Thursday, October 8th
Cord heart is home on the mountain. We are still settling in and getting comfortable. Max is a building machine and uses his time well - to build and build. Friends are coming to help - and will continue to until we are back in the house.
I'm trying to learn about freaking sodium. Salt, salt, salt, good grief.
Cord is fuzzy, he feels strange yet is trying to communicate what is happening to the docs so they can adjust his medicine. He just called about a dry cough is has been getting - a symptom they asked him to report. We are constantly learning and our brains are fried but we are doing our best. We're still figuring out the med management - it's a tricky amount of pills taken throughout the day. We are trying to establish a system so forgetting or second guessing is not a problem. When you are fuzzy - it doesn't help. I was away last night but when Cord has a meds question - he has no problem calling them to be sure.
Cord has lost a lot of weight taking a diuretic. It's amazing - he looks very different, and the diuretic often makes him look gaunt. I know it is working though and they will step it down once he loses the last of the edema. He weighs 191.2 as of a minute ago. He is usually 215 or more. For a while his face felt numb but that has passed. These are hard-core drugs - I imagine there will be many adjustments as time goes.
Thank you so much for those of you who have written and told us about your personal experience with this condition - and have come back to health. It helps make us feel sane. Thank you to you professionals who have answered our questions or sent us helpful information. And thanks to those who helped us ask the right questions - it's all helped so much.
We are sleeping at our neighbors house and last night Max took a turn so I could sleep in my bed. As well as unload and put away the carload of groceries I got last night.
I started at the Westcliffe Farmer's Market and put the hurt on Lippis' Farms veggie supply! There is only one more week of market in Westcliffe - next week I will get even more heart-healthy veg to feed him. I got a small amount of Sangre's Best delicious and lean Valley grown beef - and even though we don't eat a lot of beef, I am so happy to have Elin's - I know it's healthy and pure and a little goes a long way.
Next I went to Colon Orchards in Canon City and got huge bags of apples and lot of other goodies - their winter squashes - excellent storable food - are beyond. Then I hit the grocery stores and squinted at labels for hours and hours. I thought I'd pass out when it was over. Salt! Salt!! Did I say salt!? I thought the HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) addiction was bad - it's all about salt! Everything that says "Low Fat" - has extra salt added to make up for it.
So I read and compared and read and chose and then changed my mind and then put it back and then read again. It took hours but I pushed through because I wanted to finish the list - so I didn't have to do it again for a while. I didn't get home until 10.
After being gone for 9 days - the next step was to empty the fridge to make room for the fresh groceries. So I made compost - into the night. The stars were incredible, everyone else was sleeping - it was quite soothing. I slept in the tent in our bed like a baby - it was so peaceful.
I thought about finally having a good cry in the woods yesterday - while I was having my afternoon cup of tea but the breeze was fantastic, the sky was that killer blue and I felt all of the strength, love, and support around me lift me up right then and there and fill me with resolve to keep going. I thought on my way back to the house, "What do I have to complain about? Cord is going to be okay." Thanks to so many.
Penn
Cord heart is home on the mountain. We are still settling in and getting comfortable. Max is a building machine and uses his time well - to build and build. Friends are coming to help - and will continue to until we are back in the house.
I'm trying to learn about freaking sodium. Salt, salt, salt, good grief.
Cord is fuzzy, he feels strange yet is trying to communicate what is happening to the docs so they can adjust his medicine. He just called about a dry cough is has been getting - a symptom they asked him to report. We are constantly learning and our brains are fried but we are doing our best. We're still figuring out the med management - it's a tricky amount of pills taken throughout the day. We are trying to establish a system so forgetting or second guessing is not a problem. When you are fuzzy - it doesn't help. I was away last night but when Cord has a meds question - he has no problem calling them to be sure.
Cord has lost a lot of weight taking a diuretic. It's amazing - he looks very different, and the diuretic often makes him look gaunt. I know it is working though and they will step it down once he loses the last of the edema. He weighs 191.2 as of a minute ago. He is usually 215 or more. For a while his face felt numb but that has passed. These are hard-core drugs - I imagine there will be many adjustments as time goes.
Thank you so much for those of you who have written and told us about your personal experience with this condition - and have come back to health. It helps make us feel sane. Thank you to you professionals who have answered our questions or sent us helpful information. And thanks to those who helped us ask the right questions - it's all helped so much.
We are sleeping at our neighbors house and last night Max took a turn so I could sleep in my bed. As well as unload and put away the carload of groceries I got last night.
I started at the Westcliffe Farmer's Market and put the hurt on Lippis' Farms veggie supply! There is only one more week of market in Westcliffe - next week I will get even more heart-healthy veg to feed him. I got a small amount of Sangre's Best delicious and lean Valley grown beef - and even though we don't eat a lot of beef, I am so happy to have Elin's - I know it's healthy and pure and a little goes a long way.
Next I went to Colon Orchards in Canon City and got huge bags of apples and lot of other goodies - their winter squashes - excellent storable food - are beyond. Then I hit the grocery stores and squinted at labels for hours and hours. I thought I'd pass out when it was over. Salt! Salt!! Did I say salt!? I thought the HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) addiction was bad - it's all about salt! Everything that says "Low Fat" - has extra salt added to make up for it.
So I read and compared and read and chose and then changed my mind and then put it back and then read again. It took hours but I pushed through because I wanted to finish the list - so I didn't have to do it again for a while. I didn't get home until 10.
After being gone for 9 days - the next step was to empty the fridge to make room for the fresh groceries. So I made compost - into the night. The stars were incredible, everyone else was sleeping - it was quite soothing. I slept in the tent in our bed like a baby - it was so peaceful.
I thought about finally having a good cry in the woods yesterday - while I was having my afternoon cup of tea but the breeze was fantastic, the sky was that killer blue and I felt all of the strength, love, and support around me lift me up right then and there and fill me with resolve to keep going. I thought on my way back to the house, "What do I have to complain about? Cord is going to be okay." Thanks to so many.
Penn
Cord finding it hard to not do something! He's making a drawing for Max regarding the building. The Life Vest brain is attached to the strap you see across his chest.
Beautiful, brand new drywall!! Go Max!
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