Guest blogger . . .

So, I've been working reeeeeeealy hard at getting a guest blogger to take my place for at least a few posts here, as I am absolutely certain y'all are getting extremely annoyed with my play-by-play of farmer's market excursions and kitchen acrobatics, but it might take a little more work on my end, so bear with me and my ramblings for a while more . . .

Bob had an MRI yesterday and his bi-weekly follow-up appointment with his primary doc today. Nothing astounding on either end; we're still waiting for an official interpretation of the MRI from the orthopedic oncologist (and yes, I will be giving them a call tomorrow), and we didn't have too much to discuss with Doc Rock (Bob's primary), except to just check in, see how things have been going.

Bob weighed in at a whopping 125 lbs. today; I was kinda freakin' over that (and yes, I even called last week, to report excessive girth around Bob's abdomen, because I told Primary care, when they got involved after Bob's last hospital stay, that I would be calling with every hang nail, odd bruise, hair out of place, rapid weight gain/loss . . .), as he hasn't weighed that much since he had about 20 lbs of fluid sloshing around inside of him after his last MI (myocardial infarction, aka, heart attack, for those not hip to the hospital lingo). Doc Rock gave Bob a very thorough once-over and is confident it isn't fluid retention. More likely the result of a very healthy appetite but a very sedentary lifestyle.

He is carrying around a cute li'l spare tire 'round his midsection, so I've put the kibosh on twice-daily servings of ice cream . . . I know, I know, so cruel, but I have been lax on the treats for so long, allowing junk food and out-right shit food, as Bob's been through so much, but at the same time, gaining fat is not healthy, either. Eating shitty, processed, chemically-laden foods is just plain and utterly wrong, no matter what one's health situation is . . . I've said it before and you know I'll say it a million times again, I am absolutely horrified with the "calories, no matter what" attitude of the medical community in regard to cancer patients, and a couple months ago, I decided to buck that system and get real, nutritious food in Bob. Ice cream isn't completely off the menu, but as a meal in and of itself, no more. Funny, how that seems to coincide with no more hospital stays, no more crises . . .coincidence? I think not. I'm not arrogant enough to think it's the only reason he's ben stable, but I know it has a big role, along with his primary care doctor being in the picture, and with me being home full time, and that he's had a break from the god-awful treatments he was subjected to a few months ago . . .

We're also working hard on PT stuff (or "calisthenics," a la Jack LaLane, as we like to call it here at Wrenwood Health Spa. Imagine how annoying that can be when I pop into the bedroom and announce, "It's calisthenics time, Bobby! Let's go!" We've graduated from simple movements to adding weights to the exercises. Big deal, peeps, as despite the weight gain, his muscles have atrophied to less than half of what he used to have . . . people have always been surprised that, for such a small guy, Bob's so damn strong. Even now, emaciated—with a spare tire! ;)—he's still stronger than most people think) at least once a day. . . incidentally, Doc Rock also identified a couple more issues that have been missed by the other docs who've been overseeing Bob since all this began, even something his old primary doc should have been concerned about, but wasn't: his thyroid levels were quite low, suggesting that he's been over-medicated for a long time (his thyroid was affected by the radiation treatments he had as a kid, but no one has ever mentioned testing his thyroid levels until now. Never. I get the whole "being you own advocate" thing, peeps, but seriously, unless you have an internal MD, as Doc Rock is—even then, it's so hard to keep track of everything . . .).

And, his vitamin D and B12 levels were way low . . .vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin" (so-called because it's synthesized by exposure to sunlight, with 10-15 minutes a day being all that's needed), is an essential player in basically every body system, from the skeletal, to cardiac health, to the immune system and muscular composition and function, not to mention critical in warding off diabetes, many types of cancer, and overall, general health and wellness . . . that Doc Rock, he's so thorough . . . after his blood work results come back, probably tomorrow, Doc Rock will let us know what do do next, likely supplements, with regular outdoor excursions, to expose Bob to some sunshine therapy, never a bad thing . . .

Interestingly, after researching Vit. D, I found several articles that mention studies discovering the use of statin (cholesterol-lowering) drugs may be contributing to Vit. D deficiencies, because cholesterol is necessary to synthesize vit. D. Bob takes Simvastatin, standard post-heart attack protocol, even though he's never had high cholesterol . . . hmmm . . . sometimes I wish I weren't so damn nosey, such a "need to know" kinda gal . . . all the things I read about, learn about, and then worry about . . . my goal today is to go out and find a couple of lounge chairs for the deck. Our new hobby: laying out! Judiciously, of course.

Lately, maybe because of the gorgeous, albeit hotter-n-hell weather, when I've been taking Rocco on a walk tonight, we run into lots of neighbors who are also out and about. 1/2 hour walks turn into hour+ long excursions, many neighbors asking for updates . . . even in our "isolation" up here on Walton's Mountain, we are surrounded by love, prayers, support, blessings, offers of assistance, whatever we need, never really alone . . . one of our neighbors brought a beautiful—and I mean beautiful, as in kicks-ass-on-Betty's-Pies-on-North-Shore kind of beautiful—blueberry pie, made from berries grown on their property, along with a bag of sweet corn . . . the pie was to die for, peeps, to die for . . .c'mon over for coffee and pie in the a.m., if you want a piece of the goodness that is this pie, cuz I can't guarantee it'll be around longer than that . . . On our walk tonight, we ran into another neighbor and her two adorable girlies playing in the front yard. Their oldest, only 6 years old, always asks about Bob whenever I see her . . . such a sweet, sensitive soul. She sent Bob an e-mail the other day, just a few sentences (which took her a painstakingly 30 minutes to complete, her mom said), to which Bob sent a response (which thrilled her to no end, her mom also said). Many pieces of artwork that adorn our fridge are hers . . .

We're still waiting on the surgery date. Doc Rock couldn't tell us much, or offer much pull on his part, even when I asked him to take out the whip, head down to the OR scheduling staff and start crackin' it, so we will wait. And I will continue to call, at least weekly, if not more . . . 'cause that's how I roll . . . and I'll keep working on that guest blogger, peeps. . . LOVE! to all . . .