Marshall still in pain

We were scheduled to go to the Cancer Center yesterday for Marshall's 2-week lab work and checkup since he's not been feeling good at all.  He has pain and he is totally weak and exhausted.  But when I got up around 5:30A, it was snowing like crazy so I made the decision to canceel the appointment.  (Of course, it stopped snowing within an hour, but the decision had been made.)

I called the oncologist and asked if we could just get the lab work done this time closer to home and he said absolutely.  So we called our primary care physician and he sent us to the lab he uses in Canon City.  So this morning we drove over there and got the blood drawn.  Hopefully we will have the results sometime tomorrow.  If the white blood cell count has gone down further, we'll have to see what Dr. Flaig wants to do.  They will also check Marshall's PSA again.

In the meantime he is glad that we don't have to go anywhere tomorrow and he can spend the day resting.

Tomorrow I'm going to call an acupuncturist here in town and make an appointment for Marshall.  He'd like to try a couple sessions and see if it helps.  I will probably do a few sessions myself.  I've had a few A-fib episodes and they sure are scary.    Yesterday I felt so weak and out of breath that I could barely walk around the house and that's the first time that's happened.  And the weird thing is that -- at least to the extent that I can tell anything -- I was NOT having an episode.  My heart rate was perfectly normal.  So it is evident that the blood wasn't pumping properly and that was very disconcerting.

Pain

Marshall had a bad day today.  His leg hurts and his shoulder hurts and he has absolutely no energy.  He felt awful.  He napped a bit and then went to bed early.  On Tuesday we see the oncologist so we can ask about it.

Tomorrow the real estate agent comes to the house to do an evaluation.

I've discovered that very cold food or drink (such as a smoothie) brings on a mild A-fib episode.  I Googled it and learned that the esophagus is right behind the top of the heart and the cold stuff can definitely trigger an episode.  Boy, the list of things I can't eat is growing by the day.

Good report from spine surgeon

We drove up to the University on Thursday to see the spine surgeon for a post-op checkup.  They took x-rays and told Marshall all the screws were right where they should be and the incision has healed nicely.  They removed all restrictions with regard to how much he can lift and bending over.

We spent the night at the Residence Inn and on Friday went to look at a townhouse in Centennial.  It was darling but was just too small for us.  But at least we got the ball rolling.  On Monday one of the local Westcliffe realtors is coming over to take a look at our house and do a market evaluation and let us know what price to put on our house.  It should be on the market in a few days.

Today I started the slow process of going through things to decide what to take and what to get rid of.

Marshall felt okay for the 2-day trip to Denver, but had a little trouble walking.  Today it got worse and his arm was also hurting.  Not sure if it's arthritis but he's taking Aleve.  I put a brace on his knee but he said it didn't help.  So he's down in the dumps.

Decisions, Decisions

First, today we were able to get Marshall's motorcycle out of storage and into the shop for some repairs.  After that it will go to an airbrush painter for some touchups.  He wants it ready for this year's bike shows.

Second, we talked all day today and finally made the decision that we need to move to the city.  We both absolutely love it here, but we need to be realistic about what we can and can't do.  It is obvious that neither one of us can handle the maintenance on this property.  And finding people to come out where we are isn't easy.  And let's face it, as we get older and older, the whole process of selling and buying won't get any easier.

Also, the 360-mile round trip travel to the cancer center (which is now every two weeks) is very very tiring.  Being closer to medical care would be so nice.  Where we are, it's sometimes iffy whether or not an emergency vehicle -- if one is available -- can even find us, much less get to us.

So next week when we get back from the various cancer center visits we will have a real estate agent come out and tell us what we can ask for our property and go from there.

Fire

Isn't this great?



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Springtime in the Rockies

This is what we woke up to this morning!


It is absolutely gorgeous. However, Marshall can't do any shoveling and while I did the best I could, I could only clear off a path down the ramp at the front of the house. Normally the snow in Colorado is like powder and you can sweep it off in a few moments. This is a wet snow and very heavy. Let's hope that (1) the sun comes out today -- which isn't looking good so far; and (2) that we don't need to get out for anything! But we need the moisture and it is definitely great to look at!

Marshall is still sleeping as I write this so he hasn't even seen it yet.

Yesterday we went out and about and had a really nice day until Marshall just fizzled out and we headed home. But we went to a grand opening of a business in town and then we went to Canon City and bought the new toilet. So that was a great day for us.

Now if we can just get our guy Ray over here to install the toilet for us. If not, my fellow animal rescue volunteer -- Glenn -- said he would do it.

I think we'll just build a fire today and look out at the beauty of Colorado.


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Busy day

Marshall stayed home today and dealt with a water leak in the master bathroom.  Gina was here to help coordinate things and to watch the animals.

Yesterday I got an email from my cardiologist telling me to be sure to take my Metropolol pill this morning (it's a medication that slows down the heart rate).  I told her it seemed kind of counterproductive to take a medication to slow down the heart rate at the same time I'm going to be getting on a treadmill trying to raise the heart rate.  But she insisted that I take the medication.

She also surprised me with the news that when she went over the results of my 14-day Holter heart monitor, she is leaning towards recommending a pacemaker.  But she wanted to see the stress test results first.

So when I arrived at the hospital today the nurses/technicians said that I should NOT have taken the medication prior to a stress test.  (Duh)  But we decided to go ahead with the treadmill anyway.  I was supposed to get my heart rate up to 128.  I gave it my all, but I could only get it to 108, so they stopped the treadmill test and switched over to Plan B -- a chemically induced stress test.  But even with the confusion, I think it went well.  The cardiologist even sent me an apology for making me take the Metropolol.  At least she knows that I could have made it to 128bpm if it weren't for her!

So now I wait for all my test results and I see the cardiologist on June 3 to go over everything.  I don't know why she is waiting so long to see me, but I'm taking that a a sign that she does not feel it is an emergency.

When I got home, I learned that we need a new toilet in the master bathroom.  So tomorrow morning Marshall and I will be heading to Home Depot.  In the meantime, we just keep putting towels on the floor.

Other than that, Marshall had a quiet day.  He has no pain but is just fatigued all the time, can't get any real energy going.