Update(s)

Not much new to report. They have started Irene on some pain meds and have increased the dosage on a regular basis to keep her comfortable. She still has her phone but has difficulty answering it - and often doesn't want to talk for very long as she is groggy from the meds.

I'll be having surgery on 10/27 - so poor Mike is really having to deal with a handful, what with preparing for that (he'll need to be with me the first day and of course will be there for a couple of days beyond that, at the least.)

Plus - fall is here, the leaves will be falling soon. Been a rough year for him!

Update on Irene

Mike and I just came back from a week in North Dakota, taking care of Irene's affairs, visiting her at Manor Care (she is in room 254B and has her same home number there if you'd like to contact her). She is having good days and bad. We spoke to her doctor and the biopsies they did didn't turn up a significant amount of cancer - her main problems are her back and some leg swelling. She can't walk right now, but she is going through therapy. I don't think she'll be running a marathon anytime soon, though.

We packed up her things at assisted living - the doctor tells us she'll remain at the nursing home and they will keep her comfortable. She was having eating and sleeping issues, but they switched her meds and she seems to be doing better. She is sounding more 'with it' and alert, but when we were there she occasionally became confused - it seemed like a touch of short term memory loss, probably due to lack of sleep and the narcotic pain meds they have her on. She loves company though - every visitor that came in got her smiling and her sense of humor hasn't left the building!

We also visited Mike's friend Howard twice, who is in a nursing home, as well as another friend's father, who is in another assisted living facility.

Outside of the bug attacks on the road, buckets of rain on Friday (can you say soggy?), it was really just running around Minot between getting paperwork taken care of, packing up her apartment, and spending as much time with Irene as we were able to. We did have some breaks where we spent time with a couple of his friends and just acted stupid and had a few laughs....a much needed break during an otherwise sad and pathetic time.

Test results not yet back...but Irene has turned down any aggressive treatment, so they have cancelled the oncologist consultation, and the doctor told us: "We'll keep her comfortable in the nursing home now." She does have her own cel phone now...guess you're never too old to pick up new technology!

Uh oh...she got hold of a phone!

The nursing home that they have Irene in, doesn't have phones in the rooms. So we're not able to call her...which is sad...but her friend came to visit her today, and she has a cel phone, so Irene borrowed it and made phone calls. Too funny...now SHE wants a cel phone of her own! Looks like Mike and I are going phone shopping..I'm thinking Jitterbug. What's good for a phone challenged 92 year old??? :)

To be published in Memory Makers online gallery!

This layout I did is going to be the featured idea at Memory Makers the week of September 30.

Irene is scheduled to be moved to another facility tomorrow. It's a nursing home/rehab place and I haven't heard exactly which services/part of the facility she is going to. But, it will be good for her to get out of the hospital, a change of scenery, maybe a better bed as her back and hips have been bothering her. Otherwise she is feeling a bit better, overall. Still no news on the second biopsy, or anything from the doctor today.

Jackson Browne at the State Fair

Jackson Browne rocked the house...er, the fairgrounds in St. Paul last night! and we were there! (click on images for larger photos)

Irene Update

Biopsy results were inconclusive, so they had to do another today...so more waiting. She is hanging in there!