Neuro & ID appts: Great news abounds!

I feel lead to put a concern for one of Denise's friends at the top of today's post. Her 33-year-old friend with stage 2 breast cancer is having surgery this morning at 9:15. Her concerns are that ALL of the cancer will be removed, that it hasn't gone into the underlying muscle, that it is NOT in the lymph nodes (MRI shows that it is), that it hasn't spread to any other parts of her body, and that she can get a particular doctor that she's angling for. She's already had to deal with being disabled for all her life, and that's turned her into someone that presses on in a way that inspired Denise to work so hard through physical therapy. So she'll do her part. Please tug God's robe for her, the medical pros taking care of her, and her family. You participated in a miracle with Denise. Maybe her friend will be then next item on our watch list.

After that, it almost feels inappropriate to post so much great news about Denise. But I know her friend doesn't mind. Hopefully the following will be encouragement that from the bleakest of circumstances, great things can happen. So here we go...

Lab results: Tuesday's labs came back showing the titers (used as an indicator of the cocci infection status) moving one step toward normal (I believe she's now at 1:16, for those that dig this kind of stuff). Liver labs also improved markedly (AST 42, ALT 65, Alk Phos 209) and continue to move toward normal. All electrolytes are within a normal range. Notice how that word "normal" kept popping up in all those sentences? Woo-hoo!
Neurology appointment: Here's what the doctor typed into the progress report on Tuesday: "Alert, speech fluent, face symmetric, gaze conjugate. Motor exam is intact, without focal weakness. Gait is symmetric and intact." He said that he sees no reason why Denise can't start driving again. So we're going to start practicing and take her for a driving evaluation. His plan is to keep her on the current doses of her meds for a few more months and then gradually try to taper down as tolerated.
Infectious Disease appointment: Right after the neuro appointment, we went across the street to see the ID guy. He was pleased with Denise's progress as well. Of note was that she's doing well on voriconazole (Vfend) antifungal, which isn't used as much as fluconazole (Diflucan). He thought that the issues Denise had with the vomiting and increased liver problems earlier this year were related to developing intolerance to the fluconazole. He also thought that when my nurse aunt & I go to the Valley Fever Symposium in August, we should share Denise's experience, as it would add to the body of knowledge and might be helpful to the doctors in treating other people with cocci. So I guess I should go to the uniform supply store & buy a white lab coat so I'll fit in (and look sharp). On the other hand, I'm all about casual, so maybe some scrubs would be a better fit.
Proof in the pudding: Denise is improving, and everyone that interacts with her can tell. She's been doing fine mentally, emotionally, and been making tremendous strides physically. About five or six weeks ago we visited my nurse aunt, uncle, and webmaster cousin for an international food fair in Balboa Park, San Diego. Last week we visited again for our anniversary. My uncle noted that a few weeks ago, Denise had to use a wheelchair to get around for the food fair, and last week she was able to walk down & back up steep hills at the Wild Animal Park and she never used the wheelchair. Yay! We joined our city's little gym so she can do her physical therapy locally (and $100 per year for the gym is way cheaper than the $30 copays for PT). One of the trainers at the gym showed Denise where all the PT equipment is and gave her permission to use the stuff any time she wants. She's working hard and increasing in balance, flexibility, endurance, strength, and coordination. At home, she's been doing all her own personal care for weeks, can prep meals, care for kids (she can pick up Jacob, and he's having a growth spurt), and even practicing some low-key dance moves from a video. We used to take swing dancing together and hopefully that'll be on the radar screen again soon. With swing dancing, the basic guy part is easy; that gal does all the flashy stuff to make the couple look good. So for regular guys that don't like dancing (and you don't, right, chaps?), I'd recommend swing dancing as a good way to satisfy your gal's need to go dancing while saving yourself from looking like a doofus. But I digress...
Room search: Anyway, Denise is doing so well that we feel we've accomplished our goal of getting her self-sufficient enough to not need live-in care anymore. So in anticipation of Denise's caregiver moving out, contact us if you have a lead on a spare room for a neat, tidy, well-organized, considerate female. As a bonus, she's got a British accent that adds a bit of sophistication to the household, too.

Potty training update... Jacob is chugging right along. A few weeks ago he'd sit on his potty, pull the catch basin out, pees through to the floor, and then put the catch basin back in. Now he keeps the catch basin in and does his thing. But then a few times he's pulled it out and waved it around, saying "Look! Pee-pee! Yay!" We've been mopping the bathroom floor & walls fairly frequently lately. I think I liked the diaper better. If you've got a worse potty training story, I could use it about now so I can keep things in perspective.

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