The Clot Does Not Thicken!

Just back from getting the ultrasound of Tashie's legs.
No additional clots.
Last week's clot has neither changed nor moved.
Leaving the hospital, we were all feeling giddy with relief that it hadn't grown, multiplied, or moved. I was striding toward the parkade to get the car, Bruce was headed toward...wherever, and we heard "My walker! Help!"

We looked toward Tashie and as we ran toward her, saw that she was steady on her feet, and quite amused. She was standing there in the doorway of the main hospital,  her walker happily rolling down the drive, about 12-15 feet beyond her reach. 

 Bruce corralled the walker, and we proceeded sedately at her sides, chastened at our lack of responsibility.

In the interest of full disclosure: We had to get Tashie to re-enact some of this, as it happened too quickly to shoot it originally...plus, in concern for her safety, we were not thinking of cameras.

The Return of the Ring

Telling the story of the ring

Adjusting the horseshoe

I have been aware of being so busy that although I spend a lot of time taking care of Tashie's needs, I spend very little time with her that is dedicated to doing something fun together. It is supposed to be 100 degrees today, so our options may be somewhat curtailed by the heat wave effect, but.... First on the agenda was to check in at Maloy's. Tashie has been missing that ring, and can't wait to get it back on her hand - where it has resides since it was given to her by her grandfather on her 16th birthday. First the jeweller checked to see that the "horseshoe" was sitting at the right place. Once that was settled, she tightened the it so that it would rest on her finger in a more stable fashion. As the adjustments were being made, Tashie told the Maloy team the story of her grandfather bringing the stone into Shreve's to be set. They commented how great it would look once they smoothed out the stone, taking away the irregularities...the irregularities that are so intriguing and so beautiful. So that plan was jettisoned quickly, and he designed the setting leaving the stone "in the rough." What grand satisfaction to have that ring back on her hand! She was delighted. We took Dolmah to work, and meandered through Laurelhurst park and neighbourhood on our way home. She did not want to get out to walk (it was 102/39 by this time) so came home and, after a rather long nap, exercised in the hall, walking lap after lap, from one end of the hall to the other.

Passagiata

Green Peace protesters /St John's Bridge

Tashie slept poorly last night, so made up for it this morning with a long doze, kitties cuddling. And while she slept and I puttered, these valiant GreenPeace activists are hanging from the St. John's bridge and floating on the Willamette River with the goal of blocking a Shell ship from moving out of Portland and returning to the Arctic where it has been part of oil-drilling operations. 

A slow afternoon, with promises to take a walk "later." We had supper on the deck, and still the temperature was in the high 80s. Laughter and splashing noises floated up from the park as we worked on asparagus, filet of sole, and red potatoes. Passagiata in the park, a leisurely stroll. We stopped to sit on a bench and gaze at the sky - peaceful and clear. No photos - it was darkish by the time we settled.

Not my gazpacho!

I also tried a yellow tomato gazpacho, but it was quite boring - the only thing that saved it was an array of goodies like chopped cucumber, chopped sweet onions, etc. to sprinkle over it. It wasn't bad, just not interesting, not reminiscent of the amazing gazpachos we enjoyed in Spain. Any ideas would be appreciated! Afterwards, we took a

Meeting the new Doctor

Tashie is continuing to work on getting her strength back, although she is almost too close to realize how well she is doing. It seems frustrating slow to her, and she gets a bit impatient at times, and has to be reminded of the significant strides she has made. Just last week, we had to help her get into the car or onto her bed by lifting her legs for her; now she is able to swing them up with considerable vigour. Ten days ago, walking 1/2 a block seemed overwhelming to her; today she can walk 4 blocks, albeit with a complaint or two, "How long have we really gone?" So we push push push, and as you can imagine, she is amazingly good natured. This afternoon, Bruce picked us up for Tashie's appointment  with Dr. Yamashita, at OHSU's Center for Health and Healing. It feels very good to have a Joe Bachtoldt's colleague co-managing, especially during the time of the pesky clot. Tashie was very eager to have Beef Teriyaki (really?) at Sinju tonight, and was deeply disappointed. She and Clarke both ordered it, and both reported it was very tough and over-cooked. It had taken quite a bit of time to be served, so they decided not to ask for a replacement, but did mention to our server that the meal was not satisfactory.

Monday Monday...

Monday Monday.....

A well-deserved rest

 A leisurely morning, punctuated with spirometer action every hour or so. Tashie is definitely regaining her strength. It is amazing how quickly she lost it, and encouraging how steadily she is gaining it back. Clarke and I had a co-housing meeting, which absented us from 4:30 to 8:30. Mabsie came to be with Tashie for the first portion, and after a few clicks of the knitting needles with Eliza, read to Tashie from a history of Portland's Unitarian church. Tashie reports that she enjoyed it immensely. Then Bethany came after work, and her mission was to get Tashie walking, a suggestion not embraced by Tashie until Bethany turned it into a walk to get food.

A little help helps....

The first destination was Christopher and David on the park, but they were closed. The second was Piazza Italia, but they were beyond crowded, with groups waiting for tables. By this time, Bruce was finished with his meeting, so he joined them, and they ended up at Caffe Allora on 9th. Tashie had spinach raviolis, and reports "They were very good!" The tiramisu was "OK."

Strolling Multnomah

Looking good!

Tashie with Baby Daphne

Taking a breather

Bruce has a great talent for getting Tashie to stretch her perception of what's possible in the realm of exercise, primarily walking.

And today was another success.

They strolled up and down Multnomah, stopping to chat with neighbours, most notably 2-week old Daphne, who later came for a visit.

Micah is fine!

Having received some sweet queries about the state of Micah, I thought I'd send along evidence that he is quite fine, back lounging on Tashie's bed, symmetry restored to his handsome face! Although his brother is busy frolicking with a toddler toy, he seems awfully glad to have his Micah home again.

Meanwhile, over on Multnomah Street, Tashie and Bethany are settling down to Italian Creme Sodas, courtesy of Bernie, who sent a six pack of Italian syrups by courier from Boston.

Settling in for a Weekend Away

Shucking corn

Tashie shucking corn in the Multnomah Street kitchen. She has had a busy week of appointments and tests, so is looking forward to a peaceful weekend. However, she'll be busier than she realizes, not only shucking corn, which she enjoys, but:

• using the incentive spirometer
• walking
• stretching
• drinking lots of water
• wearing iron-like compression stockings
• walking some more

Once that pesky clot vanishes, we'll let up on her a bit...but just a tiniest bit...

Finally, the ring returning

A morning of phone calls, etc., as Tashie has no primary care doc here in Portland, so her wonderful Dr. Bachtold in Sisters has been managing remotely. And...he arranged for one of his former residents, who now has a practice in Portland, to "co-manage," which will add some stability and continuity. She does not see her new Portland doc until next week, so meantime Dr. Bachtold has given us orders to get the ball rolling. Number one is to get her active and walking as much as possible. Number two is to get thigh high compression stockings for her, which we did this afternoon.

After the chore of shopping for stockings, we took her to Maloy's to get measured for the refitting/repair of her turquoise ring. She was clearly thrilled to be reunited with it again. Moving about is such an effort, even when the goal is a happy one.
From Maloy's, Tashie went home with Bruce for her weekend on Multnomah Street. And I catch upon things like blog posts!

One more little thing....

23 July 2015
Just catching up with posts...
This morning Tashie had an appointment with Dr Sautter, her ENT surgeon. He reamed out some debris, after which she could breathe more easily and comfortably. Then she described the pain in her leg, and he ordered a vascular ultrasound of both legs. In the end, we spent almost the entire day in the hospital, which of course was exhausting for her. Jessie was with us for the afternoon, a great help and spirit lifter. Tashie was amused by her wry commentary on the presidential primary line-up - a great distraction from the tasks at hand. (We were planning to make custard for Tashie, but that got deferred to a later date.)
We learned that there is indeed a small clot in her calf. Shucks!
Good news: Bruce got her a pulse oximeter, which arrived last night. Her values have been in the 90s.

Tashie's asymmetry mirrored by Micah

Our event of the day was seeing Dr. Ng, the oculofacial plastic surgeon, for her first post-op visit. The challenge of the day was coordinating that visit with taking Micah to the vet for his asymmetry.

Micah at The Cat Doctor's

Dolmah got Tashie (who is more concerned with her pal Micah than with getting ready herself) ready for her appointment while I took Micah to the vet. They decided that they needed to sedate him in order to really figure out what's going on, so I left him in their care for the rest of the day. So the timing worked out really well.
Bruce picked Tashie up at the apartment, and I met them at Casey on the hill. Dr. Ng checked her eye, and reported that all looks well. Walking down the hall after the appointment, we said something enthusiastic about her post-surgical progress, and she responded that she was really worried about Micah.... " How is that little fellow doing?" I assured her that he would be fine, and she'd be able to see him later after he comes home from the vet.

Oh so very tired...

Tashie is fairly wiped out still - very tired. We really push her to get up and move around, but she would rather not - her energy is just very very low.

The highlight of today was Rebecca coming for dinner. Tashie is having a lot of pain in her thigh, and was happy to have Rebecca's soothing hands applied. She thinks it is an IT band something...strain? syndrome?

Lopsided Kitty

While we were visiting in the living room after supper, I noticed that Micah looked really strange in his face - bizarre asymmetry that occurred seemingly overnight. His right chin is swollen, and his cheek seems indented. Yikes! Is this the manifestation of profound sympathies for his beloved Tashie?

Home at Last

Dr Sautter discharged Tashie at 7:30 in the morning, but it wasn't until 10 hours later that she actually crossed the threshold. She had an echocardiogram, and then the reading by the cardiologist...I'm not sure what else. I do know, however, that at some point, she commissioned Bruce to pick up a BLT at Elephant's. In addition to corn on the cob, root beer floats, and Persian cucumbers, BLTs have fallen into her basket of treats and preferred foods.

Philip and Katherine brought a bountiful dinner feast, ending with a bumble-berry pie - not as good as Philip's own, or Tashie's, but nonetheless quite yummy. She's down for a rest right now, looking forward to lovely Rebecca coming by for a visit. It's a challenge between seeing that she gets the rest she needs to heal, and that she gets the activity and exercise she needs to regain her muscle strength. We are hoping she'll get back on the ergometer this weekend - more fun than walking!

Foot Out the Door

Tashie had a restless night - I think she can no longer even pretend to have a friendly relationship with her hospital bed, to say nothing of the telemetry wires, the IV tubing, the hard pillows, etc. And she's been disappointed to have her anticipated discharge "revoked." and probably anxious that something else will crop up today to delay her march to freedom. Dr Sautter came in earlier, and pronounced her ready to go home, but the hospitalist has to write the official discharge orders, and he/she has not yet rounded on her. Respiratory team gave her a treatment at midnight, and again at 8 this morning - they let her sleep through the 4 AM treatment.

Better and Better....

Lots of walking, lots of Spirometer action, frequent treatments by the respiratory team....are all leading to great improvements. And best of all, in her view, was dinner by Bruce and Bethany:

• Crab Louis
• Chilled Abyme white
• Blackberries by Sarah (Slaughter)
• Vanilla custard by Eliza

We're gearing up for a movie tonight (after a walk down the hall and back). Annie Hall is in the line-up.

Now it's just after midnight, and Tashie fell asleep to the background of Annie Hall, only to be awakened an hour later for a treatment from the respiratory team. She was quite god-natured about it. I prepared her for being awakened again at 4:00, and although she balked initially, she conceded quickly when I told her that discharge tomorrow will depend upon the state of her lungs, which in turn depend upon her cooperation.

She's feeling much better since morning and even midday.
We anticipate discharge tomorrow (Monday). Fingers crossed.

Leaving comments

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

Scroll down to end of post
Select Comment, or No Comment
Select option to Leave a Comment
Write in the box that appears
Select Publish
Or Preview if you prefer to check it out first
If you preview your comment,
then select Publish to get it registered on the blog

Side-tracked on the way home...

The race to discharge is proceeding more slowly that anticipated, as there have been a few roadblocks

Tashie with KBS historian
(KBS = Katherine Branson School)
Santa Cruz, June 19th 2015

that are delaying Tashie's homecoming. Her surgical wound is healing well, with swelling almost gone, and bruising moving along in the right direction. But...the slow pulse and low blood pressure (now both resolved) have been followed by an apparent volume overload that is interfering with oxygenation. She is definitely better when active, so we are pushing her to walk more, move around more, and use the Spirometer on an hourly basis. And, IV lasix was started this afternoon.

Bruce is with her now, and he is an excellent (if a tad pushy) coach, so he'll have her worn out by the time I get there later this afternoon. And that will be good. I did not get the custard made yesterday; instead, Clarke and I went to Cassidy's for dinner, and brought her one of their stellar vanilla crème brulée. So my custard-making will start minutes from now. Cassidy's creation is a hard act to follow!

Out of the Woods

Instead of peppering posts with Her Ladyship sporting a hospital gown and  medical technology, I decided to add a few cheery shots around the time of the centennial birthday parties. So here she is at the Ashram with her new Bestie, Pope Francis.
The decision was made last night to move Tashie to a cardiac unit for continuous monitoring, as her pulse was hovering in the low 30s, and her blood pressure diastolic was also in the low 30s. The only hitch was that there was no available bed in the cardiac unit, so we went to the Interventional Radiology Unit. Although some fine points were missed, the RNs seemed really good, and assured me that they were ICU nurses, and were more than competent to deal with any emergency that may arise. The lounge/sleeping chair is probably from the 1950s. Without functioning brakes, it would slide across the floor without warning. And when I pulled the lever to raise my feet, it lowered my head first, so it was sort of like doing the yoga bridge pose on a Barcalounger. Not to sound ungrateful - I was glad to have something to settle into, but it was kind of funny.
I think all the manoeuvering and monitoring of changing rooms was a bit irritating, as all she wanted to do was sleep. The ice applied to her eye has been miraculous in the speed with which it reduced the swelling. Her pain is well controlled. A bed became available in the cardio unit this morning, so while we were waiting for transport, she listened to Jack Kornfield on head phones - a good prelude to the jostling of moving and resettling. She would like some custard, so with surprising energy, she instructed me in creating the perfect custard. Then Bruce arrived, bearing treats from the Bake Shop. Tashie couldn't generate interest in the Bake Shop items, but she perked right up and smiled when he mentioned that there would be cracked crab for dinner tomorrow night. A few more custard questions: stir the eggs? whisk them? 250 degree oven? 300? 325? strain the eggs? ratio of eggs to milk? And then I left to have a sleep and bake a wildly successful custard with no bubbles! Bruce is with her now, and I'll go back tonight bearing ramekins of bliss. Thanks for all your wonderful messages, emails, blog comments. She loves hearing from all of you, and is convinced that all that positive energy had (and has) a distinct bearing on her getting through this so well. I agree.

Resting

Tashie is settled in her all-night bed on the 8th floor, with a SSE view of treetops and distant hillocks. Peaceful place to be thankful after these days of waiting and wondering. Everybody caring for has been kind and skilled and cheerful...and when I mentioned that I planned to spend the night, the response was, "Of course, just let us know how many blankets and pillows you'd like."
Tashie is dozing, and probably do so for most of the night. It will take some time to get her energy back. I'm guessing that she's having intermittent dreams of clarity and relief and hurdles conquered. I've been relaying your many sweet and loving messages, and she smiles.

Eureka!

Eureka!! Surgery over. She did well. Tumour is out. Tear duct intact. Sinuses clear. All is well. Thank you for your candles, prayers, and love
She is in recovery room. Both surgeons are very pleased with their handiwork - she is sure to be so very happy to be able to breathe easily again. She'll be staying overnight at St V's, and I'll be staying with her. Docs will discharge her tomorrow, and she'll go to Bruce & Bethany's for some luxurious and culinary delights - she has requested Dungeness crab for tomorrow's dinner. Tuesday she'll come back to Johnson Street, until cleared to go home to her mountain and her river, probably 2 weeks, possibly 3. Apparently the risk of nosebleeds drops off at 2 weeks. More celebration to come!

Countdown!

Yesterday the pre-op team at St. Vincent's insisted that she remove her legendary turquoise ring prior

to surgery. As the ring has been impossible to remove for years, I called Malloy's, and they said they would be happy to do it, without an appointment, without a charge. I dropped Tashie and Dolmah off at Malloy's door on 10th street, and quickly parked in the lot across the street. By the time I parked and walked a few yards, I arrived at the little shop to find Tashie contentedly sitting on a stool chatting with the nice lady to whom I had spoken on the phone. The ring had already been removed! We chatted about Portland, and somehow Skidmore Fountain came up, and CES Wood's connection. The nice lady said that her husband had painted the fountain and its surroundings on a sphere made of papier maché. So that was our adventure at Malloy's. Tonight Bruce and Bethany came over for dinner on the Tanner terrace. They brought bounteous chicken and sauces and beans from Pollo Norte, and I added Tashie's selected menu of Persian cucumbers, artichokes, corn on the cob, and root beer floats. Yum yum!! On to the big day...

Whew!

The day started out quite nicely under clear blue skies, with Tashie getting ready for an al fresco lunch with friends at Meriwether's. We arrived, and they had a table under the shade of a tree - perfect ambiance. Good friends. I had intended to take a photo, but simply forgot. So instead here is a shot of her in 1962 in...Portland?

I picked her up at 2:00 for her pre-op visit with the St. Vincent's crew. They drew bloods, took her history, did an EKG, and took her history again. Apparently the EKG showed an irregularity - a second degree heart block.
She was told that the surgery would probably have to be postponed for a couple of weeks, during which time she would likely have a pacemaker placed. She was not at all happy, not because something might be amiss with her heart, but because the surgery would be postponed. More waiting. Consultations with the on-call cardiologist. Around 5 or 5:30, we learned that she would not be needing a pacemaker, that the block, (Wenckebach's block), was less serious than they had originally thought, and that she could go on to have the surgery on Friday. Alleluia! By the time we left, most of the staff had departed as well.
Now home and very very tired, she has tucked in, grateful to be in bed with two kitties entertaining her with cosiness. No appointments of any kind awaiting her tomorrow. We'll keep you posted!
PS: Comments are most welcome - I read them to her, and she really enjoys them.

Tashie UpDate

Tashie hit the 100 year marker with flying colours, despite the challenge of persistent and severe nosebleeds in April and May. As many of you already know, 10 days ago it was discovered that these nosebleeds have been caused by a benign tumour that has been exerting considerable pressure on her tender tissues.
Having been less than thorough in responding to calls and requests for updates, I am resorting to this blog to which anyone can access information any time.
This tumour will be removed by a team of 2: John Ng, oculofacial plastic surgeon + Nathan Sautter, otolaryngologist specializing in nasal and sinus surgery. Surgery is scheduled for this coming Friday at St. Vincent's at 3pm, and is expected to last 2-3 hours. At her request,

Dr. Matthew Montreal 1965

Dr. Matthew will come down from Seattle early Friday.
Last Friday she had her pre-op with Dr. Ng, and was thrilled to learn that she will be having general, and therefore feeling no pain...at least during the surgery. Yesterday she had a pre-op visit with Dr. Sautter, and next a CT scan for mapping the area for surgery. Tomorrow she has her pre-op appointment with the St. V's hospitalist - after a luncheon at Meriwether's with her Reading Club pals.
That's about as much as we know now - will keep you posted.
Thank you for the many calls and well wishes - she feels well loved.



PS: Here she is going in to the tunnel, and her view just before she ducked into the tunnel: