Endoscopy Sucked!

I don't usually whine, but yesterday was the pits. I was a bit dehydrated going into the endoscopy. Because I had VRE and haven't had 3 tests in a row negative (3 tests, but not monthly, so it doesn't count) I am forced to have my scope and stretch at the end of the day. I drank until 11 am as I was allowed, but it didn't help enough. They made 6 attempts at an IV, and they all failed. I could have had the procedure anyway with a bit of Atavan, but decided to just write the whole thing off as a misadventure and I'll book again for next month once my veins have had a chance to heal. Bitch, whine, snivel, complain. There, it's out of my system.

We're gearing up for Dad's surgery next week. I think he'll be really relieved to have the ileostomy reversed. The surgery sounds more dangerous than the original cancer surgery, but it will be a relief to get rid of the bag. Poor guy still can't eat all the raw veggies that he likes though. He's always been a real veggie guy, and he will have to wait another 3 months after the surgery for everything to heal. I think for the anniversary I'll give him a ten pound bag of carrots. I also think that they'll be gone in no time flat. snicker.

Mom is doing well too. She has graduated to a cane and physio every other week. She is just motoring along and doing lots more stuff, although groceries still tires her out a bit. It's a bit more work when you have to juggle the cart and the cane and walk up and down the aisles.

Not much else on the calendar for the next little while other than meeting some friends for lunch. I've been really busy and am neglecting my online writing course. I think I may pack it in and just try to start it again in the new year. In the meantime, I am brainstorming story ideas, so I'm not totally out of it.

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Endoscopy tomorrow

Well, it's off to the gastroenterolotis tomorrow. I'm not even sure how many specialists I have these days. This guy is just one of many. He's great though. I think he's going to do something a bit different than last time. I can't quite remember what the new procedure is but since my stricture has gotten worse, I hope it helps more than the last stretching did. Oh well. The IV is more worrisome than the actual procedure. Versed is such an excellent drug!

Things are going well with the new anti rejection med. I go for labs tomorrow too. It will be a busy day.

The puppies are all fine. Wiska has a bit of an ear issue. Not an infection, but a bit of irritation. He had it cleaned out at his annual appointment on Saturday and we have to give him drops for the next week. Poor guy, he's such a wimp and doesn't deal with it well. Oh well. He'll be fine.
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A Chorus Line....

....was fabulous. As always. I know it was the first Broadway show I had ever seen. I think I was a teenager in high school the first time I saw it. It never gets old. I went with Michelle and Holly and they had a good time too.

I have to start wearing heels a bit more often. As I was walking with them to dinner, all dressed up in my favorite pin striped suit, with my favorite shoes on, I realized that I was walking very awkwardly. Talk about being out of practice. Still being stiff from having been in the hospital certainly didn't help. I felt a bit like I was walking like a duck. Oh well.

While we were there I ran into other friends too: Helene (former neighbor) and Marcia (our dog trainer). I hope they had a good time too. It's such a small world. They were at the table next to us at dinner.

On a more serious note, my new drug regime seems to be working out well. My creatinine went from 240 to 154 with only a 50% cut in the dose of prograf. Starting today I will be taking no prograf at all, so things should looking much better overall. The prograf makes my gastroparesis worse, makes it hard to sleep, and also makes my peripheral neuropathy worse too. To say nothing of the chronic shaking of my hands. All have been a bit better since the dose cut, so we'll see how things progress this week. Yahoo.
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Happy Thanksgiving

We won't be doing much this weekend other than going over to Mom and Dad's. Cooking a turkey will be tough on Mom, but she wants to make a nice meal, so we're having a roast on Sunday night. I was there today to help prepare a potato casserole (Romanoff potatoes with sour cream, cheese, & onion - yum) and got to see Kiki with her large scar (she had a large lump, probably benign, removed).

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
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Happy to be home

Well I finally got home on Wednesday. It's been a long month. I spent 2 weeks with Mom looking out for her after her hip surgery, and then a full week in Minneapolis. I'm so happy to be back with Mike and the mutts (sounds like a rock group lol).

Things went well in Minnepolis. They have decided to change my prograf to rapamune. I'll be on the prograf until my rapa levels are up to where they want them, and then I'll be off entirely. I'm glad about this. It is a bit of a risk to the pancreas, but I have a tough time with prograf. My neuropathy in my feet and legs is worse when I'm on it and so is my gastroparesis. The last time they took me off it, I was able to get off all of my stomach meds.

Our renovations are nearly complete and as soon as our new box spring arrives we can finally move back into the bedroom (we're in the guest room right now). There's no room for the poochies beds in the bedroom now so they'll have to continue spending the night in their crates. They don't seem to mind though. I'll post some pics of the new bedroom set once it's all set up.

I'm not too busy the next few weeks except for a few doctor's appointments and support group starting back up after Thanksgiving. We're going to Mom's for a nice prime rib dinner (the turkey's didn't look that great at the grocery store). Yum.

My online writing class has started too and it looks like a great bunch that is taking it. I've started writing a bit again too, so the course is having it's intended effect. I'm looking forward to getting more writing done (I didn't get much done while I was away). I've also started reading some WEB Griffin books. I bought one before I left (both for myself and also because I knew Mike would like it) and I really enjoyed it. Mike has brought up some more from this author from the basement so I've found more books to distract myself. What else is new?
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE

Well, today is Sue's birthday, and a special anniversary for me too. It was on this day in 2002 that she gave me a kidney. Talk about an extra special birthday gift for me. The kidney, while having had a rough ride over the last year, is still ticking along nicely.

Have a great day Suzie.
:-))

I now speak Starbucks

So in addition to the 3 languages I already speak I just discovered that I now speak "Starbucks". It's really embarrassing actually. There is a Starbucks here in the Radisson where I'm staying and I've developed a taste for their shaken iced teas. They look at you blankly if you say you want a "large". It has to be "Venti". Then their terminology dictates that you also be very grammatically specific vis a vis sweetener so I have to say "half sweet". I've been well trained so I can just roll it off my tongue now. "Venti sized half sweet Passion iced tea". I'm not sure if saying "sized" is correct but they don't seem to object. Boy do I miss Tim Horton's. I could order a coffee on occasion if it was a Timmies. I hate Starbucks coffee. Oh well. The iced tea is nice and helps to keep me hydrated.

Have a great day all.
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Biopsy results - that was fast

I was sitting in Applebees at the Radisson here in Minneapolis and I got a call from the doctor on call about my biopsy results. That was pretty fast! The good news is that I am not rejecting the kidney. The bad news is that there is some damage (again) from the prograf. I'm hoping that they will put me back on the rapamune. It agreed with me better. I'll be waiting for a call back once they've discussed what they thing should be done with my meds.

On a nicer note, I'll be meeting my friend Kate here in MSP. I met her online a number of years ago and now when I come to town we manage to get together. I'm not sure what's on tap today, but we always have a nice visit.

Dad was interviewed by A channel on Wed and it was a great interview. I'm really impressed by how passionate he was and he looked great.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncn6Die6oDs&feature=channel_page

;-)