we would have made it without them.

Deck Gardens

It was a beautiful day and I felt like doing some work. I planted two “Knockout” roses and Peggy moved them to the top deck. The deer eat anything we plant in the yard so the decks are going to be our garden. Remembering to keep everything watered will be a problem so I am looking into a drip watering system that will do it automatically. I don’t know much about these systems so am first doing some research on them.

Medical Update

This has been a week for doctors so I know more about my medical situation. One thing that seems to have helped is joining www.mymedicalrecords.com. This is an amazing website that allows me and my doctors to store my medical records in one location. It costs $10/month but it is much better than the fee ones I checked. I have my own toll free phone number that doctors can use to fax or leave voice messages. The website sends me an email when anything new has arrived so I can put it in the right folder.

Here are my recent doctor visits:
3/1 Dr. Blau – Pediotrist
3/7 Dr. Calcutt – Endocrinologist and diabetes specialist
3/9 Dr. Chahin – Oncologist, cares for my cancer
3/13 Dr. Adams – Urologist, cares for my implant
I am pleased with my medical team and I think the records website will allow them to work together more effectively.

The results from these latest visits is that my toe has healed and Dr. Blau will be going to 2 week visits and soon to monthly visits. Dr. Chahin says my PSA is jumping up and down and if it goes up any more he will be putting me on a treatment plan. It may not be the infusion chemo but a new pill that he has found effective on similar cases. Dr. Adams could feel the implant in my left arm and I do not see him again until September whe he will put in a new one. Everything seems to be going well..

A frustrating morning and a stormy evening

Today the AM was clear and sunny but the PM rapidly changed to overcast with some wind and rain. It was a little frustrating this morning when we went too Wallgreen to pick up a prescription. I ordered a refill on my blood pressure pill about a week ago but it was still not ready. They gave us 5 pills to get by until their supply arrives on Monday.
The storm was the big news in the PM and it came close to Beaufort but we avoided most of it. I just got an email from my friend Archie. He said he was in his home on the outer banks and was just starting to get the storm.

Our Home in Columbia

This is where we lived while I was going to USC in Columbia. I built a concrete block building in the back yard where I repaired TV sets and communications electronics. Peggy worked in homes as a private duty nurse.

There was a steep driveway on the left that led to our back yard. We had some good neighbors and not far from USC. I was so busy trying to make a living as well as go to school we did not have any time for the social life at USC. Peggy worked night duty so we would pass each other as one of us was coming in the other was going out.

Toe healed

My toe has healed and I have been released from the Wound Care Center. I will be going to Dr. Blau every 2 weeks, the Podiatrist on Lady’s Island. I am impressed with how she helped me on my first visit.

Cancer Report

I saw Dr. Chahin, my cancer doctor on Thursday. He gave me the report on the recent bone scan. There are no new cancer sites but the radiologist said the existing ones look a little more intense. Dr. Chahin said the intensity varies with so many things that he is not very concerned. For example the time between taking the dye and the scan can change the intensity. I think the results are either the same as last time or slightly worse. The other thing is that my PSA is going up. It is up to 34 now. It was 45 when he put me on chemo the last time. He can’t put me on chemo until the toe is completely healed and I have not been released by the Wound Care Center. Please continue to pray for me, especially for the toe to heal.

Tired but happy

Joe put up the new security light while he was here. We could not find the low energy bulb so it took a few days to get another bulb. It still did not work so today I put up the ladder and climbed up. I thought it had to be a problem with the electrical connection. The connections are mad with “wire nuts”, a little plastic device with a threaded metal part inside. When I touched one of them it fell apart showing the connection was not solid. The electricity was on so I came back down to find the circuit breaker that turns it off. I got involved in other things so I will have to complete the work tomorrow. I am glad I found the problem and it will be easy to fix.

Home to Summerhouse Ln

We went for a ride in the afternoon and decided to go to the area across the Coosaw from our house. We had not been over there for a while and it is a nice ride. They raise cattle along the road. There are big piles of dirt along the road left over from phosphate mining that was done in the 1800′s. At the end of he road is a little community with summer homes but a few are used all year around. The route passes through the little town of Dale where there is a country store that also sells sandwiches. They are know for their good soft crab sandwich but today we did not stop.

Brrrrrrr! It’s cold.

It was below freezing last night for the first time this winter. All of the plants except for the roses are inside except for the roses. We have some roses in big pots on the decks but I think roses can take more cold than most plants. We had some wind with the cold to to make it feel even colder. The cats are usually anxious to get outside but they seem to know it is cold and windy outside and have no desire to go. Maybe I will bring some wood up and start a fire later. It will be a good day to the biography of Steve Jobs that Peggy gave me for Christmas.

I want to show you a “Popcorn Tree” that shows no outstanding characteristics all year until Fall. Then it has the most spectacular display of color in our woods. That’s Peggys clothes line at the side that goes from the 2nd floor deck to a pine tree. That tree was struck by lightning a few months ago and killed. Unfortunately, the clothes line has a wire in the center and that brought the lightning to the house. It blew out a couple of outside lamps including our porch light. It could have been worse but I learned something about the danger of lightning.