Well, What Can I Say?

I know that there are some of you that are reading my blog to see what's happening. I hate to say, "I don't know what 's happening". I saw the pain specialist doctor today and there is so much unknown about the cause of the pain and numbness in my feet, we've gotten 'nowhere', it seems. She is concerned about adding any more steroids to my body right now so there will be no more injections. I have not found any relief in my feet from the injections and she feels that the neurostimulator will be just the answer. W E L L , Paul and I are not so sure. We are both afraid of the procedure and it's inherent dangers. I'm afraid of having someone touch my spinal cord in any way. They want to place a little strip of plastic with electrodes on it along side the spinal cord. SCARY!!!

There are other issues keeping us in Las Vegas right now too. Last week Paul had a treadmill stress test. The primary care doctor said yesterday that she got the copy of the test report and there is a problem I guess Paul heard her say he'd need an angiogram to decide the next step. He's not thrilled about finding a problem but willing to explore the issue and possible help.

We will be coming back to Homer in a few weeks (if nothing serious exists for Paul) and if something becomes available for my feet, we'll return to Las Vegas and try that out. I've gotten pretty discouraged because doctors have no answer. Oh well, I'm grateful to have medical insurance and a safe place to stay while here.

After the Funeral

We are finally back in Las Vegas. We had good roads and weather for the trip. The funeral was very nice. Carl Turner offered the eulogy for my brother. He did a fantastic job. He told stories from 29 years of being best friends. Craig (son) told his story of his dad. He told of the Plan of Salvation and that he knows he will see his father again when he also passes from mortality to immortality. After the graveside prayer, the family returned to the church where the members of the Paradise First Ward of the Chico California Stake of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-saints provided food. That was a good time to visit with all the family and get the much needed hugs and kisses. Denny had 7 children and 12 grandchildren. I have 7 children and 28 grandchildren. Ric had 4 boys and I don't know how many grandchildren (none of his grandchildren were there). Most of the grandchildren were at the funeral and food. What a wonderful time. All the little 2nd cousins pairing up and trouping around. I have a wonderful family and extended family. It's a sad event but it was still a sort of reunion. I have been blessed beyond what I deserve. No matter how things go from here, I can't complain, I have children, grandchildren and a father that love me!!!

Saddness Mixed with Reunion

Thursday afternoon (April 7th, 2011), my brother, Dennis Keith Tovey passed from this mortal life. He battled Acute Leukemia for 10 months. He is survived by his wife Becky and ex-wife Jeri, his father Keith Tovey, sister Karen Johnson Spilsbury, brother Richard Tovey, seven children: Christopher, Jennifer, Wendy, Craig, Nancy, Doug & Vicky and 12 grandchildren. No one should have to bury a son, kids are supposed to outlive the parents, that's from the Book of Karen. Denny was 61 years old, too young to die, in my opinion. He ran a successful auto mechanics business in Paradise for many years including servicing all the police and town vehicles. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-saints Paradise 1st Ward for about 30 years. His funeral is/was Monday, April 11, 2011 at 1pm at the Buschmann Chapel and he will be interred at the Paradise Cemetery. Yesterday we had a family gathering at a local park to share some love and hugs between cousins. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet outside of the funeral atmosphere. There were 4 generations enjoying food and happy hugs. It is a sad event that allows us a huge family reunion. But the chance to visit family, separated by great distance, is such a rare and wonderful time. Family traveled from: the greater Salt Lake City Utah area, Parker Colorado (Denver area), Orange County California, Hillsboro (Portland) Oregon, St. George Utah, Las Vegas Nevada and parts in between. I love my children and nieces and nephews, I'm so glad to see them and hug them.

On the Road Again (Houston to Las Vegas via Dallas)

We sure had a nice visit with Jyn and her family. We really enjoyed playing and talking with the grandkids. They are all very smart and conversant. The 3 year old is a kick in the pants, he played with his grandpa with his legos. He was insistant about sitting on his lap to build and take apart his structures. Sunday afternoon, Morgan played her viola which she does beautifully. She just turned 11 but you'd think she was much older to listen to her play, amazing. Emmerson was pretty artistic for 5 years old. She made several paper dolls with alot of detail like, jewelry, crowns, and high heels. And Kennedy also plays violin, is artsy and does a good job knitting. She also likes to paint and draw like her sister Morgan. Monday morning found us up at 7:15 am with the road grader ready to plow up the driveway where we were parked. We hussled like traumatized ants and got out of "Dodge" in about 15 minutes. We parked in the parking lot and made a breakfast protein drink and double checked the rig for travel. We got the car hooked up and we were off about 8 am. We made a few mistakes on the highways of downtown Houston but finally made it to Dallas by 12:30 pm to visit my Uncle Gordon and Aunt Arlene. I haven't seen them in 3 years and don't know if I will again. They treated us to a very nice lunch and showed us their apartment in a retirement residence. Wow, it was really nice, and all the staff are very attentive. We had a nice, but all too short, visit and headed down the road again. The traffic out of town was very light and peaceful so Paul just kept driving. We made it all the way to Amarillo Texas, 625 miles in one day. We found an ELKS Lodge there and spent the night for $10 with electricity and peace and quiet. Today is more of the same, if the road and traffic are good we will make good progress toward Las Vegas. We're hurrying to speed up doctors visits by a week, so I'll be free in case I need to go to California to my brother's funeral. (If you haven't seen it, his blog is http://www.dennytovey.blogspot.com/ )

In Houston

We made it to Houston today. We made a brief stop in Tucson to play cards with good friends, Barb and Craig Stephens. What fun. We also got to see the little place they bought and fixed up for long stays in Tucson. (They are travelers at heart and will still be on the road in their motorhome.) They have 2 married sons in Tucson so they'll be there often and that's where we'll probably catch up with them.

I've been watching the blog about my (15 months) younger brother, Denny. You might remember that the last time we thought we were going to Houston, my brother had a turn for the worse and Paul and I drove to San Francisco. That was January 31st. Well, things are not looking too good. If you know him or are interested in what's happening, here is the blog address: http://dennytovey.blogspot.com His oldest daughter, Jennifer, keeps the blog updated.

Paul and I will visit Lyn for the weekend and start the 1490 mile drive back to Las Vegas on Monday. (I don't have a doctors appointment till April 7th.)

The Verdict

I did see the doctor today. She thinks that I am sensitive to drugs and medications. She thinks that we should wait 3 weeks before the next injection. Fortunately the next 2 planned injections are low dose shots and shouldn't affect me so adversely. There has been some improvement so we're going to move forward with the next neck and low back injections. The insurance has been notified for approval on the neurostimulator trial, that takes about a month or two. Moving forward.

Friday we have a few doctors appointments and when we're finished we can leave for a few weeks. I think we'll go to Texas to see Lyn and her family. It's been a few years since I've been there (less for Paul).

The Jury's still out

I did have the injection in my neck at C5-6 three days ago. I'm not sure if there's any change. There might me less needle pain in my toes but numbness is still there. I'll see the doctor Tuesday and make a better evaluation then.

She is scheduled to inject my low back again BUT, I'm not sure that's a good idea. I have had a really hard time since the last one. I may not be handling the steroids all that well. I talked to the anesthesiologist because I thought what he was using was causing me so much sleeplessness. He said everything he used was quick and short acting. He did say that the steroid could keep me from sleeping.

I have felt so lousy since Thursday that I called the doctor and asked for a sleeping pill. (any of you that know me, know that's TOTALLY out of character for me) I did take one Ambien on Friday night and slept for almost 11 hours. But, I felt lousy all the next day. (I don't even feel like knitting). So I took 1/2 a Xanax before bed on Saturday night (I thought the Ambien was too strong for me). I slept 10 hours but still didn't feel any better in the morning. I went to church and came home to take a nap. I don't know what's wrong, I have no fever or any other symptoms. The only thing I can figure is, it's the steroids. Maybe I shouldn't have injections weekly? I see the doctor again Tuesday and we'll discuss this new situation and decide.