Monday March 9...noonish

Time goes by so quickly! Just want to give an update for those of you asking about Robert’s eyes. When his primary care physician heard about his diagnosis, he immediately stopped the Coumadin – the blood thinner. We were very relieved. Robert is scheduled for laser treatment on his right eye on March 16th. He has not re-gained any vision in his left eye, that he can tell anyway. Maybe by going off the blood thinner he will avoid more damage.
When Robert saw the endocrinologist, and learned he is still gaining weight, the Dr. said it could be due to the beta blocker he is taking…primarily for heart rhythm. Evidently, the beta blocker makes it more difficult for the body to use insulin, which then makes it need more insulin, which causes weight gain. So, Robert called his cardiologist and asked about stopping the beta blocker. He agreed to do it, but only if he increases a different medication. Hopefully this week, Robert will stop taking the beta blocker, but will need to watch blood sugars very closely. His Dr. said that some people can cut their insulin in half by going off the beta blocker…so if he is not careful, his blood sugars could go too low. He is looking forward to the prospect of taking less insulin.
Meanwhile, he caught the nasty head-cold bug that is going around. He is home again today, after missing two days of work last week. Don’t know if all he has been through makes him more susceptible to ‘bugs’ or not, but so far Robby and I have avoided getting it.
The weather seems to be on the same rollercoaster we are on – today we have had snow and sun alternating…just went through the third snow shower, but now the sun is back! Perhaps we will get through this DARK winter before long, and experience the new LIFE of spring. That will be a welcome change!

~Jeanette

Thursday February 19…late

Robert went to the Retina Specialist today. It was not an encouraging appointment. We both came home rather depressed. Diabetic Retinopathy can be mild, moderate or severe. Robert’s diagnosis is Severe Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy with edema, in both eyes. He had a very extensive appointment including an angiography and a retina scan. The angiography is much like an angiogram of the heart, only they watch the injected dye travel through the eye – and they can see where it is leaking and how quickly it leaks and disperses, etc. The technology they use is amazing. I was able to watch as he took photos of each eye, and then displayed them on a large computer screen…the picture of his eye was about 12” in diameter. Wow. An incredibly close-up view. Unfortunately even I could see the pooling blood and the cloudiness and collections of…well, I didn’t exactly get the term used, but the substance left after the body re-absorbs the ‘red’ part of the blood. The swelling is more extensive in the left eye, and that explains the loss of vision. The Dr treated the left eye today with a focal laser treatment. He will treat the right eye in about 5 weeks. The treatment is to stop the bleeding and hopefully reduce the swelling. We certainly would have rather heard “mild” instead of “severe”…and would have rather heard one eye instead of both. I am amazed at how much damage there can be without it noticeably affecting his vision.
All diabetics take warning…when they say diabetes affects the eyes, they mean sooner rather than later…and it can be happening without you being aware of it. Robert came home unable to see very clearly at all and with extreme sensitivity to light. That should all be better in 24 hours or so. If the laser treatment is successful, the bleeding will be stopped, but there is not much hope of the loss of vision returning. The treatment is not intended to improve vision. In fact, there were so many points of leakage, the Dr said he couldn’t laser them all…he had to pick and choose the worse spots and treat them.
And once again we are put in a place of choosing to trust our Creator. Even in THIS He has a plan that He is working for our good and His Glory?
Thanks for trusting with us…for us…thankful for all the prayers and concern.

~Jeanette

Monday February 16...3:30 pm

Good news - Robert is scheduled to see the retina specialist on Thursday at 1:30. They said to plan on a 3 hour appointment...if he needs the laser treatment, they will do it that day. Thanks for the prayers,

~Jeanette

Sunday February 15...8:00 pm

Just when we start thinking we stepped off the roller coaster, here comes another sudden drop. Robert has noticed a decrease in vision since his pancreatitis episode. Well, for the first several months he didn’t say much about it – when you aren’t spending time reading, you don’t notice changes as much. But after he returned to work and to Bible study, he started mentioning how difficult it is to read…“the print is too small”, “the lighting too low”, “it looks mottled”. Getting an ophthalmologist appointment takes time, but Robert felt the urgency and continued to call to see if there were any cancellations. His appointment was moved up 3 times! Yesterday (Valentine’s Day) I took him in – who knew you could see an ophthalmologist on a Saturday?!? After a thorough intake of information and a very thorough exam, the Dr. is referring him to a retina specialist. Robert has some ‘leakage’ in the small blood vessels in his eyes, especially the left one. This is not uncommon with diabetes, but the Dr said with the significant sudden change, he would have to consider the pancreatitis a factor. High blood pressure can also cause it…and of course, blood thinners do not help it. The Dr. is hopeful that the bleeding can be stopped through laser treatments. If his vision doesn’t improve there is surgery that can be done to remove the blood trapped in the eye fluids. Hopefully he will get an appointment with the retina specialist ASAP – the sooner the bleeding is stopped, the higher the chance of recovering vision. And we were thinking just a change of his lens prescription would make things all better.
I’m thinking the rollercoaster is just part of our life now – we don’t get off, it just slows for awhile. As long as I trust the roller coaster Designer, I’m okay with that. Only He knows the amount of wear and tear each sharp turn generates and how many sudden drops are required to GROW our faith and to “make us rely not on ourselves, but on God…” Only He knows for how long and how far without causing more harm than good. I’m still taking Him at His word – “the Lord disciplines those He loves…endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness…”
But I have noticed roller coasters seem to always be in AMUSEMENT parks…am I missing something???

~Jeanette

Saturday February 7...3:00 pm

The good news continued this week when we went to see Robert’s surgeon. The report on his latest CT scan (at 4 months) is positive. The inflammation / fluids / swelling around the pancreas continue to decrease. The dark / dead / necrotic area is still there, unchanged, so any hope of restoration is pretty much gone. But the fact that this area is not increasing or showing any sign of swelling or enlarging is VERY good. This means that it is probably not infected and there is now about a 90% chance he will not need surgery. I asked the Dr what is happening to that necrotic area, and he said it is hopefully just hardening into scar tissue…which is the best case scenario with pancreatitis. Scar tissue, of course, can cause its own problems down the road…but so could another round of pancreatitis. Robert asked him if there is anything he can do to avoid another episode. Along with the things he is already doing in regards to diet and exercise (especially the avoidance of high fat and alcohol) the Dr suggested he eat fresh pineapple and papaya – both provide digestive enzymes which allow the pancreas to ‘rest’ a bit. I don’t want his pancreas to experience any stress at all, so I went to Costco last night to buy pineapple. It costs about the same as gold, but I decided he is well worth it.
Thanks for staying on the journey with us,

~Jeanette

Tuesday February 3...10:00 pm

Robert and I both have been dreading this month. The Dr. scheduled Robert’s prostate biopsy for February because he knew that it would be the earliest date after the stents were put in to be able to “bridge” his medications to do the procedure. Last week Robert saw his cardiologist and we talked about the bridging…he doesn’t recommend stopping Plavix after stents for one whole year. He said if the urologist REALLY thought the biopsy had to be done, he would consult with him and decide on the shortest possible time to stop the medication. Yesterday we went to see Robert’s urologist and after a brief discussion about the medications, he did an exam. The Dr. finished and said, I see no reason to do a biopsy – I can’t find a nodule at all, so unless your PSA number has changed, I won’t need a biopsy. We just sat speechless…kind of waiting to see if there was more. Robert started asking questions and after finding out we needed to wait until later in the day to find out the PSA number, we said goodbye. We didn’t hear from the Dr. yesterday, but today Robert saw his primary care physician and he had the results – his PSA number has changed…the last time it was 1.4 and today it was .73! It went down!
Whew. Sometimes you don’t realize you have been holding your breath until you start to slowly let it out. Even then, it takes awhile to realize the rollercoaster is not taking a sharp turn, or a sudden drop…in fact it almost feels like we stepped off of it…Robert will see his urologist again in 6 months. Meanwhile, he sees the surgeon this Thursday to get a report on his last CT scan.
Grateful tonight for the prayers of many people…and grateful for the trustworthy plan of our Father.

~Jeanette

Wednesday January 14...8:30pm

Oh my. Life happens and blogs are forgotten. It has been awhile since the last update. We had a marvelous time in California visiting relatives in Modesto and Fresno. We hadn’t seen Roy and Martha and kids (from Indiana) for at least 2 years. Robert did pretty well with lots of laying / reclining. We almost missed all the snow traveling…going past the “Chains Required” sign when it was blinking worked out alright, though it meant going about 5 miles an hour up over the mountain on the way home. By the time we got to the bottom they weren’t letting any southbound traffic go up. Glad we made it…without the chains. Robert went back to work on the 5th and did great last week, except for the CT scan day. He had to drink those “vanilla smoothies” again…and by evening, he had a rash and was itching all over...it lasted several days. Hmmmm. Maybe we have finally solved the mystery of what caused the rash, welts and itching back in September. He had 3 of those scans in about 3 weeks then. He won’t get the results on this scan until the end of the month.
Last week, Robert also started his cardio rehab 3 hours a week, plus an hour of education. He gets to spend time on the treadmill and several other exercise machines…all while wearing a heart monitor and getting regular blood pressure checks. He says it will “take awhile” to get in shape. After 3 days of work and two rehabs, he is dragging this week. Please continue to pray for stamina.
I am spending lots of time trying to stay on top of paying bills…and trying to learn Quicken to manage them. There are reasons I didn’t take any accounting classes…numbers give me a brain freeze. I would much rather spend my time studying God’s word, discussing theology, or reading inspirational books. That’s why I wish the money going to pay medical bills was going to pay for a seminary class. Sigh. Maybe someday.

~Jeanette