Thursday, September 18, 2008

Once you choose hope, anything's possible. Christopher Reeves

we drove home Tuesday - we made Butch comfortable - put the seat back, got pillows and a blanket, put on a little Johnny Cash 1st, then a Roy Rogers tribute cd, and he took a pain pill. The trip went by fast - 7 1/2 hours, and if he was a bit confused - well - so am I most of the time now! When we went to to our small groups meetings at our church, people used to pray, asking for "travelling mercies" - I thought that was a strange phrase. Now I know EXACTLY what that means, and we received them.

Yesterday we went to Dr. Gehring. We asked him to recommend a palliative care Doctor, as Dr. Gamblin said we should have one - someone to oversee Butch's care from now on. Dr. Gehring said he is the palliative care Doctor from Endwell Family Physicians. Since Butch thinks a lot of Dr. Gehring, who is a great Doctor, and a good Christian man who listens to the "Great Physician", as he calls him, we thought that was SUCH a blessing. He said that from now on, he would be coming to our house to take care of Butch, saving him the trip into town, He also had his office contact Lourdes Hospice for us. As Butch is unable to take chemo at this time, this is the best thing we can do to ensure that he receive all the help that he needs at this time in his life. This does NOT mean that he has given up. If he gets stronger, he can reconsider his options. In the meantime, we are in God's hands. As Butch says - there is nothing different - God was ALWAYS in charge anyway.

Today, Lourdes Hospice called, and it was Laurie Vandermark, from New Life! I think I remember her telling me once that this is what she does, but I had forgot. Another blessing! We talked for awhile, as she explained the services hospice can offer us, and we set up an appointment for Monday morning. She said they love Dr. Gehring also.As for Butch's health - he has been unable to even stand up w/o having breathing problems, Dr. Gehring said that is because of fluid on the lungs, and put him on lasix - that should help, although Butch is not fond of lasix. He has been walking with the aid of the walker outside the house - without while home. He is very, very weak, but hopefully the 2 week course of 2 different antibiotics that he is in will help with that. They never did isolate what caused that infection, however, we think it was from that jp pouch and the drain from the bile duct. He is eating a bit, but needs to eat more to gain strength. He still has his sense of humor, though. Dr. Gehring told him he could eat and drink what he likes now, and - when we left the Doctor;s office, he informed me that Dr. Gehring saying that to us is the GOOD thing that has come out of this - I can’t tell him to eat and drink stuff that he doesn’t want any more!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Butch has such a good sense of humor but he is right on the nose. No more telling him what he has to eat!!!! Love you both.

Anonymous said...

I've been meaning to tell you that I love the "fly over the mountains" thingy--but I got airsick! Very impressive though.

I can understand Butch not being fond of Lasix, but tell him that's his penalty for being able to eat anything he wants! You can't have everything your own way, Butch!

Love and many prayers for both of you, Loma

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