HaPp:D bIrThDaY hOn...DaD...pApPy...RuFf RuFf

HAPP:D BIRTHDAY GREETINGS...TIM

Yes, today is his 65th birthday and I think by far one of the best yet...Kelvin and Chloe came by last night...ma and Larraine today for a few minutes with a Cake/Icecream combo...Tamra made a surprise trip home last night to be here for his birthday, but sadly had to leave at noon for college classes today...Freda his sister called saying her wishes too...Charli called wishing him a happy birthday and SURPRISE...flowers too...so pretty and uhhhmmmm smelllll sooooo good too...my gift for him is his favorite meal...my style of chicken fried steak, country gravy, mashed tators...yah, I know sounds like allot, but it will be the amount he has been able to eat...like a bird...LOL...

Sorry for the way the pictures posted on the blog...they all look discombobulated...lol...the best you going to get of me today with ponytail and no makeup...tehe...I know I have goofy words I use...the girls tell me I'm a dork or funn:D...that's me folks...yes, today has been good so far...including the weather...

As for other things, I went to pick up our prescriptions for this month on prescription part D...mind you I had $800 set aside...it came to $610.77 after discounted and both each $295.00 deductible met...oh and that doesn't include my testing strips...they are over $200 for 2 boxes so I am getting paperwork for the doctor to fill out beside myself to take back and run through Medicare Part B...which is suppose to cover 80% and then I pay the 20% so that may be around $40...but doctors office hasn't called back to say ready. Be my luck they will call about the time I start working on dinner...

Now, it's quiet and he's sleeping again...maybe I should take a nap too...I wish everyone who has b-day's this month a good, happ:D one especially those just in the last few days...Ramona, Tammy-my niece, Larraine-Tim's cousin and also long time friend Loye both as well Today too....be safe...be happ:D...much luv to all...

Fotos...

I asked him if he would weigh himself to see how much weight he has lost...he's down from 163 to 154 within three weeks of last seeing the doctor...

After cleaning the house, I took couple of pictures of him...full body and bust...he tries so hard to smile but it's not there...he did eat good tonight and seemed to perk up because Tamra was coming home til Sunday night as she has her practicum first thing Monday morning at Ruby Thomas Elementary School...practicum for those who don't know...it is where she will practice teach under her mentor teacher...she loves it...she has even made a comment that she will be disappointed when she has to leave them in December when her semester is up...

And we've been running hotttttt here last few days...110 degrees...suppose to start cooling off...nights are nice though...gosh I wish our families were closer together....:)

This is going to be short and wishing you all a hApP:D SuNdAy...:D

Frail...

Frail...not sure if that is the right word to say...he's lost more weight and I am not sure how much he weighs...should see if he can get on the scale...we think he starts doing good on eating and then he's back to having a hard time eating anything...like one step forward and then three steps backwards...:(

I am constantly looking at him when he sleeps...at times I have to look hard to see if he is still breathing...my heart starts to skip a beat and then I see his stomach moving up and down or a twitch of his hand move...

For the past week, I have felt like I'm here but yet in lalaland...if that makes any sense...I know it plays on the back of my mind and being on FB keeps me distracted while he is sleeping...crocheting or reading would just put me to sleep, so I find the games distract me from thinking about it til he wakes or needs me...

I want to do an updated picture but not sure if I feel comfortable taking one with him so frail and how he would feel...he needs a hair cut again and his beard shaved...he says he's not up to it...

The hardest part is keeping it together especially when he keeps telling me he loves me and it almost sounds like he's fighting back the tears when he says it...which I have to be strong for him and the girls as he says "suck it up or pull your boot straps up and go on".

I'm not even sure he is going to be up to going for blood work on Tuesday, September 29th and then the CT of the chest/abdomen/kidneys the next day Wednesday, September 30th...that will take two hours as he has to drink that white chalky stuff or contrast as they call it...

With the passing of Patrick Swayze...here is URL http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1213530/Patrick-Swayze-loses-cancer-battle-57.html... to see pictures of him and the one I refer to in the wheel chair...it was sad and seeing the photo of him being wheeled out from the hospital a couple weeks before...he looks so frail...Tim is getting to look like that...with his eyes it looks like they're sad and trying to tell me he's not ready yet...

He is getting to where he doesn't feel like company but he won't turn them away so he puts on a face for them...like yesterday it was quiet for us and I ran to get the newspaper and around 3:30 p.m. a coffee bud came by and Tim saw the truck through the window and told me..."I wished he hadn't come over, I am not up to it"...but he put on his face and chatted with him as much as possible like his old self...;)

Even Jack was acting odd today...not eating in the morning like always...he is always begging for his food...twirling in a circle to let me know it's time to eat...lol...then laying on the bathroom rug while I am getting ready and he has never done that...it's always in his bed by the nightstand when I get cleaned up...

Oh, I did get a battery ordered for his cell phone and I am hoping it will be here on Monday...his cell phone is his life line to the outside world...like the Internet is for me...but those calls are even better...:D

Well, I guess I will get off here and wish everyone health, happ:Dness, and prayers for whatever your needs are...luv with all your heart, be safe and have a good weekend...much luv to all :))

Nephrologist...

Yes, poo pe' our arms are surrounding you and keeping you safe in our hearts...with lotttttssss of luv....

I saw the nephrologist (kidney specialist) this morning...according to my blood work one of the test is showing some small changes in my kidney functions...the family doctor wants to nip it in the bud by stopping or slowing it down as much as possible...but nothing to worry about yet...as most patients don't have to do dialysis even when their functions are at 5.2 and mine are at 1.42 right now...

Let's see the kidney doctor asked if anything different going on with me that I noticed and I said no as my kidney function test showed a drop in June to two weeks ago from 50% down to 38%...I have lost some weight...I made adjustment in insulin to lesser amount and changes in some meds if not drop 3 per family doctor...I have been doing good without them...probably due to the weight drop too...the K doc kept asking about calcium intake and I said just in multivitamin and said my cholesterol bit high this time...so will do blood work again in 3 months when I see him again and see if anything went back to normal before putting me on cholesterol meds...ugghhh...there goes prescription part D and hitting that DONUT HOLE sooner again...anyway, I am also still anemic so I am to take a different iron supplement with vitamin C together for better absorbent on an empty stomach...I'm already doing both but not together or on an empty stomach...but not that many mgs either...going from 54mgs to 325mg of ferrous fumarate (105mg elemental iron) instead of just iron pills...but if it comes to me needing dialysis down the road...I have to have antibodies built up in my system to prevent Hepatitis B...that is a series of 3 shots...TODAY...booster Oct 9th and last booster March 9, 2010...then 2 months later do a blood test to see if the antibodies have built up if not, then I have to do the series of 3 shots again...

I don't feel any different except better than I have felt in a number of years...a bit tired and I see why now...anemic but...lol...my lateness prolly doesn't help either at times...but too much sleep and I sometimes feel worse...I do better on 5-6 hours not 8-9 hours...although my body does need it with the sarcoidosis as it's one of the symptoms...tires out easily especially if you feel good and then you have a tendency to over do things...lol...I'm good for that one...:D

As for Tim, not much change...still holding his own with the right combination of the compazine and the stronger pain med...but he still refuses the full dose of 20-30mgs...he just went from 15mg to 17.5mgs and outside of being awake for company and meals, bathroom, meds...he now sleeps all the time...I know company he enjoys and he puts on the face...but like he said this morning he hoped no one called or came by...that was odd to hear that out of him...he has only lost a couple of meals since we got on this combination and eating like a bird about every 3 hours...

We did get a call from the nurse that she is working on his Sutent with the new insurance medicare parts A B & D...and medigap...well, we haven't even gotten that card on that one yet...anyway, Kristi has done as much as she can until I call the mail script pharmacy and tell them our insurance has changed and to try and process a refill with the new insurance but not to send...contact kristi so that she can further process to get us help to pay little or nothing for the Sutent or he will stop taking for his next round due on October 22nd...

Outside of all this, we are taking one day at a time and holding our own...loving each other, saying prayers for all far and wide and all our girls...others and yes, strangers too...near, far and wide...whether daughters, nieces, friends, there's quite a few of you out there and you'll know who you are...our prayers go out to everyone....;)

Oh, a quick note...Tim and I hope a lit'l birdie's foot is healed and doing well and not too over worked in several states...:*) I sure hope I remembered everything...have a good rest of the week...lol...half over uhhhh....

Small meals...

Small meals every few hours is what seems to be working so far so that he doesn't get sick or have dry heaves...also made some Gatorade...threatened him that I was going to get pedialyte...lol...but seriously, I also think that him taking the compazine every six hours is helping too...I was beginning to worry there and said if we can't keep nothing in you...you know you'll have to go to the hospital...no I'm not...

I did call the doctor on Monday and the nurse tried calling a stronger medicine in but pharmacy said they hadn't received it...so called again on Tuesday, the doctor's office said they did call it in so they called again...ahhhh...it got filled and I went and picked it up and used the Medicare prescription part D for the first time...so far it's ok...whenever we pick up meds for both of us they go toward our $295 deductible each...then drops down to like $4 on most of them...til we hit that DONUT HOLE...yikkkkkkessss....I'll hit it real soon...tehe...I know it not funn:D but got to get a laugh out of something these days...playing it by ear day to day on everything....:)

Anyway, he switched from 2-7.5's Lortabs to 1-7.5 and 1-10 so total pain med is 17.5mg and not 15mg...he's doesn't quite want to go to 20mg yet until he needs to...this combo he said seems to be working and he knows when he's hurting he can do as much as 30mg per doctor...but I feel he gets to that point it might be time to have hospice come in or I call them when I think we need them to come monitor him...anyway, however it all works...

Today has been about the same for his pain and he says he usually feels pretty good in the mornings but as the day progresses he feels worse...he says that's why he sleeps allot too...so he don't have to feel it...as far as his eating today, it is allot better...with the smaller meals or what seems more like a snack to me seems to be working...he ate about five times today...kept it down everytime...lol...if he started to cough I'd look at him and say, "Don't you dare get sick on me." ;))

With the holiday weekend coming up, we are looking forward to daughter coming home from college even tho she moved to Vegas and sharing apt with a friend...as for sister, we wish she was coming home too...so we know who we are speaking about without using names...the youngest is daughter and the eldest is sister...or our poo pes'...babycakes...sweeti...sweetpea...whatever pops into my head...lol...I know as the girls say, "mom, your funn:D or a dork." Also one of our nieces is going to try and come down too...

The weather brought allot of winds and dark skies...not sure it rained, I haven't looked yet but there was plenty of thunder and lightening...weather ahs been up and down here...wish it would make up it's mind and just kool off....well, guess that's all the news for now...ya'll take care be safe and don't take anything for granted...

Much luv and our prayers are with everyone....