Hello friends and family,
Wow, this blog is taking some interesting turns now.
For the record, Janet and I are both practicing Roman Catholics. Many of our friends have told us they are praying for Janet and this gives us great comfort. That being said, we also appreciate and respect positive sentiments and forms of expression from other directions too.
It was another interesting day. Each day has its own twist and turns, ups and downs. Life has really become a roller coaster for Janet and me. We are in it together though, for better or worse, just as we vowed when we got married 35 years ago.
So today we went to the Kaiser oncology center in Kaiser's Shady Grove facility and met Ron again. He is the nurse who will administer the chemo to Janet next Tuesday. This is a big step that we both look forward to yet dread. Janet is mentally prepared. Alas, her body is not so strong as we have learned over the last weeks. This past weekend, shortness of breath reared its ugly head. This evidently may not be a transient passing thing. So as a result of the crisis on Saturday evening, we were prescribed oxygen at home. We had hoped to get a small cylinder as a sort of backup when Janet needed it, but the more professional system that was prescribed does add some reassurance that she will not suffer needlessly. As I sit here late at night, I can hear the soft purr of the compressor-separator device that is collecting air and separating the oxygen from the nitrogen. Its steady rythm is calming, but I fear that if Janet should call out, I will not hear her. We have a backup high pressure gas bottle too.
She will cough a few times in the night, a result of the irritation in her broncial passage from the primary tumor. It ruins her sleep. We wish there were something that could calm this. The thoracic surgeon had no helpful advice. I have seen on the web that some prescriptions help, but we must be careful lest they case complicatins such as constipation. We were prescribed and tried Cheratussin (syrup with codeine), but it had limited effectiveness and may have contributed to her constipation flare up two weeks ago. I saw on the web that honey works for some people. I tried to talk Janet into trying some, but she says she hates it. Perhaps one of you might have some notions? Please let me know with a comment.
So for the rest of this week, she will rest and build her strength to face next week's challenges.
So for now, no visitors and please no phone calls unless urgent.
george
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3 comments:
Hi Janet and George,
My Dad had a lung problem and coughed alot. What helped him was an adjustable bed. We raised the top part of the bed until he was comfortable and it worked well. It also had a massage feature.
Hope this helps. We love you lots and continue to pray. Aunty Wendy says hi and give hugs and kisses to everyone.
Barbara
If you're interested, much of the technology development of the nitrogen/oxygen separation membranes was driven by the farming industry who have great big barns filled with nitrogen to keep apples (and some other items) fresh. Or so I was told when I worked with them in a unit operations lab once upon a time. I'm also glad to hear you've got a high pressure tank around just in case any of you engineers happen to be messing around with the parallel/series pairing or column directions to improve efficiency and happen to launch a Swagelok quick release fitting under an unmovable appliance such as a distillation column or something. That's not too hard to manage...or so I've heard.
I'll also ask my folks if they remember anything that helped my grandmother with the coughing during her thoracic cancer. I remember that a lot of hot drinks (tea/coffee) were involved; however I'm not sure if I ever remember my grandmother too far from a coffee mug anyway. I also remember a lot of "getting used to it." Sorry that's not much help.
Regarding the honey, if Aliya doesn't like it "straight", then try it in a spiced herbal tea. I would not recommend coffee or regular tea due to the caffeine which might have effects on her medicines.
All honey is not created equal! I don't care for the honey in grocery stores either. I really like the raw honey sold at Smile Herb Shop (www.smileherb.com). They are located in College Park, but have free local shipping.
When I came back from Egypt last summer and had the "Cairo Cough", honey was the only thing that helped me.
Also, a humidifier or vaporizer might help to keep the air passages moist and thus reduce irritation.
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