Evicted - January 9

Early in the morning, I was visited by Dr. Occy’s partner. He said I had two choices - either to go to a rehab center or go home. The idea of going to the rehab center was to have intensive physical therapy which might relieve the pain. I questioned whether intensive physical therapy could possibly increase the pain in the short term. I did not want to chance that. So I am going home.

I started checking JetBlue flights because they are the only carrier that has direct flights between Richmond and Fort Lauderdale. There was space on the Wednesday ones and so I then called my daughter. She’s going to fly down on the morning direct flight, spend the day here helping me, and then we will fly back on the evening direct flight which arrives in Richmond just after 11 PM.

The plan for Monday and Tuesday was to work on increasing my ability to sit in a chair for long periods of time and work out a short term pain plan so I will be able to do that as well as to get on and off the plane.

A great physical therapist named Ruth came and helped me this morning. She showed me some exercises to do, some helps in walking around, got the back brace on correctly, and generally gave me the confidence that I can do this. We did a test run with me sitting in the chair for a while - two hours actually - and then taking pain pills and doing a lap around the floor which wasn’t too bad. When I came back, however, I was exhausted. I got into the bed and slept for a couple hours. I sat in the chair for dinner and to watch a little bit of news after dinner (all wearing the back brace).

Dr.  Maimi came by to check on me and told me the best thing to do (since I don’t have an oncologist or even a confirmed diagnosis) was to go to the emergency room of a good hospital when I get home and complain of back pain and I can get the process going.  She also said that I needed to have more biopsies done to pinpoint what kind of cancer it is.  The amount Dr. Klinger was able to do was not enough of an area to get a good reading. I am feeling much more confident now having a plan of action.

I expect Tuesday to be very similar to today.

Once again I want to give my heartfelt thanks to all of you who continue to read my reports and send me love and prayers.  It really helps me to get through this trying ordeal.  Love to you all.❤💘💗💖

 A Very Quiet Weekend - January7-8

No doctor visits or news over the weekend (or at least at 4pm as I type this).  Yesterday they did not want to let me get out of the bed without the dreaded back brace but it didn’t fit right.  This morning some guy in a lab coat came by and “fixed” it so I used it on a visit to the bathroom.  I almost decapitated my self on the front bar. The nurse took it off and it has not been mentioned again.  In truth, it feels fairly good when I am standing or walking but not for sitting.

I slept too much yesterday and had trouble getting to sleep until I had meds at about 2am.  I had a nightmare where I was on a ship with the windows in different sizes and colors passing me like I was on an elevator.  The same continued as I woke, not knowing where I was.  I asked the lady I saw (actually my roommate) if I was on a ship or in a hospital.  I got up as she was answering, “hospital”, and headed with Holly (my rollator) to the restroom.  My roommate by then had found a nurse who helped me back to bed and I was finally out of the dream.

I had visit number three from the “Rehabilitation Vultures “ as I am calling them, today.  They want me to come to their facility for a few days to a week or so and do enhanced PT.  Sounds good if I lived here (I would get all the services as at the hospital) but I want to start cancer treatment or go home to get it asap.

 Another Day, Another Diagnosis - January 6

Dr. Landau (oncology/radiation) came by in the afternoon and said as more test results come in, he believes it is myeloma not lymphoma but there is still no definitive course of treatment.  So, for the time being, I will be calling the hospital home.

Thanks to all of you who sent me greetings.  I appreciate all of them, and can never get too many thoughts and prayers.

The End of the Road - December 29 - January 5

The last few days have been like nothing I have ever experienced (and hope to never again).

Thursday morning I was in great pain and knew I had to get off the ship and go to a hospital.  I was taken off in a Broward County rescue ambulance by the nicest (and not hard on the eyes) young men.  Once in the hospital, I was given a hospital gown and an emergency room gurney (not real comfortable) and stayed there.  I was in spot Yellow A which is in the hallway next to the nurses station.

During the day I was given the usual blood test, urine test, chest X-ray, etc.  At about 6:30 I was taken for an MRI.  A few hours later, the ER doctor came to give me results I never would have thought of.  I had a broken (compressed?)L1 vertebrae and spots of cancer.  Way too much to absorb.  

In the middle of the night, they had found a room in the ER in which they took me so I would be out of the hall.  They had a room for me on 4North in the morning and I was then in my new home away from home.    I had another MRI during the early evening which took longer than the one before.  Dr.  Klinger (who is a neurosurgeon ) came in to check in since he was off that weekend.  

Two other doctors dropped in over the weekend (I was in pain and getting pain meds every four hours so the two days are very fuzzy - I slept a lot).  Dr. Klinger came in Sunday night and reviewed Monday’s surgery.  He was not happy I still had not had a chest and back CT scan so he made sure I had one.  (Getting on and off those little planks for the MRI and CT scans really hurt with back pain ).

Just after 7:30 am I was wheeled to the OR.  They asked lots of question, many multiple times (they had said they would) and got me ready for the Kyphoplasty and get tissue for a biopsy.  The kyphoplasty is where they take a cement like substance that rebuilds the space between vertebrae’s.  Any doctors reading this, that may not be a quite accurate description- I am not doing well comprehending everything right now - feel free to correct me.

They also took tissue to try to figure out the source of the cancer.  I woke up after 11:00 and thought I was in Cape Town.  ????  I finally figured out where I was.  Everything had gone well.

Monday afternoon, Pete and Judy came by to see me.  They are two of the people I was supposed to eat dinner with and go on the safari.  It was great to see them.

Over Tuesday and Wednesday, I had visits from Dr. Maini, Dr. Occy, Dr. Landau.  Dr. Miani is a hematologist/oncologist and Dr. Landau works with radiation.  Since there is still no exact information about the cancer, they agree that radiation should be the next step.  Ideally, I would have been able to do that in Virginia but there is still no way to travel for hours in the pain I am in.

Dr. Occy (pronounced o-see) came in and appeared not to have gotten the radiation memo - he was still talking about PT and a rehab facility. Since he does not work in the oncology field, maybe that is why he didn’t know.

So, that is how my “vacation “ is going.  Today is the first day I had felt good enough and was not taking as much pain medication, to work on the blog.  I tried Monday but didn’t get beyond the title.

I will continue to post every few days or if there is something really important to let you know.  Many of you have been in touch and I really appreciate your kind words.