LOU'S TUNE-UP

Yesterday, Monday, Kathy, Vanessa and I took Lou to her meeting with Dr. Hancock. She had her blood tests taken and Kathy, Mark and I met with Dr. Hancock who looked at Lou and said she didn't look too good and needed a tune-up by spending the night in the hospital. He said that her extended stomach was due to fluid retention that is caused by the cancer that he wanted to drain and he wanted to use for chemo the carboplatain treatment that she had responded well to before to treat the cancer. He booked her into the last room in Harris Hospital after finding no room at Baylor hospital. She would have to wait for a room to open on the chemo floor. To say we weren't prepared is an understatement. We had thought we would be back home by dark.

She checked into room 818 with a great nurse who took care of preparing her. They said that they couldn't find the form we filed on Medical Power of Attorney. They contacted the Chaplain's office and we got a wonderful Baptist chaplain named appropriately with a Bibical name of Saul. Dora Saul took care of getting the papers together, rounding up a couple of strangers to witness Lou's signing the papers, took them to be filed and brought us a copy. Then we tried to recruit her to the Methodist church where women pastors are more appreciated. Found out that she was raised in New York by missionary parents but spent every summer with her rancher grandparents in the Panhandle. We got to discuss literature and she said she would Google Lou to find all of her books. We also recommended Bill Neal's books on West Texas early justice. She had relative who is lawyer and politician in WTx. She was trying to decide whether to pursue a MD degree or work on a nutritionist degree. She has Chron's disease and had her best advice from a nutritionist. Our daughter Kathy is also looking at that field as a second career.

The bad news was when they took Lou for the parenthesiology (sp?) at 11:30 in the ultrasound laboratory the technician said they could find no fluid to remove. This means the masses are caused by cancer buildups. Dr. Hancock came by after getting the news and said that her stomach sounded like a drum. His belief is that the carboplatain will shrink the cancer and consequently reduce the size of her stomach which in turn will relieve the compressed stomach return her appetite and correct her bowel movements. The good news was that we could go back home to normalcy. Kathy spent the night with Lou in the hospital room. I slept in a bed at Mary Kathyn's home and on the way there stopped for $1.399 gas at Racetrack and picked up a toothbrush as my only travel utensil. It worked great and my mouth felt good enough to let me sleep. Now I am looking forward to shaving in the morning. This is only the second time in recent history that I haven't shaved in the morning.

Lou got discharged at 2:30 and they finally got a chair to bring her down to the car and we left FW at 3:33 and home at 5:30 into the setting sun. Kathy made it but I know she was tired. They gave Lou chemo from midnight to 2:30 so Kathy didn't exactly get a good night's sleep in the recliner.

Lou is glad to be home where she has her own bed. One other thing that Dr. Hancock did was give her a prescription for liquid morphine to help control the pain and she has started using that. So she should be happy now.

Your prayers are a great help. She has had good nurses at every turn. And we finally met a Harris Chaplain.

PS. Lou has not felt like working on her email for a couple of weeks and I don't know when she will. Please be patient with her.
Thanks.

GREAT GRANDSON HELPS LOU

Lou asked for some assistance and fortunately for me our #1 grandson Jim was here to assist. Lou was having problems stand up after using the pot. This morning our granddaughters Val and Vanessa went to Abilene and brought home a set of arms for the pot plus a walker. When we tried to put the arms on the pot, we found that it is symmetrical and it hit the built up shelf on the side. Jim solved the problem by drilling two off center holes and forcing the bolts to self tap into the metal rod. I could never have done it and it tested his muscle power but he did it! He then assembled the walker and adjusted it. Lou appreciated it and has used it this evening.

She is still having difficulty eating. Kathy prepared a special custard cup for her tonight and she ate a little. About an hour later as she prepared to get ready for bed she takes a couple of pain pills an hour before bed time and she gagged on the first one and we had to change her robe and wash it. She was able later to swallow the two pills that Kathy broke into small pieces. She has gone to bed but says she never thought she would feel this bad. Keep her in your prayers and I am thankful for all the help that I have had this weekend and thank God for His help.

Our friends from Kathy's days at A&M Valerie and Guy Shepard came by for a visit. Valerie was Kathy's roommate her first year at A&M and has called Lou and I her foster parents ever since. Guy is a Veterinarian who left his practice in San Angelo this year to go to work for A&M to raise money for the college. They moved to College Station and drove by to see Lou and go on to spend the weekend in Angelo. They brought gifts as they always do. A bottle of Cabernet and a framed needle work for special friends. Lou loved having them visit and maybe missing her nap this afternoon will help her sleep well tonight. I know that I will.

TWAS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

We had a great Christmas with the Wilcox clan who came in Wednesday bringing a Suburban full of food and gifts. They even had three small plastic Christmas trees with lights and decorations. Kathy started cooking and we have food everywhere of all kinds. We had our Christmas stockings that Santa stuffed with all kinds of goodies. I got lots of different kinds of chocolates plus house slippers and for gifts got two great flannel shirts for this winter although today the temperature is in the 70s. Lou got house slippers plus a flannel gown among other gifts.

She had one of her worse days in terms of getting up and walking. Several times she actually needed and accepted assistance in standing and let me offer my arm for walking. Today she is some better but still has aches and pains that she damps down with vicodin. The house is quiet today as Kathy took her crew to Abilene to shop. Later Jim and Mandi will bring their two sons and things will get lively again.

I will try to post Ashley's poem if I can master the computer quirks.

Halsell Hill

Sunrises, sunsets
Fall leaves and pets

Goldfish and plays
And lazy days

Pianos and songs
Food all day long

Walks, talks
Playing teacher with chalk

Porches and rain
Keeping us sane

Clouds and lightning
Lots of reading and writing

Stories and Jesus
A place where He meets us

Laughter and tears
Nothing to fear

Football and games
The whole family came

A sanctuary
Where pain does not tarry

Worship and prayer
Our hearts lay bare

No other place
On Earth like this

A place to refill
It’s called Halsell Hill

By Laura Ashley Pagenkopf

Christmas 2008

Surprise.

I got it to work almost. Not the same font that she used but close.

SPECIAL SUNDAY

Sunday Lou got up feeling really bad hurting and low energy. I helped her towel off after her shower and get dressed and eat a little breakfast. But then things got a lot better. Mark and Mary Kathryn left early and brought Dotty with them to appear at 8:50 in time to take care of Lou while I went to Sunday School and church. We had our Christmas Cantata so we got out of church early and when I got home at noon Ashley and Ross had just driven in from FW.

They all decided that they would give us early Christmas presents. Mary K presented Lou with a magnificent hand made jacket in beautiful colors that she loved. They piled on more gifts of a flannel sheet set to keep Lou warm, socks for her feet and a camisole to wear. Mark gave me a wildlife camera and installed it on a tree at the pond. We checked the chip and it had photos of each of us walking in front so we know it works and today I will look at a full day of activity at the pond. They also fattened me up with mixed nuts, dark chocolate pecans and added socks so that Dotty can have the ones I am wearing out.

Ashley and Ross gave Lou a beautiful maroon fiber filled blanket that she used over her lap all day. But the lagniape was a framed poem that Ashley wrote entitled Halsell Hill that summarized her feelings over the years of coming here. When she sends it to me I will put it in the blog. They gave me some dark chocolate covered cherries. I am really blessed.

Mary Kathryn made a great lunch and invited Ike and Sue to join us. Sausage and a chicken casserole with asparagus. Special desserts of small pecan pies and a fancy spread on chocolate graham crackers. And the great thing was they cleaned up the kitchen for me. MK left us some special red hot jelly that she made. I had some on my toast for breakfast.

With all the attention, Lou got a little nap in the morning but none in the afternoon so that she slept well last night. This morning she was a little better but took two pain pills to start the day. I have kept a fire going in the fireplace to keep her warm. It got down to 24 this morning after a high of 35 yesterday. The humidifier is going full blast to keep up with the fireplace drying out the air.

We have wonderful children and keep Lou in your prayers.

BETTER WEATHER AND LOU

It warmed up a little today and this morning looked like it was raining. The heavy moisture content didn't produce fog but water was forming on the plastic chairs, the rocks in the walk and patio and on the grass and dripping from the trees but it wouldn't rain like we needed. Lou still hurts a lot but has begun taking a little more nutrition. This morning she said she could eat pancakes and my first attempt (I specialize in waffles) was to make them too thin, so I called them crepes. Lou ate one small one with syrup. She then slept on the couch until noon. For lunch I broiled a rib eye steak and she ate a little with some heated left-over mashed potatoes with cheese added and some black-eyed peas. She ate some fruit and frozen yogurt. She napped with me from 2-4 then drank another 1/2 of an Ensure. For supper she only drank a small glass of milk. I asked her if she feels a little more energetic and she said a little. I help her dress in the morning and at night. Thanks to everyone who is praying for her.

I took minutes at my last Administrative Council meeting at church last night and spent the morning publishing them to the council for corrections. I am also working to find a contractor to repair the septic system. May get that done in late January.

COLD SCARY DAY

The temperature started at 20 degrees this morning and has been below freezing for two days. It finally got above freezing this afternoon. From a literary viewpoint Lou is reading Louise Erdricks THE MASTER BUTCHERS SINGING CLUB and enjoys it. She still reads more of C. S. Lewis in her morning devotionals. She is still hurting but has taken Sylvia Grider's advice to increase her calorie intake by drinking Ensure. She has finished two bottles the last two days 1/2 at a time.

The scary part of the day was when I heard her call. She had gotten to the top of the stairs and ended up on the top step sitting down. She didn't fall. She just ran out of gas and couldn't make the last step. She said she didn't have any energy. It was the first time she has gone upstairs for a couple of weeks. When Lydia comes every other Tuesday to clean she cleans upstairs first and they Lou goes up there to rest while she cleans downstairs. She rested this afternoon and let me go down in front of her coming back down. Hopefully she will continue to gain strength as she eats a little more and drinks Ensure.

Your prayers are appreciated.
I mailed out our Internet Christmas Card. If you aren't on my mailing list and didn't get one, email me and I will send it. It has a great poem by local author Carol Walt, who retired here from Dallas where her husband was a police captain.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY WEEKEND

Friday night our daughter Kathy came in followed by our son Mark and his wife Mary Kathryn Saturday morning. Kathy spent the day cooking fancy special gift items from three Christmas gift cookbooks. She was preparing gifts for her husband to give to his contractors. We got to sample them. They were fancy and good. Son Mark helped me get a lot of projects done in preparation for a predicted cold week. He cut up three or four fallen trees and then split the large ones so we have a stack of wood to last for more than a week although some of it will burn in a flash. Then he carried the corn to refill the deer feeder and helped me clean leaves off the fish pond and treat for algae. Mary Kathryn made a great chicken noodle soup that we ate all weekend. Lou even ate a little. Then MK made a great breakfast this morning of fancy toasted bread with scrambled eggs combined with two kind of sausage from the Butcher Block in Bryan where they were visiting her brother last weekend. They left this morning after I went to teach SS. They had hoped to go to church but needed to get back home. Kathy stayed to wash all the bedding and take care of the kitchen and stayed with Lou until her friends came in.

At noon Joyce Roach driving her mother's classic car brought Phyllis Bridges from TWU in Denton and Fran Vick from Dallas to see Lou bringing gifts and food. Kathy left when they got here at the same time I got home from church. The good news at church is that we will get an interim pastor to serve from January to June. He is a retired minister originally from Sweetwater who lives in Houston where his wife still works.

The first gift I saw for Lou was a blue ball cap that says White House staff member. Fran also brought her a copy of her new book Literary Dallas plus a copy of Texas Almanac for me for my office. Their food was fantastic. Fran had a special Napa Valley wine from Meeker who was a UT grad that she had visited in Ca. Joyce had a cheese dip and fancy crackers, Phyllis made an excellent almond chicken casserole and deviled eggs and Fran had made individual chocolate meringue and vanilla meringue pies without pie crust. As a confirmed chocoholic I was one happy eater. Lou ate a few bites but is having trouble eating. She is still in a lot of pain and after trying to eat a few bites tonight lost it all by nausea. She took a nausea pill and feels a little better. She took a pain pill about an hour ago. And right now the Cowboys are ahead so she is happy.

LITTLE BETTER EACH DAY
Lou is still in a lot of pain but is eating a little more each day. Last night she woke with pain that she attributes to her fall causing problems. Yesterday she asked for waffle for breakfast. She ate 1/4 of my pecan waffle. For lunch she ate three left-over shrimp from a couple of days earlier. Last night she ate one cracker, small bit of cheese, 1/2 Activa and four grapes. Today she had a poached egg and small piece of shaved ham for breakfast, a few bites of enchilada and little refried beans from a frozen dinner plus a small scoop of frozen yogurt. And tonight she ate a little canned salmon with her cracker, cheese, and finished off the Activa. She still hurts and took four pain pills today but she is doing a little better each day. Your prayers are helping.

Our daughter is on the way from San Antonio and will be joined by our son and daughter-in-law tomorrow. The weather looks good but high winds are predicted with fire warnings. Lou is looking forward to the visit of Phyllis Bridges, Fran Vick and Joyce Roach Sunday.

SCARY DAY
Yesterday Carol and Wallace Bennett shared the potato soup that she had made for choir practice by bringing a huge bowl of soup, a large loaf of cornbread and some brownies for me. I ate some for supper last night. At noon today Lou wanted a small amount and asked me to toast some of the cornbread for her. She ate a few spoonfuls and had a small scoop of ice cream for dessert. Then she got up and as she turned around she caught her foot on the chair and fell on her left side on the floor. She hit her head hard and I thought she had banged her glasses against her nose. She rolled over and determined that there were no broken bones. I moved the chair over for her to lift herself up but she said she couldn't get up. I got behind her and lifted her up. She said that she was OK. The only damage is a sore left cheek bone. Her knees and arms are all right. She said she was glad that I was here to help her up. I had been gone all morning to attend the Library board meeting and buy groceries. I worry about being gone and try to stay here as much as possible. She solved the constipation problem but continues to take pain pills and still can't get her appetite back. She says she is a little better today and hopes to get better each day as the chemo works out of her body.

Thank you for your prayers. We are grateful that I didn't have to call 911 because of broken bones.

LAST DAY FOR ORAL CHEMO
Today Lou took her last 5 pills to complete this round of oral chemo. She says it must be working because her stomach is really hurting along with some back pain. She did eat a little bit more today but not much. She is constipated again and although she eats fruit she is taking milk of magnesia tonight. She has been taking 4 pain pills a day. The Texas Oncology pharmacist called today. They had said that they would call the second day of this chemo. Lou hasn't had too many problems with the chemo. She had some fever in the mornings but none today. She is lethargic and rests a lot. She is cold. Last night was below freezing all night and about 3 a.m. she asked me to put another blanket on the bed. Yesterday I started the fireplace and she has me keeping it going when she is in the living room. It is supposed to warm up to 61 tomorrow. This morning the pond was frozen over as were the bird baths until the afternoon.

From the literary standpoint Lou is having a hard time with C. S. Lewis in his essays. She says he is too intellectual for her in some places. She read Mere Christianity and Screwtape Letters but now is in another one that may be his essay on miracles. She is also reading the book that Sylvia Grider left her that Sylvia's book club is reading. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She wasn't impressed when she started it but says that it has good psychological insights but is nothing but conversations and letters. The main theme is mothers getting their daughters into a good marraige at the upper crust of England. She says she is glad she didn't live then. She says that it doesn't have much action and I asked her if it could be classified as a marraige mystery.

I am trying to catch up on my reading of books for the CP Library that I need to review. I did get my column written.

Keep Lou in your prayers.

LATEST CA125 RESULTS
Today the nurse called with last Wednesday's results. It went up two points to 295 so the other chemo was not only giving Lou all kinds of problems but wasn't doing any good. She started the new oral chemo Monday and took the second round today with no drastic side effects. She still has no appetite and feels lousy all the time. She followed her usual routine today. When Lydia comes to clean she does the upstairs first. When she comes back down, Lou goes up to one of the twin beds and lies down up there. She said she made it up the stairs but it wasn't easy. She drank a little chicken noodle soup broth for lunch but I poured most of it back in the pan. She drinks a little coke and eats a few Cheetos when she gets up from her afternoon nap. As she told Francis Ann Sneed when she called today she is still able to walk and gets around. Hopefully this different chemo treatment will be effective. If she loses her hair again we will know that it is doing something.

At least we have had better luck with our grandkids than my brother Robert. He and his wife planned to drive down Friday after Thanksgiving from Altus where he had Thanksgiving dinner with his grandson Cody. A granddaughter Nicole drove out also to have dinner with them. Nicole drove back Thursday night to see her mother and while on a detour missed a curve and rolled her car. She only had bruises but enough whiplash to have to wear a neck brace. Then Friday morning Cody had to drive to Antlers on a cattle deal, went to sleep and rolled his car but only suffered bruises and a small cut. He is OK except for two cars totalled. As a result Robert couldn't make it here but will try again some weekend.

Lou is looking forward to Dec. 14 when Phyllis Bridges, Fran Vick and Joyce Roach will come see her for a visit. She missed Fran's talk at the Joyce Thompson Lecture series and is looking forward to hearing her here in person.

Here on Halsell Hill the red oaks are in full color. I took digital photos but when I plugged the chip from the camera into this new laptop, it not only failed to let me see the photos it apparently reprogrammed the chip so that when I put it back into the camera, the camera couldn't read it. So much for modern technology. You will just have to come see for yourself.