karenulijohn

It has been over ten days since last I “blogged,” and it seems as though we have been keeping ourselves very busy during the interim.  Harvey has been working in the garage, re-organizing the boxes and looking through everything, reminiscing about some of the treasures we have accumulated.  So, I was not surprised to find him there when I arrived home after a very pleasant shopping day with my friend Carol, who is helping me select my next sewing project.  It turns out that the button on the hand brake of the golf cart had “exploded,” rendering the vehicle inoperable. He telephoned the golf cart dealer inquiring about a replacement part and was told that it was back-ordered for over a month.  Since this is now our second vehicle, there is some urgency about getting it repaired.  So, Harvey took the whole brake handle assembly apart and devised a way to fix it.  Off he went to ACE Hardware to purchase a special die, a plastic tube cover and a screw, all for under $10.  The golf cart is now back on the road, and I suggested that we might be able to make a little money selling his idea to all of the people waiting for the back order.  His creative solutions have always worked with one possible exception when he went head to head with a squirrel who was stealing nuts from the bird feeder.  But, that’s another story!

That same day, he had taken his golf clubs up to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls.  Naturally, I asked him how he did.  He said he thought he might be having a reaction to the Yervoy.  I was immediately on point, awaiting details of some side effect.  It turns out that the only side effect was that it had not improved his golf game.  I told him that only an act of God could improve his golf game.  We did have a good guffaw over that.

Speaking of reactions, however, he did experience a spike in his temperature again last night.  He had looked a little pale when we were at Rotary and he later told me that he didn’t eat much.  After he got home, he slept for a couple hours out on the patio.  When he came in, he told me he didn’t feel very well and had no energy.  Upon taking his temperature, the thermometer registered 102 degrees F.  We followed the same process as last time this happened, and he took two Tylenol.  Within an hour, he was feeling much better and even felt like eating a bit.  So we dined on a sumptuous meal of gourmet saltines and peanut butter and grape jelly.

This morning he went to watch the model airplanes fly, out by the recycling center.  He was disappointed that the model owners spent most of their time talking and not enough time flying the models.  I’m sure he was a little grouchy about that, but his “grouchometer” rang the bell when he backed the car into a temporary parking sign of some sort and scraped the rear bumper and broke the brake light cover.   He was able to rub out most of the scrape marks and will pick up the new light cover tomorrow.  He may even be able to touch up the paint.  Unfortunately, it will cost a little more than $10.  That’s life!

It has been about a week since last I posted on my blog.  I hope that you inferred that our lives were continuing normally.  In fact, we had a wonderful visit with our daughter and family, celebrating our son-in-law’s birthday and cheering our grandson’s soccer prowess.  On Friday night, we went to our connoisseur wine tasting group.  We actually purchased a rather expensive $10 bottle of cabernet and still we ended up with the “booby” prize.  Years ago, we had been invited to friends’ home for dinner and to enjoy a bottle of aged Rothschild wine that our host had acquired at an auction.  He uncorked the wine at the table, poured a little into a crystal goblet, admired its clarity, carefully sniffed, then sipped it delicately.  Suddenly, he made a horrible face and declared the wine undrinkable.  With that, he rushed to the kitchen and began opening and pouring the entire case down the sink.  I had to restrain Harvey from diving under the sink with his mouth under the drain.  We were rather naive in those days and, for all we knew, the wine might have been the Rothschild equivalent of “two-buck chuck.”  Harvey still maintains that he has never had a glass of wine he didn’t like.

Yesterday, Harvey saw Dr. Colbourn for a routine visit to discuss how he has fared over the past three weeks.  We had to wait about 45 minutes, and when the Dr. finally came in, his right hand was in a very bulky cast.  He said he was running late because he was having difficulty writing.  He then began singing to Harvey.  Neither of us can remember what he was singing or why, but it was a very lighthearted visit.  Earlier in the day, Harvey had a dental appointment, at which time, the dentist found several lesions on his tongue.  Despite Harvey mentioning his recent radiation treatment, the dentist insisted he should see an oral surgeon and have a biopsy.  We were relieved to hear Dr. Colbourn say “forget it!”

Today, Harvey had his second infusion of Yervoy.  The process was exactly the same as the first dose, including the blood letting.  I left him for an hour and a half so that he could relax and nap.  When I returned, they had just removed the line, and we bid everyone goodbye until next time.  I think the Benadryl makes him sleepy, so when we got home, he took his QST magazine to bed with him and slept for a couple of hours.  Tonight, he is overseeing the Ham Radio Club meeting.  He really is amazing!

Thankfully, I don’t have much to report in the way of drug reactions or doctor visits.  Harvey continues to be actively involved in all of the clubs and associations to which he belongs.  I mentioned in an earlier post that he is organizing “Hamfest” for the Ham radio club.  This event happens tomorrow morning, and I have been impressed into service manning the coffee and donut booth at 6:00 AM.  By his own admission, he will be glad when this event is finished.  Like most of us, he worries whether it will be a success or not.  Only time will tell.  I suspect the donut sales might be enhanced if I wore something provocative.  On second thought, no.  It might go the other way.

Harvey reads the paper religiously, every morning.  Lately, he has become more and more agitated over the state of the State.  Sometimes, he is moved to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys), and writes a very direct, but humorous letter and sends it to the local newspaper or radio station.  In England, several of his letters were read over the BBC’s Terry Wogan morning talk show.  He wrote another letter to Lee Iacocca, president of Chrysler Corp., which resulted in a phone call from the engineering department in Detroit.  I have reproduced his latest letter below.

Harvey’s Homily:

Some years ago, when we decided to return to the USA and live in California, many friends suggested we choose the southern part of the state due to the entertainment facilities, most particularly Disneyland. We have since discovered that greater Sacramento offers just as much entertainment, and certain leaders even bear some remarkable similarities to favorite Anaheim-based characters.

In addition to the infusion on Monday, Harvey had two other doctor appointments scheduled.  The first was to visit Harvey’s wonderful surgeon, Dr. Owens. It was quite early on Wednesday morning when we arrived at the office.  Dr. Owen took one look at his handiwork and pronounced it “sweeeet!”  He then proceeded to examine Harvey’s neck and cheeks,  looking for possible swelling.  He has a portable ultrasound machine which he brought in and thoroughly examined the same areas, measuring one or two lymph nodes.  He seemed satisfied with what he saw and told us that he is the “follow-up” guy.  Every three months, Dr. Owens will examine Harvey and discuss his treatment.  On Friday morning, Harvey had his final appointment with the radiologist, Dr. Jones.  I sent him off on his own with the admonition that he must remember to tell me everything.  It turns out there was not much to tell other than Dr. Jones was very satisfied with Harvey’s progress and that he would not need to see Harvey again.

In the meantime, I decided that I must not neglect my health, so I had Harvey drop me off at the blood lab near my doctor’s office before he headed to his appointment with Dr. Jones.  There were five people ahead of me having blood draws, so I was there for quite some time.  Of course, I had been fasting, so when I finally left the lab, I walked to Starbucks and had a hot chocolate and a croissant.  I then carried on with my usual walk, and was heading up the driveway when I felt a little twinge in the vein in my arm where the needle had been inserted.  I pressed the bandage with my finger, and lo and behold, the garage door went up.  I was startled and surprised, and when I looked around, Harvey was driving down the road toward the house.  Of course, he had pressed the garage door clicker, but he said the look that crossed my face when the door went up was priceless.

I was prepared to say that Harvey has had no reaction so far to the Yervoy, but this evening he said he was feeling very tired and wasn’t hungry at all.  I went over to feel his head and it was clear that he had a fever.  After taking his temperature, the thermometer registered 101 degrees.  According to the instructions given to us on Monday, he was to call and report a fever and loss of appetite.  He called the number given and the person on the other end of the line kept asking him why he was calling this number, and insisted she knew nothing about the Yervoy study.  She finally agreed to contact the Dr. on call and said that someone would return Harvey’s call.  About 20 minutes later, the phone rang and the doctor identified himself and said “take two tylenol.”  He was a man of very few words.  I am happy to report that two hours later, the fever is gone and Harvey is having a wonderfully nutritious meal of saltines and peanut butter. All is well.