Friday, November 28th, 2008: A Lazy Day

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving. I cooked the turkey thighs, etc., and Erica had rice pudding with a pinch of cinnamon, which she enjoyed, and after dinner we sat around the dinner table talking and watching old "Cosby" shows.

Erica had the day off today so we just hung out and watched TV. Our neighbors, Marta and Elias, came over and stayed for a couple hours and we had fun catching up.

Not much else to add, but Erica is doing very well.

Thursday, November 27th, 2008: Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been three weeks since the surgery! Here are the weekly pictures.

Erica's doing just great. Although she can't partake in the eatfest today, she told me she's totally okay with me cooking. I can't get over the fact that she's not hungry and doesn't mind me eating in front of her. But in view of that, I have two turkey thighs which I am going to roast with some stuffing. I'm also baking a sweet potato, and steaming some green beans.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008: Status Quo

Yes, I know I haven't posted for a while because things continue to be the same and that's a good thing. Erica was supposed to have a follow-up doctor appointment today but it got cancelled because the doctor was called into emergency surgery. Her appointment has been rescheduled for Monday, December 1st.

Meantime, she's doing really well. The intestinal challenges have tapered off and she feels great.

Happy day before Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008: It's Getting Easier for Erica to Get Dressed!

Erica continues to lose weight at an amazing rate. It's getting a lot easier to help her get dressed - her clothes are already fitting so much better. Today, in addition to the egg white, tea and Cream of Wheat, she had some Kozy Shack Tapioca and just loved it. So we are reintroducing food slowly back into her diet. We're still working on the vitamins and calcium but it'll all work out.

We played hooky from church today so she could sleep in - she was exhausted from going in to work yesterday. We also went out for a little while, to Ralphs, so I could get some stuff for Thanksgiving. She's told me she doesn't mind if I cook for Thanksgiving, so I was able to get some turkey thighs and fixings for stuffing.

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008: Erica's Working

Erica went to work this morning to catch up on some outstanding stuff at the office. She is taking it easy, though; she left at 10 and came home at 3. People were surprised to see her there but she got a lot done without the normal workday interruptions.

She had egg white for breakfast and cream of wheat when she got home and will have some tea in a little while.

She's doing really great and that is one thing I am thankful for this Thanksgiving week.

On another note, for those of you who remember, today is the 45th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Wow.

Friday, November 21st, 2008: Erica's Back to Work For Real

Erica was up at 4 this morning, had her egg white and some peppermint tea, and was off to work at 5:30. She just called a little while ago to let me know that she needs to go in tomorrow (Saturday) for a little while - which for her is probably 9 to 3. She really missed being out of work but that's all behind her now. She's really having fun catching up on everything.

On another note, our cat Whizzer has been diagnosed with lymphoma. If you would like to follow her progress, click on this link; it's my other, "all purpose" blog.

The weekend looms large ahead and I wish you all a very good one! Thanksgiving is just around the corner and after that can (dare I say it?) Christmas be far behind?

Thursday, November 20th, 2008: Erica Goes Back to Work

Today is Erica's first day back at work since her surgery. She had her egg white for breakfast and took a packet of Cream of Wheat to have for lunch. She was so excited to be going back and her clothes fit so much better!

It's also been two weeks since the surgery so here are the pictures. I think there is a difference!

She called a couple of times to check in and tell me how good she was doing. In fact, she was doing so well she didn't take her pain medication. That's great news!

She's having a blast being back in the middle of things and as you know that's where she always wants to be.

On the Whizzer front, after two transfusions, x-rays, ultrasound, and a bone marrow biopsy, they're still not sure what's ailing her. The good news is that her blood percentage is going up slowly but she might need one more transfusion. We should get the results of the bone marrow biopsy within the next few days and that should tell the story about whether she has feline leukemia.

Interesting.

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008: Erica's Good and Whizzer's Not So

Erica continues to feel better, the incisions are healing nicely (a couple need more attention than the rest, but it's all good). We've cut out the yogurt because we encountered more intestinal challenges, so it's down to just egg whites and cream of wheat, but Erica isn't complaining. In fact, she continues to lose the weight and it's just great.

On another note: Remember Whizzer, the cat I talked about a few entries ago? Well, she's at the Animal Specialty Group, an emergency hospital in Glendale, getting a transfusion even as I write this. She was fine right after we got home from the vet on Friday the 7th, and I was giving her "Metacam" for her tail twice a week. On Monday she started getting lethargic and wasn't eating. threw up, and it got worse to the point where she wouldn't even show up to eat, so I took her back to the vet today. Apparently she is severly anemic to the point where she's in really bad shape, to the point of needing a transfusion immediately. The doctor recommended this place and we got there late this afternoon. My credit card got lots of exercise.

Anyhow, that's where things stand now. Seems like just when you think you're ahead and you're feeling good about it, something happens. That's called life, I guess.

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008: So Far So Good

Erica is having "real" food and enjoying it so much. She had Cream of Wheat this morning for the second day in a row, and an egg white for lunch. No intestinal challenges to speak of, although she is off protein, calcium, and vitamins for the time being, and it seems like that's what might have been causing the problem. I've gotten her different vitamins and have sent away for "Unjury", another type of protein that's more easily tolerated.

Just a few more tweaks and we're thinking everything will be fine. We have to remember that it hasn't been two weeks since the surgery!

Monday, November 17th, 2008: 20 Pounds Lost!

Erica's intestinal challenges were such that she called and got an earlier appointment than the originally-scheduled 4 p.m.; we were able to see the doctor at 11:15 this morning.

She's lost 20 pounds, which is incredible. The doctor is not worried about the challenges; he said that they are probably the result of her system being shocked by all the protein, so took her off the protein for a few days. He put her on "real" food instead of just liquids, so she had an egg white and peppermint tea for lunch. So far, so good.

He also thinks that the antibiotics might have had something to do with the problem, because antibiotics destroy the good as well as the bad germs, and she needs to build up the good germs again via yogurt and cottage cheese; so she'll have vanilla yogurt for dinner.

We have an appointment next Monday for another weigh-in and to assess the intestinal challenges; hopefully they'll be gone by then!

Sunday, November 16th, 2008: Smokey!

As you may know, there are firestorms everywhere in Southen California. It started with Sylmar to the northwest of us, and then more fires broke out yesterday to the southeast of us, in Corona, Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, and Diamond Bar, fanned by almost hurricane-force winds.

This morning when I went out to get the papers I could smell the smoke, even though the fires are far away from us. I couldn't even see the mountains for all the smoke, because the winds had died down (which was good for the firemen) but that meant the smoke would hang around for a while, giving everything an eerie orange glow. And it did. All day.

Our friend Marla came over earlier this afternoon and did some great healing work on Erica, and we are so grateful for her healing touch. It's worked wonders.

Although Erica still has intestinal challenges, we're going to ask the doctor about them tomorrow and see what he says. Meantime, liquid Imodium is the order of the day!

Saturday, November 15th, 2008: A Lazy Day

While she still has intestinal "challenges", Erica's feeling better. The challenges are coming fewer and farther between and are not as bad as before. The incisions are healing nicely, too. She tells me that she misses chewing, which doesn't surprise me because she's been doing nothing but drinking for the past week. But chewing (after a fashion) will come in a couple of weeks, in the form of Cream of Wheat, Cream of Rice and all that good stuff.

Today we've gone through stacks of magazines that have been piling up and have sorted them according to those we're recycling and those we are giving away, and the family room looks a little less cluttered.

Erica's still watching the cooking shows which are geared towards Thanksgiving and have absolutely mouth-watering takes on turkey, stuffing, and anything pumpkin (pumpkin flan, anyone?).

We are also keeping track of the horrible fires in Sylmar, Corona, Yorba Linda, and Anaheim Hills and praying for the folks who have had to evacuate and whose homes have been lost. Hopefully the winds will die down and the firefighters will be able to get a handle on the fires before any more homes are gone.

Friday, November 14th, 2008: Change in Plans (Protein, that is)

Seems like the Isopure protein drink didn't agree with Erica's system, as evidenced by some intestinal issues which I won't go into here. Erica called the doctor's office and they said she could take some Imodium. She did, and it helped a little, but the office also recommended that she go off the Isopure and try "Designer Whey", another protein, but this time a chocolate-flavored powder. I mixed up a batch with one scoop to three ounces of water, and, not only is Erica doing very much better, the amount of protein in Designer Whey makes it easier for her to get in her entire protein requirement. This weekend I'm going to try to find the strawberry and vanilla flavors at the health food store.

I know she's lost some weight because she's having an easier time getting dressed, and it can only get better!

Thursday, November 13th, 2008: It's Been a Week Since the Surgery!

Hard to believe it was only a week ago today that Erica went in for her surgery. The change in such a short time has been nothing short of amazing. I've finally learned how to upload pictures to this blog and have added the pix I took last Thursday (the 6th) to that entry. I've taken two more pictures today and I think you can see for yourself that there is definitely a difference!

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008: Same Old Same Old

Nothing earth-shattering to reveal today.

Erica continues to drink her liquid diet, is still not hungry, and is watching re-runs of "Top Chef" in preparation for tonight's premiere of the new "Top Chef" series. That is, with a break in-between to watch Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. You lefties will recognize them as two of the most incredible political personalities in the country. You righties - well - forgive the political reference. I am a political junkie and freely admit it (my name is Marilyn and I am a political junkie).

I returned Erica's C-PAP machine today and the techs at the sleep center were overjoyed that she doesn't need it any more. She's sleeping much better even though it hasn't even been a week since the surgery.

Tomorrow, Thursday, is a week since her surgery and so I will take another picture so that you can track her progress. Yes, I know I haven't uploaded the one from last week yet, but I will. I promise.

I also wanted to take a minute to thank you all for your e-mails, phone calls, and comments on this blog. I am so glad that you are enjoying it and I am having a blast writing it.

Y'all have a wonderful evening - remember: January 20th, 2009 is the end of an error. Oops. Did I say that?

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008: Not Nearly as Much Drama as Yesterday!

Erica continues to improve, and can now have sugar-free popsicles as well as her Isopure (her protein supplement), tea, and water. I got her some more Isopure flavors to try, like Apple Melon, Grape Frost, and Mango Peach, but she told me that she likes the green tea and black tea flavors best.

The best part is that she's pain-free when she gets up from her chair to walk, no matter how long she's been sitting. She used to be in gut-wrenching pain whenever she got up and had to lean heavily on her walker to get around. Now she's just using the walker for balance. It's wonderful.

The incisions are healing nicely and most are now just covered with big Band-Aids.

She keeps watching the cooking shows and reading the cooking magazines, and tells me that what I'm eating smells good, but is not hungry for it. I continue to be amazed.

And speaking of amazing, Ms. Cooper has been just wonderful. When I go to bed (Erica's sleeping in the guest room so that she can stretch out without disturbing me), Cooper takes over, lying by the side of the bed, keeping watch. When she's satisfied Erica is asleep, Cooper herself goes to sleep. The other night, Erica was talking in her sleep and Cooper jumped up and started licking her face, and then rested her head in Erica's outstretched hand. While Cooper can be rambunctious, she has become very subdued and gentle with Erica. She really understands that Erica is not 100% and is doing her best to make her comfortable. She's a great doggie.

Tomorrow I'm taking the C-PAP machine back to the office from whence it came. Erica used it once or twice but got claustrophobic because of the mask, and really doesn't need it any more.

Like the kid in the Kaiser-Permanente commercial says, "Things are lookin' up!"

Monday, November 10th, 2008: Erica Takes a Tumble (but all is fine)

Erica had a great night, and slept very well. As she was coming down the stairs after her shower, her ankle turned, her foot came out of her clog, and the four-pronged cane she uses to help her down the stairs wasn't all the way on the stairs. She tumbled down the three remaining stairs and narrowly missed hitting the Chinese chest at the bottom of the stairs, as well as poor Cooper, who was peacefully snoozing next to it.

No damage to anything important, except she tore her flannel pants and has a big scrape on her leg where she landed on one of the prongs of the cane. I got her settled in her chair and then started the daily routine of 2 ounces of protein, 2 ounces of water, and 2 ounces of tea every half hour. This regimen lasts two weeks.

She continues to feel better, is not hungry, and is still watching cooking shows and reading cooking magazines avidly. She says she hasn't felt this good "in months" and it shows. Can't wait for the follow-up appointment next Monday!

Sunday, November 9th, 2008: A Little Hitch in the Get-Along

Got up at about 4:30 this morning to let Cooper the dog out and take care of the rest of the animals. Once I got that done, I was checking e-mails, and heard Erica in the bathroom. I asked if she was ok and she didn't answer so I went to check.

One of the incisions from the operation (there were eight altogether) had opened a little and was bleeding. We called the doctor, who reassured us that it happens all the time, and to just keep changing the dressing. I had some leftover gauze and tape from our previous combined hospital visits, so I used it to change the hospital dressing, which had soaked through. I also made a quick trip to the CVS pharmacy up the hill and raided their gauze pad and paper tape supply, and we are now prepared for mostly anything.

Erica is doing great. She tells me she isn't hungry at all, in spite of having just a half a cup of watered-down Tazo Zen tea, and water all day. She's even watching cooking shows like "Top Chef" and enjoying them but says she does not feel hungry at all. Totally amazing. We've had visitors off and on and she's dozing in between, and seems perfectly content. I am just so happy.

Tomorrow we start the protein drinks, etc., but for today it's just the water, the tea, and the liquid Vicodin every four hours.

Saturday, November 8th, 2008: Erica's Home!

I was just getting out of the shower when the phone rang and it was Erica asking me to come get her. She was coming home! She was sore and tired, but couldn't wait to get home.

I got to the hospital at about 10:45 and helped her get dressed. The wheelchair and a cart for her flowers arrived at about 11:45 and we were on our way. The transportation techs were so cool; one ran and got my car from the valet parking lot because the valet was so busy, and the other helped load the flowers into the car.

We got home and she promptly fell asleep in her recliner. I went over to Target to pick up pain medication and antacid prescriptions, but the really good news is that she no longer needs to take any of her diabetes or blood pressure medications. The doctor has her on plain water for the rest of the weekend and then on Monday we'll start with the protein and all the other stuff. I'm going to have to do an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of when to give her the calcium, iron, vitamins, protein, and etc. Should be interesting. But I am so happy she's home!!

By the way, in case you were wondering about Whizzer, she's doing much better. Her tail is almost back to normal and that's a relief.

Friday, November 7th, 2008: The Day After

Erica's first full day after the surgery. I got to Huntington about 9 or so and when I got to her room she was feeling pretty good. She was drinking an ounce of cranberry juice mixed with water every half hour. No nausea, just a headache. Thank God.

They had to redo her IV which had started to leak. Because she is a "hard stick", i.e., her veins don't cooperate, it took a very long time, two people, and a lot of patience to finally get the IV started.

She also walked from her room to the end of the second nurses' station on the floor, a distance of probably 100 feet. She was exhausted but very proud of what she'd done. I gave her a quick sponge bath and we settled in to watch Barack Obama's very first press conference since his election. Suffice to say that we were so happy to watch someone who was so well spoken and could put six words together, pronounce them correctly, and actually know what he was talking about.

I left at about 1 to come home and eat lunch, and then go pick up one of our cats, Whizzer, who was at the vet because of her tail. It turned out that the doc thinks she had trauma (someone either stepped on her tail or she got it caught somewhere) and so Whizzy will have some pain meds for a few days.

Anyhow, all told, Erica had a pretty good day. Lots of visitors, lots of flowers. They're thinking she might come home tomorrow. I'll let you know!

Thursday, November 6th, 2008: The Surgery

Today was THE day! We got to the hospital at 6 a.m. and got settled in the prep room. We were visited by the anesthesiologist, a couple of nurses, our wonderful internist Dr. Miller, Dr. Powell (who was performing the surgery), and various and sundry other folks.

Erica was cold so they put this sheet on her that looked like gauze, connected an air hose to it, and blew warm air through it. She was so cozy she fell asleep. I watched Good Morning America and listened to speculation about President-elect (gee it feels so good to say that!) Obama's cabinet.

They wheeled her into surgery at 7:45 and I went over to the surgical waiting room right across the hall. At about 8:45 the phone rang and the receptionist said it was for me. I got scared but it was okay; it was the surgical nurse letting me know that all was well, but that they had just started the surgery. Dr. Powell came out close to noon and let me know that all had gone well, and that she would be in recovery for probably two hours. I made phone calls after that and depleted my cell phone battery, and then proceeded to wait for the room assignment.

That was some long wait. They finally let me know at about 3:30 that she was in room 431. I went up to see her but she was really out of it so I decided to come home and send out an e-mail to everyone, thanking them for all their good thoughts and prayers.

That's where it stands now. I am exhausted so I will sign off now, but will be back within a day or so with what's happening with Erica's adventure.

Good night, all.