Home Again

Yeah, I know, it's been awhile. We've been home since the 15th and I just haven't gotten around to writing anything on the blog. I'll try and update now.

All is going fairly well. We are still surprised at how weak Peter is. He is getting stronger but it is a slow process. He can get in and out of the car on his own and only needs supervision on the stairs. I have added some resistance to his arm exercises and increased the reps on his legs. We walk out to the mailbox at least once a day and between bloodwork and dr. appts. we are out and about almost everyday. The biggest problem we have as far as movement goes is adding enough time to our daily schedule to get all the stuff done that we want.

Eating continues to be a problem but is slowly improving. We have decided that if Peter decides that a certain food seems appealing we will try it and see what happens. If no bad reaction, then we will continue on - the heck with the dietary guidelines - we'll try things in moderation.

Peter is working from home. He tries to get in 6-8 hours/day with some on weekends to get to his 40 hours. Alot of what he is doing now is catching up on procedures, and attending phone meetings. It helps him alot to keep his mind occupied.

The last time he was in the hospital at Duke a lady came to the unit and played the hammered dulcimer. Peter talked to her about playing it and she said that if we didn't have it out where it could be played with at any time we woud never use it, so, it is now on a small table in the living room. We'll see what happens.

We will be in Durham tomorrow, the 23rd for an appointment at the clinic. The plan at the moment is to return home tomorrow night, but that is all subject to change.

Take care,

Wendy

Goodbye ABMT Unit

Peter was discharged from the hospital yesterday and has moved in with me at Homewood Suites. His laptop and new printer are set up and he is anxious to start working from "home" again. He got a call from one of his co-workers Joe, who said that the flu is rampant again at GE so it is a good thing he will not be going into the site when we get back to Wilmington.

Peter is alot weaker than we had realized. He has a very hard time gettting up from low seats, ie. sofa, toilet, chairs with no arms, so he needs to pay attention to where he sits and what is available to use to help him up. We also found out this morning that his balance is not as good as it used to be and that he has trouble with curbs. I let him out at the clinic this morning and after I pulled away he lost his balance and tripped on the curbing. Luckily he was able to get his hands out in front of himself and only scrape his nose. Leave it to him to have to make a grand entrance, and of course I missed it all because I was pulling into the parking garage - guess I won't let him go anywhere alone for awhile.

We hope to be back in Wilmington by the end of next week. If all continues well, the drs. say we should be.

Wendy

No hook-ups today

Lori and I came in to visit Peter today and he had nothing hooked up to his port - no meds, no saline, no TPN, nothing - a very good sign. He is taking all his meds by mouth as of today and only gets his TPN at night. The doctor's would like his to decrease his fluid intake a bit and try to eat more solid foods so that his protein levels can continue to move up. His liver function tests are all back to normal. He is eating small amounts of soft solid foods and trying to increase caloric intake with boost, ensure and instant breakfast.

He is still having problems with fluid retention which is related to low blood protein. He wears his arms and legs mostly at night. He's still having trouble with his thigh highs, gonna try some biker shorts type pants today and see if that helps to keep them up.

As is stands now, we are gonna see if discharge is possible Tuesday afternoon - that way I can get back to Wilmington again, do laundry and take Lori to the airport. Then Wed. would be our first day at clinic and Dr. Horwitz thinks that maybe we could return to Wilmington sometime the next week.

Peter has checked with Dr. Horwitz, HR, and his boss at GE and the plan as it stands now (I think) is for him to begin work from home 4/14. He will have very limited physical contact with the office - maybe a trip in on the weekend for a short time, and I would go with him to be sure it is a short time!

Lori and I have had a nice visit. We've done some shopping and lots of eating out. We went to Duke Chapel yesterday and plan to go back today to listen to a program on quilting! Tomorrow we would like to go to the Flea Market and then meet Heather for brunch. Also would like to get to Duke Gardens. Of course, it has rained just about everyday since Lori has been here and that tends to put a damper on outdoor activities!

Not much else is new. Have a great day!

Wendy