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Showing posts from January, 2023

2023-1-31 Time for a birthday!

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Happy birthday to Linda! (Tricia) This past weekend we celebrated Linda's birthday--I can't believe that this is the second birthday we have celebrated with Linda since all of this began. She received some lovely cards from family and friends, and we brightened her room with flowers and balloons. When we asked Linda what she would like for her birthday lunch she answered quickly and specifically: "Calzones!" Normally, when we ask her what she would like to eat, she almost always says either "I don't know" or "Nothing," so the fact that she had a preference was a nice change of pace! We ordered calzones from one of our favorite restaurants, had her favorite dessert (cheesecake!), and then watched episodes of "Wednesday" on Netflix, which we really enjoyed.  Linda's oxygen levels continue to improve, to the point that we no longer keep her on oxygen during the day. Since we have taken her off or reduced three of her medications that

1-17-2022 It has been quiet since Christmas

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  A frosty morning in our backyard last week.   (Tricia) Linda has been slowing down since Christmas, with the exception of last week, when she had a few days where she seemed to have more energy. She even managed to recall events in a way that she had not been able to before. Not only that, she actually agreed (and, in one instance, asked) to do her exercises, and did a good 15 minutes of simple strength moves on three different days last week, which surprised me! We attributed that to the fact that we have suspended one of her more sedating medications--the one controlling her heart rate--at the recommendation of her primary care doctor. He thought it might help her regain some of her energy. Because the medication stays in the system for a couple of months, it is safe to stop for a short period of time. Last week, we also rented a wheelchair-accessible van to get Linda to her follow-up appointment with her infectious disease doctor and nurse practitioner (one for C.diff, one for the