sunday

Boyfriend had surgery Wed.
He's now minus 1 lung lobe.
The surgery almost didn't happen
because of so much congestion but the anesthesiologist
talked the surgeon into proceeding. I'm so grateful he did.
The surgeon is young and probably not so used to seeing some of the stuff
the anesthesiologist has seen...............he even told me that at one point during surgery
when the good lung did not inflate he had a moment when he freaked and thought he
had maybe screwed up.
But in the end all went well.
They kept boyfriend in the recovery room until the next afternoon (I spent the night with him in recovery).
Now they have him in cardiac care.
Today they plan on removing his Foley catheter, epidural, and hopefully
the chest tubes.
I've had him up walking since the day after surgery and doing deep breathing and coughing exercises..
They do a chest xray each morning to check for pneumonia. So far so good!
He says he'll never smoke again and can't believe how much denial he was in all those years of smoking.
He's very emotional, and grateful to have a second chance.

sunday

After even more delays surgery is set for Wed.

Boyfriend and I went out for breakfast today then took a ride out in the country. It was relaxing and gave us a chance to talk without interruption.
We had a nice time.


I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen when we got home, and I dusted then vacuumed.
I also packed boyfriends clothing that he will need to wear when he comes home from the hospital.

I washed my scrubs, and the rest of the dirty laundry, folded/hung them and put them away.

We had a candle light dinner in the dining room, boyfriend and I.
 I cooked some pork chops, mac-n-cheese, cauliflower and broccoli.
Neither one of us had much of an appetite after all.
So I baked some pumpkin and macadamia cookies. We each had two of those with an 8 oz
chilled old fashioned bottle of coke. It was the perfect dinner!

The kitties are in for the night. Mr. Bojangles is in our bedroom and Weeping is napping on the dining room chair.

saturday

So because of  abnormal lab values boyfriend could not get clearance for the lobectomy. They did however go ahead and biopsy the two new areas. Both were negative! My understanding, according to one of the doctors is that boyfriend has an 80% chance of survival if the cancer is removed before it has metastasized. So far so good! The lobectomy has been rescheduled for this Wed..

His family left this Friday morning.

We had a nice time with them.

His brother is a funny man. I had fun getting to know him better.

We have no medical appointments this weekend.

We've had medical appointments, including two surgeries almost daily for the past 6 weeks.

It's been exhausting to say the least!

We're both going to quit smoking Monday. 

Today we're going to get some nicotine patches and whatever else we think might help us to be successful in quitting.

If all goes well the plan is for me to quit work for 12 or 18 months this coming April and for us to do some traveling.  That's the plan. We shall see.

tuesday

Boyfriends family arrived Friday.
It's been non stop activity and some chaos.
Surgeries and procedures have been scheduled and then  canceled
due mostly to insurance denying this or that.........it's been stressful.
I think everything is set in stone again. Today an angiogram and then tomorrow
is surgery day.
The plan is for the surgeon to go through boyfriends trachea and down to the right lobe
then search behind a bunch of blood vessels for a lymph node that was suspicious on the pet scan and biopsy it. If biopsy is negative he will biopsy the nodule in the lower lobe. If that is negative he will proceed and remove the left upper lobe. If the areas are positive they will stop the surgery, send boyfriend home and begin chemo.
His only chance for survival is if they remove the left upper lobe.......

thurs.

So they started building the retaining wall yesterday. First they had to remove two over grown and ugly hedges and then they had to remove part of the hill. They also dug out a flower bed for me and they cleaned up my tall grasses. So far it looks good. I'm guessing they'll complete the project today!

I parted ways with the kitchen guy yesterday.
I had signed the proposal and gave him 50% down payment.
He sent me an email yesterday morning raising the price 3500 bucks.
The price had already been agreed upon.............I told his assistant forget it. I wasn't paying a dime more than the price we agreed on, and I refused to change the materials I'd already chosen to the cheap crap he was pushing on me. I called my bank and put a stop on the check I'd given him.....and told the assistant I could no longer work with them.

I cleaned my carpets yesterday.
It's the only thing around the house I got done.
I have so much to do, and so little time to do it!

Today we have to go to the grocery so that we have food here for our company.
I also need to clean my car.
We see the thoracic surgeon today......and at some point I have to clean this house and get caught up on laundry!

wed

I'm off work the next three days.
I have a doctor appointment this morning.
I have a very small cyst on the inner corner of
my eye.
Mostly I just want to make sure it's not cancer.
My family doctor said it wasn't, but still.........so I'll have
this surgeon check it out, and see about having it removed.

The people are coming to build the new retaining wall in the front yard today.
They couldn't do it last week because of the rain. They're also going to put in a few
hedges and plants.
I'm excited to see the finished product!

We've been so busy with doctor appointments, and of course me working
that I'm behind on house work.
I have to get the house clean today. Three more days till boyfriends family arrives!

Boyfriends lung doctor called Monday.
Sounds like he will have surgery. She said it's his best chance for
a cure. Those were her words "cure."
She also said "doctor B says he biopsied the hell out of you and could find no other cancer."
We see the thoracic surgeon Thursday. Hopefully he agrees.
Boyfriend is on the fence about surgery. He's sure he will die.
The doctor said that with chemo alone he has a 20% chance of surviving
5 years.
I told him he has to have surgery.

sunday

We both got out of bed at 3:30 this morning.
We just couldn't sleep anymore. I got up and made boyfriend
a cup of coffee, filled the cats bowls, then let them outside.
They didn't have to wake me today!
We-Ping, my oldest kitty is limping.
We noticed it last night. She seemed to be doing a little
better this morning.
I'll take her to the doctor tomorrow if she hasn't improved even more
by then.

I meant to start with house cleaning yesterday afternoon but oldest son and his wife
to be stopped over and ended up staying for a few hours.
We talked wedding plans. I like what they have planned so far! I love talking about it
with them!

I have to do some cleaning today.
I only have a few more days before his family arrives and the house
is a mess.

saturday

I signed off on the kitchen proposal and gave the guy a check.
I really don't care to much about getting a new kitchen. Especially not now with all that's going on....
but
boyfriend wants me to have my new kitchen. Probably wants me to quit talking about doing it, and just do it. He thinks I'm afraid to spend money, that I wont spend it on myself. It's a conversation we have over and over. He's a spender. I'm not. I joke and tell him he'd be one of those lottery winners that go broke. He tells me they'll find millions in my mattress when I die.  But anyway......
 I'm just going to do it......get my new kitchen..&...quit talking about it.

We talked a little today about boyfriend dying. He brought it up. Said his biggest concern is the thought of  me coming home, especially when it's dark, to an empty house and me being afraid. Or me not sleeping at night because I'm afraid of an intruder. Because he's knows I am afraid when I'm home alone at night.
It's truly, really bothering him.
I don't want him worrying right now about such a thing.
So we talked about it. We talked about new and improved locks for different doors in the house..........and I told him I'd get a really large dog if ever he died. I could tell he liked the idea but wasn't totally convinced until I told him if ever a day came that we knew he was terminal, he and I would go together and pick out a dog. That way he could meet the dog who would keep me safe.
He didn't agree or disagree, but I could tell he was feeling better......

thursday

I have Swedish meatballs in the pot cooking for dinner tonight. They smell great!
And I have a loaf of  bread baking in the oven. It also smells  good!

Went shopping today with sister and boyfriend. We had an OK time hanging out. I bought a pretty fall table cloth and a new pair of pants and new shirt for both daughter and I. They're cute! After we left TJ Max we went to the grocery store. Each of us needed something from there. SO we did that, dropped sister off then went home. Boyfriend and I got into pajamas and bed and spent the afternoon  under our warm soft blankets  watching a movie.

We go to the thoracic surgeon on the 8th. They did find new areas in the chest with the PET scan. I guess we didn't get all the info on the My Chart copy. Big regret looking at those results.
The hosp. board will discuss boyfriends case at the end of the week. The pulmonary doctor will call us Monday with their recommendation........at least I think that's what they do, make a rec............

Boyfriends sister, brother, and sister-in-law are visiting from Colorado next week. I look forward to seeing them but not looking forward to getting the house ready for their visit.