Faster Pace

Yesterday I ran my 12th race of the year, the Elf Run 5k in Oconomowoc. It was a great flat course, allowing me to set a PR (personal record) as I ran 9:26 minute miles. One race remains on New Year’s Eve Day – the Race Into the New Year 5k. Rosanna and I ran it last year and decided it would become tradition to usher out the old year and welcome in the new year with this race. There’s always a huge turn-out no matter how cold or snowy the weather. The atmosphere is festive, which may have something to do with the full sized bottle of champagne they give each racer, and the mood is light. If anyone is interested, you can do this race as a 2k walk, a 5k run or a 10k run….

5 Towel Work-out

Joe and I were up and to my gym by 6:30a.m. for our annual Thanksgiving tradition of meeting friends for a Spin class to start the day of feasting off right. Spin was a great work-out, followed by a run in my VFF's, and weight lifting for a total calorie burn of 600, and enough sweat & snot to fill 5 towels. I kid you not! I think I've earned my splurge of a meal today. What is the vegan house featuring this holiday?

• Tofurkey with Sauteed Mushrooms & Onions
• Joe's Homemade Wheat Rolls
• Oven Roasted Cauliflower & Carrots
• Spinach Coconut Soup
• Traditional Mashed Potatoes (Yukon Golds)
• Vegan Chocolate Pecan Pie

More than anything, I'm thankful to have some down time. Work continues at it's blistering, unrelenting pace, and the rest of life isn't slowing down either. I've been nursing a head cold this week that has required me to listen to my body and rest more than usual. I'm motivated to perform well at the Elf 5k this Sunday in Ocnonomowoc, so I have been good to not push too hard, and plan to take the next 2 days off from running and exercise to let my body finish fighting this cold without competing with my muscles for recovery time.

My mom's knee replacement surgery was a success. She was doing stairs in physical therapy within two days of getting her titanium joint, and is home today with many weeks of P.T. ahead of her. Aunt Shirley is making some progress too in her rehab unit after several distressing and frightening moments, and is hopeful that she will go home by the end of 2010 - that is if the rehab doctor doesn't inadvertently kill her first. The rehab doc made a grand appearance yesterday. Came into her room and said, "So how's the weakness in your leg since the stroke?" Shirley says, "I didn't have a stroke." "Really?" asks the doc. Oh boy.

I am happy to report that Chaco's eyes are looking much better since we started the antiviral eye drops, and his URI is gone. Denali's URI never developed, but his eyes definitely need some work yet. Both boys are happy and living high off the hog - both have gained nearly a pound since moving here three short weeks ago!

And for those who haven't heard yet, Joe's first Remicade infusion is scheduled for 12/10/10.

Seeing Red

I’m seeing RED. When I took the boys to the vet, Dr. Jackie took some fur to culture for ringworm spores to confirm that they no longer had ringworm (remember, the Sanctuary was treating them until they were cleared?). The Sanctuary did not do a culture,they merely used a black light, and while a black light can conclusively say ringworm is present, it cannot say the fungus is not present, because it's not always visible to the eye. The culture takes 10-14 days, and today the results were in. Denali’s culture was 100% negative. Yay! Chaco’s was inconclusive. A chemical reaction in the culture turns bright red if the fungal spores are present. Chaco’s are a pale pink. This could mean the fur that was cultured reflects the fungus leaving his system, but who can say for sure? Dr. Jackie consulted with a feline dermatologist about this, and the expert felt that at this point a shampoo treatment would be good enough. And since the boys are always together, this means shampooing them both. However, with Joe's suppressed immune system right now, Dr. Jackie and we agree that we should be extra prudent and treat Chaco with oral medication too. Tomorrow we'll have to wrestle the boys for a one time bath each, and after that, I'll need to spot treat (as in lather up and rinse the shampoo) the fungal areas on Chaco daily for 14 days. But is that all I'll be doing? No. Chaco is still congested after 10 days of a twice daily antibiotic and a twice daily dose of an anti-viral gel. His eyes remain a bit red and squinty with conjunctivitis, so I need to do another 14 days of anti-biotic, anti-viral and eye ointment treatments. I need to continue with the anti-viral for Denali as well. AND let's not forget that they still have roundworm too and will need pills crammed down their throats in another week for Round II of that treatment. Oh, and get this: the new round of meds cost me $150 today.

I’m ready to cry in anger and frustration. All of these conditions were to be resolved at the sanctuary! I’m so sick of dealing with all of this - it’s time consuming giving them the meds 2-3x/day. AND NOW shampooing is in the mix???

Factoids

Fact #1: My mom is the best cook I know. I'd rather eat her food over any restaurant cuisine or my own for that matter. Last night was her annual Harvest Feast - a gourmet vegan affair with multiple courses and tastes. A great culinary achievement! Pictured before we shoveled it in are my mom, sister, Karen, niece, Marisa & me.

Fact #2: Yesterday I ran my 1,000th mile of 2010!!! That's farther than here to Denver, Austin, Jacksonville, or Portland, Maine.

Fact #3: Joe's infusions may cost $8000 or more per treatment! Of course that's not what he will pay out of pocket, but still...

Fact #4: Aunt Shirley is adjusting to her rehab placement and making some slow but encouraging progress. She will be there for at least one month.

Fact #5: Today is the perfect gloomy November day that is made for staying in fleece jammies while lallygagging around the house. I ain't steppin' a toe outside today, and am signing off now to get some much needed down time.

The Boys

Here's what I can tell you after spending our first week with Chaco & Denali. Chaco seems to be the bigger, older brother in this sibling pair. Not only is he a 1/2 pound heavier than Denali, he seems to have more confidence and leadership acumen. Chaco is the first to explore new situations, revealing perhaps a bolder personality trait, making sure everything is okay before Denali proceeds. This is not to say that Denali is shy or skittish - he's just initially more cautious than Chaco.

Both are very sweet in temperament. Denali is more affectionate than Chaco, wanting constant lap time for which he rewards you with loud purring. Chaco enjoys laps, and being pet as well, but seems to need it less. Chaco, though heavier, is the more agile athlete. He is fast with endurance and stamina, which becomes most evident when he chases a red laser light. Chaco has a preternatural ability to anticipate where the light will shine next, never missing a beat as he takes sharp turns to catch that red spot! When not chasing the light, the boys entertain themselves with wrestling matches, flipping catnip mice into the air, rolling balls with bells around, wild chasing rampages from one end of the house to the other, and crawling into nooks and crannies we'd prefer they avoid, such as going under our recliner sofa when we have the footrest kicked out.

They love bed time. First for the opportunity to tackle toes, and gnaw on knees, but then to curl up together betwixt Joe and me once the lights go out. Perhaps more than bedtime, they love to eat. Both are hearty eaters, which is a relief after struggling to get Dio or Rainier to eat in their final weeks of life. The boys also take their medicine well, though neither appreciates foul tasting liquids being squirted down their throats or goopy eye ointment falling into open eyes. It's a great feeling to come home to healthy kitties. The house is alive with their energy. It's been over 5 years since we had more than one cat, and never have I had two kittens. Best of all is how much they love each other. They must be in the same room, and preferably touching the majority of the time. If one is playing alone, he'll suddenly stop and look for his brother. If one comes to my lap, the other wants in too. They climb over each other, feet rest on heads as they sleep and they take comfort from each other without having to rely solely on us. It seems we've at long last got the cat situation we've been wanting.

Medical-Ville

What a banner last quarter of the year we’re having here with medical matters. Don’t know if all of you know about Aunt Shirley’s fall. On 10/28 Shirley’s leg gave out on her in the bathroom, and she fell, hitting her head, but more painfully, hurting her leg. She did not call anyone or seek medical attention that day. When she woke up on 10/29, she could not move her leg or bear weight, necessitating an ambulance call and ride to Froedtert. Since she is on Coumadin the first concern was that her thin blood could be causing internal blood loss. A cat scan of her head found no evidence of a brain bleed, x-rays of the leg found no fractures, and ultrasounds of her leg found no blood clots or pooling areas of blood. She had excruciating pain in her leg from the knee down and said her leg was twice it’s normal size. Blood work identified low blood counts (hematocrit & hemoglobin) likely connected to internal bleeding (but where they never figured out), for which she was given a total of 6 transfusions. While she was medically monitored, discussion of post-hospital rehab was broached, but Shirley refused to consider this, requesting physical therapy and a motorized wheel chair instead. Staff agreed to give this a try, but as of today, Shirley’s medical status was stable enough for discharge. However, since her inability to stand or transfer weight to her leg persists, she has been moved to Maple Ridge Rehab far on the south side of town much to her dismay. She’s had few visitors at Froedtert, and is likely to have even fewer at a location so far from home, which adds to her depressed and angered state.

My mom who is preparing for knee replacement surgery 11/22, had pre-surgery blood work done that found low hemoglobin levels, which is reflective of an internal bleed, and there was speculation that her much anticipated and desired surgery would be delayed (her ability to exercise and get about has greatly diminished in recent months and she’s dying to get her new knee so she can get back to life as she knows it). An endoscopy yesterday found about 20 teeny areas of eroded bleeding in her stomach, most likely caused by age (you live long enough and things start breaking down despite your best efforts). The doctor was able to fix the bleeds, and her surgery date is on!

Chaco & Denali are being treated for a URI. The treatment regime is a familiar one – twice per day they get a syringe of antibiotic and a syringe of Lysine (a gel to fight viruses), and Chaco who has the start of conjunctivitis, gets an antibiotic ointment to his eyes three times per day. The boys also tested positive for roundworm in their stool and needed to be pilled with Drontal to kill the nasty long flat worms living in their intestines (ewww!). It was a major ordeal getting the pills down their little throats, and that Denali is a super wiggly one! I guess the worms will die and be eliminated in the litter box – I may just puke if I see that. The good news is that these boys are hearty and do not seem worse for the wear for having URI’s. They will hopefully get over them in 7-10 days without trouble. It is unlikely that they would follow in Rainier’s footsteps.

And lastly, there is no significant update yet on Joe’s Remicade infusion plan. Things are held up right now as we wait for insurance approval. We have no idea how expensive this medication is, but Joe has already received a form for a $500 rebate from the Remicade drug manufacturer, which suggests to us the cost may be exorbitant – but for whom? Will insurance cover most of it, or will we? Either way, it’s a moot point, as this is the treatment Joe needs. He is hoping to get his first infusion on 11/26. To begin treatment, his first 3 infusions need to occur in a more rapid succession than the 8-week interval he will ease into. His plan is to get infusions on Friday’s (they take 2-3 hours and must be done at the hospital), so he has the weekend to rebound from them, as they typically cause people to feel fatigued.

So, that is all the medical news for now. I hope I don’t have to write many more postings of this nature!

Our Non-Vacation, Vacation

I last left off with the tale of my amazing race one week ago today. Since then we've been on the go, experiencing paid time off as just that, rather than being in a true vacation mode. Here's what's happened since then. Sunday we hit the road for Louisville - about a 6.5 to 7 hour drive. We stopped at Wolf Park (a preserve established in 1972) in Indiana for a couple hours, where we watched a wolf-bison demonstration. This preserve has a small herd of buffalo, and for the demos they bring in a couple wolves and then let nature take it's course, which means the wolves will try to attack the calves of the herd, while the adult bison charge the wolf to protect it's young. This is not controlled, so if the wolf actually got a buffalo, so be it. The staff at the preserve won't interfere. We also got to hear and watch a pack of wolves howling to their coyote cousins across a small lake. It was a pretty cool pit stop.

See the calf on the side of it's protective mother?

Onward to the in-laws house, where we basically chilled and kept things low-key Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday we headed home, with a time-out in Indianapolis to see Joe's sister, niece and nephew.John & Leonna are 6 & 7 years old with huge spunk and personalities. Thursday was an insane day of medical appointments, and driving to Marion, WI to get the boys from the Sanctuary. I'll say more about the medical stuff in a moment (this pertains to Joe's health). The boys are super cute, playful and sweet. They also have URI's!!! :( But they are hearty and showing no weakness from their colds, so I don't fear they'll end up like Rainier. I take them to the vet Monday, at which time they will undoubtedly be prescribed antibiotics. Here we go again with the medicating. Sheesh.

Denali in back, Chaco in front

Friday was a full day of catching up with life (cooking,cleaning, shopping), and today was spent with our friends, Kris & Laura & little Josie, who came over for a vegan, low-residue lunch. One day remains of our vacation. My plan is to spend it reading on the couch :)

JOE: (some of you have received an email with the info, so you can skip the rest of this posting if you'd like!) Joe and I met with his new doctor (whom we both liked and who met with us for over an hour!) and got the low down. We learned that there is a very poor correlation between symptoms and how the colon looks, so while Joe doesn't have outrageous symptoms, his colon is in bad shape. And some people who have lots of pain and discomfort, don't have bad looking colons. So essentially, symptoms reveal nothing. Dr. Naik said that most people in Joe's condition are hospitalized and about 70% of them have a colectomy (removal of the colon) within a year.

Even though Joe was seemingly doing great on Asacol for 6 years, it is highly likely that he has had mild-moderate inflammation all that time. And since he didn't have a colonoscopy during those 6 years, we have no way of knowing how his colon looked after his first flare healed (as in how bad was the scarring after the ulcers healed), or how inflamed it's been all this time. He didn't have a colonoscopy during those years because he felt fine and the IBD protocol dictated a colonoscopy 8 years after diagnosis and every other year after that, and Joe hadn't hit the 8 year mark yet.

Joe is at a Mayo Level 3 severe rating, which is the worst possible rating, and it's unlikely that anything but the last resort medicine, Remicade, will help him. The more damage done to the colon, the sooner it may need to be yanked out. The main aim now is to keep Joe's colon and to have a decent quality of life. Without the colon, he could expect to have at least 8 soft, unformed BM's per day, which would really hamper our active lifestyle. And there are risks for infections and other bad stuff that comes with having no colon.

So, after much discussion, education and consideration, we have concluded that Remicade is the only answer and the only hope of avoiding removal of his colon. He'll get his first infusion within the next week or so. They take 2-3 hours and are given every 8 weeks. He will be at higher risk for developing leukemia and lymphoma, so blood work monitoring that will be done every 4 months. Not to make a bad pun, but this is a really crappy situation. It's hard when your body has a mind of it's own. Despite living a healthy life with a great diet and lots of exercise, there's only so much you can control.