Leg is stable

This morning when Jim got up, he thought the leg was more inflamed, although the redness had not spread. It was still painful, still swollen.

Late this afternoon he had his appointment with Dr. Butler and the doctor was encouraged by what he saw. The redness hadn't spread. The leg looked much like it did the day before - with lots of swelling and tenderness, but it hadn't got worse. So it was a good sign. The leg was stable.

The appointment for Wednesday afternoon was cancelled. Jim is to come back at 9 a.m. Friday.

In the meantime, whenever he is sitting or laying and is at home, he is to keep his leg elevated above his heart. That is his assignment. By doing this, the swelling will go down and the redness will lessen as well. He will remain on the Levaquin once a day. We talked about the side effects of the drug, whether he should discontinue taking it, but Dr. Butler felt it was useful for him, so we will continue. He said it is a common drug, often used in hospitals, and is also given to pneumonia patients.

His blood pressure had improved from yesterday too - 88/50.

And on we go ...

The day after Jim's visit (Sept. 12) to St. Luke's ER he still had blood in the stool, but on the following day, Sept. 14, it was clear. Hallelujah! On that same day he also had an appointment with his primary, Dr. Butler, who determined more labs were unnecessary. Blood pressure still remained on the low side - for the nurse it read 70/40 and for the doctor it was 88/40. Dr. Butler requested a followup visit with Dr. Gerke in Gastroenterology at UIHC.

On Sept. 15, we received an email from Dr. Parekh's nurse, Joan Ricks-Mcgillen, who noted the CT scan done July 6 at St. Luke's - Cedar Rapids shows no recurrence of esophageal cancer. Great News! Another CT scan of chest will be done in late December.

Although we are no longer the pastor at Wilton Baptist Church, we continue to minister to its members, many of whom have become lifelong  friends. We attended the last WBC Senior Day of the year on Sept. 27 and were blessed with visiting with so many we hadn't seen for nearly a month. Sometimes 4 weeks seems like forever!  Pastor Appreciation Day is Oct. 16 and we plan to also attend those activities.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Jim had an appointment with Dr. Gerke in Iowa City re: the rectal bleeding Sept. 12. His weight is 137 pounds, blood pressure is 102/56 (good!) and temperature is 97.3. The doctor said he could have an internal hemorrhoid, but not necessarily - a rectal exam would not give an accurate picture - so recommends nothing be done unless another bleeding episode occurs.

Today - Oct. 6, Jim had an 8 a.m. appointment with Dr. Hoxie at PCI Urology - Cedar Rapids.
The ER visit Sept. 12 revealed:

• portion of right urinary bladder distended, recommends cystoscopy
• mild increased dilation of distal common bile duct in the pancreas, measuring 8 mm in diameter compared to 5 mm a year ago. IF there is concern of biliary pathology, a right upper quadrant ultrasound would be recommended.

Jim returned from the appointment at 9. The doctor did a scope and said everything was fine. Dr. Hoxie said sometimes CT scans indicate things are abnormal, when they really aren't.

Thank you Lord for every miracle.  

Mostly good news at 1-year followup visit

Today was Jim's one-year follow-up visit with cancer surgeon, Dr. Parekh, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Although the news was not completely 100 percent great, for the most part it was.

His weight has gone up and down in the past six months. Currently it is 133 pounds fully dressed. On his last visit to Dr. Parekh in November of last year, he weighed a couple of pounds less.

Blood pressure is up some at 92 /51.

Results of CT scan of his chest shows some patchiness on his left lung. The doctor thinks it could be aspiration where food or drink goes down the wrong tube. He wants another CT scan done in three months. Jim will have that done in August at St. Luke's Hospital here in Cedar Rapids.

If the second CT scan shows improvement then Jim will come back in a year for continual followup. If the CT scan shows infection or inflammation a PET scan will be scheduled.

We are reminded to run the race with endurance with our focus on Jesus. If we keep our thoughts on Him and thank Him for what comes, then we cannot feel sorry for ourselves.  We covet your prayers to achive that.

Updates - Day 183

We'll start with Wednesday, Nov. 4 - Jim had his infected tooth that was diagnosed Nov. 2 removed this morning. Has had no problems with it since.

The following Wednesday, Nov. 11 - Jim had a CT scan of his chest, followed by a 3-month followup visit (even though it has been 6 months since the cancer surgery) with Dr. Parekh at UIHC. Results of the CT scan were good - no apparent reoccuring cancer. That is a blessing. His blood pressure is improving - 97/52. He is to return in 6 months and after that, yearly visits.

Today, Nov. 12 - he had an endoscopy to see how the ulcer was healing. Dr. Gerke said it was not healing, and it may never heal, but he was not overly concerned about it. It's not bleeding either, and as long as it stays that way, good. Perhaps this is what you call an inactive ulcer? He recommends Jim stay on 40 mg of Pantoprazole, once a day, to help it heal.