Recovery Continues - Day 44

Today was mostly a quiet day. Bathroom duties are more regular. Jim snacked throughout the day, as did I, while he watched TV shows and I did Gazette work. Tonight was the first time he prepared the evening meal from start to finish, and although we didn't eat all of everything he fixed, it sure was delicious.

Today is our house guest, Craig Horning's last day with us. After 6 weeks, he heads home to New Mexico on Friday afternoon. He will be missed.  

Obviously we should have prayed first before filling out a survey on our opinion of UnityPoint at Home (formerly known as St. Luke's Home Care) because three-quarters the way through it, Jim tore it up. That was primarily because he considered many of its questions none of their business. The initial conversation with UnityPoint at Home was not a positive experience. Too bad. 

Recovery Continues - Day 43

We both slept well, waking at 7:10 a.m. Jim had a small BM this morning and said more is coming. He takes a stool softener for this - has been taking it since his first stay in the hospital. He also takes Milk of Magnesia and started taking Senna last night. At nearly 9 we went to MedLabs, where Jim had blood drawn, then came home. I will soon start Gazette work for the day.

It was a hectic day for me, with work and all sorts of phone calls - most work-related, but also medical re: Jim's appointments or bills billed to the wrong place, and then one that was spam.

Dr. Butler's office called with INR readings. It is now 3.0, so he's to take more Coumadin tonight, less tomorrow night and then he visits the lab on Friday morning. He is glad he doesn't have to go anywhere tomorrow morning.

Dr. Li's (cardiology) office called too and said his thyroid level was up a bit. Thyroid problems are one of the side effects of taking Amiodarone, so for the next 2 months, he'll be taking one-half tab of it and then have it rechecked.

Recovery Continues - Day 42

Jim had blood drawn again this morning. He is getting very tired of this. It is nearly 3 p.m. now and we have not heard back from the doctor's office on what his INR readings are. His doctor did say he could resume taking generic Allegro for his allergies.

The project Jim and Craig worked on yesterday with the kitchen light switches was continued this morning, and later after Jim and I left to go to my eye appointment, Craig got it working. It certainly was not an easy fix.

We visited Miss Anna, who was very glad to see Jim, but we didn't stay long. He was really tired and his incisions were hurting big time. Now that he is home and in more comfortable clothes, he's going to take a pain pill and rest.

Dr. Butler's office called around 5 p.m. Jim's INR readings today are at 3.3 - they're going up, instead of down, yet doc wants him to continue with one 3 mg. tab of Coumadin and you know, do the blood draw thing again tomorrow. It's getting old for both of us.

Jim has reduced how much and how often he takes pain pills. He still has issues with bowel movement.

We have two prayer concerns at this point:
1) the INR readings level off and Jim doesn't have to visit MedLabs so often
2) become regular with BM

We may have to call UIHC again because of problems with the latter... however, he does have gas. Funny, how that can be a good thing. 

Appointments - Day 41

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a boy (or girl) healthy, wealthy and wise. ... tired is more like it.

Jim's first appointment was at 8:30 with Dr. WeiWei Li at PCI Cardiology. He weighs 135.6 pounds without shoes. His blood pressure was taken twice, 10 minutes apart -- first it showed 68/30 and then 80/50.

An EKG was taken. Some of the meds were discussed, particularly the Amiodarone, which is taken to help control the AFib. We were told the medicine can affect the thyroid and liver and with long-term use, side effects increase.

Dr. Li was not sure how long Jim would be on Warfarin (Coumadin). The doctors at UIHC said he would probably be on it for several months and if his heart stayed in rythym, he could probably go off it. Before Jim was released May 21 after his cancer surgery and through his second release  June 17 after a 10-day stint at UIHC, his heart remained in rythym. I got the distinct impression from Dr. Li that because Jim had an ischemic stroke 3 years ago, he might go in and out of AFib and never know it, and that might be reason enough to remain on the medicine. It makes more sense to me to pray about what God would have him / us do. Listen to the doctors and then determine.

Dr. Li wanted a pulmonary function test and nuclear stress test done - the pulmonary function test wll be Tuesday, July 7, at St. Luke's, and the nuclear stress test, July 13 and 14, at PCI Cardiology.

Next we attempted to make an appointment with Dr. Hoxie, his urologist. They are kind of booked up, so will call us to let us know when they can get Jim in. PCI Urology called back at 2 p.m. and we now have an appointment for Tuesday afternoon, July 14.

Third stop was MedLabs in Hiawatha.... for blood drawn for INR  readings and a thyroid check requested by Dr. Li.

Jim's second appointment and fourth stop was UnityPoint Clinic in Hiawatha to see Dr. Todd Butler, Jim's primary care physician. Dr. Butler et.al. manages Jim's coumadin, although he says the pharmacy or cardiology department could also manage it.  Blood pressure results were 88/58. Dr. Butler said he would appreciate knowing when Jim is off the coumadin. He wasn't too happy with communication from UIHC. We are to return for a follow-up visit in two months - Monday, Aug. 3.

Jim is feeling better, more energy, but still tiredness sets in. He is currently working with Craig trying to figure out why the kitchen light switch (es) aren't working. That project has bit the dust. The two of them decided it takes more know-how than they have.

He has not taken any pain meds since 10 o'clock last night.

Jane from Dr. Butler's office called and said Jim's INR level is at 3.0, so 3 mg. Coumadin tonight and another blood draw tomorrow.

Jim is eating more and the food is digesting fine.

On the Road - Day 40

Today is Father's Day. Jim wanted to attend Sunday school and church at First Baptist - LaGrange, so we did. We had a restful sleep, getting up at 6:30. We had lunch - delicious lasagna, and after I had a 40-minute nap, got the car loaded to head home. We had to rely on mostly other people to help us load and unload  the car as Jim can't lift anything more than 10 pounds for 4 weeks.

Just as we were about to turn the Mp3 on to listen to music, we discovered some bunny chewed the cable .... what it was doing on the floor when that is where Mr. Bunny was as well, is anybody's guess. I suggested to Jim that we pray the Lord would help us find the correct cable replacement in Canton - and we did, at Dollar General!

We are so grateful the Lord arranged it so we could spend a couple of days in NE Missouri with Larry and Dorothy who opened their home and their hearts to us and to Pammy and many others we haven't seen for months.

We got home at 5:15 p.m. to discover the heat was on. How is a good question. When we left, the air was on, but when we returned, it was 81 degrees in the house. Nearly 4 hours later, at 8:50 p.m., it is 78 degrees. A little more tolerable. Craig doesn't know what happened. He noticed the warmth this morning.

Rocky, Christina and Austin came over around 7, brought roasted chicken and mashed potatoes for us and Father's Day gifts for "PaPa" Jim - he got a T-shirt that says World's Best Grandpa No. 1, a handprint of Austin, a special Father's Day card from Austin, and Rocky told him Happy Father's Day. We enjoyed special time together, with Austin, Christina and I getting wet / dancing with the sprinkler.  We love our family. 

On the Road - Day 39

Jim slept pretty good, I woke intermittently. We got up around 7 a.m., did Bible study, had breakfast, and then then fell back asleep.

A Scripture verse Janice gave me last night - Zephaniah 3:17,  I re-read, including previous verses. It says -- 

"Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem! 
The Lord has taken away your judgments
He has cast out your enemy.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
You shall see disaster no more.

In the day, it shall be said to Jerusalem;
Do not fear;
Zion, let not your hands be weak.
 The Lord your God in your midst;
The Mighty One will save

He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love;
He will rejoice over you with singing."
(Zephaniah 3:14-17)

I write --

Our God is faithful
He seeks our faithfulness
our trust
in Him, The One
who never leaves us
nor forsakes us
The One who saves us
who rejoices over us
with gladness, with singing
The One who quiets us
with His Love

The Lord, our God,
is in our midst
We have no reason
to be fearful
when it is His Army
we are surrounded by
in front as we move forward
in back as we fall
to the left and right
as we change direction

Be glad and rejoice
with all our heart
as He, The One,
who is glad and rejoices
over us
When we are one in The Spirit
One in The Lord.
(c) Cathy Orrick Luders

Reminds me of the song,  "We are One in The Spirit," written in 1966  by Peter Scholte.  Here are the lyrics:

verse 1
We are One in The Spirit,
We are One in The Lord.
We are One in The Spirit,
We are One in The Lord.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored

Chorus
And they'll know we are Christians by our love,
By our Love,
Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love.

verse 2
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
And we'll guard each man's dignity
And save each man's pride

verse 3
We will walk with each other,
We will walk hand in hand.
We will walk with each other,
We will walk hand in hand.
And together we'll spread the News
that God is in our land.

A version found on YouTube.com

We have come so far.
Let us not forget from where God has brought us
and where He will have us go
Let us always look to Him
Let us make every effort
to seek His will for us
before we seek our own.

Saturday was a most restful day. Jim and I did things that were not on a must do, have to do list. And we did it at our pace. After lunch, we headed to Quincy, Ill., and shopped at Big Lots! and Kmart, two stores that are no longer part of the Cedar Rapids scene. I found skirts, Jim found a pair of lounge pants (look like torn jeans) that are much easier on his incisions, as the waist band on his regular jeans is too tight. We bought a few other things too, including a DVD of country western movies for he and Larry to watch. It was such a peaceful time, I could have done with 10 more Saturdays just like this one. We watched movies, or talked, or napped, or read, or had mini-massages.

Thunderstorms and tornado watches ruled the night hours. It was so still and humid beforehand, with temperatures in the 90s during the day.

Jim's pain is still present; he takes one pill in the early afternoon and then two at bedtime. His back hurts frequently when we're in the car, so he has a backrest, and he puts a pillow between him and the seatbelt to make the area of the incisions less painful.

We went to bed at 10 p.m.

On The Road - Day 38

We're taking a weekend road trip, leaving this morning. We both woke up early and got a lot done - Jim has a bit more energy,  but didn't exactly leave by the proposed 10 o'clock hour. Jim had blood drawn at MedLabs downtown and they were backed up, with only one person working. It will probably be closer to 11 before we actually leave.

We arrived in LaGrange, Mo., at 2 p.m. It took 3 hours - 30 minutes longer because we stopped 3 times. I was so tired, my eyes were heavy. 

We had supper at 6:15 p.m.  I reminded Jim often to eat slower ... you don't want to upchuck it. But I suppose sooner or later, that will happen anyway. Later, a mini-Bluegrass jam / practice session  that we thoroughly enjoyed. Larry Gillespie and his brother, Kenny, both played guitar; Larry's daughter, Pam Stewart, played the mandolin. Larry's wife, Dorothy, played bass, and Kenny's wife, Donna, played the accordion. Friend Janice Wieland, who writes poetry set to music by Dorothy, sang. It was so relaxing, restful.

Jim took a pain pill early afternoon while we were traveling - for his back and two more in the evening while listening to Bluegrass music.

We went to bed at 10:30 p.m.

Home Again - Day 37

Today is the first full day Jim has been home from the hospital and it has been a busy one .. .

Jim woke up at 7 and I slept in till 8.

He is very tired so has slept frequently during the day. His appetite also isn't up to snuff. He didn't have any breakfast, had pudding after noon and the pasta at 4:45 p.m.

My devotional study this morning brought me to Jeremiah 29:11 -- "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."  

My thoughts --

Jesus sets the pace
Not us
We may have much to do
but first and foremost
we must focus on Him,
keeping our steps in line
with His
instead of us moving
on our own thinking.
That is not easy.
We have appointments
to keep
and new ones to make,
but along the way
we need to keep
our primary focus on Him,
so we don't become discouraged.
Discouragement comes
from our own way of thinking,
from our focus on things
other than Christ
and His goals, His mission,
for us
Discouragement is at the back door
moving to the front
when we think our plans
are the best plans
and they should not fail.
We need to keep in mind
who is in charge of all life.
It is not us.
(c) Cathy Orrick Luders

Our day --

I already had two appointments for today and made two more for next week before both of us (and Bandy the Bunny) left at 9:30.  Bandy had a 10 o'clock appointment for a nail trim. Then we went to MedLabs so Jim could have blood drawn. He's back on Coumadin for his Afib (a complication of his cancer surgery May 12) and will stay on it for several months to see how things go. The doctors at UIHC said that if his heart stays in rythym over a period of time he may be able to discontinue the Coumadin.

After I dropped off Jim and Bandy at home, I went to CVS Pharmacy to pick up 9 prescriptions for Jim plus stop at Klauer Optical to pick up and of course pay for the left contact he lost in the hospital over a week ago. Then there was a noon appointment for the car - just an oil change and tire rotation... Ha! It's not often you can take the car in for one thing and be done, so today was no exception. We needed two back tires which we got at a somewhat reasonable price, plus the free alignment. That whole process took 1 1/2 hours -- you'd think I would have the waiting process down by now.

By the time I got home Jim wanted to go to the Fareway grocery store to find things to take tomorrow morning for our mini-road trip to NE Missouri. And then we got some nutritional protein drinks to help put some weight on him. His current weight is in the 130s. And then we stopped at Zio Johno's for good tasting pasta, which we had soon after arriving home. Jim can't eat very much and he gets full rather easily, but I gave him 5 Tablespoons of mostaccoli (sp?) and he ate all of it, plus a small glass of apple juice.

It's now 5:15 p.m. I have meds to put in the pill container for the next several days and evening meds as well. A suitcase to pack, a car to pack. And the things I didn't get done today, won't be done tomorrow either; it will probably be Monday afternoon, after morning appointments.

Tomorrow morning we have to get blood drawn again at MedLabs. By 10 a.m. we hope to be on the road heading south.

Moving Forward / Coming Home - Day 36

Jim didn't sleep well. His roommate had the TV on all night and apparently the sound was loud enough to keep Jim awake. Plus this morning someone kept coming in wanting to weigh him starting at 4 a.m. He hopes to nap during the day.

The catheter was removed this mornng. Is on all oral meds except the antibiotic. Will start a soft, mushy diet once he has a BM. A lot of things are possible once he has had a BM - he may get to go home on Thursday.

I have 4 days of vacation beginning Thursday. Last week we asked the Lord to make it possible for us to go to NE Missouri, i.e. LaGrange,  at least for a couple of days ... Friday and Saturday, maybe Sunday.

Our immediate prayer request is for Jim to have a BM.

The Lord tells us to Pray without ceasing
to be Thankful in everything
But we are not thankful ...
More often we are Disgruntled
Dismayed
We want this and that and something other
but stuck with something entirely different  -- and then Depression, Discouragement follow us.
The Lord tells us to pray, to give thanks in everything
To keep our focus on Him
But are we
do we
in everything
in all things
(c) Cathy Orrick Luders

Jim called at 8:45 a.m. New orders came in from Dr. Parekh. Forget the soft, mushy diet. If he has a BM, he will start a regular diet. If he has a BM, he may be able to go home today.

Jim called again at 10:45 a.m. He had a shower and feels "wonderful." Updated orders came in ... he is on a full regular diet and will be given a suppository.  Still needs a BM.

Jim called again mid-afternoon. He has done his duty, albeit small, but done is done, and he is coming home. As soon as I get off work, I can pick him up. And we've been given the green light for our trip to NE Missouri.

We got home at 7:50 p.m. We have much to do tomorrow and he has some new meds we have to hopefully get from CVS Pharmacy. 

Moving Forward - Day 35

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord. More than those who wait for the morning - yes, more than those who watch for the morning." (Psalm 130:5-6)

This morning's devotional was about being aware of unseen things - as in the Lord - as we live our lives in the visible world vs letting our senses dominate our thinking.

What do you suppose our senses are?

• Sight 
• Hear 
• Touch
• Taste
• Smell

This morning when Jim called, I used the sense of hearing, albeit wrongly. I heard grumpiness - he sounded grumpy, yet he said he wasn't. If I continue along the vein of what I perceive, then whatever I think about the situation becomes mine and no longer is God in control. We are. So easy to miss the mark of where God wants us to be. 

The doctors had come in and Jim might be able to start the soft, mushy diet today, dependent on how things progress. He still needs to pass gas, and although he feels like he could, it hasn't been forthcoming. The pain from the heperin shot given  before supper yesterday subsided and apparently the shot given early this morning was not as bothersome either.

This morning I am having a massage - yeah! I won't be up to see Jimmy until later in the afternoon, as I am taking Christina to UIHC to see her OB and hopefully get a date for baby James' delivery.

The massage was wonderful .... when I got home, the clock in the living room said 12:12, my cell phone said 12:13 and there was a message from Jim indicating it came in at 12:14... lol ... and now at 12:30, I can't reach him..... Anyway, his message was that the IV meds were removed and he's passing gas. Another hill conquered. Great news!

Later, I discovered all of the IV meds, except the antibiotic for the urinary tract infection, were discontinued. The IV itself still is intact and will remain in until he leaves the hospital.

These past two weeks I must be residing in the village of trial and error. This afternoon on the way to UIHC with Christina, I got stopped in Coralville for speeding ... 37 in a 25 mph zone. I had just exited the interstate and was heading into Coralville. The policeman just gave me a warning. Thank goodness.

Jim is still on the all liquids diet. His roommate, Mike, went home today, and now he has a new roommate.