Friday - 16 days after radiation

The good news is that Dave is definitely doing better. Each day is better than the one before. Here are a couple of picture taken on his birthday. It wasn't easy to get him to smile, but as you can see, I got one.
David and I got Dave a Oregon Scientific weather station, so now he has a project to take care of when he feels up to it. Dave has been enjoying going through The Wire - Season 1, and is now starting on Season 2.

So here we are with some of the "Dave is getting back to normal" milestones:
- he drove the truck to Lowe's and the doctor's so that I could get peat moss and soil for the yard on Wednesday and then again yesterday as I didn't pick up enough peat moss.
- he is complaining that everything is dirty (not that it is, just a couple of things out of place, and the garage needs to be swept)
- he is taking the Nystatin (swish and swallow). He is actually bearing through that med as it still makes him gag a little - but no dry heave sessions.

Had blood work on Wednesday - and his WBC is still down, actually it was at the lowest point that we have had through this entire treatment process, but his platelet count was on the rise, so Dr. Atienza isn't too worried. Just keeping ourselves away from anyone sick, and lots of hand washing. We are going to recheck his blood in two weeks.

So to top everything off - I went and pulled a muscle in my back on Monday moving a pot of flowers. The Nor'easter we had on Monday, was really blowing everything around and ended up toppling over the flowers that I had just planted in it. So I had to move it close to the house to protect it, and didn't lift enough with my legs. Took it fairly easy on Tuesday. It felt better on Wed so David and I dug up the area around the mailbox and planted lavender, daisies, and clemantis in the area, then spread the peatmoss out in the back yard (only covered 1/4 of the yard). It actually did me some good, the movement worked out the stiffness. So Thursday morning I was still fine so, Dave and I got some more peat moss, and I proceeded to distribute it in the back yard. Big mistake on my part, because either I pulled the muscle again when we were loading the stuff in the truck or I twisted and bent wrong when I was spreading the peat moss, because right in the middle of spreading the peat moss my back started screaming at me everytime I want to bend down, or lift my left leg any noticible height - sending the pain across the top of my left hip. I know - I'm not supposed to get sick or hurt - that is Dave's department. It is just frustrating and I am taking it easy - only doing what I have to, and making Dave help. It is amazing what you have a difficult time doing when your back isn't 100%. I had to have Dave tie my shoes for me so that I could go run the needed errands, pretty pathetic.

We'll get through all of this, another week or so and Dave will be eating again. I am just waiting for the day when he asks to try my food or wants a milkshake or something. Thanks for all the cards, birthday wishes and unwavering support. We couldn't have gotten through this without your love and support.

Happy 45th Birthday

Well Dave is now 45, and although he is not quite at the stage to enjoy his traditional birthday dinner, he is definitely on the upward swing. The skin on his neck is almost back to normal - just slightly red. We got good news yesterday from Dr. Debo (ENT), Dave recovery is encouraging. In fact his tonsils are looking better than expected - very encouraging from Dr. Debo's standpoint. Dr. Debo took a good look at Dave's tonsils (scope down through his nose) and they look really good - pink with minimal swelling. The back of Dave's mouth is really the only thing left swollen and white. Dave still has the fungal infection to knock out, which Dr. Debo wants Dave to take the anti-fungal medicine by mouth - either the lozenge (Mycelex - clotrimazole) or swish -n- swallow type (Nystatin oral). Both Dave is reluctant to try (fear of gagging), and since it is his birthday, I'm not pushing him too hard. Tomorrow he has no excuses - he'll have to take the plunge and try one or the other, which will usher us into the next stage of his recovery (swallowing and eating).
So once we get stuff down his throat, then it is onto eating, remove the feeding tube, gain weight, and then getting back out on the bay for some fishing. Thanks again for all your support through this ordeal - Dave will be back up to speed shortly.