Good golly!

What a difference just a few days make! (have I said that before?)

We're back in the hospital... have been since Monday. Things were going so good for a couple of weeks and then... here we go again!

I got a bit ticked Monday when Doc G came in and Joe said something... Doc said, "Well, if you would have come in like we wanted you to..." Well, we both told him, Joe went for labs Thursday, and we waited for somebody to call us Friday, ALL DAY! and nobody did. THEN Saturday Joe called and got his dad to call in orders for hydration and whatever else was needed. Couldn't tell if Doc was aggravated with us, or with his staff.

Well, today, the PA came in. I'm getting really tired of her. She's got a bit of an attitude that she's doing us a favor or something... Joe was talking to her about the different meds he's on, and she made some snarky comment about IF he'd come in like he was told... but no... he wanted to go to Roper Berkeley (close to home) for labs... which SHE doubted he even did... Oh man... if she'd not have been walking out the door when she said that.

I don't know HOW to get through to these people... we have no freakin' money! We're behind on our home equity loan... being threatened with foreclosure... We weren't able to pay our taxes for '09 on the house yet, so that's going to be more money we've got to come up with before the end of the year... Joe's getting $200 a week in short term disability... when the idiots up in Rock Hill get the info to the lady at STD... It took 3 weeks to get the last check! We should have one this week from last week, but... the dingbat that's supposed to call Kathy with the info apparently didn't... and now tomorrow is another week... we won't have a paycheck. We don't have the flippin' money to be driving downtown every time they want labs. They can call in orders and THEN if Joe needs to come in... CALL!

Joe told Dr. G about Gloria tonight when he came by. Dr. G said, "Well, we can't go by labs that are hours old..." Why not? if they were bad 2-3-10 hours ago, chances are, they're NOT going to be getting better... Call and say, "Your numbers were off from the labs last night... you need to come on down and let us get you fixed up." Done.

BS... I'm sorry, but I've so had it with all of this. Don't need to worry about the cancer killing Joe. The cure is going to. I can tell you, I'm going to have to bite my tongue in half tomorrow if the PA comes in again. We are NOT stupid people... Don't treat us like we are. She used the same dumb act on our friend, Charlie, about her Coumadin... "Oh... this is the first I've heard about this..." Liar. Charlie had talked to her... to Doc G... to the doc's aid... for nearly 2 months!

Before Joe has chemo again, the doctor has to come up with a different plan of attack. This stuff can't go on anymore. Joe may as well just go off the chemo and die a "natural" death. Insane...

Well, enough for now. They'll be in again shortly to give him more meds... check his blood sugar (that's the new thing... with the TPN (nutrition in a bag... looks like Mountain Dew), the blood sugar can go up... which means he has to get insulin shots, on top of everything else... and shots to keep his blood thin... and shots for the diarrhea... and pills out the ying yang...). I've got to get ready for bed so I can be able to get up with him during the night, if need be.

Just keep the prayers coming, if you would... need to get over this bump in the road... again... (*"*)

Moving along through April here...

STILL dealing with the diarrhea. We're fixing to go to the pharmacy with a list of all Joe's meds to see if the mix of some of them are reacting adversely. The doctors may all prescribe, but they don't always know how things mix. We KNOW that the one chemo med causes diarrhea... but we've been working to stay on top of that. Seems what has been working isn't any longer. ugh! Aside from that just being miserable for Joe, it's making it that he can't even go to work. There are 8 "heads" for over 800 people? and the area he works out of is nowhere near to a toilet. When you're getting no warning... it just hits you... you don't have time to try to go to the 4 corners to find an empty stall. This is about to kill us $-wise. We were already sinking... this is just adding to. Joe's fixing to call the oncologist's office today. We KNOW what they're going to say... "come in... get some labs..." and from there, it's going to be across the street to the hospital. We want to do what's necessary for Joe's health, but this hospital thing every month is getting OLD!

A good thing to report... Joe had surgery on his eye Tuesday. His left eye was completely cataracted... Vision is already near 100% better... a little blurry, but getting clearer daily. He'll need a little lasering to get some cataract that was on the back of the pocket, and they have plans to replace the lens in his right eye at some point soon as well (cataracts likely chemo related), then he'll be good to go vision wise. At least SOMETHING going right!

Well, can't totally complain about the chemo... #'s have been going down again... That's a wonderful thing... It's just that quality of living with chronic diarrhea isn't a good thing...

Well, that's it on the home front for now... just doing what we can and know to do to keep getting on.

WHERE did March go???

Mercy! The month flew right outta' here!

It was a good month tho... after all the bad beginning... Joe's had no other real issues with the diarrhea... We've been using the Welchol and Imodium as a preventative starting a few days before treatment, and IT'S WORKING! Not to say he doesn't get a little loose every now and again, but we know to stay on top of things and not let it get out of control again. UGH! Do NOT want to have to go through that EVER again! I still need to borrow my mom's shampooer. Not pretty!

All in all, Joe's doing really well... He's back to working full time. Now and again, he'll miss a day... or a few hours... but he's doing really great, all things considered. God really reached down and touched him for sure. January into February... February into March... we weren't sure he was going to make it. Seriously... he was one sick puppy. Mood-wise, he wasn't there either. He was ready to die, or just hang everything up and go on disability.

Coming out of the hospital tho, he had a renewed zest for life... a new determination to get back to work... We'd kept Chase a couple of weekends ago, and they got out and were building some really good memories for the both of them... We worked out in the yard, and Joe was taking time with him... helping him do "man" stuff... "they" jump-started the lawn mower... rode into town together for gas (that's the FIRST time Joe's ever really had Chase BY HIMSELF!). Came back and it was starting to sprinkle, but, by golly, the boy was wanting to drive the mower, so Joe gassed it up and off they went... Chase steering and Joe operating the gas and brakes (thank goodness... Chase is a good driver, but he could get a little out of hand if he was doing ALL the driving!). They really had a good time together. And they both needed that Poppaw/Peanut time. We get past this pollen season, I think Poppaw plans to take his Peanut fishing. I plan to go along... just to supervise a bit. I know how MY Papaw watched MY boys around the water... Josh got off in the pond and was muck and mire... LOL!

Anyway... Praise be to God... things are so unbelievably better! I have renewed faith that we can maybe actually BEAT this thing again. Good news... it's such a wonderful thing!!!