Next steps

The weeks following Susan’s recent hospitalization have brought gradual improvement, healing and strength.  Shingles has been painful for her, more painful and longer lasting than I thought they’d be.  Her sores have remained quite tender and were accompanied by severe headache for 10-14 days.  She seems to have had some benefit from taking Neurontin, a good remedy for the nerve pain that comes with shingles.  She also had relief from an ointment called The Shingles Solution that a friend recommended. 
As Susan has improved, she’s been having tests and consultations with UCLA urologists to resolve her urinary tract infections.  Last week's CT scan of her abdomen revealed at least one kidney stone in addition to the large one diagnosed earlier.  Dr Schulam may want to test the kidney for infection since it may be feeding bacteria to the rest of her plumbing. We’ll know more this week; but I suspect a treatment of some kind may happen soon. 

Meanwhile, an exam of Susan’s bladder by Dr Kim thankfully revealed no tumors or other disease.  A separate urodynamic study indicates the incontinence she’s struggled with is probably the result of her brain tumor. Dr Kim recommended a novel solution – a bladder pacemaker that localizes bladder control with a device wired to her sacrum or lower spine.  Although the surgery to implant it carries the risk of infection, the result should remove another cause of infection and improve quality of life.  She’ll have the outpatient procedure early next month.
As far as her diabetes is concerned, Susan’s way-high glucose levels we discovered a month ago have improved as infection abated and we de-carbed our diet. She’s also begun to taper her steroids again, a months-long process we’ve attempted so many times.  I’m hopeful that given her circumstances, she can be cleared of diabetes eventually and the drug (metformin) that comes with it.  We’ll keep the healthier diet though. 

A challenge to any healthy eating plan, we enjoyed Susan's birthday jubilee last weekend with a just-the-two-of-us dinner at Walt's Wharf in Seal Beach, thanks to Susan's parents.  There was a lobster tail with her name on it. Then on Sunday, we had a wonderful family dinner at Outback Steakhouse thanks to our loving friends Mitch and Joyce.  There was a rib-eye with my name on it and a dessert for all to share. We're so grateful to celebrate Susan's birthday for the third time since our brain tumor journey began and trust God for as many future ones as he gives us.

I recall a few episodes that came about during Susan’s hospital stay. We were in the midst of Susan’s longest ER visit yet at 36 hours.  Susan was quarantined in one of UCLA’s negative air pressure rooms while they ran tests to find out what was wrong with her. Did I mention they ran tests?  It’s a process of elimination, a scientific exercise to rule out this idea or that until they zero in on what’s wrong. Each test takes time and each result takes time. With doctors from the ER, internal medicine, neurosurgery, and infectious disease involved, there were a lot of Dexters in the laboratory. At one point about 18-20 hours into it, one doctor came in, asked some questions, and promised to return with more information after he consulted with the team. After he closed the curtain and the sliding door, Susan deadpanned, “Okay, see you in two weeks.”
 

One night after she’d been moved upstairs and Susan had her carb-controlled dinner, I went down to the cafeteria and succumbed to the frozen yogurt machine.  The vanilla splorted out with force and quickly filled the cup. I pressed on some M&Ms and topped it with a clear dome lid.  I asked the cashier as she pointed to the scale, “So this stuff is sold by the ton?” “Yes, and you got it full!” she replied. “Yep,” I said. “It came out fast. I didn’t fight it.”  When I shared the contraband with my delighted but now-diabetic wife, we giggled and whispered that we were getting away with something. “This is our way of sticking it to the man,” I said. “Because what the man doesn’t know – won’t hurt you.”  Susan said, “Hey, I’m sick anyway, so what’s the difference?”
 

One last item. Either I enjoy messing with cashiers or I’m a repressed drive-by comedian. Actually, it's both.The night Susan was discharged, returned to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, filled the Starbucks cup, capped it with a sipper and sleeved it. Evidently, the cashier didn’t know if it held coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and needed to ring it up properly. “Coffee?” she asked. Unable to resist, I raised my cup.  “No thanks, I’ve got some already.”  At least she didn’t throw anything at me.