Barb73

January 13, 2010

Judy,

I have not been on the board lately. The days are taken up with the facility Bill is in, and the nights are so full of "tired."

Your post grabbed me because it tells of what is true about all of this. Yes, without caring there would be less pain, but as you have so beautifully put it, there would be no caring, no concern, no empathy. You have experienced two events, the loss of Frank, and the concern over Loreen.

You know, Judy, all of what you have expressed tells me that you understand the nature of this thing.

Sometimes, I think I cannot hold one more sad thought, and then someone like you will make it so human, that I pick up and bear some more.

I thank you for that, and hope you will always feel that you can talk about the down times. It joins the rest of us who have those moments, too.

Barbara

January 9, 2010

Colleen,

Congratulations on your wonderful gift. You are sharing "Good News" and it is definitely an inspiration.

You have given hope, and a bolstering to others.

Barbara

January 9, 2010

Frank,

Welcome to this community of support. The advice given about having the advantage of two great sources, one for information and the other for experience dealing with lung cancer is right on the mark.

My husband and I began this journey over five years ago, and are still plugging away, and surviving.

May you have success in the treatments for your wife, and able to gather the information you seek.

Barbara

January 5, 2010

Thank you, Greg, once again for being on top of the information.

Barbara

December 28, 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/ ... -superbugs

ARTICLE:

. . . . . . . . .

Scientists have discovered the power of fruit as a potential new weapon in the fight against MRSA and other hospital superbugs. A team from the University of Kingston, in Surrey, have shown that pomegranate can be used to create an ointment with the power to tackle the drug-resistant infections.

In a series of tests conducted over three years, academics found that mixing the fruit's rind with two other natural products – metal salts and vitamin C – greatly enhanced its infection-fighting properties. The discovery could pave the way for a lotion to be developed for patients or perhaps, in time, a new antibiotic.

Declan Naughton, professor of biomolecular sciences at Kingston, described the breakthrough as "significant".

Naughton said scientists were searching for a way to create new antibiotics because of the rise in infections resistant to drugs on the market. One way to go about it was to screen natural products, he said.

"A great deal of medicines come from plants, but the normal approach taken by the pharmaceutical industry is to try to find one particular active molecule," he said. "After a considerable number of screening experiments, we found that combining three ingredients – pomegranate rind, vitamin C and a metal salt – gave a much more potent effect: killing off or inhibiting drug-resistant microbes from growing.

"It was the mix that fantastically increased the activity – there was synergy, where the combined effects were much greater than those exhibited by individual components. It shows nature still has a few tricks up its sleeve."

The tests were conducted using microbes taken from hospital patients. Scientists found that pomegranate rind mixed with metal salts were most effective against MRSA, while adding vitamin C helped tackle other common hospital infections.

Naughton said the idea of using foodstuffs was unusual but meant that the body should be more able to cope with its application. "Patients are less likely to experience any major side-effects," he added.

It is not the first time pomegranate has been shown to have medical benefits. The fruit has already been hailed a super-food with claims that its juice can help protect against a range of ailments, from heart disease to male impotence.

Other scientists welcomed the findings but pointed out that they were limited to tests in the laboratory – and had yet to be developed for use on people.

Anthony Coates, professor of medical microbiology at St George's in London, said: "What is the significance of all of this? Well, there is no doubt that these natural products like pomegranate are of interest. This observation – the fact it has acted against MRSA and other drug-resistant infections – is potentially significant. But we need to remember it is early research, of an observational nature, in vitro." Coates said much more work needed to be done to answer questions such as which component was the most active and to look at toxicity when applying the treatment to humans.

However, he pointed to other studies that had also highlighted the benefits of the fruit. One trial on 60 patients found that it had an anti-dental plaque effect, for instance.

Any discovery that was a potential step towards a new antibiotic was a positive thing, he added.

"The need for new antibiotics is acute," said Coates. "To put it in context, about 20 new classes of antibiotics were marketed between 1940 and 1962 yet only three have been marketed since. In all classes, resistance has arisen. Most antibiotics come from nature, so it is very valid to look at natural sources."

■ The leaves and bark of the willow tree have been talked about for centuries as a remedy for some illnesses. This is because they contain salicylic acid – the precursor to aspirin. The Royal Society published findings about the medicinal properties of the natural ingredient in the 18th century.

■ Taxol (paclitaxel) is a chemotherapy drug that has been in use for many years. It is extracted from yew bark and needles. The white powder is turned into a clear, colourless liquid and administered intravenously. It is used in the treatment of ovarian, testicular and lung cancer among others.

■ The same scientists who discovered that pomegranate rind could counter MRSA also discovered that white tea could help prevent cancer and heart disease. It comes from the same plant as other teas, but the leaves are picked and harvested before fully open – when the buds are covered by fine, white hair.

■ Rhubarb root has naturally occurring anthraquinones (organic compounds) which have a laxative effect.

■ Animals can also provide medicines. For example, a series of antibiotic peptides were extracted from the skin of the African clawed frog.

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. . . . . . . . .

(The Observer, Article by Anushka Asthana, December 27, 2009)

Disclaimer:

The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.

December 26, 2009

Stephanie,

I feel as though I want to leave early Monday, and let them wonder, but I really don't want their bed, nor the enormous wheelchair that they installed. I have a transport chair that I purchased which supplies any needs in that department.

The HUMC hospice was not a good fit for Bill and me. We did not ask to go on it. Bill's oncologist jumped the gun and put us into it. I am sure he meant well.

They need to revamp their program. It is very confining, filled with caveats, and isn't as "comforting" as they described. Frankly, I am glad to be able to deal with Medicare and our insurance company, instead.

As for help, at this point, I am extremely disappointed in our system. I guess this particular hospice is good when someone has a short time, but if there is no further treatment, and the person is still fighting, it isn't.

Barbara

December 26, 2009

Kasey,

I am not forgetting about that call.

What has been holding me back has been the trying to put everything together.

For one, I have discovered that Bill has been leaving the food on the plate when I am not there.

Yesterday, our son was there to fill in a space on Christmas Day. He left our house at a different time than the rest of us, and lo and behold, he arrived at Bill's dinner time. He said that Bill ate practically nothing.

So, today, first thing, I need to get over there and bring him an Ensure, plus a supply a couple of protein drinks that he likes.

I am not at peace with this "selective" eating he has begun. Am chomping at the bit this morning.

Kasey, trust that I will call, but if he isn't sticking to the program (eat, therapy, goals) then I am going to feel the stress worse than if he were home somewhat not back to par.

This is another roller coaster ride, I think. Hoping for an upswing very soon (like today when I get over to that facility).

Barbara

December 25, 2009

Your thoughtfulness in reposting Dean Carl's "Christmas Wish List" gives all of us a chance to see perspective in where we are.

Thank you for all your most thoughtful and very warm postings, Kasey.

I am fortunate to have seen this, on this particular Christmas morning.

Barbara

December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas, Lily.

Barbara

December 25, 2009

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174788.php

ARTICLE:

. . . . . . . . .

The ability to make, test, and map the atomic structure of new anti-cancer agents has enabled a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to discover a compound capable of halting a common type of drug-resistant lung cancer.

In a study to be published in the December 24/31 issue of the journal Nature, the researchers report that non-small cell lung cancers that had become invulnerable to the drugs Iressaâ and Tarcevaâ were stymied by a compound designed and formulated in a Dana-Farber lab. The compound, whose basic chemical framework is different from that of other cancer drugs, acts against a protein known as an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase that carries a specific structural defect.

"This type of drug discovery, in which an agent is developed for a specific gene or protein target, and then screened against cancer cells as well as in laboratory models, is rare in academic medicine," says the study's senior author Pasi A. Jänne, MD,PhD, of Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). "This requires contributions from researchers in multiple disciplines and a coordinated approach to planning experiments and sharing results. That we accomplished this is evidence of the contribution academic medical centers can make to the quest for new cancer treatments."

The study also illustrates how rapidly lung cancer research and treatment are advancing. It was less than five years ago that investigators at Dana-Farber and elsewhere traced some non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) to mutations in the EGFR gene and discovered that Iressa and Tarceva slowed such tumors' growth by targeting the abnormal EGFR protein. While the discovery has extended the lives of thousands of NSCLC patients around the world, EGFR blockers are only temporarily effective: after about eight months of treatment, the tumors begin to grow back. And because the drugs target normal EGFR protein as well as abnormal, many patients have severe side effects such as skin rashes and diarrhea.

All current EGFR inhibitors have a structural "backbone" known as a quinazoline core. They lodge in a notch on EGFR normally reserved for a molecule known as ATP, which delivers chemical energy to the cell. By blocking ATP from binding to EGFR, the inhibitors prevent EGFR from sending signals that are essential to keep the tumor cells growing.

Over time, however, the tumor cells develop additional abnormalities in EGFR, enabling them to recommence their growth, even in the presence of Iressa or Tarceva. The most common of these abnormalities present in about 50 percent of patients with drug-resistant tumors is known as EGFR T790M.

Dana-Farber investigators hypothesized that current agents lose their potency because they don't bind as tightly or fully to the EGFR T790M protein as they ideally should. To improve the fit, researchers led by chemical biologist Nathanael Gray, PhD, prepared a group of inhibitors with a different structural scaffold, known as a pyrimidine core, which, it was thought, would mesh more thoroughly. They lab-tested the agents in NSCLC cells with EGFR T90M and found several that were up to 100 times more potent than quinazolines in restricting cell growth. As an unexpected bonus, these compounds were nearly 100 times less powerful at slowing the growth of cells with normal EGFR, suggesting they would be less likely to produce side effects than current drugs. The agent which performed the best is the pyrimidine WZ4002.

"This work provides a possible therapeutic chapter to a longstanding record of validating EGFR as a drug target," says Gray. "This has involved the identification of activating mutations in EGFR as a predictor of drug response, the discovery of multiple drug resistance mechanisms, and the elucidation of how these mutations work at an atomic level."

In follow-up experiments, Dana-Farber and BWH's Kwok-Kin Wong, MD, PhD, screened the pyrimidine agents in mice with Iressa- and Tarceva-resistant NSCLC tumors driven by EGFR T790M, and found them to be highly effective at impeding tumor growth. Dana-Farber's Michael Eck, MD, PhD, conducted crystallography studies to determine the molecular structure of the pyrimidines, providing a better picture of why they are so potent and how they target EGFR T790M cells so precisely.

"Not only did we determine that the compound WZ4002 could slow tumor growth, we also demonstrated that it is possible to selectively target the drug-resistant mutant EGFR in tumors, with relatively less effect on the normal EGFR in healthy tissues," says Wong.

Much work remains to determine if WZ4002 and its chemical cousins will be effective therapies, the authors caution, but the discovery demonstrates the power of screening specially designed compounds against cancers with certain genetic quirks.

"Obviously these are very early days with respect to the possible use of these compounds in patients we still have much to learn about their possible liabilities," Eck remarks. "But I am optimistic that our approach is correct and that it will lead to an effective treatment for the thousands of non-small cell lung cancer patients worldwide who development resistance to Iressa and Tarceva every year."

Other contributors to the study include lead author Wenjun Zhou, PhD, and co-first authors Dalia Ercan, Liang Chen, PhD, Cai-Hong Yun, PhD, as well as Danan Li, PhD, Marzia Capelletti, PhD, Alexis Cortot, MD, all of Dana-Farber; Lucian Chirieac, MD, and Robert Padera, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Roxana Iacob, PhD, and John Engen, PhD, of Northeastern University.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Cecily and Robert Harris Foundation, Uniting Against Lung Cancer, the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, the Hazel and Samuel Bellin research fund, and the Damon Runyon Foundation.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.

Source: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

. . . . . . . . .

(Medical News Today, Lung Cancer, Genetics, Biology/Biochemistry, December 24, 2009)

Disclaimer:

The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.

December 25, 2009

Sandy, :lol:

You gave me a chance to laugh this morning. Thank you.

You're spot on with those descriptions. Whew, yes, the challenges are very much noticed when we find ourselves in trouble in the health area.

Because we left (removed on paper, but I terminated the situation) hospice to go to the hospital, and then on to the rehabilitation facility, the company that placed the bed and the chair want it back.

I came home (after being all day with Bill). It's pitch dark out there and I see a little note pinned to our door. It was dated the day prior, but it wasn't there when I left the house in the morning.

I asked them, "Could we go through Medicare for the bed?" Answer, "No. You need to go through the facility you are presently in, and Medicare will cover 80%. You pay the balance."

OK. But, at a time when the person has had a need for the bed, why can't they do the setup for Medicare? No. He said that the facility Bill is in would do that with whomever they use.

I told the young man on the phone that I am staring at a dire situation, and do not need this on my plate. His answer, "I hear you."

They will be coming for the bed Monday morning, but will only give a window of 9-11 am.

Well, looks as though Scrooge is alive and well in the health business. :roll:

Barbara

December 25, 2009

Ginny,

I am taking a break from the preparations for the day and checking in at the LUNGevity site.

Thank you for the good wishes, and I do hope that at least a couple of the goals make it through these days with Bill at rehab.

Good wishes to you and yours, as well.

Barbara

December 24, 2009

Thank you, Susan, for the caring message. It does my heart good, truly.

Bill was in therapy yesterday for at least two lengthy sessions, and was able to walk quickly with the walker for quite some time.

In the afternoon, he had speech therapy, and did pretty well on the answers. The area where the "searching for words" was involved took him a bit longer, but he really surprised me. There is work to be done though for him to communicate a bit better.

His appetite was off for a while when he was at the hospital, but now it is back once again.

He is going to be followed with the therapists and the goal will be to achieve mobility with balance, and a better handle on communicating.

Last night, Bill was exhausted. I imagine him sleeping very deeply. I'll know when I arrive there this morning. He usually gives a detailed account of what the night was like.

At home last night, there was a voicemail telling me that a doctor wanted to see Bill. It had to do with tumors. I called and they said they knew Bill was at the facility. I have no idea who this doctor is, but it could be an "ambulance chasing situation." Who knows? I'll ask further.

Our youngest son, Joe and his family, including our two grandchildren and our great, granddaughter, will be up for a visit a week after Christmas. This should be a full house for Bill.

I send my love and best wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Hopeful New Year to you and your family, Susan, and to each and all here at LUNGevity.

Barbara

December 23, 2009

Thank you Stephanie and Sandy.

I am up waiting for a delivery of groceries from an online store in our area.

Christmas will be here at our home with our children here to eat, and each can go over to the facility to see Bill and wish him good tidings.

I lost my car keys in the snow as I was salting the driveway and sidewalks yesterday. The company I had signed up to do the walks didn't arrive on the day of the storm. I don't know what happened to them. I haven't heard any reponse to my voicemails. A lovely neighbor came and did them for me. But, the salting needed to be done.

I am using Bill's until the spring melts everything. Maybe they will pop up then.

Barbara

MEMBER UPDATES · December 22, 2009

I love good news. It keeps me feeling up. Thank you, Bud, for sharing and may it continue onward for many, many, exponential years.

Barbara

December 22, 2009

Donna,

So very glad this post came to the front of the line again.

It gives me the chance to celebrate once again that FANTASTIC 12-year anniversary.

WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL

December 22, 2009

Ginny, and Dana,

Yes, the hand is healing, but it has transformed from swollen and red, to swollen and blue, but the last is almost a very dark blue/black. Does it hurt? No, and isn't that odd?

Jeanne says it's due to the adrenalin which spilled out at the time of the accident.

Four days to not feel pain? No. It is the same thing that always happens to me. I have a very high threshold of pain. It is not a good thing. Pain is a clue to something wrong. With any good luck, it should tell us that we need to see a doctor.

Ginny, let's face it. Shrinking brains allow more room for things. In Bill's case, the swelling would be considered worse if the area had less space :roll:

Dana, I moved the bed downstairs, and that is a good thing. However, when they decided in the end NOT to drain the brain, NOT to put in a green filter for the clots in his legs (but in this instance, to monitor him to see if he could return to coumadin) I knew that he would be going home today.

Well, they evaluated him, and said that he did "fine." Well, he really didn't. He was listing to one side.

A social worker came to see me. We discussed options for Bill. First, they thought that he would not be able to move easily from the bed to a commode. Then they told me that I could make some decisions.

They offered me a choice of temporary rehab facilities that could help him be stronger and to assist me in having Bill home in less than a month, but, perhaps, in the shape he was in prior to the fall.

The one place in the litany of facilites stood out in my mind. It was one in which our healthcare worker had mentioned that her neighbor was placed.

I signed Bill off to there. I followed the EMS workers. I was totally blown away with the beauty of the place. Our son was, as well. He followed after me. What a blessing. It is totally gorgeous.

Bill won't be home for Christmas, but we will bring Christmas to him. We will ALL be there surrounding him with family. We are being blessed gently even though the situation is not what we would prefer.

Barbara

December 21, 2009

Wishing you a lovely Christmas with your Mom. So very glad the news is good.

Barbara

December 21, 2009

Randy,

I need a release like that. It's long overdue.

Glad you suggested that. I have been holding everything inside for far too long, I think.

Barbara

December 20, 2009

Susan,

Yes, that would be Bill doing that fleeing in your mind's eye. He is very persistent, and they are definitely watching him for a leap to freedom, sans proper clothing.

I have a brother-in-law, who is a very tall, self-confident policeman, who left a hospital years ago while they were yelling, "...but we need a urine sample."

Bud, no, it doesn't get any easier. When it is not a physical challenge, the mental/emotional challenges arrive on the scene. What helps is my being able to let you all know - then, I have your input which gives me strength. No lie, this message board has seen me through. God bless the idea of online support.

Lily, we will always think we didn't do enough. It's the way we are. Would you want it any other way? No. You are human and so am I. Both of us have loved our husbands. How else should we feel? We do the best we can. See? You have made me think.

Randy, I am a believer in positive thinking. It is an imperative. You are a pillar of strength dear fellow, and I love you for it. I, on the other hand, lose it every now and again.

Diane, I told my son today that I can make decisions on and for myself without a hassle. Making them for Bill is not the same. He, at this moment in time, has a brain bleed. They will not be draining it. OK. I see the reason. They said that the condition, although larger than before, is none-the-less, a chronic condition. As we grow older, the brain shrinks, and there is more room for his particular swelling.

I sought the nurse-in-charge, and I asked her about all of this. She was the one who told me that they would not be draining the bleed, and the rationale behind that decision.

I asked, "What are they going to do, or think about doing?" She said that they called in a vascular specialist/surgeon to determine (since Bill can no longer have coumadin) whether, or not they should insert a filter (to filter out clots).

When would this be discussed, and would I be a part of this decision?

Tomorrow, evidently, and yes, I would be involved.

The nurse suggested that Bill might be placed in rehab for strength and such. This absolutely scares the dickens out of me.

Is this to keep him in institutionalized care? The nurse mentioned that they have around the clock nursing. He would be watched. This decision has to be expedited from the hospital - not after he leaves.

...and we wonder why there is burnout?

Susan, your Christmas wishes are treasured. Thank you, dear girl. I am determined to give us all here at the Damroth residence a very, joyful Christmas. I wish the same for all here, and a hopeful New Year.

Barbara

December 20, 2009

Thank you, Sandy,

Yes, the hospital room is actually large enough for a small get-together. I think they wanted to watch him. He is right outside and in view of his nurse-in-charge.

Not to make a big deal about the ordering food issue, but with this disease, weight is always a tricky thing. If a loss becomes too great it's not that easy to "catch back up."

You are right about watching myself healthwise. If I am not able, there really isn't anyone else to physically care for Bill. So, I am eating, making sure I put mats down on the floor when showering, and generally watching my step - no dashing about as I have been told I do.

I have been getting sleep in segments, but they are good hours.

Maybe we will be lucky and the fluid in the brain will decrease and they will let him home. He certainly has them feeling that he would be glad to leave the hospital in the hospital gown (with the back flapping).

Barbara

December 20, 2009

Stephanie,

Yes, it is nearer to the kitchen. (Last night, at the hospital, I made sure I ordered supper and today's breakfast.)

Thank you for thinking about us. We appreciate that a lot. It's comforting to be able to come here, and receive input.

Looking out the window here in Northern New Jersey at 4:40 am, I can see the snow is covering everything. It doesn't look that deep.

Hopefully, it will be cleared later so that we can get to the hospital. It's only a 10-15 minute ride from here.

From Bill's hospital room window you can see the front of the hospital, and a very beautiful, lit Christmas tree standing on an island.

I hope he will be home for Christmas.

Barbara

December 20, 2009

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 49047.html

ARTICLE:

. . . . . . . . .

FLUSHING, N.Y., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A 58-year-old man who lives in Corona, Queens came to the emergency room of New York Hospital Queens (NYHQ) with extreme pain and tingling in his left arm. Although he did not realize it at the time, he had lung cancer. Recently, he made medical history as the first patient in the United States to be treated for lung cancer through the use of radioactive pellets placed directly in the tumor, and today his recovery is going well. Known as brachytherapy, this treatment approach is commonly used to treat prostate cancer.

"Although the patient came in because of pain in his arm, it was not due to an injury. It was discovered that the cause was a Pancoast tumor, a tumor in the lungs that affects the arms and shoulders but rarely causes symptoms, such as cough or shortness of breath, typically associated with the lungs," according to Dattatreyudu Nori, M.D., chairman, Radiation Oncology.

The patient was treated with high dose chemotherapy and then underwent treatment with external beam radiation. Although he did have some positive response, the tumor was still present. Because of the location of the tumor, the NYHQ physicians knew that additional conventional treatment could endanger surrounding critical structures including nerves and vessels, and could affect the other organs of his body.

With the options becoming limited, Dr. Nori, along with colleague Paul C. Lee, M.D., the hospital's vice chairman of cardiothoracic surgery, decided to perform a surgical resection of the tumor and then implanted the tumor bed with radioactive Cesium 131 pellets -- in a new type of brachytherapy procedure. Brachytherapy involves the implantation of radioactive seeds into the tumor site to kill the remaining cancer cells after surgical resection, while limiting the damage to healthy tissue. Brachytherapy has been successful in treating prostate cancer, but had never been used to treat this form of aggressive lung cancer.

"The tumor was very aggressive. We decided to use radioactive Cesium-131 pellets due to their high success rate in treating prostate cancer. This patient has responded well to the treatment, with an outcome that would not have been possible with traditional treatment," reports Dr. Nori.

According to Dr. Nori, Cesium-131 pellets have several advantages over the older radioactive isotopes including a shorter half-life, which means faster delivery of a radiation dose that allows less time and opportunity for the cancer cells to repopulate.

Dr. Nori has trained several hundred physicians in the U.S. on the use of brachytherapy procedures in the treatment of cancer, and more recently on the use of Cesium-131 in lung cancer treatment. He is renowned in the field of radiation oncology and for pioneering the use of use of radioactive isotopes to treat prostate cancer. He was one of the first to use the radioactive isotopes Iodine-125 and Palladium-103 in 1975 and 1985 as well as Cesium-131, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2003 for treating prostate and other cancers.

New York Hospital Queens is a member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Note to Editors: Dr. Nori as well as the (Spanish-speaking) patient and multi-lingual family members is available for interviews, and interviews can be conducted in multiple languages. Dr. Nori is one of the world's leading authorities in the subspecialty of brachytherapy. He was the first physician in the United States to work with a computerized brachytherapy treatment system and was instrumental in the development and successful application of it to combat cancer.

. . . . . . . . .

(PRNewswire/USNewswire, December 17, 2009)

Disclaimer:

The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.

December 20, 2009

I hear you, Randy.

Barbara

December 20, 2009

Susan, Paulette, Katie, Randy, Reynsie, and Kasey,

Today, John and Linda brought me over and brought me back from the hospital, HUMC.

While we were there, I introduced myself to the nurse in charge of Bill. I asked her if he ate breakfast. She said that she didn't know if he did, but I told her that Bill didn't think that he did.

She asked what he would like. I said, scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, apple sauce, apple juice, and a cup of tea.

It arrived and he ate the WHOLE thing, except the fruit cup - which I ate :roll: . That is what Bill does best - eat. Of course, I fed him, but he was there waiting for each bite.

That is the good news.

The doctors haven't decided what to do about the brain bleed.

Bill is in a private room (I know. It came as a surprise to me, as well).

When John, Linda, and Alex (our grandson) brought me home, they went upstairs and took the hospice bed apart, brought it piece by piece down to the living room, and put it together.

I cannot imagine what Bill will think. Yes, Randy, I will remind him that it is closer than the hospital .

Boy, does he hate hospitals. They put a monitor on the bed because they thought he would "take off." He kept talking so much about going home.

You have, in your own way, "known this trip," as you have said, Kasey. All have given me a hug, and I appreciate that so very much. You are special and have the support I need. I love you all.

Barbara

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