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I was up and moving late, about 9:15ish. This will make me run late all morning. I am also going slow as I don’t want to move too fast and get dizzy–it is essential to avoid trips to the ER.

I had peanut butter toast for breakfast as I had yet to make it to the grocery store or shop online. Yes, we have no banana today. Susie needs some new flowers too. I did have a beef and cheddar sandwich for lunch. I toasted bread and microwaved the beef and cheddar to make it a better sandwich.

I had to update the information for Susie’s doctor as they were unclear about what I wanted. However, later in the day, they sent out orders to have Susie in rehab again at the facility in Forest Grove. Excellent!

I am going slow, and I am fatigued from anything. But, yes, the chemo is working. The day is bright, and our temperature will break 80F on Thursday. We have somehow become California and having this kind of morning: Link.

I managed to shower and dress but was tired after that. I also got up too fast once and held on to the wall until the stars and dizziness passed. So I read for an hour until I felt better in bed and finished Maise Dobbs number 17. It was dark as it unflinchingly covered American racism in World War 2, but I liked it. For example, GIs were welcomed to have dinner with Brits during the war, but this was restricted to only white GIs. This was a new story I did not know.

Aside: The navy named its next massive Ford Class aircraft carrier after a black man: USS Doris Miller. Please see the information here. There is also a movement to remove the name of Stennis from another carrier; we will see.

I took Air Volvo to see Susie at Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. I was late, almost 3PM. Susie was in bed resting. Terry informed me, her roommate, that Susie had slept most of the day–a surprise as usually she only naps a bit. Susie was delighted to see me, and she was more responsive, even when a bit sleepy. We called her mother, Leta, on FaceTime. I was too tired to push a wheelchair, and Susie was already in bed, so we chatted for a bit. I then headed out as Susie and I both needed some rest.

I got a text from Mariah to have dinner. I agreed to 5ish. We try to get there before the crowds to keep my exposure down to not just Covid-19 but flu and colds as it is that season. I did have the flu vax before the winter, but likely I am dues for more flu vax and my fourth dose. It is recommended by various folks that I skip over to Pfizer as it is a slightly different mRNA vax. My friend and online personality, Violet Blu, has taken all three now, going for the stirred but not shaken protection. After my chemotherapy completes, I will continue with science and go for the stirred martini version of just Moderna and Pfizer.

I ask our waiter to stand back as I am on chemo and can’t avoid even a cold; she complied. Mariah and I have beers and a steak salad. The anemia makes lean steak on a salad a medical choice, not to mention it is the best thing on the menu at Gold Valley Brewery(GVB). But, again, a burger is a bit heavy for me.

It was very loud and despite the warm day we were in the bar, forty plus minutes wait for a table outside. The ventationation was running full power and we were a bit cold. But, I never complain about good ventation.

After GVB, I returned to home via Air Volvo. I was fatigued and napped a bit and chatted with the Smiths on the phone a bit. I was in bed and slept well and late again.

I purchased some more Architect of the West Kingdom promo items online. The Keewees apologized on their website for the high shipping costs from New Zealand to the USA; they have not found a low-cost option. I bought multiple copies to give to my fellow gamers as the shipping was $20 alone. This is a birthday present for myself.

My birthday is 16Apr, and all I want for my birthday is to get to that date and get my taxes done. I am working on both.

Aside: Grammarly is having some issues. It often can not make up its mind and loops for every on some style suggestions. It also repeats the same suggestion and I sometimes end up with two comas instead of one. It then, of course, flags that and changes it back. Most of the time it works, but I pay attention to the double coma issue.

I had trouble sleeping, so the morning came unbidden and bright. So did my allergies. Breathing is not optional, and the bright morning drove me from my cozy bed. I took more antihistamine, which brought the sneezing and coughing under control.

I went slow as I had many things to do this morning. I did write the blog (forgetting to include something) and a letter to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center. I am trying to have Susie return to their rehabilitation program. I contacted the insurance, and it is allowed; now I just have to have someone make it happen. I also paid for the previous and next week for Susie. No insurance covers this, so I pay about $12,000 a month for primary care for Susie. I would like the insurance to cover a few weeks and cover rehabilitation services. With all the paperwork, I was not dressed until noon.

Evan wanted to come over and visit Susie and see how I was doing. I put him off until noon. I am keeping with my fake-it-to-you-make-it attitude. Mostly pretending that chemotherapy is not that bad and nausea can be ignored. I am also careful not to get my head below my heart as the anemia from the chemo is harsh. I tire very quickly from the anemia and the chemo side effects. Evan showed up at noon.

So Evan and I headed out to Forest Grove at about noon plus 15. We took the new updated version of the board game Architects of the West Kingdoms with us. I have the latest cool roll-out matt and all the new bits from all the add-ons, plus some promo cards from the last Kickstarter for the game, and this includes a large box to hold everything. Garphill games add-ons often improve the game and add new useful features. Other game companies often dilute the game with extra rules and sometimes introduce broken combinations. For example, the makers of the board game Scythe added airships, but I seldom play with them. So I am looking forward to playing all the add-ons and promos all at once and enjoying an improved game. The online reviewers give this combination a high rating. However, we can play only If I can manage it–last time I passed as I was too exhausted.

Without losing any paint on Air Volvo, we make it to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. We witnessed some very relaxed drivers who obviously are assured of their salvation or reincarnation in the next life, making lane changes without regard to their other fellow drivers. The other drivers did manage to break and miss them.

When we got there, Susie was just finishing her lunch. While Susie’s speech is unclear, she is more conversational and smiles and laughs more. Most days, Susie looks better than the day before. With the excellent help of the staff who say they love her (their words), she has surprised everyone with her sudden recovery.

I received word later, but it fits the story better here that Susie is officially leaving hospice on Friday. The paper blob is enormous to do this but is mainly handled by Bristol Hospice nurse Dawn. She will do an exit check of Susie on Friday and contact Susie’s primary care doctor to effectively give Susie back to our doctor’s care. Exciting.

We call Susie’s mother while Evan sits with Susie; she finished lunch after we arrived–eating about 1/2 of it. I then pay the bill for Susie to reside in Forest Grove, over five thousand for two weeks. I then deliver my letter that states our intent for Susie to be accepted into rehab services at the Forest Grove facility when Susie leaves hospice. I talk to all the directors and admin folks so they can understand the intent. I am hopeful this little paperwork miracle is possible to get Susie back to getting rehab.

Evan and then I left Susie for about 90 minutes. We headed to the Grand Lodge, and we had lunch. I had a diet RC cola and the hummus platter. I figure this will more likely stay down over a heavy burger and still supply some protein-based calories. I also eat slowly, but it will be iced tea and not soda next time–diet soda is not welcome to my nausea, even with the cold bubbles. Evan has a pizza and a cocktail.

We return to find Susie in bed resting. She looks tired but is talkative and happy to see us twice on the same day. Finally, Susie starts to yawn, and after the fourth one, Evan and I say our goodbyes. It is always sad to leave, but Susie was happy to nap and see me the next day. So a better ending.

After so many strokes, Susie’s mental condition includes the inability to recognize faces, almost no short-term memory, and some loss of logical thinking, showing signs of dementia. All of this will be helped by more interaction with people and some rehab. While Susie cannot remember that I told her she is getting better and that we are looking at rehab options and moving her closer to home, she knows that things are better, and she is smiling more. While I will have to repeat what is happening to her every day, she remembers not my words but my positive attitude and smile and thus knows that things are better.

Returning to the narrative, Evan and I take an uneventful trip in Air Volvo to the local bar, 649, not far from the house. I am not as tired and nauseated as yesterday and agree to a small beer and a game. I am trying to do more in my days than watch Clone Wars endless episodes. The board game Architects of the West Kingdom takes a few hours, and I try out all the new features of the updated game. We flubbed a few minor rules that would have not changed the outcome. I love the new rules and use them to pull ahead of Evan by 15 points. He was not using the new rules, and I remembered how Richard beat me so many times in Architects of the West Kingdom, so I tried to build combinations that locked together to give me extra scoring at the end of the game. Evan built the top level of the Cathedral and went for maxed-out honor–a good strategy. I have done this plan before, and it prevents you from building the point-building combinations as it takes so many resources, and I have lost even with the 20 points for the top of the Cathedral to Richard and Evan. Instead of using honorable means like Evan, I used the black market and influence to support my less than honorable plans. I also built the wonder from bricks. Lastly, I started with the Thief Apprentice and could raid the tax stand without serious harm. As I said, I won by 15 points.

We put the game away as the 649 was filling up. Steven, our bartender, had a line nearly out the door for drinks, so I just let him close my tab later, and he will add a 20% tip.

We picked up Corwin and headed to Mexican for dinner. I wanted a nice taco and a tamale. We ate fast, and I had just iced tea. We returned home, and Evan headed out. Corwin went to the gym. I stayed home under my heated blanket and watched the next episode of Moon Night. This is the newest Marvel series, and I like it, but it is scarier than their usual fair of inexplicable superpowers. It reminds me of the Hawkeye series I liked in 2021.

I read Maise Dobbs until late, going to bed a bit early. I am still having issues when I stand up too fast, so lying down and reading is comfortable. That is the anemia and problems existing in my inner ear before chemo. I am careful to stop and hold on to something when I forget and get going too fast. I slept with a few interruptions that proved I had lots of iced tea this evening. Only one bad dream, and I slept well after that.

Aside: I watched the movie Cromwell from 1970 two nights ago on my Apple. I wanted to see it as I had watched a great scene on YouTube. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the movie as it shows all the signs of a Hollywood version of history, but it is pretty and has a zany soundtrack. Alec Guinness and Richard Harris both star in it. I rented it for about $4.

 

Sleep is still hard, but I manage to sleep from 2AM until 8ish, so that is a good night for me. I am finding more side effects to check off. I have pain and stiffness in my knees now. Check!

Years ago, I injured my left leg in a fishing accident where I fell four feet into a brush pile when returning a fish to the water that I had caught. My left knee landed on a broken-off branch and drove wood splinters into the joint. Six months later, a massive infection occurred from the wood and the shards, which did not show up on x-rays (we did not then have the excellent machines we have now that could have identified the wood) and were finally flushed out. Unfortunately, the chemo has caused the memory of the injury to return somewhat strongly in the left knee, but I can control it with ibuprofen.

The news on Susie is unexpectedly good. Susie will likely graduate from hospice on Friday. I am also trying to get the Forest Grove facility to put her back into a short rehab program to start her on her return. Susie is eating and more responsive and has had no new strokes (better living through chemistry!); thus, she is graduating. This means we will start rehab and like services again. I spoke to United Health Care (UHC), my insurance through Nike, and the benefits are available on a calendar basis. Thus, we can do them all again this year.

Aside (rant): UHC will only pay for one rehab service per person per calendar year. While the insurance industry says it does not make medical decisions, you can see that if you were injured twice in one year, you could only have rehab once–that is a medical decision in my mind. I believe that medical insurance should cover what is medically necessary and not based on effectively buying services for only one event a year. The bottom line: I am limited to one emergency a year with UHC; please schedule the unexpected to align with my annual insurance limits. Nonsense. 

UHC made an 8.7% margin in 2021 and earned more than $18 a share; details are here. The compensation for the CEO of UHC, David Wichmann, is reported to be over $17 million.

Glenda Hill, Susie’s aunt, has decided to visit and help me find a new place for Susie if we think that is a good idea, and also allow me to put the house together as now it looks like a bookstore and gaming store exploded. Glenda arrives on 16April2022, my birthday, which is +3 days after the last cycle. That is usually the first day I feel better. 

Returning to the narrative, I started my day with a call from Dawn, the hospice nurse, and she explained how Susie no longer appears to be dying and thus will be discharged soon. This would mean that she will return to the care of Forest Grove and her regular doc. Dawn believes Susie would thrive at a good Adult Foster Care place near the house. Also, in a later call, Dawn agrees that we should restart rehab at Forest Grove when hospice ends. Exciting!

I write a short blog that does not contain this information about Susie as I am still trying to understand it all. I also have to communicate it all to family and friends. As you read, today’s blog contains that update.

I have my last banana and peanut butter toast for breakfast and a salami and cheese sandwich for lunch. Again, nausea is hard to put out of my mind, but I keep going without seeing lunch a second time. I throw on some clothes on and drive Corwin to work. Later, I shower and head out in the mid-afternoon.

I did take my pills and chemotherapy pills at 10AM.

Air Volvo reaches the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, without incident and with no alarms.

Susie is up and finished with lunch when I get there. I am exhausted already and sit in the chair next to Susie; Susie is delighted to see me. We call Leta, her mother, and Susie is happy to chat. Next, we call Dr. Peter Koper, who is in Arizona watching birds. I share that Susie is graduating from hospice, and we celebrate that and that I am in my last cycle. After that, Susie is tired and wants to rest. Susie’s roommate, Terry, is back, and I am happy to see her. She is pale and shows the exhaustion of some medical adventures (I can’t share anything on that) and is also excited that Susie is graduating from hospice. Terry helped Susie calm down and rest some nights. Terry helped Susie get better.

I leave as they are getting Susie back in bed to rest before dinner. I drive directly home in Air Volvo and rest for a bit. I cannot sleep despite the fatigue, so I watch more Clone Wars.

I order Indian food using GrubHub. Thank you, Nike and the Smiths in New York City, for the cards. I ordered from Abhiruchi Restaurant and had Chicken Tikka Kabab.

I watched more Clone Wars–it is endless with 22 episodes a season, and I think five seasons. Again, not sure it really is a kid’s show with the darkness.

Aside: I put in sell orders for options and stock to cover the extra expenses for Susie (and to a limited degree myself). I am blessed to still have much of my holdings as I was thinking about retirement. But, I was not expecting to pay what amount to the cost of a trip to Europe every two weeks for Susie’s care, but I believe I can manage it, another thanks to Nike, Inc. for all the good years. Also, my 401K has lost only about 9% this year–my holdings include 29% in bonds, and most equities are in the USA, thus avoiding direct exposure to the war. Susie’s IRA, PAX, shows a 6.3% loss for the year. So far, I can handle the money side of things.

I head to bed and continue to sleep and wake up again, repeatedly, until 2AM and then finally sleep once the chemotherapy I took at 10PM wears down.

 

 

 

Sleep was hard to get, and I started late as I tried to get some extra sleep. So I rolled over a lot. Finally, starting at about 8:30. Oregon weather is the usual rain, sometimes windblown and sideways, and the sun comes out between the rain.

I finished a short blog early and got dressed a bit earlier than usual. I had my regular banana and peanut butter toast with coffee for breakfast and then roast beef and a cold swiss sandwich for lunch.

My phone stopped working. It would drop calls and just be useless. It would, after being restarted, finally notice the inbound calls I missed. It could not make local calls. AT&T had a bad day, but it did not get any news play. After four tries, I contacted Bristol Hospice and told them to let Dawn, our nurse for Susie, know that my phone was not working. The issue cleared in the afternoon.

In the blowing rain, I managed to reach the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, without any incident or alarms from Air Volvo. I am now on day 5 of chemotherapy, and the fatigue is hard. The walk from the Air Volvo to the front door of the facility seems four times longer now. Also, my body can’t decide if lunch will be rejected and ejected, but I manage to fake-it-to-you-make-it and ignore nausea, and it fades.

Susie is just finishing lunch when I get there. She had enjoyed about 1/3 of the offering. It is pureed. Dessert is the best, and Susie is now getting ice cream for each meal. Better.

Susie and I watched some videos for a bit. Susie sings “Sing in the Rain” while I put on the classic dance number for her. We do some Fiddler on the Roof songs and then Music Man, “There is Trouble in River City.” I am dizzy again from the anemia and the chemo-based fatigue. Next, we call Leta, which actually works, and Susie and Leta, her mother, chat for a while. I then head out. On the way home, I stop for an ice cream cone at Jim’s in Hillsboro.

Before the ice cream, I had to tour Hillsboro downtown as the main road was closed by what I assume is a fallen tree. The winds are strong enough to have tree branches now on the road. I do get to pass by the redwoods in Hillsboro and they were enjoying the winds and dancing their huge limbs to the storm.

I reach home in Air Volvo without issue. I lie down and rest and awake after 6PM. I slept for three hours or more!

Corwin is making dinner, but Mariah invites me to have dinner. So Corwin will put the dinner away for me. I often eat a small dinner at 10PM as the pills I take then need to be taken with food, so this works out.

I meet Mariah at BJ’s Brewhouse and have a beer and a Southwest Salad. It is a lot for me, and it takes me as long to eat as Mariah, who has a double pork chop with all the sides. I order a small dessert, a small one, a cookie, and a scoop of ice cream. Ice cream is a new fav now that I can eat it again.

Mariah was delayed as the road is still closed in Hillsboro.

I am still losing weight, and the side effects are growing as they should. I will have some hard days to come. I will stay with my fake-it-to-you-make-it approach. Just believe you will not toss your cookies and put it out of your mind.

I also have to be careful not to bring my head below my heart with the anemia and other side effects, plus an existing ear problem; otherwise, I could get into some trouble. That is what tripped the ER trip. So things that fall to the floor stay there until I am sure I am OK to pick them up and remain conscious (literally) of where my head is compared to my heart.

I get home, Corwin is out already lifting weights at a gym, and I try his dinner. It is delicious. I will only take a small bite as nausea requires me to stick to one dinner. I watch Moon Knight, recommended by Cory, and it is spooky and well done–recommended for the first episode. The quality of the writing, special effects, and craziness reminds me of the Hawkeye series. I also watch some more Clone Wars and still am surprised with the darkness of this series. Not sure this is really a kids’ show.

I go to bed; I am stumbling tired now and sleep until about 2AM. I have a few waking dreams and one nightmare before finally sleeping. Finally, I managed to sleep in the dark.

 

Going backward, I was in bed and not able to sleep most of the night. I read Maise Dobbs until late and still could not sleep. I had taken my chemo and 10PM pills as usual, but sleep would not come this time. Instead, I dreamed, more like awakening dreams, and then would wake up and roll over again. So Monday is a late and challenging start.

Returning to Sunday’s story, I had a beer with Corwin at the Beergarden in Beaverton. Corwin asked to drive to Susie’s facility, and then he drove us back to Beaverton using 26 to get some highspeed practice. I shared a fondue with Corwin at the German-style place with sausage and bread. I had a small salad after that. Corwin put away about 1.5 liters of beer with a sausage plate. We celebrated Corwin’s 20 miles of driving without too many scary moments.

The place was busy but not packed, and after we got dinner going, I got a text from Mariah asking about dinner. But, we had already started, so we will have to connect next time. The place has a high ceiling and good ventilation, but there are no masks. But food delivery is masked and gloved, which is a change I approve of.

Before that, I set the navigation in Air Volvo to take us to Portland, but that was not quite working, so we took Cornell out of Hillsboro, heading sort of North, and then took Brookwood to connect to 26. He drove by the Nike Jet in its hanger. The walls are glass towards the road, so we can see Phil’s plane.

Corwin still has some mad-capped lane changes. He wants the aggressive and race car experience, which is hard to get with me wanting a polite Oregon lane change. Air Volvo is very responsive and accelerates fast, but it is a bit sluggish and then goes fast. This newer XC60 corners better than the previous model I owned, and it is impossible to lose control of the new Air Volvo. Corwin is still not using the mirrors’ lights that will let you know there is a car in the blind back quarter panel–we will work on that. However, he did enjoy the ease of driving and acceleration.

Before, we were with Susie and got her some frozen yogurt from the Pink Spoon a long block from the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. Corwin and I had walked to the Pink Spoon on Sunday, after checking they were open on the Internet, and had some yogurt and then got a mix of cheesecake and raspberry flavors for Susie. Susie ate about 1/4 of the dessert when we returned. The rest will be saved for dinner, and the nurse aids put the frozen treat in the frig. I grew a bit fatigued and got a kiss before I left.

Before this, we arrived with Corwin driving Air Volvo. The only close call was the turn into the Hillsboro area, almost 90 degrees. It will surprise you the first time. Corwin just did not pull the wheel over, and we nearly ended up on the right sidewalk–there was no car in front of him to follow. I actually pulled the wheel for him a bit. Lucky there were no cars in the three lanes we crossed and no cars behind us. Corwin was ready for the tricky turns on the trip back and managed the other difficult turn as he was behind another car and followed its lead.

Returning to the story with Susie and still going backward, we then passed the Covid-19 checks and found Susie sitting by the tables by the nursing station. She had just finished lunch. I was running a bit late as I had gone to church Sunday morning. She was happy to see Corwin and me. We took her for a spin through the facility with Corwin pushing her. Next, we went outside to see the flowers in the courtyard. We then called Leta, Susie’s mother, and they chatted for about ten minutes. After that, we promised to return with yogurt.

Before having Corwin take over Air Volvo, I arrived at the house in Air Volvo. Today church had an after-church bible study led by Dr.Rev. Wayne Weld-Martin. We had lunch served with turkey or ham rolled-up sandwiches. With this were chips, brownies, and grapes to fill it out. Wayne had us share some experiences and then asked us to tell our favorite bible story. Of course, and anyone at Nike would expect nothing else, I went first and described the water-to-wine story; I always pick a party. Soon Wayne then read part of the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. Wayne’s point was that there are lots of stories about Jesus, and we need to understand that what happened in Jesus’s passion was a world-changing event.

Before this was church, Wayne was preaching, and communion was actually served; it was not in the plan, but Wayne called us up, so we just marched as usual for communion. Everyone was masked. The sermon was about saving the children, and Wayne asked everyone to write their congressperson to help more children.

Before all of this, I had to get going and start about 7:30 when I remembered it was Sunday, and I planned to be at church and follow that with bible study. So I was a bit rushed. I had managed to sleep the night before without even waking until 7ish.