Ellis Health Update - 171028

I did another one-mile walk on Saturday, 21 October. I then rested up on Sunday in preparation for Monday's tiring trip to Houston. I think I will be able to navigate the airport without assistance on this trip. I will have only my laptop computer, medications, a book and a few other light items in my carry-on bag.

Rosemary reminded me last night that there are possible side effects associated with taking Acetaminophen for an extended period of time and the single Tramadol pill I have been taking contains an opioid, so I decided to do a test run to see what my pain level might be without taking either. It is now almost noon the next day, Saturday and I have not taken any pain medication since a Tramadol at 2000 yesterday. So far my pain level has not increased significantly, to about level 4 at most and that only sporadically and associated with certain movements or body positions. For the most part I am unaware of any pain at all.

We traveled to Houston on 23 October. The shuttle trip to Phoenix was difficult. The shuttle's shock absorbers were long since worn out and we felt every bump in the road. The Ace Express shuttle is convenient in that they will pick you up and deliver you to your door; however, some of their vans are in pretty bad shape when it comes to comfort. They apparently do give adequate attention to repairs necessary to keeping vehicles running but comfort is not on their check list.

As already noted I planned to make the trip without resorting to the use of a wheelchair in the airport. I did manage to get through the Phoenix Airport without assistance; however, that was my limit: we asked for a wheelchair on arrival at Hobby Airport in Houston.

I saw Doctor Sugarbaker on 24 October. My visits to Doctor Sugarbaker are always preceded by an X-ray and a blood test. After being called to the examining room I undergo breathing tests administered by the nurse along with a six-minute walk, including a climb up and down a staircase, during which time my oxygen level is monitored and recorded. The PA who works with the doctor then examines me and gathers the X-ray reports, blood test results and other tests performed and reviews them with the doctor.

While this is taking place I am usually visited by the chaplain, the social worker and the dietitian. We have used the services of all of these individuals and found them to be very helpful. Teri, the social worker, provided guidance when we needed a place to stay and when we needed to purchase a walker for my release from the hospital; Cheryl, the Dietitian, spent a lot of time making sure we understood the options for making sure my special dietary requirements for a speedy recovery were met; Tony, the chaplain, patiently listened to our myriad complaints about such things as the tiring trip, the weather and other frustrations before offering sympathy and a word of cheer.

By the time Doctor Sugarbaker arrived for the 24 October appointment, all test results had been collected and reviewed so his questions and comments were brief and to the point. Basically, things still look good. My recovery from surgery is better than expected. When I remarked that my daily one-mile walk left me exhausted, I was told that a one-mile walk was more than had been expected at this point.

The bottom line is that I am to return to the clinic for a CAT Scan, more blood work and another visit with Doctor Sugarbaker on 9 January. Eventually he will discuss my progress with Doctor Lindquist, the Arizona Oncologist, and decide on additional chemotherapy to be performed in Arizona, likely four or five sessions.

We returned home as scheduled on 27 October. This time we made sure to arrange in advance for wheelchair transportation at the airport and I also took a Tramadol while waiting to board the plane in Houston. The pilot had to return to the gate to unload an unruly passenger, so we were about an hour late taking off. However, the Ace Express shuttle was waiting for us when we landed in Phoenix and we were home by mid afternoon. I guess the wheelchair transportation and the Tramadol must have done the trick because I was in much better shape when we arrived home than after the flight to Houston.

Ellis Health Update - 201020

Finding that the 0ne-mile walk was wearing me out and leaving me listless the next day, I did just half a mile on 13 October. I also found that using the yucca pole for support was causing some residual pain in my right. On the 14^th I walked eight-tenths of a mile and carried my pole mostly in my left hand.

Apparently prompted by the description of my first post-operation walk in my last update, daughter Julia sent me some pictures she took of the event. The photograph shown here (right) was taken on 23 August, just two days after surgery.

The rat's nest of tubing seen at lower left are the drain tubes from my chest to the four receptacles now mounted just out of sight on the walker. In the photograph, I have located the brakes and am now ready to go. With the monstrous walking machine, the rolling stalk that carried my feeding and medication tubes and measuring instruments and three attendants who accompanied us we pretty much took up the entire hallway.

But back to the present. On the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th I walked a mile each day, although I must admit that I was very tired at the end of the walks. On the 18^th I stopped taking Gabapentin, a pill that is supposed to help with nerve pain. It comes with the warning that it may cause dizziness and I had been feeling pretty dizzy. In any case, I really don't know how to distinguish nerve pain from other sorts of pain and the present regimen of one Tramadol at night followed by three Acetaminophen (taken six hours apart) works well to control the pain.

Most of the pain I feel is concentrated in my right chest around the rib cage and just below my right shoulder blade. It comes after I sleep in a position that puts a strain on that area or forget and use my walking pole in my right hand for a prolonged period. I estimate the level of pain using a scale (below) provided by a nurse at the Baylor Clinic. Usually I am pain free or the level does not exceed level 2; occasionally it reaches level three but never for long.

Wong-Baker Pain Scale

I didn't walk on the 18^th because I felt too dizzy and didn't want to chance falling in front of a car.

On the 19^th, I was preparing for the normal one-mile walk when I found that Rosemary was leaving for a book sale at the Clarkdale Library. She asked that I take an easier walk as she would not be at home to come to the rescue should I fall. I could hardly argue as the main reason for the trip to the book sale was to buy books for me to read during the forthcoming trip to Houston. However, the “easier” walk I chose actually turned out to be 1.4 miles long when I later measured it.

I am still watching the slow march of fall colors as they spread through the neighborhood. The predominant color is the bright yellow of turning cottonwood foliage. There are only a few houses that have fall flowers planted. The most striking of these are a house along Brook Hollow with an assortment a Chrysanthemums, our own dwelling with the still-blooming yellow and red Lantana beds and a gorgeous Pyracantha (left) growing at the intersection of Brook Hollow and Arroya Vista Drive.

We are off to Houston for my follow-up appointment with Doctor Sugarbaker next week. Depending on what he finds we hope to return home by Friday.

Ellis Health Update – 171012

After my Wednesday, 4 October visit with Dr Lindquist, we stopped to eat at the Black Bear Restaurant on the way home. The trip wore me out and I barely managed to keep my eyes open until 2100, my now normal bedtime. I still felt very tired the next day and took two long naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. However, on Friday I was well-enough recovered to resume my half-mile stroll around the neighborhood.

Because there is still some scab on a small part of my surgical incision, I have not yet been cleared to soak in the bathtub, a luxury that is especially alluring when forbidden. I am making do by having Rosemary wash my back gently with a soapy washcloth. The rest I can handle myself, using the same washcloth. Recently, while undergoing this routine, Rosemary snapped a photograph of my surgical scar (right). The three brown spots near the upper end of the scar are globs of adhesive which are supposed to wear off naturally. More adhesive can be seen at the lower end of the scar, specifically a brown line at the very end of the scar and running perpendicularly to it. The short scar located just below the bottom end of the major incision is where the four separate drain tubes inserted into my chest exited.

Each of the four drain tubes led to a separate container which had to be loaded onto a walker when an attendant took me for a walk around the corridor. Of course these four tubes were in addition to the normal feeding and medication tubes and measuring instruments associated with any major surgery. These were attached to my body and mounted on a rolling stalk. The first walk I did while still in the ICU included me pushing a walker on which the chest-drain containers were mounted, a physical therapist holding my arm in case I stumbled, a trainee pushing the rolling stalk and a second trainee going ahead to clear the way. We were quite a sight I am sure.

But that is reminiscing in the past. I did my now-normal half-mile stroll with the rolling walker on 8 October and then the next day, today, left the training wheels at home in favor of my trusty yucca-pole stick (left). Walking without having to push the walker along was a lot easier and, upon measuring my track when I returned home, I found that I had walked a full mile.

After today's walk I felt better than I have any day since surgery. Also, I am now feeling better about the follow-up visit to Houston. We plan to leave home around 1000 on the 23^rd and arrive at our hotel in Houston at about 2145. It will feel good to fly without having to be pushed through the airport in a wheelchair.

On the afternoon of my one-mile yucca-pole walk I was very tired and slept for almost three hours. As a result I didn't sleep quite as well as normal that night and didn't feel like another mile-long walk the next day. I did, however, manage to do a half-mile, again without the training wheels. I was still very weak the next day and didn't walk at all except around the house and to eat lunch at a local restaurant. However, by the following day, 12 October, I felt up to another one-mile hike, although I must admit to taking a short break along the way.

I am beginning to see some fall color now, just a few small, scattered cottonwoods that have turned yellow and, strangely, one large cottonwood that is showing scattered clumps of yellow leaves. We have not had a frost yet and the yellow leaves seem to be associated with particular branches. Perhaps those branches have been infested by some insect.

I have corresponded with the Baylor Clinic concerning my upcoming followup visit asking them to make that visit as short as possible because of Rosemary's asthma problem. The high humidity in the Houston area is particularly difficult for her. So far, the only tests scheduled are routine blood tests and an x-ray planned to immediately precede a visit with Doctor Sugarbaker. Depending on the results of those tests and the office visit, the doctor might call for additional procedures. We are hopeful that will not be the case.

Ellis Health Update - 171005

I kept an appointment with Dr Howland (my primary physician) on 28 September. The appointment was made for me by the Baylor Clinic. The purpose was to insure that I was seen by a medical professional soon after flying home to Arizona and to coordinate care. My favorite walker is too heavy for Rosemary to load into the trunk of her car, so I took the lightweight aluminum walker that she had used when she had knee surgery. My walker has wheels while the lightweight one does not and thus must be lifted for each step. I find that “lift and move the walker forward and step to it” very, very awkward. After a few steps I wind up just lifting the walker and carrying it clear of the floor. That way it is readily available in case I need it and walking is unencumbered. That is the way I left the doctor's waiting room when called me to the examining room. I noted that the nurse was doing her best to suppress a laugh and couldn't imagine what that was about. As it turned out she thought it hilarious that I was striding down the hall to the examining room carrying a walker that never touched the floor.

After the visit to Dr Howland I did my 0.5-mile stroll with the wheeled walker (left). But that night I had trouble sleeping and was dizzy the next day. This lack of sufficient sleep at night and dizziness during the day continued for a couple of days. I even resorted to using the walker again around the house for a day. However, I did get a good nights sleep last night and feel better today, 1 October 2017. In fact I did a 0.04-mile walk at noon. I changed the route a bit because I was not sure that I was ready to resume the half-mile marathon yet. However, as about half of the new route was uphill, it would actually have been easier to just do the standard half-mile walk. By the 2^nd of October, although still a bit dizzy, I felt well enough for a trip to the barbershop. The next day I again did the 0.5-mile walk.

I saw Dr Lindquist, the local Oncologist, again on 4 October. This was a visit recommended by Baylor Clinic for the purpose of coordinating treatment. Dr Lindquist prescribed another B12 injection and another infusion of Zometa, the bone-building medication (called bone cement by one doctor) I have been receiving. periodically since the start of chemotherapy.

My next scheduled appointment is with Dr Sugarbaker in Houston on 24 October.