Saturday, August 31, 2013
Lake
I'm at the lake with the Labor Day group. Pete and Janet have called and I've also talked to Rose. I think most everyone is up. Josie and Brayden were already up when I got up and got me my coffee. I'm usually the first one to get up but they beat me today.
Mad Dog painted the downstairs and it look really good but now all those pictures down the stairwell have to be be rehung. It's going to be a scorcher outside today so he may get some help out of the other guys to escape the heat and hear the Cardinals.
I had an email from Donald and Vita this week and they're off to Europe Monday. I'm not sure what country your going to celebrate your birthday in but 'Happy Birthday, Donald'. I know it's early but have a good one.
Mad Dog painted the downstairs and it look really good but now all those pictures down the stairwell have to be be rehung. It's going to be a scorcher outside today so he may get some help out of the other guys to escape the heat and hear the Cardinals.
I had an email from Donald and Vita this week and they're off to Europe Monday. I'm not sure what country your going to celebrate your birthday in but 'Happy Birthday, Donald'. I know it's early but have a good one.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Friday for trip to lake
Not much news to report this morning except Bea and I were mixed up about our dates. I'll wait and ride down tomorrow with Goldman and Groves. I've already talked to Mad Dog this morning, and he's volunteered to have dinner prepared when we arrive.
Rose has an Apple lesson this morning, and then she and I are going to meet Catrina. It's going to be a hot day here in Missouri after the cool days last week. There's no ballgame tonight and that wasn't much of a game last night.
I''m still waiting on the results from the spinal tap plus scans. We called back down to the neurosurgeon's office and requested any appointments there might be before October 18. I'm still googling NPH a lot and have lots of the symptoms.
Rose has an Apple lesson this morning, and then she and I are going to meet Catrina. It's going to be a hot day here in Missouri after the cool days last week. There's no ballgame tonight and that wasn't much of a game last night.
I''m still waiting on the results from the spinal tap plus scans. We called back down to the neurosurgeon's office and requested any appointments there might be before October 18. I'm still googling NPH a lot and have lots of the symptoms.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Ready for Labor Day
Bea (the new woman) couldn't get her car serviced in time for us to leave first thing in the morning so we're waiting until Thursday.
It's the neurosurgeon who wants to see me to follow up on last week's testing. I can't get an appointment with him until October 18. He only sees patients in his office one and a half days a week, but we asked them to call if there were any openings. I'm scheduled for an IVIG treatment in September, but I'm not sure if they'll do it. Rose and I have talked to hospital/physician folk several times today and they are certainly helpful.
Again, I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend and the company I'll have. I bought a brisket and have it here in the freezer and will get it thawed for Goldman to fix. I haven't discussed the menu with anyone else, but maybe Bea and I can do some of the shopping since we will be arriving first.
It's the neurosurgeon who wants to see me to follow up on last week's testing. I can't get an appointment with him until October 18. He only sees patients in his office one and a half days a week, but we asked them to call if there were any openings. I'm scheduled for an IVIG treatment in September, but I'm not sure if they'll do it. Rose and I have talked to hospital/physician folk several times today and they are certainly helpful.
Again, I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend and the company I'll have. I bought a brisket and have it here in the freezer and will get it thawed for Goldman to fix. I haven't discussed the menu with anyone else, but maybe Bea and I can do some of the shopping since we will be arriving first.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Keeping the road hot
Chris and I are heading back to St. Louis this afternoon and Rose and Shirley will get back from Chicago. I'm going to call my neurologist in the morning to see what the prognosis on the spinal tap is. I've spent a of time googling NPH and spinal tap and shunt and I really do have a lot of these symptoms and hope a shunt would be helpful.
I'm coming back down Wednesday morning with a new woman. Neither Linda nor Joan could come,but I've found a third person so between the three of them I should be here a lot. The third person's name is Beatrice but she prefers to be called Bea. Bea can leave on Friday when the holiday crowd begins to arrive.
I'm coming back down Wednesday morning with a new woman. Neither Linda nor Joan could come,but I've found a third person so between the three of them I should be here a lot. The third person's name is Beatrice but she prefers to be called Bea. Bea can leave on Friday when the holiday crowd begins to arrive.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Saturday
It's Saturday and Pete and Janet called. It has turned cool in Idaho, but there are fires all around the state. I'm here at the lake with Chris and Mad Dog, and it got hot here in Missouri again. Pete had talked to Joe before he talked to me. The grass was growing in Springfield. Joe was working at the Railroad Museum this afternoon and watching the grass grow, then he was going to cut it. Brother Pete told me he no longer cuts the grass himself. He just watches it grow.
Chris just got back from the grocery store. Mad Dog left for his Dad's and is going to stop and get some paint to do some painting for me. One of the walls needing painting is the one coming down the steps with all the pictures. Taking them down and putting them back up will be the real chore. Hopefully, he will have some volunteers to assist next weekend.
I should find out this week what they will do to me next. I thought I was out of physical therapy but the therapist came here to the lake yesterday to see if the spinal tap helped. I believe it did and so do
other people. I'm going to have to hear from the neurologist for his reccomendation at this point. I don't believe I can have the outpatient therapy in both St. Louis and at the lake, and the therapist told me yesterday I can't have in home therapy because I'm 'too good'. (I thought that was a backward compliment.)
Chris just got back from the grocery store. Mad Dog left for his Dad's and is going to stop and get some paint to do some painting for me. One of the walls needing painting is the one coming down the steps with all the pictures. Taking them down and putting them back up will be the real chore. Hopefully, he will have some volunteers to assist next weekend.
I should find out this week what they will do to me next. I thought I was out of physical therapy but the therapist came here to the lake yesterday to see if the spinal tap helped. I believe it did and so do
other people. I'm going to have to hear from the neurologist for his reccomendation at this point. I don't believe I can have the outpatient therapy in both St. Louis and at the lake, and the therapist told me yesterday I can't have in home therapy because I'm 'too good'. (I thought that was a backward compliment.)
Friday, August 23, 2013
NPH
Now I'll tell what's been occurring the past few days. I went to Barnes on Monday and stayed until Wednesday evening at 8:30 pm while they did a spinal tap, injected a radioactive isotope, and scanned my head at 24 hour intervals. (I think I have the terminology correct). I could possibly have NPH. My neurologist wrote me the name of what it could it could possibly be, but his writing was difficult to read. A resident neurologist told me to to google NPH. It works.
We're not sure but there's a possibility they could put a shunt in my brain to drain excess fluid. I believe we're waiting for the findings from the scan.
I'm at the lake with Chris and Mad Dog right now. Rose and Shirley had to go to Chicago for a conference this weekend.
We're not sure but there's a possibility they could put a shunt in my brain to drain excess fluid. I believe we're waiting for the findings from the scan.
I'm at the lake with Chris and Mad Dog right now. Rose and Shirley had to go to Chicago for a conference this weekend.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Spinal Tap
I had the spinal tap on Monday and then spent the next three days in Barnes having scans in 24 hour for a period of 3 days. Yesterday I was finished but waited for a head neurosurgeon who was waiting foe his boss who wanted to talk to me. One of the nurses said she didn't think a neurosurgeon had a boss except his wife,
I'm going to the lake today and will update more later.
I'm going to the lake today and will update more later.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Pete and Janet's Great Granddaughters
Our great granddaughters ( Merri's granddaughters) who are members of pre4-H called Clover buds. Six year old Deviney showed her lamb and four year old Brynnley showed her rabbit at the county fair. Their mom and her family are very active in 4-H which makes me happy because I spent many years as a member and as a leader. Dev's sheep is in the pen and Bryn's rabbit is in the cage. Love to all, Jane
Image
Tuesday
Happy Birthday, Jana, and thank you for the lovely update. Brother Pete had asked me on his Saturday call if I had any recent news from our Kansas relatives and now we're up to date with pictures and school news.
I'm still in the hospital (Barnes Jewish) after coming in yesterday. They did a spinal tap (AKA lumbar puncture), injected a radioactive isotope, and then took a series of pictures. They waited 24 hours, and this morning took more pictures. Now they're waiting another 24 hours and will take another series. After that I hope I can leave. Rose told me about a play,' Miss Ever's Boys' that I'm going to google today. It's a true story in which people have spinal taps as part of an experimental program that they know nothing about, one of those horrible practices that were common before medical ethics were well established.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Update from the Moores
As always, a lot has happened since I last updated the blog. A few weeks ago, Jana and I had a weekend trip with our friends to the lake and we were fortunate to visit Aunt Sue on Sunday before we made the trip home. It was great to see her again and we had to promise to bring the girls back as soon as possible.
The summer has officially ended as the girls are back in school. Ellie has started the 2nd grade this year (it's nuts that she is already in the 2nd grade). Kaitlyn is in the last room at her daycare so she will be starting Kindergarten next year. Hopefully we can get her into the same school as Ellie so they can ride the bus together. Thinking about her going to school makes me sad so I don't want to talk about it anymore.
Despite Jana's best efforts, we decided that it was time for the ladies to have their own rooms. A few weeks ago we started the process. Ellie picked out a lovely pink for her room and we found a confetti topcoat that really "girls" up the room. After a very long night of moving furniture she was able to sleep in her own room, complete with a zebra stripe chair rail and new bedding. We managed to get it done while the girls were with my mom so it was a nice surprise for Ellie to come home to. Kaitlyn on the other hand, had the pleasure of walking into a munitions testing site in her room with all of her crap strewn all over everything. This past weekend, Jana and I repainted her room with a really nice purple....which she hated. She really wanted a darker purple so we caved and let her pick out a much darker color: K-State Purple. It is an awesome color, but maybe not for a child's bedroom as it is pretty dark, but she loves it and she got the same confetti sparkles that Ellie got.
Two weekends ago, we all loaded up and went to Salina for Carson and Ryan's birthday party. They had quite a setup with a pool, play set, and bouncy house so everyone had a great time. Karen. Cristian, and the boys are all doing well. In upcoming news, the K-State football season starts on August 30th. To say that we are excited is an extreme understatement. We are even planning on taking Ellie to a game this year if the kickoff times work out. I think it is about time for her to watch an entire football game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium since she will be going to college there. And yes, we have already discussed her college plans and she is on board with it.
Hope everyone is well and we look forward to seeing you all again really soon.
John, Jana, Ellie, and Kaitlyn
ATT U-Verse
I see that ATT U-Verse is advertising on the blog. A note to our Readers: We have had U-Verse now for over a year. The trouble we have had would rival that of folk who owned the first automobiles. Just recently, ATT had to dig up some buried wires to correct something. Lots of times the remotes don't do a thing and are out of sync with the TV. The service is unbelievably expensive. We have had dozens of repair people to the house since we signed on. Often we have wished we had the old basic service from Charter that, though limited, worked!
As soon as Apple comes out with an alternative, we are gone. I show all the ATT people who come here our little Apple device for streaming video and compare it to the metal boxes for U-Verse. Those boxes look like WWII ammo boxes. We must have several hundred feet of excess wire hanging from the TV's and boxes. What is so difficult about elegant design? Obviously, ATT could use more women employees because we understand such things.
One good thing: it is easy to record programs.
As soon as Apple comes out with an alternative, we are gone. I show all the ATT people who come here our little Apple device for streaming video and compare it to the metal boxes for U-Verse. Those boxes look like WWII ammo boxes. We must have several hundred feet of excess wire hanging from the TV's and boxes. What is so difficult about elegant design? Obviously, ATT could use more women employees because we understand such things.
One good thing: it is easy to record programs.
A Brief Update
Sue was scheduled for a cisternogram last Monday, August 12. We got to the radiology department at Barnes-Jewish hospital at 8:30 am. She had the beginning scan, then a physician explained the test would not be sensitive enough. She would need another kind of cisternogram that involved radioactive isotopes that have to be made up the morning of the test. So the department secretary rescheduled the thing for today.
Sue and I got to the hospital, again at 8:30 am. [They now know us in the parking garage.] They did a lumbar puncture to inject the radioactive isotope into her spinal/brain fluid then did the first scan and told us to come back for a subsequent scan at 1:00 pm. Having had nothing to eat or drink, Sue had a hearty brunch. Her primary neurologist's secretary called around noon, all apologies, to give us new information: Sue would need frequent scans over three days. [Suffice to say, Barnes had a significant failure in communicating.] The best bet would be to have her admitted to the hospital, but Sue's choice. So, back to Barnes downtown for the 1:00 scan followed by admission to the hospital until Wednesday, Sue's choice over multiple trips to Barnes.
The cisternogram is a test to check out fluid pressure in the brain. The suspicion is that Sue's recent difficulties with balance and walking are caused by some fluid imbalance. We still believe the sudden withdrawal of the trial med, which even the pharmaceutical company making the stuff warns not to do, caused this whole ordeal. Sue, and we, have had a tough summer. Thank God for Linda, Goldman, Maddog, and Joan. With their help Sue was able to salvage some really fine days at the lake and is hoping for more into the Fall and early winter.
Sue and I got to the hospital, again at 8:30 am. [They now know us in the parking garage.] They did a lumbar puncture to inject the radioactive isotope into her spinal/brain fluid then did the first scan and told us to come back for a subsequent scan at 1:00 pm. Having had nothing to eat or drink, Sue had a hearty brunch. Her primary neurologist's secretary called around noon, all apologies, to give us new information: Sue would need frequent scans over three days. [Suffice to say, Barnes had a significant failure in communicating.] The best bet would be to have her admitted to the hospital, but Sue's choice. So, back to Barnes downtown for the 1:00 scan followed by admission to the hospital until Wednesday, Sue's choice over multiple trips to Barnes.
The cisternogram is a test to check out fluid pressure in the brain. The suspicion is that Sue's recent difficulties with balance and walking are caused by some fluid imbalance. We still believe the sudden withdrawal of the trial med, which even the pharmaceutical company making the stuff warns not to do, caused this whole ordeal. Sue, and we, have had a tough summer. Thank God for Linda, Goldman, Maddog, and Joan. With their help Sue was able to salvage some really fine days at the lake and is hoping for more into the Fall and early winter.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Deck at the Lake
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