Saturday, August 16, 2008

Play the hand you are dealt - Jawahareal Nehru

I dedicate this wise old saying to Butch - and to all his poker buddies that are reading this! He is playing the hand very, very well - even though he got some really bad cards! When I got here this morning and turned on the TV - the golf channel was on, so - he watched golf last night, and is watching again this morning - a sure sign that he is back and getting ready for some action! It is a gorgeous morning, and as soon as the IV drip is done - we will head outside for awhile. and enjoy the birds in the atrium - and the beautiful day.


Dr. Decroce (the attending physician) came in last night and told us that the CA 19-9 was 2,500. That is very, very good - considering that it was 19,000 before the operation. Remember - it was 20,000 at Sayre in March, 30,000 at Mayo in April, 48,000 when he started Chemo , and 19,000 before we came. Normal is under 37 (that is correct - 37 - not 37,000, not 370, not 3,700) - BUT -we don't know what Butch's normal was before the CC - possibly his was already high, because of the sclerosing cholingitus - as least that is what we hope is the case. They will take it again next week, and then we will have a benchmark to watch. Bilirubin is 2.0 - was 17 right after the operation (normal is under 1). Creatine is .9 - normal is under 1 - that is kidney function - came in to the hospital at 1.4 - hooray!!

Did you see Butch's new New Balance sneaks in the picture? I bought a extra,extra wide size and they JUST fit!


Flash is doing well at Irene's house - misses us, she says, and is her "shadow" - follows her everywhere. He lost a little weight, but - that is a good thing! Irene brings Abby (his best friend) over to her house for a "play date", and they all have a great time. We are so lucky to have Irene to do this for us - I don't think Flash could have gone to a kennel in any case - that would have involved him having to understand that he is not a person - he is a dog - and - I don't think he could have tolerated that. We will all be very happy to see each other again - I just need to worry about Flash not jumping on Butch's stomach - that would be disastrous!


I told Butch that home-made desserts are falling out of the sky at the house -somebody made the apple crisp I told you about two nights ago, the night before that it was brownies and ice cream, last night there was a pineapple upside down cake, and tonight someone is making a from-scratch carrot cake! Dr. Decroce says Butch SHOULD eat some sweets - just eat them in moderation. Sugar is energy, and he needs energy now. With the tumors gone, he can ease up on the dietary restrictions a bit, and he is ready to do that, I can tell you. However - we have learned our lesson - we will try to eat in moderation always.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

YES!! SOUNDS REAL GOOD. LOVE, SHARAN

Anonymous said...

Hey, you guys, keep this up and they'll be throwing you out of there!

Watching golf is a VERY good sign! I think of Butch every time I see the commercial for the Afton Golf Club. They say the course is in excellent shape and they're running a special on golf carts, so the boy needs to get better and get out there.

Love ya both,
Loma

Anonymous said...

great he looks real good I will let everyone at church how he is doing if they haven't check on the blogg glad to hear he is getting better we miss you guys wish we could come and visit love ya Robert and Kristina

Anonymous said...

Told you he needed that darned hat!! Will get well a lot faster with that on his head.

Mom

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