Monday, October 24, 2011
I just got home from an appointment with my gastroenterologist and my colitis is “officially” in remission. Now we just have to keep it there. We are doing what we can. Elizabeth is a special help keeping meals tasty and healthy. Now all I have to do is drop a few pounds. I expect Elizabeth, my little diet cop, will help there too.
Not much else new. It was a good week end. We finished season 3 of the show “The Mentalist”. We did not watch it when it originally broadcast. We only discovered it this year. We have been watching past episodes in order to get caught up. Now we are ready to start this season. Luckily we have them in DVR.
There was some bad news today. At work I learned my boss’s father-in-law passed away yesterday. Sad. I actually did meet his son, my boss’s husband. While I was in the hospital two years ago, I got feeling really sorry for myself. Elizabeth called my boss and she dragged her husband along to visit me. They were both so nice and reassuring. That visit will always be important to me. I really want to go and provide whatever small amount of support I can.
The doctor’s appointment I had today was actually rescheduled from earlier. I learned today why it was changed. My doctor’s husband was one of the spectators killed in the Reno air show crash. Shows how fragile life is. Her husband left the house to go to this air show and never returned. Just another reminder none of us is guaranteed tomorrow.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Today has been a busy day. I woke up around 5:30. I did a little computer work and then got ready to ride my bike. Before I rode I ate a bagel with pumpkin flavored cream cheese, a banana and a glass of milk with strawberry Nesquick in it. Then I rode about 40 miles. When I got home I had me second breakfast with Elizabeth. This one included a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk, no Nesquick this time. Then I showered and off we went to run some errands. When we got home we took Candi for a long walk. We walked through a nearby neighborhood. There is one house that has several dogs and she loves to bark at them. After a lunch of hamburg and French Fries we went next door to celebrates our neighbors birthday. He was celebrating the big 4 0. Just a kid. We left there and got our lawn chairs and cooler and Candi in the car and drove to the neighborhood park. Our neighborhood borders Ellington field. This is home base for the airshow which is this week end. It was a beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy. Here is Elizabeth enjoying the show.
The feature act this year is the Snowbirds. This is the demonstration team from the Canadian Air Force. Their team includes a total of 9 planes and seen below.
After that we returned home. Elizabeth tried to take a nap but it is just too noisy. While the actual show is over for the day, there are still quite a few planes flying overhead. Mostly WWII vintage ones. This morning as I was riding, a flight of Japanese Zeros flew overhead. In facy as I type this I can hear propeller driven planes outside. This evening I think we will relax and watch the Mentalist on DVD.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Just a quick update. It did not take nearly as long to get the biopsy results as we were told. Got them today and there is no indication of cancer. That is a relief. The doctor was not sure what caused the high PSA. Some stuff I have read indicate it is not a very reliable test to start with. He said in may have been due to the inflammation in my body at the time. In any event it is good news. Thank you again for all the prayers and support.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
First thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. I feel much better today. It was a pretty rough day Friday. I felt much better yesterday but not quite 100%. Today I am as close to normal as I get.
Today was a bit of a different Sunday. I woke at my usual time, about 5 and did some computer stuff. Elizabeth woke about an hour later and we decided to go to 7:30 Mass rather than our normal service at 11. For breakfast I had scrambled egg, sausage and biscuit. On the way home from church we stopped at the grocery store for a couple of items.
It was also an unusual day in that it rained. As I compose this we have received 3 and a half inches of rain. I wish it would continue for several days but I am grateful for what we have received. So we had to stay inside all day. We watched some television and rested. Well actually I rested while Elizabeth was busy in the kitchen. She made several things she then froze to have this week.
For lunch I had a grilled chicken breast, rice and veggies. This evening I will take my last antibiotic pill. For the next few days think I need to eat lots of yogurt and probiotics. While antibiotics help fight infection they can also kill good bugs in the digestive system.
One of the items we got at the grocery store was a doughnut. Normally Sunday is our doughnut night. We take Candi for her normal nightly walk and go to the local grocery store. There Mommy gets a doughnut. She gets one if they still have any. Since we knew the forecast was for rain, we got the doughnut earlier today. We did have a bit of a problem with it. I guy who bagged the groceries put the doughnut at the bottom of the bag and then put heavy stuff on top of it. Now our doughnut is flat. I am sure it will still taste just fine. That is for after supper.
All in all it has been a pretty good day.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Today I had a new experience that I truly hope I do not have to have again. I had a prostrate biopsy. Several months ago I had my annual physical and although I am 58 years old this is the first time my doctor recommended a PSA test. The results were high. Since at the time I was in a very active colitis flare, he repeated the test with the same results. So he recommended a prostrate biopsy. At the time I was taking steroids to try to control the colitis so I had to wait until I was done with them before I had the procedure. To prepare I started taking antibiotic yesterday. Apparently the antibiotic is not as effective if combined with steroids. In fact there are a number of things I can’t take with them including dairy product. Actually I can have dairy it is just I have to wait 2 hours after taking the medicine to eat or wait 6 hours after eating dairy to take the medicine. Since I have to take two pills a day it makes planning meals an even bigger challenge. But my little nurse does a great job, as always. I am so lucky. So today was the big day with the procedure scheduled for 1 PM. I got up early but decided not to ride my bike. Around 8 Elizabeth got up and we had breakfast. I had pancakes. After that I showered and we were off to run a couple of errands. We got home and I had a light lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then I was off. The clinic is located on the other side of the city so I had a bit of a ride. I got there and checked in. After going through the normal blood pressure and pulse routine it was time to prepare. First I got a shot in the butt of additional antibiotic. Then the doctor came in and the real fun started. I’ll skip the details but he put a pretty big probe where the sun does not shine. In spite of having a local anesthesia, it was quite painful. He took a total of 12 samples. It was all over in about 10 minutes. Once it was over I felt pretty good. So off I went for home. As I drove the anesthesia wore off. By the time I got home I was in quite a bit of pain. Even now, some 5 hours later I still hurt. Elizabeth did make it clear she was NOT going to kiss it to make it better. So now we wait. We should have results in 10 to 14 days.
