Thursday June, 1 – Saturday, June 3, 2017

Thursday, 6/1 – Best birthday present ever – Rick was released from Moffitt this evening.  We drove straight to the Riverside Café where we met Bill and Ruth for dinner and Ruth and I celebrated a quiet birthday.

Friday, 6/2 – We drove back to Moffitt today for Rick to receive his fifth infusion of chemotherapy on the clinical trial being administered by Dr. Kis.  All went well and we returned home after dark.

Saturday, 6/3 – Rick was feeling pretty good today.  He enjoyed his breakfast of oatmeal and coffee on the back porch.

After an initial visit by the home healthcare nurse, we went to the Bradenton Yacht Club for lunch, then to Curt and Ann’s for a visit and a haircut for Rick.

Sunday June 4 through Saturday, June 17

Sunday, 6/4 – After church, Rick rested until the home healthcare nurse, Cindy, came to drain the fluid from his lung.  Then we met Ken and Jackie at the Yacht Club to hear about their recent vacation before returning home for the evening.

Monday, 6/5 –The home health care nurse, Angie, came by and drained more fluid from Rick’s lung.  JP brought the contract to build the house over and Rick and I signed it.  Rick didn’t have much energy today.

Tuesday, 6/6 – Jackie came over to stay with Rick while I went to the dentist and picked up some drugs and groceries.  Just after I got home, Angie came and watched me drain the fluid from Rick’s lung.  We got an oxygen delivery and spent the rest of the day watching it rain.

Wednesday, 6/7 – Angie came shortly after 10 am.   She was concerned when she checked Rick’s vitals.  His pulse was racing and his blood oxygen was low.  She also noted that he was having a harder time breathing.  We drained more fluid from his lung.  She checked his pulse and blood oxygen level again and they had not improved.  So, she called his doctor at Moffitt.  After talking with her, they told me to bring him in to the DRC.  We arrived at 1:00 to find the waiting room full.  After a couple of hours of waiting, two nurses came into the waiting room and said they were going to take vitals on everyone waiting to determine the priority in which they were seen.  Rick was the first to be taken in just before 4 p.m.  They drew blood, took a chest x-ray and an EKG.  After a couple of hours, the doctor said that he needed magnesium, but the other tests did not show a specific problem.  She is keeping him under observation tonight.  I came home for the night.

Thursday, 6/8 – Dr. Kis, his chemo doc, recommended draining Rick’s right lung and leaving the left one alone.  They took over 800 ml’s of fluid off. He stayed overnight again for observation. I met with JP and the Bruce Williams Homes design team to start the design process in the afternoon.  It will take several meetings.

Friday, 6/9 – They took Rick for a chest x-ray and reported that it didn’t look much different from the one done before the fluid was removed.  They took another 800 ml’s from the right lung.  There is nothing else they can do for his shortness of breath, so they released him to come home.  We will meet with Dr. Tan, the mesothelioma specialist on Monday afternoon to see what treatment options still exist.

Saturday, 6/10 – We spent a quiet day at home.  Rick is looking and feeling better.  It rained off and on all day.  JP, Kellie and Emma stopped by for about an hour.  They had been out to the model home and our lot, so that was the main topic of conversation.  After they left, the home healthcare nurse came by.  She took Rick’s vital signs and they were all good.  She thought he looked a lot better than he did on Wednesday.  She asked about his weight, so we pulled out the bathroom scale and it read 143 pounds.  We have to fatten him up some.  Also today, he said that he thought we might as well start taking things off of the boat in order to get ready to sell it.  He says, if he gets better, we will buy a smaller boat.

Sunday, 6/11– We went to church and rested the balance of the day.

Monday, 6/12 – We drove to Moffitt where Rick had bloodwork done and then met with his Mesothelioma doctor, Dr. Tan.  The doc told us that the bloodwork showed that the chemo is working.  He wrote a prescription for Rick to begin physical therapy at home and encouraged him to continue with his excellent attitude.  Rick’s brother, Edward, arrived in the evening to stay a couple of nights.

Tuesday, 6/13 – While I was running an errand, the home healthcare nurse came by to take Rick’s vital signs.  They were good.  The three of us went to the yacht club for supper where Rick ate onion soup.

Wednesday, 6/14 – I went to see my oncologist for a check-up.  She said that I am still healing from my hysterectomy, but everything is looking good.  When I left there, I drove to Ocala, stopping by Dad’s cabin in the forest and then going in to town for a short visit before returning to Palmetto.  Shortly after I arrived back home, Edward left to return to his home in Ormond Beach.  While I was in Ocala, Rick was visited by a physical therapist to evaluate whether he would qualify for physical therapy at home.  She said that she believed he would and she will come back on Monday. 

Thursday, 6/15 – The home health care nurse, Angie, came by around 10 a.m.  She told us that their orders had been changed.  They will no longer be draining Rick’s left lung, but they will continue to come by to monitor his overall health.  She left some supplies for us to change the dressing around the PleurX catheter twice a week.  In the afternoon, we went to our home design meeting with the builder.  We left after 3 hours of decision making and returned home in time to beat the afternoon thunderstorms.

Friday, 6/16 – We drove to Moffitt to have the fluid removed from Rick’s right lung through needle thoracentesis.  They extracted another 600 ml’s from him.  In the afternoon, we went to a Home Depot to look at some appliances for the new house.  We didn’t have much luck there.  Later, we went to the Riverside Café for supper.  Rick has fallen in love with their Greek Lemon Chicken soup.

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Saturday, 6/17/17 – I dropped Rick off at the boat while I went shopping.  Edward gave me a gift card for my birthday, so I bought two blouses and a dress.  I bought a blender to make Rick milk shakes and then picked up a couple of things for him for Father’s Day.  We dropped in on JP and his family around 7:00.  We were greeted by our granddaughter, Vanessa, who told us that she has moved back in with her family.  We are thrilled.  She is also trying to stop smoking so she can spend more time with her grandfather.  We talked about the design and specifications for our new pool which we received yesterday and planned to get together tomorrow afternoon.  On the way back home, we made a stop at a nearby Dairy Queen and brought home a banana split for me and a cup of soft-serve ice cream for Rick.  I told him we might have to make this a Saturday-night habit.

June 18 through June 30, 2017

Sunday, 6/18 – Happy Fathers’ Day.  Unfortunately, Rick was having trouble breathing this morning.  We called the Home Healthcare company and they sent out a nurse.  After listening to his lungs, she called Moffitt to request a referral to their DRC.  They took him in as soon as we arrived; did bloodwork; and sent him for a chest x-ray.  He had a low magnesium count again, so they started giving him some through an IV.  While he had a fluid build-up in his right lung, they told us that it was likely that his doctors would want to put a PleurX catheter in his right lung; but there has to be fluid in his lung when they do the procedure.  With this in mind, it was recommended that they keep him in the DRC under observation tonight and let the docs decide in the morning if they will put in a catheter or just drain the fluid.  I talked to my brother, Rick, who had visited with Dad today.  He said that Dad has agreed to let him fix up the cabin for sale.  That is a relief for me.

Monday, 6/19 – They put the PleurX catheter in his right lung this afternoon and drained 670 ml of fluid from the lung at the same time.  They recommended that we drain it at home every few days.  He was released and we got home after 6 p.m.

Tuesday, 6/20 – The home healthcare nurse came by this morning and took Rick’s vitals.  They were good, but she said it looks like he has lost more weight.  I looked across the lake and saw a very bright pink bird.  With the help of Rick’s binoculars, I could tell it was a Roseate Spoonbill.  The picture below was taken by Cindy Hansen/Audubon Photography Awards and is featured on the Audubon website (notice the beak is shaped like a spoon).

In the afternoon, we took a trip to Walmart to buy some things for the house.  Even though Rick rode in an electric cart, it still wore him out, so he went to bed when we got home.

Wednesday, 6/21 – JP came over shortly after 8:30.  After checking in with us, he went for his morning run returning in time for Rick to open his Father’s Day presents before I went to a dentist appointment.

JP stayed to “hang out” with his Dad while I went to a dentist, picked up some groceries and went to the bank.  When I returned, the home healthcare nurse was here.  She guided me through draining Rick’s right lung of 300 mls of fluid and changing the dressing on the catheter in his left side.  All went well.  Later in the afternoon, additional oxygen tanks were delivered. 

Thursday, 6/22 – Rick had physical therapy at home.  The therapist had him walk around the inside of the house, then stand on his toes, march in place and do squats.  She warned him against trying to walk outside for any length of time in Florida’s extreme heat and humidity.  She will start coming to the house twice a week to check his progress.

Friday, 6/23 – We went to a design meeting regarding the new house.  We picked out countertop material, tile, carpet, other flooring.  We chose cabinets and hardware.  We selected appliances and much more.  Rick was getting tired, so the design assistant, Judy, wrapped up our selections about 11:30 while JP and Kellie stayed the rest of the day making their selections.  Kellie came late to the meeting, because she took our granddaughter, Vanessa, to the DMV to take the test for her learner’s permit which I am happy to say she passed.  In the afternoon, I drained 300 mls from Rick’s right lung.  We rested for a while, before meeting Bill and Ruth for supper at the Blu Mangrove Grill at Riviera Dunes.  Rick had their lobster bisque which was delicious.

Saturday, 6/24 – I drained another 400 mls of fluid from Rick’s right lung before we loaded up and went to the boat to spend the night.  Tonight is the “Change of Watch” ceremony at the Yacht Club when the new Commodore is installed followed by a dinner dance.  Since Rick can’t eat or dance right now, we did not go.  JP and Vanessa came by the boat to borrow our car for a driving lesson.  JP said Vanessa is not comfortable driving either one of their cars as they are too big.  When they returned, she said that she liked driving the Kia Soul better than any other car she has driven.  Since our friends Ken and Jackie were going to the Change of Watch, we invited them to stay on the boat with us tonight.  In the afternoon, while Ken was at the pool, Jackie helped me go through the storage areas in the salon.  We loaded up two rolling carts (milk-crate size) with stuff to take home.  When Ken returned from the pool, he and Jackie put the loaded carts into the back of the car for us.  While they were at the Change of Watch, Rick enjoyed the back of the boat, while I started packing clothes in our stateroom.

Sunday, 6/25 – Ken and Jackie helped Rick and I as we began to load up things to take off of the boat.  Ken went into the engine room to help identify what things will stay on the boat when it sells and what things will go to the house.  Jackie helped me go through most of the storage areas in the salon and part of the pilot house.  In addition, I went through the remaining clothes on the boat.  We loaded up plastic bins and rolling carts into the Kia and made two separate trips to the house to unload them.  The club shot off fireworks at 9:00 p.m. to celebrate the new Commodore and we went home after the grand finale.

Monday, 6/26 – Rick did well with his physical therapy.  Our nephew, Mat, flew in from Knoxville, to spend a few days with us.  Rick’s brother, Edward, came over from the east coast, Ormond Beach, to stay while Mat is visiting. 

Tuesday, 6/27 – We left the house at 8:30 this morning and returned after 7 p.m.  Most of our time was spent at Moffitt Cancer Center where Rick had bloodwork and a CT Scan in the morning. 

His weight was 137 today.  We met Mat and Edward for lunch near the hospital, then returned for an appointment with Dr. Tanvanyeton (his Mesothelioma doc).  Unfortunately Dr. “Tan” did not have good news for us.  The cancer is now active in his right lung.  This means that he can no longer participate in the clinical trial with Dr. Kis.  Instead he will start an IV infusion chemotherapy using one of the three drugs that Dr. Kis was using.  Dr. Tan thinks that we will still see results using this drug.  By going back to IV infusion, the chemicals will work in both lungs.  Even with this new treatment, the doctor could only say that he was hopeful that Rick would be able to celebrate Christmas this year.

Wednesday, 6/28 – I talked to my brother, Rick, this morning.  He said that he and Tammy would be going up to the cabin in the next couple of weeks to get it ready to sell so it would be best if I could get up there to take what I want out of it.  Of course that includes all of Dad’s records that need to be kept as well.  I will try to figure out when I can get up there and whether or not Rick will be able to ride with me.  In the afternoon, we drove back to Moffitt to get a port put in his chest.  They have been having more and more trouble drawing blood or putting an IV in Rick due to dehydration and something he calls “wiggly veins”.  The port will be used for drawing blood and well as for administering his weekly chemo treatments.  At the same time, they removed the Pleur X catheter from his left lung as they have determined that draining it on a regular basis was causing him pain and not improving his breathing.  They would have used it when they gave him his monthly treatment on the clinical trial, but now that he is not in the trial, the catheter in that lung is not necessary.  They are leaving the one in his right lung.  We had previously planned to grill ribs tonight and have JP and his family join us.  Rick didn’t want to cancel the plans when we found out we had to go back to Moffitt today, so Mat said he would grill the ribs and Kellie put the baked beans in the oven while Edward put the macaroni on to boil.  Kellie then finished up the mac and cheese and boiled some corn on the cob.  Just as Rick and I walked in the house, the dinner bell was ringing and we were all able to sit down and enjoy dinner with the extended family.   I served up a bowl of baked beans for Rick and then used the immersion blender on them to make it possible for him to eat something besides soup for dinner tonight.  Pictured below are Rick with our son, JP, behind him.  Next to him is our nephew and God son, Mat.  And, behind him is Rick’s brother, Edward.

Thursday, 6/29 – Mat flew back to Knoxville early this morning.  Rick had a visit from the home healthcare nurse as well as his physical therapy.  Edward left to return home before noon as well.  The house was relatively quiet for a few hours.  I drained Rick’s right lung in the evening, taking 650 mls.

Friday, 6/30 – Today is my father’s 87^th birthday.  I called him and sang Happy Birthday.  Then, I told him that Rick and I are planning to come to see him on Monday.  My temporary crown came off last night, so the dental office said I could come in just before noon to have it reattached.  Since Rick was scheduled to have his teeth cleaned in about a week, they said that they could take care of him at the same time.  In the afternoon, JP and Vanessa came over for a short visit.  JP helped his Dad with the new TV that we took off the boat and now have set up on the workbench in the garage.  Vanessa told us about a new job she will be starting next week.  She will be cooking samples to give to shoppers at Walmart.  We wished her well. Then they borrowed our Kia for Vanessa to have a short driving lesson while we took JP’s Ford Explorer into town to deposit a check that he brought over with our mail.  Rick is doing OK, but gets very tired every day.  He cannot wait to have the stent taken out of his esophagus in the hopes that he can eat “real” food again.  He has started using a walker around the house.