Busy Thursday, January 29th

I just talked to Conrad and Rita in Alabama. They tried to post a blog entry yesterday but had problems....

Sally saw Dr. Drenning yesterday who did an EKG (good result); her blood pressure was 108/60 (also good). Sally has been complaining of leg pains so Dr. Drenning ordered 2 tests: a lower arterial doppler study and an upper and lower deflex venous study in both the lower abdomen and legs. She was having those studies done today when I talked to Conrad.

Yesterday, Sally ordered some new bi-focal glasses with UV protection and scratch-resistant coating from "Glasses For Less" right there in Arab. She'll be glad to get something that will allow her to see better.

Toady, she had some fasting blood work/tests done early followed by a workout at Cardiac Rehab. They told her there that next Monday they will increase her time on each machine by two minutes. They are checking to see if we can transfer her cardiac rehab program out of state when we bring her to Texas in a couple of weeks.

After rehab, it was home for a quick one-hour "power-nap". Then they were off to Dr. Drenning's office in Huntsville for the tests that I mentioned above. Following that, they are scheduled to see Dr. Jiminez for stint-removal and any follow-up to last week's procedure. Whew! I get tired just blogging about it, much less living the fast pace.

One more Doctor Appointment down! ?? to go!

I just talked to Sally, Conrad and Rita.  Sally got an unexpected opportunity to see Dr. Holcomb, an ophthalmologist today when he had a cancellation.  She got a thorough eye exam and a prescription for new glasses.

The exam showed that she has gotten more far-sighted (therefore the need for new glasses) but there is no evidence of Glaucoma or Macular Degeneration.  The doctor could see some microscopic evidence of a previous stroke, but Sally already knew about that.  Sally said that he told her that she is not going blind.  Sally's glad that there is one catastrophic outcome that's ruled out.

She got to go to church last Sunday and she was thrilled to be back.  One of her friends there told her that she belonged in the choir loft, not out in the congregation.  That made her feel good, like she's been missed (and appreciated).

Sally is ready to get the stent out of her kidney-ureter-bladder.  That should happen when she sees Dr. Jiminez on Thursday.  She sees Dr. Drenning, her cardiologist, tomorrow.

(I feel like I'm in withdrawal, being gone almost two weeks from Arab.  I'll be back on February 5th.)

Successful Lithotripsy!!

An text from Sally's daughter Karen says at 3:17 this afternoon:

surgery over.  all well.  got both stones at one time.  followup and stint out in one week.  please post on blog.  thanks.

This is really great news!  This means that her urological tract can finally begin to heal after a lot of trauma!  We are so grateful for all the prayers and support.

I know Sally joins me in saying thank you to all of you!  She still has some struggles ahead of her but we are tickled at her progress so far.

I'll get more specific follow-up information later to you...

Back Home again in San Antonio 1 17 09

I came home Thursday night for 3 weeks.  My sister-in-law, Rita relieved me, driving over from South Carolina on Wednesday.

Sally saw her endocrinologist, Dr. Johnson on Thursday.  He treats her Diabetes and examined her records of food intake and blood glucose for the past few weeks.  He gave us instructions for varying the dosages of insulin based upon the blood glucose levels.  He said he would leave her on the insulin and see her again in 4 months.  ....We're all learning a lot about diabetes, food intake, exercise, etc.

Tuesday 1/13/2009 6:56 PM

Wow!  Another good day for Sally!  Dr. Jiminez removed the now-capped nephrostomy tube that has been in her right kidney/back for over two months.  She said the removal hurt but she's glad to be rid of it.  As Dr. Jiminez was removing it and teaching his nurses, he said "This is the tube that saved her life when she had all that infection in her kidney".

He said he can see (on the x-ray) two stones in the kidney and at this time they appear close enough together that he thinks there's a fair chance that he can get both of them with one lithotripsy procedure.  We sure hope so.  The procedure is now scheduled for January 22nd at 12:00.  This is when they "blast" the stones with sound waves and will be done under general anesthesia.

He'll leave the stent in her ureter to assist in the flushing of the debris from the stones.  Then, he'll remove that when he feels that he's gotten all that he can.

I asked about taking her back to Texas with me in mid-February and he says that looks OK if he gets all the stones with this lithotripsy.

Now, Sally sees Dr. Johnson, her diabetes doctor on Thursday and we'll see what else needs to be done to treat this serious underlying condition...

Monday 1/12/2009 8:38 PM

Sally had a great day!  She graduated from Dr. Newton's care today.  He says she's doing fabulously and won't need to return IF she'll follow up with her cardiologist, Dr. Drenning and IF she'll begin Cardiac Rehab to get stronger and stronger.  She said OK to both.   Cardiac Rehab starts next Monday and she has an appointment with Dr. Drenning on the 28th at 1:45.

Sally's giving her own insulin shots on a regular basis.  Tomorrow we'll start her with doing the blood sugar tests herself.  I'm proud of her.

Tomorrow we'll see Dr. Jiminez and see what the next step is with the kidneys.

Blood sugars are good today.  Still coming down.

Sunday 1/11 2:42 PM

Yea!  Sally gave her first insulin shot to herself today!  She's still afraid to do it, but she persevered!  Said it wasn't as bad as she expected it to be.

It's a cold day today here in Arab.  Karen came over and made turkey meat loaf for lunch.  Sally's blood sugar continues to drop even a few counts per day, but in the right direction.

Three doctor appointments this week, so it'll be busy.

Rita is coming on Wednesday and I'll be returning to San Antonio for 3 weeks on Thursday.  Sally will likely welcome the change.  Her spirits are good and her health and strength are both improving.

Friday 1/9/09 6:25 PM

Sally had a good visit to Dr. McCrory (pulmonologist) today.  He was amazed at how much better she looks.  He wants to see her again in 3 months to give her a breathing test.

We went to the Blue Plate Cafe in Huntsville for lunch.  Sally enjoyed fried catfish (she's allowed one fried entree per week) and vegetables.  So, afterward, when we got home, she was ready for a nap.

The weather was nicer, today here in North Alabama.. Cool, but clear.

Thursday 1/8/09 5:37 PM

Sally's doing well.  She had her second bath today and enjoyed it even more.  The physical therapist came today and said that he can tell that she's working on her exercises in between his visits.  She is adjusting fairly well to her diabetic diet and beginning to be interested in carb-counting.

We had an outing to Wal-Mart this afternoon where she saw a few people that she knew.  We picked up a pair of Crocs for her to walk in.  They can accommodate her swollen feet.

Blood sugars are pretty good.  Making progress.

Tuesday 1/6/2009 3:03 PM

Sally just had her first bath in the tub since early November!  She reports that it was an "out-of-body" experience.  She's feeling better than yesterday.

The Physical Therapist and the Nurse from Home Health Care just came.  They are both pleased with her progress.  Although Sally doesn't feel like she's making much progress, we can all see the improvement.

We will see Dr. Newton on Monday, the 12th and Dr. Jiminez on Tuesday, the 13th.  Dr. Jiminez says that, based on Sally's progress, he will probably get a little more aggressive on the stones remaining in the kidney.  We're all hoping the next step could be as early as later this month.  As previously mentioned. he will consider "blasting" these stones using sound waves.  It might take more than one procedure to get them all.

Sally's just thrilled to have the drain bag removed so there's no more emptying of that or wearing it strapped to her leg.

Right now, she's resting with her feet raised.  She's having more swelling in her legs, ankles and feet than we would like.

Monday 1/5/2009 10:47 AM

Stone removal success!  Dr. Jiminez came out a few minutes ago to let us know that everything went well!  Her ureter had actually dilated a lot so he was able to get his endoscopic camera way up and check.  He removed stone debris from the ureter (the stones may have passed already on their own). and placed a stent in the ureter that runs from the kidney all the way down to the bladder.

He's thrilled with her progress.  He feels that he might be able to move up the timetable for "blasting" those stones that remain in the kidney possibly to do that yet this month.  This should be a brief procedure again done on an outpatient basis.

He also says Sally needs to drink more water.

We're waiting now for Sally to recover in the post-op area, then we'll be making plans to head back to Arab.  Yea!

Report from Arab, AL 1 4 2009

I'm back in Alabama with Sally.  We're getting ready for the big event in the morning to remove those three kidney stones in her right ureter!  Then, we're hoping the flow will resume and the nephrostomy tube may be removed in a couple of weeks.

Her heart and her bed sore are mending well.  She's getting stronger.  We had a little outing this morning to the landfill, post office, cemetery, and Wal-mart.  She did well.

Her blood glucose is averaging 177 so that's good.  Still hasn't learned to self-administer the insulin shots, but we're discussing this.

Pray for our big day tomorrow.  We're hoping that the procedure will be almost outpatient in nature.  Even though she will undergo general anesthesia, we're hoping for her to go home tomorrow.

More later.