Steve’s been home and out of the hospital for 10 days now, so things are starting to revert to the new normal, which is a Godsend for us both.
The biggest beat to the new routine is pleural draining. This sounds really creepy and quasi-surgical, but it’s really quick, painless and tidy, if done correctly: Just removing the old dressing, hooking up the chest catheter (a small plastic tube with a one-way valve and a clamp) to the drainage bag, initiating the syphon (with a small bulb on the bag’s tube) and drawing off about a liter of fluid: Clamp the line, sterilize the catheter end, slap on a new dressing and you’re done. We repeat this every three to five days, and the pressure has been lessening each time, so we’re getting a handle on the condition and Steve’s lung capacity is stabilizing.
The only other real health problem is the small toe on his left foot: Since he has the catheter, he’s taking sponge baths at the sink rather than showering, so his feet haven’t been getting washed regularly, and a nasty fungal infection has taken over between the last two toes on his left foot. It’s also drying out and cracking the callouses, and the whole foot is getting involved. On advice from his primary physician’s nurse practitioner, we’ve started twice-daily foot baths with gauze between the toes to dry them out.
This last Thursday we went down to the VA on Long Beach and Steve had appointments with his psychologist, primary care physician, oncologist and pulmonary care technician. We got gauze, saline and pain relievers from the primary care physician for the foot, and about a dozen of the draining kits from the pulmonology department. By the time we left the pharmacy department on our way to the car, Steve had a BIG box on his lap full of all this stuff. I told the pharmacist, “We’re opening our own hospital.” She thought that was pretty funny.
We’re also getting back to routine activities other than just watching the television. I’m trying to get Steve out and walking around at least twice a week, and walking up and down the stairs at home at least a half dozen times a day. Even with the cancer, his health is really good, so keeping his stamina up is important. Every time he wears out and he flops down, I say, “Time yourself and see how long it takes to get back your breath.” That way, he can see his stamina is improving.
As for me, I’m going in several directions, healthwise.
One of my fellow chamber of commerce members, Dennis Buckley, is a chiropractor who has written a couple of books, and I’ve done two book covers for him so far. After doing the last one, I asked him if he would be willing to trade out some treatments, and he agreed. It was the best decision I could have made.
Sitting at the computer for hours a day, my back and neck were a mess. After my first treatment with him, I was able to turn my neck around and really look behind me when changing lanes on the freeway. I’ve also noticed that my shoulders don’t droop like they used to, and my posture is getting better without even thinking about it. His associate, Harrison Darling, has given me a couple simple neck exercises that have helped keep my back loose and supple.
On the health downside, I had a damaged front tooth that broke off last week. There’s no pain, and it was in need of attention, but I had run out of money and was waiting for my dental insurance to renew before proceeding. When Steve’s health issues emerged, the dentist was put on the back burner, but no longer: with the tooth missing, my smile doesn’t exactly charm.
I’ve got an appointment with my dentist on Tuesday, and I’m going to propose taking the plunge: remove the six remaining maxillary teeth and fit me with an upper denture. (I would prefer this to a series of root canals and caps, partial dentures and their concurrent costs.) Also, it is a procedure I can afford with my present insurance coverage.
On the upside for both of us, we stopped smoking in early March (the 4th for Steve, the 6th for me). I have been nicotine-free for two weeks now (no patches or gum). I don’t have the urge to smoke, but I do have the urge to do “something” in those periods when what I would do was smoke: after a meal, getting into the car, taking a break from work, with the first cup of coffee in the morning. I’m not sure whether it’s worth my time to come up with substitute things, or whether I should just let those behaviors drop away over the next couple of weeks.
On the design studio front, I finally got my remaining 1500 brochures labeled, stamped and into the mail. The mailing list I purchased was a good one, because it’s been almost a week and I haven’t gotten and returns in the mail. I’m finally down to a couple hundred of the brochures, which means I’ll need to design something new soon for the next mail campaign.
As a result of the mailing, I have three appointments next week with potential clients (an antiques dealer wanting a website, a Realtor wanting a website redesign and a golden retriever rescue organization gearing up for an upscale fundraiser in September and needing graphic coordination). This of course is on top of a few ongoing clients I presently have, plus several clients planning projects in the next few months.
Also, Paul Little, the CEO of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, let me know that they want me to head up not only the design but also the production of their directory next year, so that is another major project slated for the second half of the year. Now, if I can just get Martha over at ASC to hire me to design those two biographies they’re planning on publishing, things will be golden. And I really love working with her.
As a business person, I have to say that it looks like the recession is finally moving into the past, and people are more confident about planning for the future without feeling the need of an economic safety net in case the whole thing collapses again.
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