Gerig’s Musings

Our trip to Ann Arbor went well and was quite uneventful.  Thanks so much for your prayers.  Both Don and I were a bit nervous about getting him in and out of the vehicle, plus helping him get around up there.  But the weather cooperated and Cramers van was comfortable enough for Don to rest both going and coming.  We made it back to Fort Wayne by 5pm and had dinner at Covington Manor, just before Don was ready to crash and get into bed for the night.

Our meeting with the neuro oncologist was good in that he seemed to agree with the oncologist we’re working with here.  He was very frank about Don’s prognosis, but also said there are some people that respond well to the chemotherapy that he is recommending and can live a couple years or more.  We are aware that a person’s outlook can have an effect on how well they do and Don has inherited a bit of the Gerig pessimism, so you can pray that he will view each day as a gift and make the best of it.  At times he feels I’m not being realistic, but I prefer to look at the glass half full, I guess.  Maybe we make a good pair.

Don has definitely lost a lot of the use of his left side–mostly his hand and arm, which makes getting dressed and eating difficult, among other things.  I try to be at the Rehab Center for all his meals to be of help.  His appetite is affected and he just eats a few bites, so I tend to eat some of what he leaves (since we’re paying for it).  His potassium is still low, so they have increased his potassium pills.  The anti-seizure medication, we were told a few days ago, was at the right level.  But, just before I left him tonight he had a tic.  It only lasted 3-4 minutes and did not get into a larger seizure, so the nurse came and observed it and charted it for the doctor.  He was due to take his anti-seizure  medwithin the hour, so the nurse said he could go ahead and take it then.  Pray that it will take hold and keep him from having any more.  I’m hoping it was just the stress of the day.

Like I said beforehand, we felt led to see the specialist at UofM and were aware that we might not hear what we wanted to hear, but were glad to know that the oncologist here is going in the right direction.  Thanks, again, for fighting the fight with us.  We keep needing you.  Caroline