December 29, 2011

Visit to urologist ended with Roger having a catheter put in place.  I would have thought Roger might be given some pain meds before they put it in, but no....  he is resting at home today with instructions not to move any more than absolutely necessary.  We call back in morning to report.  Once the blood is cleared out, the doc will use a scope to see if the source for bleeding can be found.  Urine still quite bloody at this point.

December 28, 2011

Today was a follow-up visit with the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor.  2 weeks after cauterization. Appointment was for 1:20 pm.  Arrived at 1:10 pm.   At 1:50 we unanimously agree we should leave if Roger doesn't get called back to the exam room by 2:20, and lo the nurse calls him back at 1:57.  And you know the routine by now about the nurse questions and such.  We settle in to the exam room after the nurse leaves.  And of course I have to find what toys and such are available.  Today's entertainment was a book about Oliver the elephant, a young anthropomorphic elephant who has a hearing problem and is treated by Dr. Fox and Dr. Dog.  (yes, Dr. Fox is a fox and Dr. Dog is a dog.)  It turns out well, with Oliver getting fitted for hearing aid and Oliver enjoying hearing.  It is a twenty minute wait and the story fills in the time well.  Roger is slightly amused, slightly annoyed by my antics.  Doctor comes in apologizes for the wait, explains 2 emergencies, just like what Roger has.  Doctor looks in Roger's right nostril, says things look good.  Roger explains it was his left nostril that was the problem.  Doctor looks in left nostril says things look good.  Doctor begins remembering the details, it was way up in the top of nose and he had to use a scope to cauterize the spot.  Asks Roger if he's had any more problems.  No hasn't  bled anymore.  Doc says he won't get the scope to check since Roger isn't having a problem.  Just come back if he has any more problems, and he'll just cancel today's appointment.  :)   I love doctors who appreciate the  value of the $30 copay for a visit with the doctor that lasts approximately 60 seconds.
We go for a walk at the wellness center 3/4 of a mile, Roger picks out some more books to read (westerns)  in trade for the ones he has brought back.  and we go eat at Las Palamas, and we head home.
Get home, call the urologist office to see when Roger's appointment is set for... not scheduled.  I explain to the phone receptionist the situation.  Roger is now peeing bright red, before it was 4 times in 2 weeks, today it is visible every time he pees.  After two different discussions with two different phone nurse/receptionist people Roger gets an appointment for 9:10 tomorrow morning Thursday, Dec. 29. So that is where we are at.

December 20, 2011

Two episodes of blood clot in urine today.  Will be seeking doctor tomorrow.  Roger is finally consenting to see a doctor about it.

Immunotherapy pioneer

Dr. Lloyd Old, 78; led research in cancer immunotherapy

December 14, 2011

Today I wait until the last minute to leave for my job of the day.  I am headed to Ralph's (age 92 w/prostate cancer) to clean, a quick, simple 2 hour job for Ralph is very neat and tidy.  Half way to Ralph's, I get a call from Roger (yes, I pulled the car over to answer)  Nose bleed, not much, but that's all the doc wanted.so I tell Roger to call the doctor's office, tell 'em we're coming in, and I call Ralph to tell him today's not going to work. I head back to the house, pick up Roger, ask if he called the doc.  Yeah, but all he got was phone mail, they are closed until 1.  It is 12:30.  Since it takes 20-30 minutes to get to the office, we head to town.  The front doors are automatic and welcome us into a well lit waiting room with a not so well lit front office.  The front office has no lights on, not nary a one, the lights from the well lit waiting room are the only source of light for the dark abyss.  It is 12:59.  Two minutes later the front office pops to life with the flick of the switch.  And we are 4th on the list.  Ten minutes later, young lady asks why we are here, we explain.  But, Dr. we saw Monday is not here.  Roger explains Doc told him one of the other docs would be able to take care of the situation.  Oh, she says, okay.  Dr. B is on call, we'll get right on that.  and 10 minutes later Roger gets called back.  And the nurse comes in and asks the nurse questions and why are you here.  We explain the situation.  Okay, nurse will get the doc.  We wait.  During this time I begin assessing the room and note the obvious absence of tissue, like Kleenex.  One would think an ENT office, waiting room, exam room would have tissue boxes everywhere.  I realize we did not see any in the front waiting room, or any where on the front office area.  Odd, I think.  Then I notice the neat light on the patient chair.  I comment to Roger that would be handy to have for reading.  It is like a heavy duty snake light with a really bright light.  I go over to check it out and Roger immediately responds, Don't start playing with it.  So I go over to the doctor desk and see what kind of toys he has.  A model of the throat and nose.  Not really interesting because it doesn't come apart like the one in the other ENT doc's exam room.  So I go sit back down in the wife chair.  and then, I start thinking about all the exam rooms and doctor's offices we've been in and start thinking about which one's are the most entertaining, and begin rating them in my head.  At this point the doctor comes in and starts poking around in Roger's nose and squirting stuff and putting deadening stuff and then leaves to attend to other patients while the deadening stuff starts to work.  Another 10 minutes and the doc is back and   he begins vacuuming, squirting, poking with needles and then he finds the spot or spots where an artery is weakened, ah ha and begins cauterizing.  I can't smell the burning flesh, but Roger sure can.  And after the doctor starts all this it is over in about another 15 minutes and Roger is okay to leave.  And it is 2:30 and we head home.  I hear more about the smell of burning flesh all the way home, and I am happy I cannot smell it.
Hoping this is an end to this nose episode that has been going on for 3 weeks.
Love to all

December 12, 2011 ENT

Today was a visit with an ENT (ear nose throat) doc.  This was a follow-up for the ER bloody nose that wouldn't stop bleeding for an hour.  The doc was ready to find the vessel causing the problem and cauterize it, but could not find a problem.  However, he did say if it started bleeding during office hours, to call and tell the office we are coming in, and he might be able to find the problem. Doc vacuumed out his sinus, numbed it and poked around really good.  Roger disappointed, me too.  The humidifier seems to be helping, only 3 bleeds and nothing we couldn't stop since the ER.
Today was also the development of another problem.  Blood in urine.  Will be checking with doc tomorrow.  This is a common development with prostate cancer and the plavix (blood thinner) doesn't help.
Will update as we go.....

What a wonderful world

Ed Yong originally shared this post:This utterly made my morning. David Attenborough pulls a Shatner and does a spoken-word version of What a Wonderful World, over some incredible BBC footage.

It gave me chills.

(Also, Attenborough can make spoken-word cool. Is there no end to the man's powers?)David Attenborough - Wonderful World