karenulijohn

It has been two weeks since my last entry, and Harvey is making slow but steady progress.  He had a followup visit with Dr. Suhag on August 30th when Harvey asked what the next phase would entail, and when would it start?  There will be a PET scan at the end of this month followed by another visit with Dr. Suhag to review the results.  We will then see Dr. Graves, the surgeon, to discuss the options for surgery.  For the month ahead, however, Harvey will be free of doctor and treatment visits.  His day to day recovery is minimal but, if viewed over the period of a week, the improvement is significant.

Yesterday, Harvey met with Dr. Y, the cardiologist.  After an EKG, Dr. Y. reported that Harvey’s heart rhythm had settled into a normal sinus rhythm and was holding steady.  His pulse, however, is very low, so Dr. Y. reduced Harvey’s daily medications by half in order to allow the heart rate to increase to an optimal level.  A resulting increase in pulse rate may make him feel more energetic.  I think he was encouraged by the Doctor’s visit because he enjoyed a visit with friends in the afternoon, and then went to the Merry Melanomsters’ meeting at the Infusion Taproom in the evening.

One of Harvey’s endearing qualities is his imprecise reporting of details involving numbers.  For example, when he was traveling for business, I would ask him what time his flight was arriving?  He would say, “Oh, around 9:00 PM.”  When I checked with the airline, the flight was actually scheduled to arrive at 9:55 PM.  I spent a lot of time waiting around airports until I finally caught on to this idiosyncrasy.  When Harvey was weighing in at Dr. Suhag’s office last week, I was stunned to see his weight registered 183 lbs fully dressed with shoes and wallet.  I blurted out “Have you been lying to me?”  He had been telling me his weight was about 190 lbs.  The following day, as I was hanging over the scale, he actually weighed 180 lbs, naked!  In another instance, he was on the phone with one of the pharmacists at Sutter who was following up on Harvey’s progress with the heart medications.  As I walked past, carrying some laundry, I heard him say that his pulse was ranging between 60 and 70 bpm.  I shook my finger at him and said “Tell him the truth!”  Before owning up, he asked the pharmacist if he was married and whether or not his wife nagged him?  While I was cackling in the background, he admitted that his pulse rate is actually between 45 and 55 bpm.  There is a definite pattern here!

With only a couple of weeks left of summer, I am looking forward to enjoying Fall, my favorite time of the year.  I was happy to begin choir practice at the church yesterday afternoon, and the ladies trio I sing with began rehearsing again last Thursday.  I continue with my workouts every day not only for the physical benefits, but the psychological and spiritual uplift I get from spending time with my friends.  We are so grateful for the support and love of our friends.