This has been a pleasant and sociable week. Saturday afternoon (just after the last post) Clair called to suggest that he and Steve go out for a walk (they used to walk for exercise at lunch hour back in the Shaker teaching days). They walked from our house down to Main Street and back—maybe a short quarter mile?—not huge, but the first "hike" Steve has done, so we were excited about that! While Clair was still here, we had a visit from Carol's sister Margie from Ravenna, and we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on our front porch enjoying the unseasonably warm weather—altogether lovely.
Sunday, four friends from one of our dance groups trekked up all the way from Ashland, OH to visit. We had been in email contact but not actually seen them since the diagnosis, so it was great to catch up in person. We had dinner together, and Steve actually had a little bit of everything, from salad through dessert! That felt like a very good bit of progress, even though he felt somewhat overstuffed for a while after…
Monday we played a bit of bridge with Clair and Grace at their house. Tuesday afternoon Steve had Reiki *and* an orientation meeting for nurses-in-training at The Gathering Place, and when I got home we both went back there for our support group meetings. Wednesday we had a very special outing—Clair and Grace took us to the Cleveland Museum of Art on their members'-guest tickets to see the Rembrandt in America exhibit. Steve decided that wheelchair assistance would be a good strategy for that (museum-trekking can be exhausting even under normal conditions!), so Clair brought one along and also did the honors pushing the chair all morning. We had lunch at Panera's on the way home, and Steve joined in again, sharing some onion soup. That was another really excellent day. J
Thursday, Steve again had an enjoyable visit from our neighbor Ken; the evening was a quiet one since Carol had a pile of school prep work to do for Friday. Friday John and Liz came over for some visiting and a bit of bridge—again, very pleasant. The lilacs have started to bloom in the back yard, and Steve got up and walked out into the back yard with us to smell the flowers. Saturday was a quiet day (cooler and rainy), though Carol still has school tasks as we near the end of another semester. Sunday is shaping up to be similar to Saturday. We had looked forward to a visit from Lee Hart, but unfortunately she had to cancel because of a cold which she very considerately declined to bring into anyone else's house—so we must postpone that enjoyment.
As you may infer from the above, Steve's overall condition has been pretty good this week. His energy is limited, but so is his discomfort, and the various medicines that we have on hand seem to be fairly effective in controlling the discomfort. The feeding tube and its attached pump are behaving themselves better than they were, which is also a relief. When we check blood pressure and blood glucose levels, they clock in at appropriate levels. We talk on the phone with both Melissa and Matt, and look eagerly forward to their visit planned for mid-April. We know we have a lot to be thankful for.
So, that's it for now. Thanks again and always to all of our friends and family who continue to provide support, both those who visit and call and write and email, and those who send it silently. We appreciate all forms.
--Carol and Steve
