TIA?

Hello all. (This will be new to some of you and repeat info for others of you since we are friends on facebook.) Glenn went the hospital Thursday night because he was having a severe headache, vision problems, and difficulty with his speech, along with the high blood pressure. Of course we suspected a stroke. The brain scan didn't show any signs of bleeding. He had an MRI last night to see if there is any hidden bleeding that the scan didn't show, but we don't know the results of that yet. The visual and communication symptoms didn't last more than 30-45 minutes. So far, the Dr.s are suggesting that it was either a TIA or a complex migraine.  He is also going to have an EEG. They don't do those on the weekends here so he might get released tomorrow and have it done in the office this week. I'm glad he is here for another night because the headaches and high blood pressure happen at night so as long as we're here it can be documented, but of course you know the body gets uncooperative at the wrong times and he doesn't have a headache tonight. Blood pressure is creeping up.( Is it bad for me to hope he gets a headache and high blood pressure tonight?) He has been feeling pretty well, especially after last night when he got a really good dose of Ativan IV so he could get through the MRI. I had gone home to get some things, but our daughter was with him, and she had some entertaining  stories to tell him about what he said and did while he was under the influence. :-)  And it lasted a long time, even into today. You know Ativan is his drug of choice so he was glad to get it, and he couldn't have gotten through the MRI with any less of a dose because he is claustrophobic and even then wanted to end the test early. He was able to finish probably because he was hallucinating and was able to be convinced to hang on a few minutes more.
I will probably give you an update in the next day or so. We are doing fine, although Thursday night was quite scary for us both. Thank you so much to those of you who already knew about all this and have been praying for us. You have to know that through your prayers God has been keeping us strong. He is always faithful.

Low platelets, high blood pressure and a new book out.

Friday, February 1st. Time flies, doesn't it?! And yet it drags when you don't want it to. Let's see, what's new to report? Well, not a whole lot. We went to the hematologist here in town who Glenn was seeing for a while  in tandem with the hematology/oncologist in G'ville and we had decided to stick with one, the one in G'ville. Anyway, we saw the local group today to see if they have any clue as to why Glenn's platelets stay down too low. The  Dr. we saw today really doesn't have a clue why. So that makes 3 so far (Dr.s who don't know why). He's running a blood test to see if it is ITP and if it is he can treat it. If it's not, we're back to the drawing board. I'll tell you what ITP is after I look it up and review it. I was reading about it the other day, but I don't retain anything that I read the first time, or the second time, for that matter. We also went to the Renal clinic today for Glenn's weekly shot for his anemia, and to talk to them about his blood pressure getting so high He is already on 3 meds for high blood pressure. Last night it was 189/86 at 6pm and 186/ 80 at 11:30. Last week he was prescribed some medicine to take when it gets too high. He took it at 6 but by 11:30 it was still high so he had to take another one. This morning his blood pressure was a very pleasant  131/74. But it is creeping up again. Along with the high bp is the headache. But hey, his LCDD levels are staying steady, so we have something to be positive about.  Actually, we are  quite pleased that he has been feeling as well as he has for the past few months. So these things aren't  urgent matters, just annoyances. (Speaking of annoyances, he continues to grow that beard. :-(  That's my feeling about it.)
It has been good hearing from some of you that you keep up with Glenn on this blog. We really do appreciate that you  want to keep up on what's going on with him. By the way, his second book has been published: "The Fine Art of Driving Customers Away". He will let everyone know who wants to buy it of when to order it on line so he can get it on the best-seller's list. If it gets high enough orders during any certain hour, it is named on the best-seller's list. He will set that date and time and let you know. Keep your eyes peeled for that info. Also, he is near the finish of his third book which is a fiction novel politically based. We'll let you know about that too, but that will be a few months away yet because of getting it done and edited and printed.
 ttfn  (That's ta-ta for now, for those of you who forgot or didn't know.)

All is well

Hello all, thanks for your faithfulness in following Glenn's journey.

He had appointments at both the Dr's this week. Wednesday we went to G'ville to see the hematology/oncologist.  His labs are pretty much unchanged: blood counts are at a low but  safe level for him; platelets are still low but steady. We don't know what the results are of the LCDD. They will call and let us know when they get the results. Glenn goes back in 6 weeks. On a sad note, we lost one of the friends we met at the Hope Lodge where we stayed during Glenn's treatment. I just expected everyone we know well from there to just live on. It was such a surprise to have him go. He had a leukemia-type of disease. Treatments just didn't seem to do any good for him. I am so sad for his wife.

Thursday we went to the nephrologist. Really nothing significant to report. We did talk about the platelet situation and decided that we would go back to the hematologists Glenn saw here locally and see if they can identify the reason for it. I think they deal with other blood diseases as well as cancers so maybe they might have some ideas. 

The itching Glenn had been experiencing hasn't bothered him for a few days. Here's hoping it will stay away.

So unless there is something significant to report, you won't hear from me for a couple weeks. All is well. 

Post- Christmas report

We had a wonderful Christmas day that followed a fun event- filled month. Our day was filled and we were exhausted by the end of the day, but full physically and emotionally. We started our day with the kids and granddaughter coming over for breakfast. I got to play with Phoenix in "her room", as she calls the guest bedroom, (well, she is correct in saying it's her room because it has her toys and books and pictures and the quilt on the bed that she learned to say the word "star" on, one of her first words, because it has a lot of stars on it), and her little rocking chair. It was so good to get to spend time with her. Then we went to our oldest son's house for afternoon dinner and presents. His girlfriend's family was also there as well as our other two kids and Phoenix. That was such a fun day. We were packed in that house but that's what made it even more fun, I think. From there, we went to my sister's house for evening dinner. We got to take Phoenix with us there because it's been a long time since my sister has gotten to see her. We got to play tea party with her tea party set she got for Christmas. By the end of the night we were all tired and ready to go home and rest. But it was such a goooood day.
Glenn continues to do well. His main complaint right now is the phantom itching he has every night. It starts in  one place for a while then moves to other locations, and of course is very aggravating. It doesn't seem to happen during the day. We aren't sure what it is from because it could be from the kidney failure, or it could be from the blood disease he has. We go to G'ville in two weeks. Maybe they will have a clue as to what is causing it and what can be done for it. But other than that, he feels pretty good. We are still watching his platelet count. We'll get the results of the latest level in a day or two.
Hope you all had a fun and happy Christmas and New Year.

Nothin' happening but Christmas stuff

Like I told you, I would check in now and then to let you know there's nothing going on here. Glenn is doing well and enjoying the kids thinking he's Santa when he goes out in public with his bushy beard and his Santa hat on.We have been busy with Christmas events this month: Children's Christmas program at church, visited the winter land in St. Augustine, attended a beautiful Christmas concert and dinner some friends were a part of, a cookie exchange with some women from church, a dinner given for us residents at Cecil Pines, (our little community), "Thankmas" that our son and his girlfriend originated last year, a wonderful  and long anticipated wedding of the son of some friends, will be having Christmas dinner with Glenn's sisters and family this weekend, hoping to go caroling at a nursing home this week, and we'll be fixing breakfast Christmas morning for our kids and granddaughter when we will have our own family Christmas.
We don't go back to G'ville until after the first of the year. The nephrologist is checking Glenn's platelet count every week for a while to see what it's doing. So far it's still low but up a smidgen from the last time. And he gets shots every week to keep his red blood count up, (to fight off anemia). Dialysis is going well.
So Merry Christmas everyone and hopefully you won't hear from me until after Christmas.

A week of medical appointments, but no solutions

Today was the last of four medical appointments this week. Monday, Glenn had a procedure to move the tip of the catheter in his abdomen to see if that would alleviate the pain he has on the initial drain of dialysis each night. The Dr. said it was positioned well and wasn't blocked so he didn't see the need to move it. We did find out that morning that Glenn's platelet count is still very low, but not until after the procedure was done. I think if they had know about the low platelets they probably wouldn't have done the procedure because of the high risk of bleeding. Tuesday, we went to the renal clinic for Glenn's appointment with the nephrologist. He still is stumped as to why Glenn is having blood in his drainage bag each morning after finishing the nightly dialysis. He was not pleased that the Dr. who did the procedure Monday didn't move the tip of the catheter anyway because it is clearly causing pain and probably being sucked up against something in the peritoneum and possibly irritating and causing the bleeding. He suggested that Glenn see the Dr. who did the catheter placement to see if he has any idea why the bleeding. That visit was scheduled for today. Wednesday we went to G'ville for his appointment with the oncologist. He also is at a loss as to why the platelets stay low. The bone marrow is producing adequate amounts, so it must be a problem with them being used up somehow. It's a mystery for now. But Glenn doesn't need to go back to G'ville for another six weeks. Today we saw the surgeon who did the catheter placement. His opinion is that the reason for the bleeding is the low platelets and warned us that Glenn needs to be very careful not to fall or have any injury because he could bleed easily and too much. He seemed sure that the oncologist would come up with a reason for the low platelets. He said those guys always do eventually figure those things out, (the hematologists).

So that was our busy week with medical stuff. This weekend we are going to two Christmas parties: one is a fancy dinner with the old folks here where we live, and the other is what our family started last year called "Thankmas". Last year Andy and his girlfriend had a turkey they wanted to fix so they came up with that idea. We didn't get to go last year but we do this year. It will include our family and Andy's girlfriend's family. Always fun and entertaining.

We don't have any appointments soon so I won't be on here unless something comes up. I'll just check in once in a while to let you know that there's nothing happening. 

Working out the painful little detail.

Hello all, Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. We had a full house with all three kids, significant others, and an extended family member. Love it!
Still pretty quiet here. Glenn's abdominal scan didn't answer the mystery about the blood in his drainage bag every day. One day there was a lot more than normal so we took it to the nurse at the clinic so she could see how much it was. Since then it has been what it normally has been. Tomorrow Glenn will have a simple procedure done at the hospital to move the tip of the catheter that is in the bottom of his abdomen that drains the fluid during his dialysis. With his initial drain each night it has been painful so hopefully repositioning it will alleviate the discomfort for him. We are also curious to see if it has any effect on the blood in the drainage. He some how acquired a "black eye" We were at breakfast Saturday with the kids, and Joey asked him what was wrong with his eye: it looked like there was a broken blood vessel on the inside corner of his eyelid, (but not the eye itself). Throughout the day it continued to spread across the eyelid like eyeliner would  look. This morning it was all the way across the eyelid and starting to move down a little below that. It doesn't hurt or itch, is not swollen. He doesn't even know it's there unless he looks in a mirror. We have NO CLUE how it got there. We haven't done anything about it because it doesn't bother him in any way and it isn't on the eyeball itself. We can have it looked at tomorrow when he is at the hospital.
This will be a week of medical appointments: he has the procedure tomorrow, nephrologist appt. Tuesday, and oncologist appt  Wednesday. Hopefully he will not have any problems arise from any of those. I'll report to you after all that takes place.