Back home again

As many of you know I spent the last few days in the hospital with another infection in my central line. It was good stay this time!!

On Tuesday I had my central line removed and another one put in. After a few hours of recovery I was allowed to go home. I got home late Tuesday afternoon and as always my wife made sure that I was comfortable and taken care of.

My left arm is extremely sore and I can hardly move it, but I am sure that will pass. I have been feeling sorry for myself for the last few days, my wife and my nurses say that I am battling depression, but I a not convinced. I have started taking an anti-depressant and hopefully it will help.

I did talk to my surgeon and he wants to start planning for my surgery to repair my belly. That did help with my spirits a little. I have also received many kind and thoughtful words from all of my friends and family and that has helped a lot. Thank you to all and God Bless!!

BigJohn

Sorry for the late post.

John was hospitalized Saturday night and still remains in Roanoke Memorial Hospital today. He had experienced discomfort for several days and a high fever on Saturday. After conferring with his doctor, he and Lisa drove to RMH in Roanoke where he was admitted.

I have not been able to speak with John today. Yesterday I found him in good spirits (however we do play around a lot when together:) and he had not shown a temperature since early Sunday morning. As of late Sunday afternoon we had not gotten any feedback on his test results. The hospital staff ran a multitude of tests, most of which were based on suspicion of an infection. But we have not heard the results yet. John was showing signs of dehydration, which he was being treated for.

John wanted everyone to know he'll be updating his status for everyone very soon. He also wanted to share that he was being well cared for. Lastly, John's doctor said if the test results for infection came back negative, he may be released as early as tonight. We'll simply see how he progresses.

Thanks all. More later as we have it.

Final week of 2009

Hey everyone it has been a busy week.
I have been battling some emotional issues this week, but with the help of family and friends I have been fighting through it. I have been having a bit of cabin fever, because due to the weather I have not been able to go anywhere. I was able to do some cooking this week for my family and friends and like always, I had a great time doing that. I do have some projects that I am working on that hopefully will benefit the research on Wegeners Granulomatosis. So stay tuned! Here is what happened this past week:

Sunday
This past Sunday was not a good day. I had a lot of emotional issues. I think a lot of what is going on is the fact that I am going through all of this and it is the holidays. I know I have a lot to be thankful for, but it is hard to always stay upbeat and positive when you can’t eat or walk like I used to be able to do. To add to that, I have bags running from what is left of my stomach and it is getting to me. But please know, I am as positive as I have ever been, but I am human and sometimes I get down too. It is the encouragement I get from the ones I love that keeps me going.

Monday
My nurse was still unable to come today because of our icy driveway, so Lisa had to do some of those nursing tasks. No problem with that because she is the best at what she does. My physical therapist came today and we did a lot of walking. I was able to walk about fifty-five feet today, three times with small breaks in between. My blood pressure and heart rate are remaining stable. I also made dinner for my parents. It was a good night and I can’t wait to do it again.

Tuesday
This was an interesting day. My son had a dentist appointment at 8 am and apparently my wife did not secure the front door when they left, and the cat pushed the door opened and it got cold in the house quick! My OT came today and we worked on my arms and we walked some. It was a good session. My OT tried to cheer me up, because I was having a bad day.

Wednesday
My physical therapist came today and instead of working on the normal things, such as walking, we worked on my balance. I was able to stand without holding onto my walker. I started with removing one hand from the walker and then I removed the other. Once I removed both hands, I tried to march in place and I was pretty successful. I did get dizzy at first but I was able to fight through it. We did this several times and I must say, it really wore me out! This was harder than walking! I must say I can’t wait until Monday, so we can do this again.

I also fixed my weekly dinner for my good friend Bob. We had some very spicy chili with bread bowls. My bread bowls did not turn out right, again. Don’t worry I will find a solution to this and they will be great. Bob brought his daughter, Samantha, and they both ate three bowls of chili. It must have been good!

Thursday (New Years Eve)
We had more snow last night and my doctor’s appointment for today was rescheduled to Monday, January 4, 2010. My wife did not feel comfortable getting me out in this weather. My OT came today and we did some new things. We walked today focusing on staying upright. I even took a few steps without holding on to the walker. I was even able to do some arm exercises while standing. However, I did get dizzy when raising my arms up over my head. It is just another stepping stone for me to get over.

and... How about them Hokies!!!

Friday (New Years Day)
No big plans today. We stayed at home and just laid around. I watched some football and just chilled out.

I hope to have more progress in the upcoming week. We are scheduled to visit the doctor on Monday. I hope everyone has a great upcoming year. I believe that here in the DeWeese home we are going to have a great year.

Thanks for all of your support and God Bless you all !!

BigJohn