Hi all,
Poor Sam passed away at 8:30 on Wed. night (7/28/2010). He had been having episodes of being very short of breath upon any kind of exertion since Friday night. The nurse at Eskaton said he should go to the hospital but Sam did not want to go. He finally relented at noon on Tuesday after a particulary bad episode. I think I did the best I could. He was pretty anxious at times but I held his hand and rubbed his back and that seemed to relax him. They gave him a Xanax for the anxiety but our one experience with that is that it knocks him out. It did again this time and I think he never really woke up after that.
We are now dealing with the details of his passing. Andy will ship the body back East as his body will be put into a crypt alongside where his wife is. Andy will go back East for this process and also to take care of details regarding to try and prepare his house for sale and the sale of Sam's car. I won't go back with him because not only is my left leg recovering from a hamstring injury (therefore I have a very sore butt) but I also injured my right leg in the hamstring the day Sam went in the hospital (additional butt soreness). I was walking Maggie and she crossed in front of me rather suddenly and I twisted my leg and stubbed my toe at the same time. So, with both sides of my butt sore I don't think it would be wise to spend 8 hours sitting on a plane going East and then West again.
Tommorrow I will gather Sam's clothes and bring them to Salvation Army for donation. Saturday we are going to attempt to move his new couch and table to our house and then gather up all the furniture we want to discard and get rid of it somewhere. We had a woman Pam work with us before to do some hauling so we are going to try to use her again. However she will be working alone so we aren't sure she'll be able to do the job. She will evaluate what needs to be done and make her decision. If it is a no I'll just search some more for someone else.
Hope things are well with you.
Lisa
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
DVD Fest
Hi all,
Guess what I did from 10am to 3:15pm today? Watched 2 DVD's of the Thorn Birds. I got it from the library and I think they omitted the discs that had sex in it because if you read the book, the discs only encompass the first quarter and last quarter of the book. They omitted the parts I want to see! Actually I enjoyed the DVD's but the book is better. It is never the reverse is it?
We went to see Andy's Dad yesterday but he was having a bad day. Friday night he was struggling to breathe and then again in the morning. After we were with him awhile he seemed a lot better. When we first walked in and he saw Andy, he asked him for a hug and I thought he was going to cry. He really misses seeing Andy so I am going to try and make sure Andy sees him at least once a week. I went to see him today and he seemed pretty good although he ate his breakfast upstairs (they charge $2.00 for this as they discourage staying in their rooms all the time). He said he didn't feel good about going down because he hadn't shaved and cleaned up yet but planned to go down for lunch.
Andy went on a 75miles 7000ft bike ride while I watched The Thornbirds. Contrast in activities there isn't it? He did the route we did for the Auburn Century. Yesterday I tried bike riding for the first time since my injury. I went for an hour on flat road. 14 miles at 15mph. My butt started hurting a little after 30 minutes but I kept going. I had a small amount of pain which lingered so I decided not to ride today, I will try again Monday or maybe I'll wait to tell the PT people what I experienced and ask them their opinion.
Nothing else new. My attempt at switching to red wine is interesting. I find myself drinking less wine. It also gets my digestive system moving if you know what I mean.
Hope things are well with you.
Lisa
Guess what I did from 10am to 3:15pm today? Watched 2 DVD's of the Thorn Birds. I got it from the library and I think they omitted the discs that had sex in it because if you read the book, the discs only encompass the first quarter and last quarter of the book. They omitted the parts I want to see! Actually I enjoyed the DVD's but the book is better. It is never the reverse is it?
We went to see Andy's Dad yesterday but he was having a bad day. Friday night he was struggling to breathe and then again in the morning. After we were with him awhile he seemed a lot better. When we first walked in and he saw Andy, he asked him for a hug and I thought he was going to cry. He really misses seeing Andy so I am going to try and make sure Andy sees him at least once a week. I went to see him today and he seemed pretty good although he ate his breakfast upstairs (they charge $2.00 for this as they discourage staying in their rooms all the time). He said he didn't feel good about going down because he hadn't shaved and cleaned up yet but planned to go down for lunch.
Andy went on a 75miles 7000ft bike ride while I watched The Thornbirds. Contrast in activities there isn't it? He did the route we did for the Auburn Century. Yesterday I tried bike riding for the first time since my injury. I went for an hour on flat road. 14 miles at 15mph. My butt started hurting a little after 30 minutes but I kept going. I had a small amount of pain which lingered so I decided not to ride today, I will try again Monday or maybe I'll wait to tell the PT people what I experienced and ask them their opinion.
Nothing else new. My attempt at switching to red wine is interesting. I find myself drinking less wine. It also gets my digestive system moving if you know what I mean.
Hope things are well with you.
Lisa
Friday, July 23, 2010
Evening in Stockton
Hi all,
Yesterday evening I went into Stockton to visit with Noreen, Mike, Des and Julie. Noreen had us over for dinner to help her enjoy her harvest of vegetables grown in her garden. We had salad with tomatoes and squash fron her garden. We had roasted cut potatoes in olive oil and herbs. The potatoes were from her garden and they were delicious. She had grilled corn on the cob grilled in their husks, also from her garden. They were good also. She had tri-tip from the grill. She had also cooked a whole chicken in her new solar oven. It tasted delicious. She showed us how the solar oven worked. It reminds me of a crock pot slow cooker without all the sauces. She also has a dehydration oven now so she can dehydrate vegetables, freeze them and then try to reconstitute them in the winter. It was a lot of fun talking with everyone. Des is always good for some stories and Mike makes it fun when he interjects with his dry comments. It reminds me that Andy and I have yet to get up to Tahoe this summer. We have to get up there sometime. I'll have to arrange Sam's appointments so it works out. Andy also needs to visit New Jersey to get his Dad's house in order to put it on the market. The one down side to my visit was the drive. My butt HURT SO MUCH! I thought I was going to have to stop to get up and stand and massage my butt. I called the physical therapist about it today. He says it is expected because the right foot is using the gas pedal and the left leg is providing the support so it is working and you are using the high hamstring muscle. Today it didn't hurt so I went ahead and did my exercises as usual. I also tried riding my bike for about 5 minutes. No pain!
Yeah! So, tomorrow I am going to go to CFF for a XX bike class or I will get on my bike and try to ride for an hour. I am trying something new. Instead of drinking white wine I am going to try and drink red wine since all the reports say that red wine has all the benefits. We'll see whether I can acquire a taste for it.
Hope things are well with you all.
Lisa
Yesterday evening I went into Stockton to visit with Noreen, Mike, Des and Julie. Noreen had us over for dinner to help her enjoy her harvest of vegetables grown in her garden. We had salad with tomatoes and squash fron her garden. We had roasted cut potatoes in olive oil and herbs. The potatoes were from her garden and they were delicious. She had grilled corn on the cob grilled in their husks, also from her garden. They were good also. She had tri-tip from the grill. She had also cooked a whole chicken in her new solar oven. It tasted delicious. She showed us how the solar oven worked. It reminds me of a crock pot slow cooker without all the sauces. She also has a dehydration oven now so she can dehydrate vegetables, freeze them and then try to reconstitute them in the winter. It was a lot of fun talking with everyone. Des is always good for some stories and Mike makes it fun when he interjects with his dry comments. It reminds me that Andy and I have yet to get up to Tahoe this summer. We have to get up there sometime. I'll have to arrange Sam's appointments so it works out. Andy also needs to visit New Jersey to get his Dad's house in order to put it on the market. The one down side to my visit was the drive. My butt HURT SO MUCH! I thought I was going to have to stop to get up and stand and massage my butt. I called the physical therapist about it today. He says it is expected because the right foot is using the gas pedal and the left leg is providing the support so it is working and you are using the high hamstring muscle. Today it didn't hurt so I went ahead and did my exercises as usual. I also tried riding my bike for about 5 minutes. No pain!
Yeah! So, tomorrow I am going to go to CFF for a XX bike class or I will get on my bike and try to ride for an hour. I am trying something new. Instead of drinking white wine I am going to try and drink red wine since all the reports say that red wine has all the benefits. We'll see whether I can acquire a taste for it.
Hope things are well with you all.
Lisa
Monday, July 19, 2010
Post PT
Hi all,
Nothing much is new. We tried to have Sam over for dinner on Sunday this past weekend but he had another bout of diarrhea on Saturday. It seems miniwheats and oatmeal do not agree with him. He still has blurry vision. I made an appt. for him for Aug. 3 with an opthomalogist.
I went to my second physical therapy appt. He gave me a different hamstring stretching exercise to do and I can ice while doing it. I think it will be more effective than the one Ellen had me doing. He also told me to do butt clenching exercises when I can. They did ultrasound and electrical stimulation again. The electrical stimulation is weird. It makes some of your muscles contract on their own (or with the ES). I am supposed to try and tuck my chin in when standing. Apparently I have a flat back instead of a rounded one which is not totally normal. He wondered if I ever had back problems. He measured an angle of my straightened leg and compared the right with the left. Of course the left shows major tightness while the right isn't so perfect either. But after stretching with ice, I showed some gains.
Nothing else really new. I hate doing nothing. I am eating more also, so I am sure I am gaining weight but I don't want to get on the scale.
Hope you are all doing well.
lisa
Nothing much is new. We tried to have Sam over for dinner on Sunday this past weekend but he had another bout of diarrhea on Saturday. It seems miniwheats and oatmeal do not agree with him. He still has blurry vision. I made an appt. for him for Aug. 3 with an opthomalogist.
I went to my second physical therapy appt. He gave me a different hamstring stretching exercise to do and I can ice while doing it. I think it will be more effective than the one Ellen had me doing. He also told me to do butt clenching exercises when I can. They did ultrasound and electrical stimulation again. The electrical stimulation is weird. It makes some of your muscles contract on their own (or with the ES). I am supposed to try and tuck my chin in when standing. Apparently I have a flat back instead of a rounded one which is not totally normal. He wondered if I ever had back problems. He measured an angle of my straightened leg and compared the right with the left. Of course the left shows major tightness while the right isn't so perfect either. But after stretching with ice, I showed some gains.
Nothing else really new. I hate doing nothing. I am eating more also, so I am sure I am gaining weight but I don't want to get on the scale.
Hope you are all doing well.
lisa
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Another day in July
Hi everyone,
Today is ending up to be doctor appointment day. Sam still has blurry eyes (day 3). I brought him to chemo. They didn't think it was the chemo that is causing his eye problems because his chemo dose is low. I got on the phone and called his primary care doctor and got an appointment for this afternoon at 2:40. Maybe this doctor will have an idea of what is going wrong.
Not else much is new. I am reading "The Thornbirds" by C. McCulloch. They made a movie of this book so I am going try to get it and watch it after I am done. The book so far is very good. We also watched the season opener of "The Closer" last night after we watched The Tour de France. I love "The Closer".
I had to make another appt. with my dermatologist. I read in a magazine that something that looks like a wart could also be skin cancer. I have what I thought was a wart on my right thumb. I just saw the dermatologist recently but did not think to show him the wart. So the earliest appt. I could get was Aug.5. Hopefully it really is a wart (sure looks and feels like one). Maybe he can get rid of it whatever it is.
It ia supposed to be 104 degrees this Saturday. Probably no walk for Maggie even if I left at 0700.
Lisa
Today is ending up to be doctor appointment day. Sam still has blurry eyes (day 3). I brought him to chemo. They didn't think it was the chemo that is causing his eye problems because his chemo dose is low. I got on the phone and called his primary care doctor and got an appointment for this afternoon at 2:40. Maybe this doctor will have an idea of what is going wrong.
Not else much is new. I am reading "The Thornbirds" by C. McCulloch. They made a movie of this book so I am going try to get it and watch it after I am done. The book so far is very good. We also watched the season opener of "The Closer" last night after we watched The Tour de France. I love "The Closer".
I had to make another appt. with my dermatologist. I read in a magazine that something that looks like a wart could also be skin cancer. I have what I thought was a wart on my right thumb. I just saw the dermatologist recently but did not think to show him the wart. So the earliest appt. I could get was Aug.5. Hopefully it really is a wart (sure looks and feels like one). Maybe he can get rid of it whatever it is.
It ia supposed to be 104 degrees this Saturday. Probably no walk for Maggie even if I left at 0700.
Lisa
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Already mid-July, Wed. July 14, 2010
Hi everyone,
I am going to try and write regularly in my blog from now on. The latest thing in my life is the fact that I have an injury that I have been dealing with. I was helpng Andy put camping gear up in the attic. I bent down to pick up a tarp and I didn't bend my knees. I heard a pop in my butt. Thereafter my butt has hurt. It has been about 1 1/2 weeks since I injured myself. I went to an orthopedist today. It didn't take him long to diagnose my injury. He says I have a high hamstring pull. I guess the big problem with these injuries is that the healing process causes the formation of scar tissue. The scar tissue then causes the muscle to tighten. A tightened muscle allows you to reinjure the muscle more easily. So, he is suggesting some physical therapy to help reduce the scarring and help with the healing process. He said it would take 4-6 weeks to heal and by 6 weeks I should be able to try some activity. So I will be doing a lot of sitting around and the way I have been eating....getting fat. It is a shame because I came off the bike tour in such great shape and now I am becoming jello again.
The other activity that keeps me busy is transporting Sam (Andy's Dad) to the doctor and to his other various appointments. His last appt. was with the radiation oncologist. The news was good. She no longer can feel his rectal tumor. It looked like the treatment worked. He also no longer feels pain and has no rectal bleeding. So things look good there. He will have his third chemo treatment this week. He gets 5-FU weekly. There have been some side effects. After the first treatment he had some diarrhea. Yesterday and today he is complaining of blurry vision and sensitivity to light. The paperwork said sensitivity to light is a side effect of the chemo but there is no mention of the blurry vision. We are hoping it will go away. His third chemo treatment is tommorrow. If he seems well enough we will have him over to the house this Sunday for dinner.
Andy has been getting in some great activity on the weekend. Last Saturday he went open water swimming in Folsom Lake with some of his Masters group swimmers. After that he ran for 1.5 hours on the trail from Granite Bay towards Auburn and back. On Sunday he drove to the base of Indian Hill and then rode to Grass Valley via Dog Bar Road and Rattlesnake. It was 75 miles and 7000ft of climbing. He thinks it would be a good ride for me after I am back in shape after my injury heals.
Nothing else new. I am doing no activity except walking the dog so I have been doing a lot of computer based reading.....athlete blogs and bike touring blogs (crazy guy on a bike journals) and other reading. I am also very up to date on popular culture.
Cheers, lisa
I am going to try and write regularly in my blog from now on. The latest thing in my life is the fact that I have an injury that I have been dealing with. I was helpng Andy put camping gear up in the attic. I bent down to pick up a tarp and I didn't bend my knees. I heard a pop in my butt. Thereafter my butt has hurt. It has been about 1 1/2 weeks since I injured myself. I went to an orthopedist today. It didn't take him long to diagnose my injury. He says I have a high hamstring pull. I guess the big problem with these injuries is that the healing process causes the formation of scar tissue. The scar tissue then causes the muscle to tighten. A tightened muscle allows you to reinjure the muscle more easily. So, he is suggesting some physical therapy to help reduce the scarring and help with the healing process. He said it would take 4-6 weeks to heal and by 6 weeks I should be able to try some activity. So I will be doing a lot of sitting around and the way I have been eating....getting fat. It is a shame because I came off the bike tour in such great shape and now I am becoming jello again.
The other activity that keeps me busy is transporting Sam (Andy's Dad) to the doctor and to his other various appointments. His last appt. was with the radiation oncologist. The news was good. She no longer can feel his rectal tumor. It looked like the treatment worked. He also no longer feels pain and has no rectal bleeding. So things look good there. He will have his third chemo treatment this week. He gets 5-FU weekly. There have been some side effects. After the first treatment he had some diarrhea. Yesterday and today he is complaining of blurry vision and sensitivity to light. The paperwork said sensitivity to light is a side effect of the chemo but there is no mention of the blurry vision. We are hoping it will go away. His third chemo treatment is tommorrow. If he seems well enough we will have him over to the house this Sunday for dinner.
Andy has been getting in some great activity on the weekend. Last Saturday he went open water swimming in Folsom Lake with some of his Masters group swimmers. After that he ran for 1.5 hours on the trail from Granite Bay towards Auburn and back. On Sunday he drove to the base of Indian Hill and then rode to Grass Valley via Dog Bar Road and Rattlesnake. It was 75 miles and 7000ft of climbing. He thinks it would be a good ride for me after I am back in shape after my injury heals.
Nothing else new. I am doing no activity except walking the dog so I have been doing a lot of computer based reading.....athlete blogs and bike touring blogs (crazy guy on a bike journals) and other reading. I am also very up to date on popular culture.
Cheers, lisa
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