karenulijohn

Indeed, what can I say?  On the one hand, we are dealing with yet another round of daily medications, uncertainty, good days and bad days.  Yet, on the other hand, we are on the receiving end of so much love and kindness, and so many prayers, cards and gifts.  We are humbled by the outpouring of offers of help.  Thank you to everyone who has expressed an interest in what we are facing.

Tuesday was a particularly bad day for Harvey.  He had absolutely no energy, and could barely get from the bed to the chair.  He told me he didn’t have the strength to take a shower.  He had no appetite, and any thoughts of food made him uncomfortable and frustrated.  I was certain that his problem was directly related to his not eating or drinking.  When I finally managed to get him to eat a little bit and drink some water, he began to recover and even gained back some appetite.  At one point, I actually asked him “Are you dying?” He responded that he didn’t know because he has never died before!  I’m grateful that he still has his sense of humor.

We have been waiting for nearly two weeks for the Chemotherapy drug to arrive, and it finally came today.  He will begin to take 3 tablets in the morning, and 3 in the evening for the next two weeks, then have one week off.  He will have to take an anti-nausea pill one hour before the chemo.  Given that he sleeps most of the day, he will have to begin popping pills at 7:00 A.M.  The 20% copay for this drug is considerable and will necessitate our limiting the sumptuous meals that I have been creating to entice him to eat.  LOL!

We have hired a very nice woman who is a resident here in Lincoln Hills, to come in and help Harvey two or three times a day.  She was recommended through Neighbors InDeed, a volunteer organization in the Lincoln Hills community that offers help to residents from programming the sprinkler system to changing the smoke detectors, and everything in between.  Her main role is to make sure that Harvey eats a balanced meal several times a day.  We liked her immediately we met her, and I am convinced that she will be able to handle all of the excuses of why he doesn’t want to eat.   You may recall from a previous post that Harvey had acquired the nickname “ROF” when he visited Starbucks.  Well, ROF (Recalcitrant Old Fart) has returned. I think he has met his match!

Please feel free to call Harvey or arrange to come and visit with him.  Some people have offered to take him to lunch or dinner.  Because he is eating so little, I think he will be most comfortable visiting here at home.