WAS CRAPPY news NOW GOOD news Re. Ray aka Greynomads thread

[Riverlander]

Hi Ray. No news for a while. Hope you are still on the slow recovery. Good excuse to stay inside as the weather has been a bit crap lately. Wishing you all the best. Cheers John and Faye

[supersparky]

Once again, I will second what John and Faye have said. Little by little, every step counts.

[Dot]

Ray says, Pain meds are doing their job, bodily functions are returning to "normal" He is walking a bit more every day and is up 250 - 300 steps pr day. Not allowed to lift more than his food to his mouth and unable to help Joy unload the groceries as yet. Because he was not sleeping at night in the noisy hosp due to bells and whistles going all the time he is finding it harder to get back to night sleeping but all in all he is happy to be home. Atta boy Ray

[Shirley]

Sounds good Ray, continue to improve taking it easy, make sure you obey nurse Joy’s instructions & enjoy being home with your girls.

[Keith Morris]

"tanks" here---
RAY, I'm pleased to hear that you are at home with Joy and the girls.
Dot has been keeping us all updated and we are all following you through this drama.
Keith.

[T1 Terry]

Great to hear you are progressing as well as can be expected. Soon enough, you will be able to walk as far as the wine cabinet and strong enough to carry a bottle, then progress to the wine glass cupboard and the wine cork remover .... give us a call when you get to that stage and we'll be over to drink the Durif for you and tell you how good it is .... the least a mate could do, eh

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

T1, you are SUCH a good mate!
The sacrifices you endure to help a sick old man are beyond belief.

I've been slowly improving, building up my walking distance.
T'other day I actually made it to my PlayPen (workshop) to turn on the pump for one of our tanks (the round ones wot collect rainwater, not the bloke in WA ) That's a whole 10m from the house!

I have yet to gather the courage and stamina to walk the 50m down our driveway to the mailbox, as the return journey is uphill — about a 1:20 rise.

I'm currently in limbo awaiting word on when I start immunotherapy to mop up the known metastases (and any others lurking about) from the tumour. My oncologist was concerned about how I would handle chemo, as there has never been a patient overcome myeloma, only to need treatment for another cancer. I'm the first.
Fortunately the colorectal surgeon identified my tumour as one which is highly susceptible to immunotherapy, which is apparently a bit less hard on the body. So that's the plan: treatment at Albury Hospital's Regional Cancer Centre once every three weeks for 18 months.

That will seriously cramp our travel plans for the moment, but "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." (Thank you, John Wayne )

Other than that, I am truly appreciative of SWMBO's tasty meals each day and the support she gives unstintingly. Just as she has in the 30 years since my cancer diagnosis. Later this year we clock up 48 years!

I think I've found a keeper...

[T1 Terry]

Great to hear you have made the journey to the workshop ... and I'm guess back again, unless the keyboard is in the workshop .... in that case, hope you have your phone with you so you can call Joy to help you on the return journey

Still haven't gained enough strength to carry a wine bottle yet? Don't attempt it till you are sure you won't drop it, Joy would not be the only one upset about that if it happened.

Keep up the good work, certainly sounds like you found a "keeper" when you married Joy, just don't push ya luck

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

Thought I should check in to let you all know that I'm still looking at the grass from the green side.
I've been weaker than a freshly-poured tea for the past few weeks, but I'm getting better.
Until yesterday I have had to put up with a "temporary" drain line and a plastic bag sticky-taped to my side after a slight mishap during the tumour removal on 12th December left my pancreas leaking.
Now that has stopped, it was removed yesterday while I was undergoing a planned surgery preparatory to the beginning of 18 months of immunotherapy.
A reusable self-healing port has been installed under the skin near my left shoulder. This will eliminate the need to have a fresh hole poked in my arms every three weeks to install a cannula. My veins there have been battered enough over the past 30 years!
With the port, a specially designed needle matching the contours of the port will deliver the medications through the one spot every time.
As the saying goes, "In theory, everything works." We'll see.
Having the drain line & bag removed has vastly improved my mobility & therefore my mood. I now have the energy to help SWMBO with light housework duties. Maybe soon I might tackle preparing a meal with the Sous Chef (our Thermomix)!

[Dot]

It takes time for the old bodies to recover as you know Ray so listen to your body and also to Joy