10-31 Update on Wayne

Wayne had to go through more sticking to get blood today. Earlier in the day, the nurse was successful in one stick. Then the lab wanted some (who the heck wanted the first batch?) and another nurse tried for about 20 minutes before she gave up. After lunch the first team was sent in and she was able to hit the vein on the first try. I suggested they tattoo a bulls-eye to mark the spot.

A Brief Pause to Talk About the Grandchildren

The patient had already walked twice before I got here this morning. I got a later start because of the Halloween Parade at Gage and Zane's daycare. Nobody else from the family was going to be able to go. Gage was a little sad about that, so I told Wendy to tell them I would be there. They paraded out of the building and halfway around the block, providing multiple photo ops. The boys were happy to see me there and I enjoyed all the cute costumes. Gage was a red power ranger (as were many other little boys) and Zane was Robin Hood (even though he was in a scarecrow costume.) It would have been perfect had they taken off the patches. I think they did get the patches off before they went trick or treating in the evening. All of the children were cute. There were a few in Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) costumes that were so adorable. The dresses were just like what Judy Garland wore, but covered in blue sequins. They had on shoes that were covered in red sequins and carried a basket with a toy dog. I wish I had taken a picture of them. The first one I saw had her hair in braids. There was also one little girl dressed like Cleopatra. She even walked like an Egyptian.

Back to the Patient

Wayne had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a hard-cooked egg. He ate about a quarter of the sandwich and a bite of the egg. I ordered a reuben sandwich and ate every crumb. It was delicious.

Larry Hoelscher was in the area and called to see if he could come by, so I gave him directions to find us. While I went to meet Larry at the elevator, Wayne started walking around the nurses station. He was moving at a pretty good pace, and without the IV cart to lean on. He posed for a picture...he has a photo shop project in mind for me, if I can figure out how to do it. Larry and Wayne talked about farming and football and remodeling, oh my! While they talked, I uploaded a video to the blog, but decided it could be better and took it off when I got home. I'll try to get Wayne to work with me on it tomorrow. If he cooperates, you'll like it...I promise.

Wayne has received a number of lovely flower arrangements and pot plants in baskets. One that came this morning was from Donna and Jimmie Chambers and staff. We got a good laugh out of that. For those who might not know them, Donna and Jimmie have been friends of ours for probably close to 40 years. They happen to own Wharton Funeral Home. I told Wayne, "You have to worry that things might be going south when the funeral home starts sending you flowers!" Thanks, Jimmie & Donna!

More About the Little Ones

As I said earlier, I got to the hospital late, but I made up for it by leaving early. I needed to get home to see the trick or treaters. I told Carolyn I would pick up Kate from daycare to save her a little time. Kate was so excited to see me. She couldn't give me enough hugs. We stopped at Walmart to buy some candy to supplement the stuff I got last week, then we went to my house. Brent came soon and got Kate ready for Halloween. He deviated from Carolyn's plan of Kate wearing scrubs. He came with a wig, psychedelic pants, bangle bracelets, and bling for her. Carlee has a really bad cold, so she didn't get into costume. She gave us a smile even though she felt so bad.

Back to Wayne

Wayne really seemed to feel much better today. I believe we will get him home on Friday. Then we just have to wait to see what the pathology report says to know whether or not chemo is in his future.