Wednesday...November 10th...2010

Today started with a call from Dr. Sandler's office....Linda doesn't qualify for O2 assistance unless her Oxygen intake drops to 90% or less..measured 2 times within a day...also regarding the abdominal swelling, Linda is going to meet with Dr. Sandler before her 8th radiation session tomorrow.....

Then off we went to the 7th radiation session on the hill...no big news there except Linda met with the radiology Oncologist...Dr. Holland ...after the radiation...he reported no visible change in the tumor but it could take time as it involves the tumor trying to divide its cells....so we are not to lose hope yet. He also prescribed some cough medicine with codeine to try to calm the cough....also he recommended taking Oxycontin...2 pills....every 4 to 6 hours.

Linda failed the O2 test..yuk..the nurse took the initial measure...92%..wow..we have never seen it that low..the nurse thought with a quick walk the numbers would be below the threshold and she would document it..duh..after the walk, Linda recorded a 98% which went all the way to 100%...good news...we guess..but no O2....

Dr. Holland looked at Linda's abdominal swelling but had no answers...he looked at the CTscan but it was too high on the body to tell anything...Linda is going to consult with Dr. Sandler about this in the am and also consult with OHSU's Ostomy assistance folks....wondering if there are any clues there...

Friday Nancy and Virginia drive out and take Linda to her session and then spend some time together...tomorrow daughter Janine takes her to lunch....her sister Karen brought a bed "wedge" to elevate the body , maybe helping the cough....also she brought a walker which could be helpful...

We are spending lots of time and effort on our trust..as we meet with the attorney again on Saturday...and start to finalize things..sounds easy but it has been a lot of work and will continue as such..this crappy economy has made things worse....