Mini-Update

Now that we're past all the exciting stuff with Video Swallow Tests and CT Scans I don't have nearly as much to report now.

I do have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with my Orthopedic Surgeon who worked on my shoulder last August to see if we can't get that moving along again now that I'm feeling better and I have a new set of Physical Therapy visits available with my insurance. On Friday I have my follow-up with the Speech/Swallow therapist to see if I'm making progress on that front and what to do to continue making progress.

Sleep stuff does seem to be coming around a bit. I'm still awfully tired in the evenings and fall asleep mid-evening if I haven't squeezed in a nap or something. But I'm making myself get up for a bit before, then, going to sleep for real. Get up around 10:00-ish, "eat", attempt a little family communication, read a little, whatever. Just stay up for a while before going right back to sleep. That's helped and I'm usually able to then sleep until 5:00 or 6:00. I've also managed a nap a couple of times so that I could go to Tim's soccer game late at night or watch a show I wanted to watch. That's had kinda the same effect. Eventually go to bed and sleep until 5:00 or 6:00. Not bad, particularly on weekdays, but I still wouldn't mind sleeping a little later on weekends.

Hopefully I'll get permission to start eating at my session on Friday. Food is just looking and smelling REALLY good right now and it's getting harder and harder to just go over to the kitchen sink, get out my syringe and pump a couple of cans of formula into my feeding tube. Yes, I'm no longer hungry but it's hardly satisfying. Just something you gotta do like brush your teeth or change the oil in your car. I've been doing my silly tongue exercises, though, so hopefully this will change soon.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure Jenny likes the idea that I can't eat. Shoot, we can go out to dinner and it doesn't cost nearly as much as it used to now that I just get water. Just kidding, of course. She's cheering me along like she has been the last several months.

Last bit of whining -- I hate this mucositis thing. The doctors keep saying "the secretions should improve over the coming weeks/months" and it all sounds real clinical and good. But the fact is it's a pain in the rear end, it's gross, it's uncomfortable, it makes me talk funny, it causes me to sleep in a recliner and I STILL wake up choking or gagging a lot. I'm really ready for that to be done.

That mucositis is really my only true complaint. Well, that and the fatigue thing. Those are really the only things. Kinda lucky, aren't I? I supposed you could throw the non-eating in there also but, no kidding, that's the only three things I have to complain about at this point. Except for the pain at the base of my tongue, I mean. Other than those four things, everything's hunky-dory. . . . .

Caity was home last weekend and we all had some good family time. Purchased Wii Fit and got it set up. I'm confident that will allow me to re-sculpt this skeletal physique into Greek God stature in no time. Now, if I can just quit losing weight maybe I can get started on that endeavor.

I've been asked so I'll just throw it out there. I'm cartin' around about 165 lbs right now. I can't remember the last time I weighed 165. Eighth grade, maybe?

Geez, didn't I say at the beginning I didn't have much to report?