Time Is Passing....

The Last Chemo Treatment

Daddy is finished with chemotherapy now. March 1st-4th I tried to keep things calm and quiet around the house so that he could save up his energy. Then on the 5th we spent 5+ hours at the hospital getting the chemo pump disconnected and making a CT appointment. It truly shouldn't have taken as long as it did and we were all frustrated and tired by the end of the day. But in retrospect I think it was quite a comedy routine in classic military form. (Being born in, raised in, and married military I can say that with a smile while still being humbly grateful and stand in 1000% of respect for the soldiers who fight for our freedoms.)

Wanna laugh with me?

How to Schedule An Appointment via Military Medical Center

It all started the week prior when meeting with Daddy's oncologist. He mentioned that he had ordered a CT scan to see how the tumors are shrinking. "If they don't call you in a week to set up an appointment then let me know," the doctor said. The allotted amount of time went by with no phone call so we called the doctor office. The secretary said, "While you are at the hospital getting your pump disconnected just stop by Imaging to make an appointment."

So.... Friday after leaving 6th floor west wing oncology, we went to 1st floor east wing to Imaging to schedule the scan. The receptionist gave us a paper and pointed to a phone in the hallway. She didn't handle the scheduling of appointments and said we simply had to call that number to secure a time and date.

No one answered the phone. Instead we were told to leave a voicemail (because they were so quick to return the voicemail from the doctor right?) Then the Imagining receptionist said if we weren't happy with leaving a voicemail we could go straight to the person who schedules the appointments located in......Mammography in the basement north wing.

Determined to not leave without an appointment we grabbed a wheelchair for Daddy and headed to the basement. Even though we had a god place in line for the Mammography counter, other people were getting helped first.....I guess because who would figure a 62 year old male would really need help there. Finally I got him up to the counter and we were told that to make a CT appointment we needed to go to the back of the waiting room and knock on a special door that looked like a janitor's closet. We went....we knocked....the door opened just long enough for the tech to say he would be with us shortly. Then he helped two other people who came in after us.

By that time, Daddy was wilting in the wheelchair and all of his pain meds had worn off. I went back to the front counter to say (in the truest military candor I had been taught) that my retired E-8 father had been overlooked. See how important it is to have an advocate at the hospital. 30 seconds later the magic door opened and we had an appointment that only took 10 days and 3.5 hours to schedule. Yahoo! And we were able to schedule it for a date before I leave for home.

The 5 K Walk

This past Saturday was the 5K that I had committed to walking. While it certainly isn't a huge length to conquer, after sitting around the past couple of months I was worried about being able to really do it without consequences. Turns out that it was a lot of fun. My cousin and I walked along at a good clip of a pace and did the whole 5K in just under an hour. I think that is decent pace for walking and talking.

The walk was to raise money as an emergency fund for the employees of the hospital she works at. I thought it was a great idea and a fun way for everyone to come together focusing on health and encouragement.
After the walk we hung out around Breckenridge Park for a bit enjoying the scenery. It really is a pretty area. I imagined what it would look like in the later spring with everything in bloom.

Currently

This week has been quiet. I have tried to keep Daddy ahead on his medicines so that we can stay away from the big chemo crashes. His energy seems to be picking up a bit now. He is awake and alert enough that he feels restless and is tired of sitting around. But the nausea keeps hanging around threatening to run the show. I am praying for that to leave soon and I keep encouraging him that it is simply more junk that his body is getting rid of for good.

Even though he is nauseated, he is adamant that smells don't bother him. Because of that, I have started cooking up a few of his childhood favorites and am freezing them in single serving containers. By the time I leave here in a week and a half, he will be ready to start dabbling with food tastes again. I am thinking that having yummy things ready in the freezer will help him along. He will still be on the feeding pump for a good while yet but it will encourage him to be able to swallow and dabble with tastes that he enjoys.

As always I could find several more things to talk about but I should get going. This has taken me a couple of hours and several doggie mediator trips.

Have a blessed and wonderful week!