tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72135483917208866612024-02-07T02:20:46.157-08:00Ron Willden's cancer recovery storyLapTop comes throughRWilldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05686061497835579071noreply@blogger.comBlogger266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-41562525548501824352017-03-16T15:10:00.000-07:002017-03-16T15:10:07.078-07:00March 2017 updateI have been derelict in avoiding posting for these many months since May or June of 2016. There have been many changes; for example the daughters persuaded us that the time had come to get serious about down-sizing and we spent weeks thinking about moving into a smaller house but there were not any available in a setting like we had on Kings Hill Drive and we diid not want to consider moving to the valley where affordable house could b be foundAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-71263704683057250212016-05-16T12:55:00.001-07:002016-05-16T12:58:25.828-07:00Information on Wellness Center activities prior to next appointment at BMT clinic in MayBMT Clinic May 20th. I go to the BMT clinic every 30 days for flushing of my dual chamber port and the next appointment will be next Friday. The printed schedule that I provided to Shauna Nebeker, manager of Visiting Angels, provider of drivers for My visits to the Wellness Center, showed 2 trips on next Friday; this one to the BMT clinic at 11:00 am and one to the therapy pool at 2:00 pm. so I called Shauna to tell her that Emma will drive me to the BMT clinic, which she prefers to do because she likes to keep up with activities at the BMT clinic. Sometimes on these-one day visits one vial of blood is drawn and I have to wait for the results to be posted and I have to wait and this may happen Friday, but there should be enough time between the 2 appointments.<br />
<br />
I am finally getting the hang of riding the Acorn stair climber, even though it is much slower than walking up would be. Emma wonders if I made a mistake in buying it and<em> </em>I have to remind her that <br />
Dr. Wilson told me that I should move our bed down to the main floor or install a Stair Climber and neither one of us wants to sleep on the first floor again. I do miss the exercise I get by walking up the stairs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-6094775222145687422016-04-25T13:08:00.000-07:002016-04-25T13:09:31.740-07:00I will try to fill in some of the blanks in the blog since the March 21st postSome noteworthy, even traumatic, events happened between the last 2 posts and I don't remember why I didn't think to post about them at the time(s). One of these was the night of March 9 when I was transported to the ER at St. Marks Hospital. I had been suffering with diarrhea all day and nausea much of the day and could not keep any of my dinner down. This had been triggered by me taking a substitute medication for the <em>omeprazole</em>, which I had run out of and the new order from Humana's pharmacy had not arrived. (Side effects from the new pills were listed as diarrhea and nausea, which had begun almost as soon as I began taking them, and got steadily worse, until that evening.) I had thrown up all over myself while sitting on the Family Room couch and Emma could not help me get me up so she called Nancy and the two of them called 911 again. I spent the night in Marks Hospital after they could not determine what was wrong and found a room for me. I was discharged the next morning and told to go see my primary care doctor whose office was in the office wing of that Hospital.<br />
<br />
Emma came to pick me up and I saw Dr. Kuo before going home and<em> </em>I asked him about draining the bursa on my right elbow; he told me it could be done but he strongly advised against doing so because of the very significant danger of getting infection in the elbow. I accepted his recommendation although I am still annoyed with his tight wrapping of the bursa back in December.<br />
Emma had canceled my appointment with our dermatologist, Dr. Horsley, that morning before she knew what a short hospital stay I was having, but I was able to get in to see him 2 days later and his advice about draining the bursa was the same as that of Dr. Kuo. This should mollify Mary Steinbach and Jennifer when next I see them.<br />
<br />
I had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Wilson on April 5, which was preceded by Hannah timing me doing all of the exercises that I have been doing for therapy since I started doing them at the Wellness center. Dr. Wilson had these results. but didn't mention them in her review. She just told me she wants to see me again in 3 months and suggested that we move our bed to the main floor of the house or perhaps invest in a mechanical stair climber. Nancy had driven us to the hospital and soon started sending me, by e-mail, information on stair climbers such as companies that handle them and places to buy or sell used climbers, with phone numbers and addresses and her recommendation that I follow through, which I am sure she sent to her two sisters. I did not use any of her info, but I did go back to my 2014 diary enter about my contact with Acorn Stair Lifts and called them. They didn't recognize me by the new phone number, but when I told them what our old number had been they found a complete record of the call and subsequent visit to the house by a representative and his notes and measurements. I then talked to a technician and he told they have a representative living near us and he could install a stair climber in a few hours for only $3,600. I told him they were going to do it for $2,500 in 2014 and he said he would have to get that price authorized by his Superior, which didn't take long and I accepted the deal.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-22241395963928435442016-03-21T15:55:00.003-07:002016-03-21T16:00:11.395-07:00Short visit for labs only todayWe left early; as we usually do when Emma drives and as a result we finished at 10:30, so we went down to the Wellness Center where we had an appointment at 1:00PM hoping that they could work us in early. Linda went to their gym to learn whether this was feasible and came back to ask whether we could wait 10 minutes and of course we could so I asked her to schedule visits through the month of April so I now have appointments scheduled on Tuesdays for the Wellness Center and Fridays for the Therapy pool in the Orthopedic Center. These visit are more to my liking with more favorable times, which will please the Visiting Angels drivers.<br />
<br />
The visit at the BMT clinic only entailed a blood draw and delivery of a 24-hour urine collection, which seems to always be requested on a Sunday when Nancy's family has scheduled a family dinner. The gathering yesterday was a belated birthday celebration for Laura who was actually born on March 4 25 years ago. We had prepared a monetary gift for her actual birthday so didn't feel obligated to take another gift yesterday. Before leaving the clinic I asked the receptionist to schedule 2 appointments at one month intervals to have my port flushed, and after waiting some time for her to finish a phone call I was told that my<em> </em>Patient Coordinator will make those appointment and then call me with the schedules. I could see Emma waiting quite impatiently, in the waiting hallway.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-2565232638174002152016-01-26T10:03:00.004-08:002016-01-26T11:56:53.616-08:00First visit yesterday to BMT clinic since December 22<br />
Dr. Atanackovic changed my Myeloma treatment schedule when I saw him last month. He has put the treatment on hold for an undisclosed reason, but possibly to determine the cause, or causes, of my frequent falls. I have 2 more 2mg methyl prednisolone pills to take at 4-day intervals and the <em>Velcade </em>infusions have been stopped. My visit yesterday was to receive an infusion of <em>Zomera </em>as a substitute for <em>Aredia</em>. I understood that this change meant<em> </em>that I would only be at the clinic for 20 minutes instead of 4 hours. Camille, my nurse for the day, set me straight on the amount of time we would spend at the clinic. The appointment was at 2:00 and we weren't ready to leave until almost 4:00 and needed to make a lab appointment in late February to come in and have booth sides of my port flushed. I won't go in again until March 21 for another infusion of <em>Zomera,</em> Camille told me that the port needs to be flushed at least once every 30 days.<br />
<br />
I have a large water-like blister on my right elbow that I showed to Jennifer who then went and got Mary Steinbach, one of the PAs, to come look at it. I told them that it doesn't hurt and I m not sure how long I have had it, but it was present when we went to see Dr. Kuo early last month. He identified it as a bursa and wrapped it so tightly that the entire lower arm and hand swelled up so much that they seemed to be infected. Mary and Jennifer advised me to see a doctor about possibly draining it. I have zn appointment with our dermatologist in March and may wait until I see him.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-6527131798494486232016-01-20T10:58:00.003-08:002016-01-25T11:22:03.283-08:00Valeo Home Health Care terminated January 12I now go to the Wellness Center in the Huntsman Hospital twice a week for rather intensive therapy, but have to pay for it with the exception of the first week, which was covered by Medicare. One meeting each week is at the Orthopedic Center's therapy pool where the workout is particularly intense. The instructor is Darren and he tells me that it is his intent to have me walking without my 2-wheel walker or the cane. I believe that the therapy provided by the 2 therapists from Valeo Home Health Care did me a world of good. The physical therapist came every other day with changing exercises at least once a week and the Occupational therapist specified that we have grab bars installed in both of our large showers and said that once this was done we could move our bed back upstairs. We had been sleeping on the bed from Judy's old room since just after Thanksgiving and we were quite anxious to go back to our bedroom where we had a much better bed and closets for our clothes. She came on January 11 for her last visit and wanted to know why we had not yet moved back upstairs. We took that as an invitation to move and did so that afternoon.<br />
<br />
The visit with Dr. Atanackovic on December 22 was misunderstood by me, which I finally learned by calling his patient coordinator who copied and sent me his notes from the meeting. He was putting my Myeloma treatment on hold until the reason for my frequent falling was found and corrected. The peripheral neuropathy in my feet affecting my balance as it does may be a cause of the falls and phasing out the steroid medication along with stopping the <em>Velcade</em> infusions may stop my penchant for falling. So, I won't be getting any medication for at least 3 months. I will go to the BMT clinic on January 25 for an infusion of a substitute drug for the <em>Aredia</em> that I have been getting, but will not be making a 24-hour urine collection until further notice.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-52860329499412605152015-12-30T11:35:00.000-08:002015-12-30T14:00:58.173-08:00Significant (?) changes in cancer recovery program sice last post on December 21.I had assumed that the <em>Velcade</em> infusions would resume after phase out of <em>Methyl prednisolone</em> was completed, but at the meeting with Dr.Atanackovic on the 22nd we were told that the stoppage is permanent and that I will no longer go the BMT clinic on 4 Mondays out of every 6 Mondays. I will only go every 3 months with a 24-hour urine collection and will be subjected to blood draws. This makes me wonder if the V<em>elcade </em>is no longer needed why was I given it to begin with. I was told that it is a Designer Drug designed to kill rapidly growing cells. <br />
<br />
A nurse had put a line in my port and drew 3 vials of blood and asked if she should withdraw the line; I told her no because some times when I have seen the oncologist he has asked to have more blood drawn and he will have his nurse withdraw the line. Mary Steinbach, the PA I usually see, and a nurse in training came in the exam room to spend some time reviewing meds and condition before the doctor came in and he spent very little time telling me that the markers have been consistently low and only needed to be monitored at 3 month intervals. He then told us we could leave without saying that we should 1wait for a nurse to see us; so we left with the line still in my port and I had completely forgotten about it And didn't remember it until that evening when I decided to remove the adhesive patch covering the withdrawal spot and found the line still in place.<br />
<br />
I went back to the BMT clinic the next morning where a nurse removed the line, but told me that the wound on my right hand was infected and should be seen by a doctor. She called and found that I could be seen in the Wellness Center where Dr. Doyle examined my hand and told me that it is not infected; the redness is swelling in the hand and arm that is constricted by a wrap on my right elbow that had been placed by Dr. Kuo when we visited him on the afternoon of the 21st. My hand had been dripping a clear fluid on the floor while we waited and as soon as the wrap was removed the drip stopped and Dr. Doyle told me no more wraps on the elbow or the hand. She had her nurse, Bob, gather some gauze pads and tape to protect our bedding from the medicated salve I am to continue using on the wound.<br />
<br />
Dr. Doyle had set up other appointments for me and the one with Dr. Wilson resulted in a prescription for home health care which has involved visit from an Occupational therapist and a Physical therapist both of whom have just about matched the allowed number of visits the Medicare will approve. I am to see Dr. Wilson for a follow-up visit Monday.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-87420396366019760492015-12-21T20:01:00.001-08:002015-12-21T20:01:42.205-08:00+Day fifteen of latest Multiple Myeloma maintenance cycle included a visit by a therapist and visit to our primary care physicianNo visits to the BMT clinic since December 7 because the 'brain trust' that is managing my life told me that day that they wanted to phase me away from the Methyl prednisolone that I have been taking for four years or longer and that may be responsible in some part to the falls that I have been having. I have been taking 8mg tablets of prednisolone every other day and now I have been prescribed enough 4mg tablets to support a schedule of 6mg for 2 weeks followed by 2 weeks of 4mg and then 2 weeks of 2mg after which I may be free of the deleterious effects of the medication and they will resume the Velcade infusions. There have been other doctor appointments in the interim and today Emma and I both had appointments with Dr. Kuo our primary fare physician.<br />
<br />
Several of the doctors, therapists, and/or nurses that I have seen in the last 2 weeks have asked if I had seen my primary care physician so I finally called and made the appointment for today. He told us that he had just read an account of my visit to the Intermountain ER, but otherwise knew nothing about these events. He gave me a rather thorough examination and said I am too week to change any of exercises and restrictions imposed on me during this period. <br />
<br />
I am to visit the BMT clinic tomorrow for blood tests and for an appointment with Dr, Atanackovic my oncologist, which has been speeded up from the February appointment at the request of the 'brain trust'.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-90065958019656080622015-12-15T15:16:00.003-08:002016-01-25T11:33:20.009-08:00Day eight of newest cycle yesterday saw significant changes to routine treatment programThe visit to the clinic began routinely with the exception that Emma and Karen accompanied me and Karen drove. Susan collected me from the waiting area, took me into a small prep room and put a line in my port and drew 2 vials of blood. She the called Bethany to take me to an exam room for a meeting with Mary Steinbach. Mary reminded me that I have fallen so much in the last two weeks that efforts are now being made to determine why I fall. Mary began one such step by phasing me off MethylpreDREDNISolone over the next six weeks during which rime I will not be coming <em>for Velcade</em>. A new patient coordinator, Laura, had been summoned and was asked to try to get the February appointment with Dr. Atanackovic rescheduled to a much more current date, which finally became December 22. Later one more vial of blood was drawn and the line removed from my port with no infusion.<br />
<br />
I don't know who organized or completely staffs the 'brain trust' that is ordering my life now; but it seems to have begun with a Dr. Doyle, who is on the staff of the Wellness Center in the Huntsman Hospital and was moonlighting at the Intermountain Hospital ER on November 30 when I was taken there. I had fallen twice in the evening while preparing to go upstairs to bed and knocked myself out and the paramedics summoned by Emma thought I might have had a stroke and they told her that Intermouintain does the best job on strokes. I was unconscious until well after I had been put in a bed, but awake when I saw that Nancy had come and brought Emma to the hospital. They did an EKG on me and a sonic scan of my brain, but did not tell me what they had learned, but with Dr. Doyle's concurrence told me there was no reason to keep me overnight and we could go home. We didn't get there until almost 4:00 AM.<br />
<br />
Dr. Doyle had made an appointment for me to see a Dr. Dunson, also on the staff at the Huntsman, for 1:00 AM the next day. He reviewed my history of falls and identified 15 things I shouldn't do or take and gave me a list of future appointments. I was to meet with Dr. Rebecca Wilson on<br />
December 3 at 9:00 AM. She prescribed home health care for us and a 2-wheel walker, which I am supposed to use all the time. She also made an appointment for me at the Univ. of Utah Hospital Cardiology Center at 11:15 on December 15, which I didn't know about until I listened to a voice mail message that afternoon. I hope this is all 'much ado about nothing' and that continued physical therapy will get me back to normal.<br />
. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-30160627789944205682015-11-30T15:22:00.001-08:002016-01-25T11:32:19.985-08:00Today visited Heiden Orrthopedic clinic on second Monday of ny "holiday" from BMTToday Sabrina was my therapist and she scolded me much as Emma does for continuing to fall even inside the house as I did twice last week. The first one was in our bedroom Tuesday morning as I tried to turn our alarm system off and had trouble seeing the transmitter in the poor light and started walking toward the west windows without my cane and fell forward splitting my little finger from the rest of the hand with a lot of blood and a need to go to the ER at Alta View hospital for repairs. Iam to go back Wednesday for removal of the stitches. The second mishap occurred Friday about noon when I hastened to get out of the way and fell backwards into the cabinets and had to have help to get up. Now Emma won't let me even go outside to help with a light snow fall . I was almost surprised that I was allowed to drive to the clinic today. <em> </em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-32706588651537497142015-11-23T17:54:00.003-08:002015-11-25T11:10:25.310-08:00First Monday of "holiday" but I went for therapy at Heiden Orrthopedics I saw Dr. Winegar on the tenth and he prescribed more therapyX-rays were taken of both hips and he said the hips appear normal and no surgery is indicated.. There is some arthritis, which should be alleviated by continued therapy. He prescribed another 6 weeks of therapy twice a week, but the therapists have only scheduled one a week. They seem to like Mondays and I told them that would be OK until December 7 when I go back to the BMT clinic.<br />
<br />
I had not heard from the BMT clinic about the tests that they ran on me last Monday so I called on Wednesday and learned that they will send prescription to a drug store of my choosing an I told them to send it to the near by Walgreens I picked it up later that day and found that it is to treat a specific bacteria in my intestines and I am to take 3 a day for 14 days and take no alcohol during that time and for 3 days after. Emma misses me not joining her for a glass of wine while we watch the early news.<br />
<br />
It is too soon to tell whether the pills are doing me any good. The instructions with the pills said to complete the 14-day period even if I get to feeling good sooner.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-7611231041778404812015-11-16T18:13:00.001-08:002015-11-17T14:09:15.769-08:00Week 4 routine changed because of the diarrhea I have ben suffering from since last FridayWe woke up to a rather light snowfall this morning and I was rather slow about getting ready to go to the clinic because of the recurring diarrhea, which started last Friday morning and has not abated yet. I went in the Lexus and got there five minutes late because the roads were wet although there was no snow build up on them. I checked in and was relieved that the lady who checked me in did not ask me for my insurance card or ID, which has been a nearly universal request. I had locked my wallet in the car, but wore my hat, which I normally leave in the car. One of the other patients remarked about never having seen me with a hat before. <em> </em>I waited in the hallway waiting area for more than 30 minutes before Craig came to take me to the weighing room. He asked how I am and I told him that I have been suffering from diarrhea since last Friday; information which he passed on to the nurses in the Infusion Room and soon Mary, PA, came to tell me that they didn't want to give me the Velcade because of the diarrhea and that I should defer the Velcade until my scheduled visit on Dec.7. I agreed to this. She also said that they wanted a blood test and a stool sample, which she wanted to see, but she never came back.<br />
<br />
Camille was my nurse and she soon put a line in my port and drew one vial of blood, and hooked me up to a large bladder of saline. By this time it was almost noon so I called Emma on my cell phone, which she had insisted that I carry with me, to let her know that I wouldn't be home until after 1:00 PM. Olivia a pretty young registration clerk, came by and asked if I would like a piece of pizza that had been ordered for the interested staff. She said they had 3 varieties and what would I like; I told her to surprise me so she came back with 3 slices, one from each of the pizzas and wanted me to take all 3. I told her I couldn't possibly eat more than one so she brought me a paper towel and a napkin and told me to take my pick. I chose the peperoni and roasted mushroom and enjoyed it.. In the meantime the saline was dripping through rapidly, but not so fast that I could go to the restroom, without it. She went in to the nearest restroom and prepared it for collecting a stool sample and told me to close the door after I finished and Craig or someone else would come in to take care of the sample. I noticed that Craig had divided the sample into 3 parts and came back for labels. Camille removed the line from my port and I left soon after. I had not been told when I might learn what the tests indicate; with my only instructions were to try to drink 2 liters of water each day.<br />
<br />
We have a 2-volume set of books from the American Medial Association in which I found directions for making a solution to restore minerals lost from the diarrhea, which called for 1 teaspoon of salt and 4 teaspoons of sugar dissolved in a quart of water. Not having a suitable quart container I have on several occasions used 1/4 teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 8 ounces of tap water to make the replenishment drink. Not very tasty but drinkable.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-34196893758282514692015-11-09T13:38:00.002-08:002015-11-09T14:09:13.373-08:00Humana approved the use of Zomera instead of Aredia.I took a letter from Humana to the BMT clinic with me this morning to show to Laurie who had told me a week ago about a drug that Dr. Atanackovic had suggested that might be substituted for the 4-hour infusions of Aredia. I didn't know the name of it then,. but Christina Neumann posted a comment on last week's post identifying it as zomera and the letter from Humana authorized its use for 2 years, I won't have another infusion for 3 months, but it will be very welcome not to have an episode like the one I had on October 26.<br />
<br />
I got to the clinic almost 10 minutes early and expected to have a short session, but I didn't get home until after 2:30. The delay was blamed on slowness on the part of the pharmacy. My nurse was Camille and she told me that my protein count has stayed lower than it should for quite a long time and suggested I try some protein drinks, which I have done in the past and didn't persist because I did not like the taste. Emma sometimes makes a smoothy for breakfast and puts protein powder in with the other ingredients and I quite like her smoothies. I suppose I could eat more eggs, but I am not sure that lots of eggs are good for me (or anybody else). I usually make breakfast Sunday mornings; either scrambled eggs or omelettes with 2 eggs per person otherwise no eggs any other day. I have started buying Chobani Flip yogurts, which contain 12 g protein and have one for lunch along with a protein bar, which can have anywhere from 2 g to 12 g protein. But Camille told me I should try to have about 50 g protein per day. She suggested that I just get 6-pscks of protein drink and try to find some that I would like.<br />
<br />
Several of the nurses or aides noticed how I hobble along even when using my cane. They ask if my hips hurt and are surprised when I tell that I am not experiencing any pain, but I am going to see a hip specialist tomorrow morning to learn whether he can tell me what I can do to stop the wobble. One of the therapists at the Heiden-Davidson Orthopedic clinic measured my right leg to be one CM shorter than my left leg and maybe a Centimeter can be added to my left boots or shoes to make the bottom of my left leg match the bottom of my right.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-63627832988429716642015-11-02T15:08:00.000-08:002015-11-03T15:01:33.247-08:00Some expressions of sympathy today when I told the Infusion Room staff about my one hour trip home last MondayMy appointment this morning was at 10:00 and I arrived a few minutes early because the traffic was light and I didn't stop at very many traffic lights. After registering I was sent to the hallway waiting area where Craig collect4ed me 20 minutes or so later and took me in for weighing and height measurement. He then found me a seat in chair N0 1 in the Infusion Room to take the rest of my vitals and turn me over to Laurie, my nurse for the day. Laurie had told me that last week that my blood work shows that I am right on the border of being able to have a 2-hour infusion instead of a 4-hour infusion of <em>Aredia</em> and she had sent an e-mail to Dr. Atanackovic asking him if he would approve the shorter infusion. I don't know if he replied to that e-mail, but today she told me that he asked if I would substitute a different drug, the name of which I don't remember, that accomplishes the same thing as <em>Aredia</em> and only takes seconds to infuse (much as the <em>Velcade). </em>I told her that I accept all the advice of the doctors, and the nurses, so of course I would try it. I am not scheduled for another infusion until January 19, which I made clear this morning to a new patient coordinator whose responsibility is scheduling infusions. <br />
<br />
Laurie had ordered my <em>Velcade</em> when she first saw me come in and said I shouldn't have the delays that I experienced last week, but she didn't go down to get it until almost 11:30. She then put a line in my port and administered the drug, removed the line, and told me I could leave. I told the young lady at the registration desk on my way out that I had thought about bringing in some candy left over from the Trick or Treaters on Halloween night because we only had one group consisting of two women, one man, and four children come and not until after 8:30. I told them I was not surprised that other adults had not come with children earlier because of the sporting events going on that night and one of the ladies brightened up and confirmed that they had to wait to see how the game turned out. I told the young lady that I would bring some next week. We had purchased a 170 piece bag of chocolate candies and may have given away 10 pieces after I told the children to help themselves.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-83994568987130553602015-10-26T20:56:00.002-07:002015-10-27T10:49:44.457-07:00Eight hours today,the fist Monday of Cycle 31, and horrible traffic on the way homeI had an appointment at 10:00 AM today at the BMT clinic and got there several minutes early because the traffic was light and I didn't have to stop at any stoplights until I got within a quarter mile of the parking garage. I registered, but the waited more a half hour to be taken in for weighing and vitals. My blood pressure was a reasonable 130/70 getting close to the usual results of 120/60 that I had for years until sometime early this year. Craig took me into the Infusion Room and seated me in chair 5 where Nannette, a nurse new to me. placed a line in my port and drew 2 vials of blood and then a long wait ensued. I new that I was scheduled for an <em>Aredia</em> infusion and brought the 3 latest issues of Smithsonian magazine because I expected the infusion to last 4 hours and it did and I would have been home in mid afternoon if it had been started right after the blood had been drawn. It was not started until after 12:30.<br />
<br />
I was supposed to have a visit with a PA and Mary Steinbach did come in trailed by a man whose name escaped me. Mary then left and then male PA checked my breathing, heart, etc. and left saying Mary would come back, which she did not do, but before she left I told her about wanting a schedule prepared as a calendar and she said she would remind Pamela about this schedule. When Pamela came in shortly thereafter she told me that the clinic had become so busy they decided that they needed 4 patient coordinators instead of the 2 coordinators they had been using and I would soon be having a different coordinator. She returned later with the calendar schedule for me and with the new coordinator, Laura Spruit a nice looking young lady. I studied the new schedule and found that it did not have an <em>Aredia</em> infusion scheduled in 3 months time as has been the usual schedule so I called her back to learn if this was a change dictated by Dr. Atanakovic and found that it just was an oversight on her part and I should be scheduled for another in 3 months, but it doesn't show in the copy I have.<br />
<br />
When I do come for another infusion I am going to insist that it be started no later than 11:00 because the traffic going home was the worst I have ever seen; it took more than an hour to get home. I waited for many changes at every traffic light until I got south of 1700 south on Foothill Blvd and never shifted from first to second gear until I got beyond the intersection of Foothill and Sunnyside and then only for a few yards. I was in the pickup and my left leg was very tired from using the clutch so much. My left leg is longer by one centimeter than my right leg and I now need a cane to walk wherever I go. I go to the Heiden Davidson orthopedic clinic for therapy on Thursday and I am going to learn whether they can write a prescription for orthopedic adjustment of my boots-or shoes.<br />
A boot maker told me last week that with a prescription he can modify my boot.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-88633636335929564572015-10-12T17:07:00.000-07:002015-10-13T10:09:01.197-07:00Today is the first Monday that I was not scheduled to go to the BMT clinic but I did go to the Heiden Davidson clinicMy visit to the Heiden Davidson orthopedic clinic had been scheduled for a therapy session at 1;00 PM today and I was glad to keep the appointment because I had fallen in the shower this morning landing on my right buttock and had a hard time getting up and I had a sharp pain in my buttock. Sabrina wanted to know why I had fallen and told me I should sit on the bench instead of trying to lift my right leg up to dry it because my left leg isn't strong enough to support my weight. She then had me sit on a cold pack until I felt chilled. Amy, the other therapist came in and the two of them wanted to know what Dr. Heiden had said when I visited with him on the seventh. He had said that even though my range of motion in my right arm is good I need to strengthen it and he said I should have the therapists write down the exercises they want me to do at home. Sabrina printed out a sheet of diagrams that showed the newer exercises that will help me with my legs and I had write on the sheet the time of each and the frequency. She said I should come for another 2 weeks, but I am only authorized by Humana to have exercise through October 15 so she said she will get authorization for 2 more Monday visits and then call me to confirm that they are set.<br />
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I was almost late to the clinic because I needed to take an application for a rebate from Rocky Mountain Power on the new picture windows that we had installed in our Living Room that the installer had told me to call RMG about. Their rebate program seems to promise a rebate of 50 cents per square feet on these windows. I filled out part of the application and part was to be filled out by the company (K-Designers) who supplied and installed the windows. I regarded a rebate of $80.00 sufficient incentive to submit the application. But the company made my life miserable by needing to have the application in their hands before completing it.<br />
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I have been looking in the mail every day for a calendar type schedule for my on-going visits to the BMT clinic as I was promised following my visit to the Big Infusion Room on October 5. The single page schedule I now have does not show any details in its 2 lines per visit and does not show an <em>Aredia</em> infusion anywhere, which somewhere near October 13th I should have by comparison with previous schedules. That is what the nurses in the Big Infusion Room wanted to give me on the October 5 visit and which I refused.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-10762923994436474922015-10-05T16:10:00.005-07:002015-10-06T15:53:06.794-07:00Visit to Big Infusion Room today for initially unknown reasonI am tempted to give up on posting this week because twice I have had to start over by publishing the post and then going back to it for editing and finding that it is gone and I cannot find it. Daniel has helped me several times in the post but I won't see him again until Friday. The first time I was interrupted by Emma wanting to look for an email that should have come last Friday. I didn't find it and when I go back to the post the only thing I found was a blank page with six words at the top. And the second time there were only 2 words I don't know why I lose my work, I suppose a loose finger touches some key that wipes out what I have written, but it seems to only happen when I am trying to post and not when I write letters using Microsoft Word.<br />
<br />
I was called last Friday asking me to come at 9:30 today and report to the Big Infusion Room at the far end of the second floor without telling me why. I did so and found the traffic to be heavy and hard to find parking spaces. Checking was inefficient and after I had done so I was told to wait for someone to take me in. Lily, nurses' aide took me to a seat where I waited again for a couple of nurses who asked if I wanted to be stuck and I told them no that I have a port and have had it since August 2009. They then informed that<em> </em>I am to have an <em>Aredia</em> in addition to the <em>Velcade</em> that I thought I had come for. I told them I last had an <em>Aredia </em>infusion on July 13 and was not due for another until October 13 and I would not have one today because I need advance notice in order for me to bring enough reading material to last 4 hours. And besides, I had an appointment at the Heiden Davidson Orthopedic clinic for therapy at 1:00 PM. After getting the infusion I was permitted to leave and I went to Clinic C registration to complain about lack of information and to ask for a print out of my schedule for the next 3 months. When this was given to me it was all on one page and I was told that a patient coordinator would come talk to me about my schedule.<br />
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The patient coordinator, a lady I have seen around but don't know her name, told me she knows that<em> </em> I like my schedule in calendar form and she will prepare one for me that I can pick up on my next visit. I told her that I won't be coming back until the 26th so she said she will mail it to me.<br />
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I did not post last week because I ran out of time with 2 clinic visits and preparation for a trip to Cedar City on September 29 to see 2 plays on the 30th as a celehration of my birthday, which we did last year and had such a good time that we decided to ds it again this year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-74669953726113685012015-09-21T15:56:00.004-07:002015-09-22T10:29:09.591-07:00Today, day 8 of Cycle 30 went smoothly.My appointment at the BMT clinic this morning was at 10:00 and I was a few minutes late because of searching for a parking space in the garage and that may explain the delay after registering for Craig to come take me in for vitals. My blood pressure continues to be higher than I expect it should be: 144/74, which seems to be the new normal. For more than 5 years it has consistently been around 120/57to 60. In the last few months, when I mention the apparently high blood pressure to one of the PAs the have taken again later or ask me to take it when I get home and most times it is lower, so maybe I just suffer from "White Coat Syndrome" when I first get to the clinic. Craig seated me in Chair #1 in the Infusion Room where Natalie greeted me and told me she would be my nurse and she would order the <em>Velcade</em> and would wait to put a line in my port until the <em>Velcade</em> was ready. I have known Natalie for years, but don't recall her ever having been my nurse, there were a lot of new faces in the clinic and I didn't enquire as to why; probably staff being rotated from job to job.<br />
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The pharmacy called to tell Natalie that the <em>Velcade </em>was ready and she went down to get it; she had prepared all the material for the infusion earlier and placed a line in my port when she got back with the drug and was administering it when I was asked if I would be there long enough for a sandwich, which I declined, and I was leaving the garage by 12:07. The traffic was light but<em> </em>I went by the Post Office to drop a card in the mail and then on to Ream's for some fruit.<br />
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Tomorrow promises to be a hectic day. We contracted to have the picture windows in our Living Room replaced with high efficiency double pane windows and they were supposed to be installed last Friday, but when the crew arrived to inspect the job they decided the would need more equipment and another helper they postponed the installation until tomorrow at 8:00AM which meant that we would have to get earlier than we did this morning. I succumbed to a sales pitch about reducing our heating and cooling costs by a huge amount by doing this when the salesman showed me that the temperature of the present picture windows was 98 degrees in contrast to 74 degrees on those we had replaced about 10 years ago. I told the leader that we needed to be downtown by 5:00 and he said "no problem"; we'll see.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-13846120185689618332015-09-14T16:09:00.001-07:002015-09-14T18:17:25.986-07:00Meeting with Dr. Atanockovic today on Day One of Cycle 30My appointment today at the BMT clinic was at 12:15 to have a line placed in my port and to have blood drawn, which was done more or less promptly and then I was sent to the hallway waiting area for Bethany to take me in for weighing and height measurement; I remain at 5ft. 10 inches and have for years. Emma accompanied me, which she usually does on those days that I am to see the doctor-once every six months or on days when I feel somewhat unsteady behind the wheel. The wait for Bethany was overlong and I learned when I told her about being sick all day last Theursday she said it is a one-day flu-like ailment that is going around and all her family with the exception of herself have had it. She took both of ustoan Exan Room where she reviewd my medications and general health. She told us that Dr. Atanackovic is going to contiue me on the same medications and the same visitation schedule and told us thaat Mary Steibach would be in to talk to me. Mary soon came in and brought the test results from the past week, but did not give them to me, [preferring to have the doctor do so], which he showed me when he came in and said that all the results show continuity from visit to visit and that I am doing very well. He sees no need to change anything and he will see me again in six months. He told me to wait for Mary to come back and when she did she brought copies of all the recent tests, but no schedule for future visits. I didn't know that there was no schedule untl I went through the packet after getting home.<br />
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I had told the Heiden Davidson Orthopedic clinic that I did not want any therapy sessions scheduled until after I had seen Dr. Atanackovic. Dr. Heiden had prescribed therapy sessions twice a week for six weeks and said that he wanted to see me again in a month. I have only had three sessions because of the therapist being uiavailable a time or two, but have done a series of exercises that the therapist gave me for here at home and I see mprovement in my range of motion and strength in my right arm. I intended to call them this afternoon about my new schedule, but inasmuch as I don't have anything in hand I put oit off. Perhaps I can call the BMT clinic in the morning to confirm that there are no changes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-85330427821033812182015-09-08T10:43:00.006-07:002015-09-09T13:25:47.473-07:00Necessary early trip to Huntsman today will seem like a start of a new cycleYewsterday was the second Monday of my 2-week off period, but I have to go to the Pharmacy at the Huntsman Cancer Institute todsy to pick up a prescription for a medication that I am now totally out of and could not get it filled at the nearby Walgreens because the prescription expired yesterday and Utah state law did not allow them to get it transferred from the Huntsman pharmacy without calling the Huntsman for information that could only be obtained by a call and the Huntsman pharmacy was closed. I got my prescription filled by callng the closed Huntsman pharmacy and in response to a computer generated voice entering the number of the prescription and with other info it could be confirmed and filled to be picked up today afer noon.<br />
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We have celebrated our 65th wedding anniversary twice in the last eight days; first on September one the actual date with Roger for margaritas and with Daniel joining us after his class, and again yesterday here in our home with all the family including Laura's boy friend who turned out to be a very nice young man by name of Steve (I know the last name but not how to spell it). Nancy had asked a couple of weeks ago how we planned to celebrate and I suggested that we do it here, either on the actual date or perhaps on the previous Sunday as we commonly do for family gatherings and I would provide the bacon-wrapped fillets, which everybody seems to like. Nancy countered a day-or so later with doing it on Wednesday (the day after the actual date) because that is Mike's easiest clinic day and further that they would provide all the food except the beef because she doesn't want her Mother to have much to do. I was agreeable, but before the date could be circulated by e-mail to her family, she proposed doing it on Labor Day and making it a joint celebration of Mike's birthday and our anniversary as it turned out yesterday. I was the only one who had much to do, grilling the steaks. Dan arrived early and was immediately put to work helping to extend the dining room table to its full length of 114 inches,. and participaing in an early "happy hour", inasmuich as liquor is frowned on by many of the Swinyard clan. Laura and Steve stayed to help fold up the table a major task, but made much easier as it now sits on a new oak floor.<br />
<br />
The new oak floor, which was installed right after we returned from our trip to Durango, and is responsible for my present weakened condition, was made necessary becsuse I broke one of its gate legs trying to extend it to the full length for one Emma's bridge lunchs. The table had been sitting on carpet for quite a few years without being extended and sunk into the carpet so far I couldn't move the gate leg.. We then folded it up and slid it across the carpet to near the west side of Living room and called a flooring contractor that we had used to refinish the Family room floor in April of 2003 to come give us a bid on ripping up the carpet and putting down an oak floor. I new I could repair the gate leg, but not before we got rid of the carpet. I then damaged my right arm on August 11 by sanding the bottom of all 8 chairs' legs in order to put feltpads on them to protect the new floor. I used an orbital sander at shoulder height and had a pain in my triceps by the time it was done. I further aggravated the damage that Sunday with a very sharp pain in my biceps. I wasn't able to find an orthopedic surgeon until August 26 and have since begun therapy sessions and exercise here at home and think it is getting much better, but I used Emma's car today instead of the pickup.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-91500636960533126322015-08-25T14:14:00.002-07:002015-08-25T15:57:06.285-07:00Short session at clinc yesterday, but maddening session with woud be scammer kept me from PostingSchool started at the U. of U. yesterday and I stopped at nearly every light after leaving I-215 and for lots of pedestrians once I got on the campus. The attendant at the entry booth to the garage gave me a very new parking tag, which was so stiff it fell between the seats when I tried to hang it on the rear view mirrow and I spent about 10 minutes trying to get it out, which made me 6 or 7 mintes late for the 10:00 AM appointment. I was registerd by Olivia a pretty young lady that Nancy had asked if I had seen in the clinic becsuse she had had Olivia in the second grade a number of years ago. I had seen Olivia walk in front of my chair a week or two ago and had stopped her to ask her name and told her about Nancy's interest. She was very cmplimentary about Nancy and I made enough of an impression on her that she knew my name as soon as I sat down and she didn't require me to produce my driver's license or insurance card as the other new registrar has done each time. I waited in the hallway for Craig to come take me in for weighing and then to chair # 1 in the Infusion Room where he took my blood pressure to be 153/81, the highest I have ever seen. <br />
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I mentioned the high blood pressure to Charlotte, my nurse again, she was unconcerned, but I was, so I took it again after dinner last night and it was 129/77. So I conclucded that the high pressure at the clinic was due to the traffic and the frantic search for the parking pass. Charlotte was ready to put a line in my port and order the <i>Velcade</i> until I told her that because I had brought in a 24-hour urine collection she should draw some blood to go with it. She had to confirm this with some of the other nurses so she is still learning. But she did as instructed and drew the blood and sent it of to the lab and after delivering the collection to the lab she gave me the infusion, removed the line, and told me I could leave. It was about 11:40 then and I got home just a little after noon.<br />
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A little after I finished my lunch I answered an 801 call from an unknown name and found myself talking to a man who was going to refund $ 199 I had paid to some company to work on my computer, which work had been uncuccessful so they now wanted to refund my money; he had our street address and said he had the last 4 digits of the credit card number that I had used to pay the charge (I din't bother to check whether those numbers actually are on the card), I told him that the refunding is fine just put it on the card. Then he said he can't do that-I will have to fill out a form that I can download from a site that he told me how to reach. I tried to reach the site and then realized that he was intending to scam me just as 2 other groups or individuals had tried over the last 3 weeks. I told him that I won't open the file and I won't send them any form that comes from him unless he can send it to my email and I told him my email address and hungup. He called back somtime later and told me that my computer will crash if I don't do what he said. Somewhat later I got another call from a voice that I didn't recognize saying he was calling from Vivint and we had had an alarm on our interior motion detector and gave me a number to call. The number turned out to be Vivint's number, but there had not been any alarms from our home. This led to me explaining what had occured prior to this call and me telling the story to other offices in Vivint. After which I called PC Laptops, seller of my computer to ask about it being crashable and was told it was possible and I should being it in for them to check it out, which I may do. I think my computer may have been hacked; otherwise I don't know how they got the amount of the money I paid.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-1071476004210852352015-08-17T20:10:00.000-07:002015-08-18T11:23:50.320-07:00New nurse at clinic today; still learning, which made for long sessionI had Emma drive me to the clinic this morning because my right arm was so sore that I thought I would not be able to drive myself. I had injured it last Tuesday by using an orbital sander to prepare the legs of the dining room chairs to attach pads that would protect the new oak floor in the dining room. I used a random orbit rotary sander to smooth the chair bottoms, but I did this out on the east side deck with the chairs resting upside down on the deck rail, which meant that I was using the sander at about shoulder height and by the time I had finished doing 4 legs on all 8 chairs I had a distinct pain in my right triseps. The pain gradually subsided until yesterday evening when I jerked a sheet of paper from a holder mounted under the kitchen cabinet and sent a very sharp pain into my arem. The pain is still so bad that I cannot raise my right arm above my shoulder. I even have to drink coffee with my left arm.<br />
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After registering at the clinic I went out to the Hallway waiting area to join Emma and wait to be summoned in for vitals, etc. A new nurse, a tiny little girl by name of Charlotte, came to take me in to be weighed and then to chair number 5 for more vitals. She wasn't sure about what to do next inasmuch as it was her first day in the Infusion Room and I told her that on the third Monday the nurses draw 2 vials of blood from my Medial port. Camille was nearby and she gave Charlotte instructions on placing a line in my port and the blood drawing, which instructions were either not clear or not followed closely because she did not get blood after flushing the line with a saline syringe and Camille manipulated the needle to get blood flowing and to draw one vial of blood sent off to the lab, but could not get a second. Eventually a second line was placed in my Lateral port to draw another vial and a syringe containing a solution to dissolve any blood clots in the first line was injected. The wait was then on for results on the blood and then for the dissolving solution to take effect. Camille told us that the wait would be at least an hour and we would have plenty of time to eat the sandwich, which had been ordered and delivered some time earlier. The blood work report had arrived and been printed for me by Charlotte and the <i>Velcade</i> ordered and delivered around noon. But<br />
it was not infused until about the time the dissolving solution was finshed, which was after 1:20.<br />
<br />
Camille told me that I should have the Medial port used again on my next visit Monday to make sure that it is functioning properly.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-3521747329891494232015-08-11T10:24:00.000-07:002015-08-12T10:13:49.694-07:00Self monioring of blood pressure showed no need for additional medicationThe 10:00 AM appointment at the BMT yesterday went more smoothly and rapidly than any in recent memory. There was no need to draw blood and the only vital that seemed to be required to order the <i>Velcade</i> from the pharmacy was my weight, which was about one kilogram higher than usual. Craig had taken my bood pressure as 159/75 the highest I ever recall. I told Robin, my nurse for the day about this high reading and she said she would do it again after a bit and when she did it was 139/73. She suggested that the high reading may have been due to sress from the drive in to the Hospital. This then led to me to showing her the record I had kept from my measuring my blood pressure during the week as requested by Mary Steinbach, the PA I had seen last Monday. This task was more difficult than I had expected. The cuff-model device that we have had for many years failed and I bought a new one recommended by the pharmacist at the Walgreens store near us. Her recommendation was qualified in that she liked the wrist models better, but said they don't have many returns on the large cuff-model Omron. I could not turn on the one that I bought (perhaps because it had too many features) so I took it back and got one of the wrist models. This model showed that my blood pressure went from 148/88 to 119/73 during the rest of the week. Robin reported that Mary was satisfied and I wouldn't need any medication for hypertension.<br />
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Robin then told me the <i>Velcade </i>had been ordered and she would soon go to the pharmacy to get it. She did not put a line in my port until she came back from the pharmacy. When she did come back a little before 11:00 she put the line in and immediately administered the drug, took out the line, and dismissed me. I would have been home before noon exscept I had to go to the Pioneer Memorial Theatre box office to exhcange tickets for a show on September 29, which conflicted with our plans to go to the Fall season of the Shakespeare Festival. The tickets had come in Saturday's mail and I had forgotten that our first show in the 2015/16 season was coming at that time.<br />
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The visit to the Univ. of Utah Dermatolgy clinic in Murray with Emma was disappointing, to me, in that Ally Sorensen, the P.A. that the appointment was with, could not decide what the rash that had started to appear on Emma's body on the 28th of July might have been caused by, but she was able to consult with Dr. Hull, the dermatologist that Emma had wanted to see. He was available for consultation even though he had other patients, whose appointments had been made earlier. The rash was not continuous; it consisted of scattered reddish spots some of which had small bumps within them and all itched. We had feared that the rashes might be a reccurrrence of the <i>bullous pemphigoid</i> that had afflicted her in 2010 after she broke her leg and that was quite painful, but cleared up rapidly after treatment began. Dr. Hull said that it definitely was not <i>pemphigoid</i> and looked more like insect bites; not bedbug bites and not mosquito bites; but neither of them could say what kind of insect may have done the biting. That is why I was disappointed, we had been together all the time and done the same things and I had no such rash or evidence of bites.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-49740785841763245612015-08-03T15:49:00.002-07:002015-08-04T19:25:49.543-07:00Blood pressure cosistently high for quite somtime. Need to monitor it myself for this weekI hate having to go to the BMT clinic early, as I did this morning, because the traffic is always slow and especially slow once I get onto the campus roads. Today was no exception; I went in the pickup because Emma had an appointment at the Univ. of Utah Dermatology clinic in Murray and I couldn't predict when I would get home, She wanted me to accompany her so I told the staff and they made an effort to get me out early enough to go with her.<br />
<br />
A.new clerk in the registration offfice required me to produce my driver's license and insurance card and then didn't even look at them, which I mentioned and she pointed to a sign on her desk which says we must provide them each time we come. I went out to the hallway waiting area and Errin, a nurse new to me, came to take me in for putting a line in my port and drwaing 2 vials of blood. I asked if she is new and she said that she has been working in the back, but comes in on Mondays to help out. I then waited in the hallway for 25 minutes or so until Bethany took me in for weighing and then to an exam room for the rest of my vitals. My blood pressure was 141/71, which is much higher than what it has been for years around 120/58-60. She said she would mention this to Mary Stienbach, the PA I have been seeing on the first Monday of each cycle for quite sometime. I also showed Bethany the my left arm that I damaged by falling on Thursday and hitting a chair as I fell and peeled a square inch or more of skin from my elbow.<br />
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Mary came in around 10:30 and looked at the damaged arm and said I could keep it open to aid in the healing and she said that the blood work looked good/. She also said that I should measure my blood pressure at home once a day for this week and keep a record that she would look at next Monday. She said that the increased blood pressure may be showing some hyper tension, which can be treated if my pressure continues to be high.<br />
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I had told some of the nurses that my wife had an appointment with the Univ, of Utah Dermatology clinic and hoped that I would be home early enough to go to the appointment with her, so they cooperated and got me out just after 12:00. Camille bandaged my damaged arm and gave me some non-sticking pad and paaper tape to take home. Mary had said that it could be left open, which would speed healing and Camille said as much, but that I might want a bandage on at night to keep from getting blood on the bedding.<br />
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Emma had a light lunch for me when I got home and we easily made the appointment. Emma had what she thought might be a recurrence of the <i>bulbos pemphigooid</i> that Dr. Hull had treated in 2010, but when he and the PA looked at her rash they bolth thought it more likely a result of insect bites. We could not explain how she could have the bites without me being effected and because we have the yard and house sprayed for insect 4 times a year and we no longer see bugs in the house.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7213548391720886661.post-68796393662808547182015-07-24T11:25:00.000-07:002015-07-25T13:50:53.164-07:00Excursion during time-offThe first Monday of this 2-week time-off was spent in Cedar City where we went to see 2 of the 6 plays being presented by the Shakespeare Festival during this, their Summer season. We traveled there with our dear friend Roger Sorenson, actually in his automobile, on Sunday. Roger didn't go to the evening show on Monday, which was "King John 1V, pt 2", because he felt tired and indisposed. It was, in my opinion, a failure and the only show that disappointed us/me. It seemed he may have cobbled it together from discarded scenes from other plays that he had worked on. We went intending to see the matinee and the evening show each day for 3 days and did so except I am the only one who saw all 6 plays; Emna skipped 'Taming of the Shrew" Wednesday night.<br />
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The weather was almost beautiful except for waking up Tuesday morning to rain, which stopped before the matinee. Roger had an umbrella, but Emma and I did not because ours were in our car still parked in our garage. We returned home on Thursday with a customery stop in Nephi at Mickelsons' cafe for their excellent soup.<br />
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We have no plans for next Monday, but something may come up to enable me to continue putting off efforts to get our house ready for an eventual sale.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04755025585502177275noreply@blogger.com0