Progress

I spent the last 4 days with a tube stuck down my nasal cavity, throat and stomach removing all the residual fluids that was causing bloating and nausea.  It was not fun.  The main problem was that it limited my mobility.  I had to have it disconnected to go anywhere, making the bathroom breaks more of a timed event vs spontaneous.  I have a habit of awakening at odd hours and going for a walk around the halls as they chase me down to secure my gown from the back.  I'm at that stage where it bothers them more than it bothers me.

They removed the tube last night with the hope of further progress with a bit of jello.  And all I can think of is Chick Fil A chicken salad sandwich, chicken noodle soup and lemonade.  Thank goodness it is Sunday and they are closed.

A Place Where Everyone Knows Your Name

I am approaching two weeks in the hospital.  It's been so long that I am recognized by the staff as they rotate through their 3 days on 3 days off schedule.  The digestive track has not woken up to be fully functional.  There is some concern that they may have to go back in with a camera.  This is in addition to the various X-rays being taken everyday.   That also means that i have not taken any fluids or food for over a week.

The bright side? My condition is not degrading.  My major problem is that I am thinking of food.  In Boy Scouts the boys on the week long hike in the wilderness would talk about their favorite food and eateries.  I'm doing that now.  Pho,  chicken tacos at Toms, bento boxes at Home Kitchen, pollo Saltado, chicken kabobs fro Al Hamra,  my brother in law's bbq, the list grows daily.  The one consistent craving that carries over from my bypass is for an ice cold Coke.

Thanks to all for your prayers and support.  It is greatly appreciated.

You Look Mar-velous!

Well it's 6 in the morning and I just took 6 laps around the place and am wide awake. The morning of my surgery I went to get a haircut since I was overdue.  Therefore after the surgery, everyone who has seen me here or on FaceTime say I look good.  It is usually a look of surprise.  Apparently the last time I looked not marvelous.

Well the other side is I don't feel marvelous.  The first night was due to the pain and my foolish resistance to pain killers.  My friend (Dr.) Perry convinced me otherwise.  No pain is good after all.

Day 2 was terrible.  They let me to eat my clear liquid lunch.  I spent the rest of the day and night regurgitating the lemon ice, grape juice and chicken broth in painful small amounts.  I am going through the process, slow process of awakening the bowels to let the food pass through.  But I'm sure that is more info than you want to know.

On the lighter side, if you remember a previous post on legacy Wada puns,  this is from my cousin Jon.  Since they took out part of my colon, I now have a semicolon!

The Funeral will be on July 19th

We all have those moments where it just comes out wrong.  Gayle was trying to tell someone when my surgery has been scheduled.  I have to admit my sense of humor has become a bit more morbid.
I laughed pretty hard at the story and laughed harder when I threatened to quote her in this blog.

I have come to the conclusion that all is not grim.  I have appreciated the words of support and prayers.  Our friend Wendy today shared her system of keeping track of all the medical history, reports, doctors, etc. in a notebook.  She had prepared a notebook for me similar to the one she created for her dad.  While I had been collecting all my information in a semi organized manner, her system is far superior.  It not only organizes the information, but keeps a running chronological history and makes the transfer of information between doctors easier.

I have talked to a few people who have shared  their cancer treatment.  The type  of cancer may be different, their sharing of the process has been encouraging and hopeful.  It is a little tougher getting to the emotional experience.  They have a look in their eyes that they all have in common that I have yet to comprehend.  But I expect I will soon try to be able to express those feelings through the blog.

In the meantime, I'm still waiting for the funeral, I mean surgery.

◾"I'm a doctor, not an engineer." Dr. Leonard McCoy, Star Fleet

Medicine is definitely not an exact science.  At least with the car, I can plug in a diagnostic tool to give me a pretty good idea of what is wrong.   With all the blood drawn, tests, and expert medical opinion, they are not able to determine what my exact condition is.  Where is that medical Tricorder (I googled it) that Bones uses on Star Trek?

It is a bit unsettling for me to have my condition out there and of course, one of the contributors is this blog.  It is the vulnerability due to the exposure that bothers me.  But I am more accepting of it. Why is this time different?  Is it fatigue from old age, maturity (nah), wisdom (nah), or indifference?  It is definitely not for the attention.  This time around, I am actually more concerned for my future on earth.

It is definitely tied to the grandkids.  After Cam and Emerson, I was actually looking forward to seeing Jordan and Jared’s kids.  Will I get to see them? Will there be a grand daughter? Will I get to see them grow up? It thrills me to hear of births of the new generation among the family and friends.  For some reason they give me hope, even though this world is going out of whack.  I was looking forward getting old and see them grow up. 

Maybe it is this hope in our next generation that allows me to feel more comfortable with the vulnerability.  What carries us through our trials and tribulations is hope.  Hope is tied into all those around us.  It is communicated, transmitted, shared, encouraged through vulnerability.

Kind of a reach, but it works for me.

Senior Citizens

Picking up a copy of AARP at the Dr. office is a common occurrence these days.  The ads always has pictures of senior couples smiling enjoying life even though it is an ad for some fatal ailment.  I never thought I would look like that.  I laughed at my sister in law who tries to convince me to dye my hair.  The silver mane bothers her and it brings some amount of joy that it does.  Then there are the subtle hints.  The first was the picture my daughter in law drew of me and the grandkids that I posted.  While I love the picture, Gayle pointed out that I look like my dad.  When did that happen?  Today as we walked through Sams Club, I decided to take passport photos in anticipation of a full recovery and living the AARP ad life.

Now in defense of Sams Club, they do show you the picture before the print it, and on that little screen in dim light and at a distance, it looks great.  But as I opened the envelope to my surprise, we look like two escaped seniors on the run from the old folks home.  I can see the post on the bulletin board at Marukai; Lost, two seniors wandering around the streets of Torrance.  If I post the pictures here, I can say goodbye to a leisure retirement as Gayle would make sure I don't make it to surgery alive.

When I had my heart attack and bypass surgery, I was considered young.  I now fit the description, I look like I belong in that Doctor's waiting room.  People are starting to offer me their seat, some restaurants automatically give me the senior discount.  No one is surprised I have grand kids.  Did I suddenly wake up and find myself looking my age?

I have become the walking representative for Cardiac Stress testing and Colonoscopies.  I get that look as I talk to folks about my situation.  It is the look of "Uh oh, I better schedule a colonoscopy"  or it's a sigh of relief "It's a good thing I just had my colonoscopy".  The second reaction is the surprised look of "hey, he looks ok".  I'm tempted to stop shaving and leave my hair disshelved  to look the part.  Number three is when everyone watches my every move like I may suddenly keel over.

Latest update:  The radiation oncologist called to cancel my appointment as the tumor board did not think it will be required.  In meeting with the gastrologist, he provided more information on my condition and the diagnosis process.  As expected, there are still open questions that he is not able to answer until the surgery.  Modern technology has yet to catch up with the medical decoders of Star Trek.