Setting up our temporary home was the focus of Wednesday. We needed supplies for the place. Starbucks was the first destination since that is a must for Joe. He loves Starbucks cafe mild with one of their pastries. I am a Long Island, NY bagel gal so I go for Joe. Our next stop was Target which was nearly directly across the street. There was limited parking since the parking lot was being repaved. We purchased some elastic shorts for Joe since the ones he has fall off of him till he looks like a hip hop kid with his underwear showing. We also got household items to clean up our "newlywed" home. I snatched four blinding bright ugly but soft yellow bath towels since the hotel's are hard and abrasive. What a steal at $1.74 each! The reason they were cheap was because they were ugly. Our next stop was COSTCO for paper towels and whatever. CVS was for the small antibacterial with aloe bottles that Joe likes, the box of Neupogin prescription and of course a few more miscellaneous items. Why is it, I can not just buy one thing? Next to find a Walmart which was way out of the way but Joe wanted a laundry basket just like the one we have at home. FOUND! Next stop was the hospital to track down missing cards and boxes. I was able to get a pile of cards but failed at finding the boxes after also running to both ends of the hospital where to the nurse's station where Joe was a patient, No Luck! I started to get some nasty painful large cold sores on both sides of my upper lip so I started the Abreva treatment. Eating and drinking hurt now. Sometimes these various trials of life hit all at the same time.
We had a delightful light lunch at Le Madelines where we both had a cup of their delicious Tomato Basil Soup which was perfect for my cold. I had half a tuna salad sandwich but ate only half of it since my stomach was still a mess. Joe adored his potato pancake (I forget the French name) with a delectable mushroom sauce on the side. His appetite is much better than it was before which is a goof thing since he weighs only 172 pounds on his 6 foot frame.
Now it was after 2PM where we were now allowed to move to our new room on the top floor. The location was perfect on a quiet wing and with two windows that look out to the west to enjoy the pretty Texas sunset as well as the Galleria area skyrises. Joe got one of the hotel carts and started moving our stuff which took four trips. My job was to put it all away in the drawers and cabinets logically. The challenge was to set up cabinets just for meds. Drew and Josephine had purchased Joe a 7 day AM and PM medical pill organizer which was perfect. After several hours of unpacking and putting things away, we both took a needed nap. One thing that I could not locate here in Houston that Joe wanted was Ocean Spray APPLE juice in the small bottles (not Cran-Apple, just plain APPLE). If someone finds some, please ship it to us!
Our entertainment in the evenings have been watching the baseball payoff games which we both enjoyed even though our beloved Braves were out of it. We ordered pizza in and we enjoyed just being together on the couch, eating and watching the game with Max laying at our feet patiently waiting for his treat of leftovers. It was comfortable, felt so right that the three of us were right then and there. Joe was happy and it showed.
Thursday was a day of medical appointments at the hospital with lab tests and meeting with the head clinical nurse who was pleased with Joe's adjustment to the chemo. The male nurse told us that Joe's magnesium level was low and that he needed to take a supplement. More pills added to the pill organizer. There seems to be enough there for a 1200 calorie diet each day. Today I tried a different method of tracking down the missing packages and stopped by the information desk. The clerk tracked down the person who had signed for the packages but she was off today. I stated that there had to be someone else who could locate them who was in the same department. It took about an hour but the four missing packages were delivered to us as we sat in the Aquarium Lobby at MD Anderson Cancer Center. I had also stopped by the MDACC post office in the building and gave them our change of address for any other mail. They handed me more cards. Joe and I both love getting mail and reading the cards together and count our blessings.
Later that afternoon I opened the cards from our friends and Joe looked at each one of them and was so touched by each and every one of them. I taped them to the edge of a wall where they are all lined up on the edge of the wall to remind us of all the good kinds words that keep giving the boost Joe needs. When we sit on the coach we can see the cards as a decorative piece of art. The hotel as free WIFI so Joe has his laptop and I have my mini one to keep up with everything including Joe's massive medical appointment schedule.
Thursday night I got Chinese food take out from a restaurant in Houston's Chinatown. I ordered won ton soup for me, hot and sour soup for Joe, pot stickers, lightly fried shrimp. We were not crazy about their version of both soups but the lightly fried shrimp were great as well as the creamed cheese crab cakes (ragoons, or something like that). Joe's fortune cookie was perfect. It said "Remember three months from this date, Good things are in store for you." I taped the God sent message on a lamp to remember.
Each morning before venturing out I would flush Joe's PICC lines like a nursing pro and daily injecting the Neupogin without him feeling it. It helped that the needle is very small. When Joe gets ready to take a shower, I have to take some Glad Press N Seal and wrapped it around his upper right arm to prevent the PICC dressing from getting wet. If it gets wets, the dressing has to be replaced which means a special trip to MDACC. I am getting better at wrapping Joe up like a sealed mummy. I had to shave the arms to get rid of the hair so when any tape that needs to come off will not hurt him. Oh, I had purchased Joe and Braun electric razor at COSTCO last week when we found out that he would not be able use a sharp edge razor. He loves it and it really shaves him good. It also made it easier to shaved the hair off his arm.
Friday morning Joe had more visits to MDACC which one was to have the weekly change of the PICCs and dressing at the Infusion department. I watched carefully how they do it since I am still not 100% confident to be certified to do it myself since it is very detailed and it is done sterile. It is quite a detailed event. Joe had several other things done and then our afternoon was free. We had the best lunch at the Brown Bag Deli with tender medium rare roast beef on a soft wheat roll. It is located across from Le Madeline where we had lunch the other day. It is located on Kirby Street halfway between the hotel and MDACC. It is also an area of great shops including Chicos.
Friday night we had take out dinner from Maggianos with fried calamari, meat lasagna and tiramasu. TBS has been blocked out in broadcasting the Yankee/Ranger game because of their stupid dispute. We attempted to buy the $9.95 broadcast on mlb.com but had huge difficulty loading it. Joe ate the dinner while I had their tech support on the phone for an hour to no avail, The bandwidth at the hotel is not wide enough so I requested our money back. We shall see if we get it or I will dispute the charge since I have a trouble ticket number. The food was cold by the time I got to it. Microwaved heated up calamari is not the same. The lasagna was Ok but the best part was the tiramasu. Joe and I kept up with the game via ESPN on what was going on each inning. It was the best we could do. The Rangers won and I was happy for them but at least the Giant/Philly game the next night was on FOX so we would be able to see it. Right!
Saturday morning we rose early since Joe was to get the other half of the chemo "V" as an out patient. The staff was great and treated everyone like a VIP. Joe laid on the bed and I sat in the easy chair. They gave him some anti nausea and other stuff for the first 30 minutes then she turned on the "V" drip. Both of us fell asleep and snored as if we were a chorus. What a sight to see and hear! Joe felt woozy but still was pretty good. The nurse told him the most common side effect was constipation and to take a stool softener with laxative to prevent that. I had some at the hotel but gave him only one pill. Joe said THANK GOODNESS for giving him only one. It works!
Afterwards we went to Goode's BBQ on Kirby that was always jammed packed with cars. The music was blaring real twangy country music outside an inside. The place had great atmosphere and pretty good BBQ but nothing like Smokin Gold BBQ in Dahlonega. I am sure we will come back to this place to try their ribs and brisket. They had sold out of their ribs by the time we got there.
Saturday night Joe wanted to eat out and not bring food in. I had read an article in one of the Houston magazines like Creative Loafing of a place located in the Heights area of Houston called Zelko's Cafe and Joe was craving a good hamburger. The article had raved about the BOSS Burger which was a chargilled medium rare half burger with crisp bacon, melted cheddar, carmelized onions on a great roll with parmesan garlic fries. The place has fab vibes with a lovely bar, great warm wooden walls with close tables with friendly waiters and customers. The Heights area reminds me of Virginia Highlands before it became the "in" place to go to. Great Meal, Great Service, Great Vibes, Great Section of Town, with a Great friendly crowd. We followed the baseball game on the iPhone of the Giants/Phillies. Most were rooting for the Phillies but I was rooting for the Giants. We got to the hotel to watch the last two innings. Lo and Behold with the top of the ninth, the score 3-2, two outs for the Phillies, with two men on base and Ryan Howard up to bat. The Satellite TV went down. I could not believe the timing which was absolutely the worse. 10 minutes later the Giants had already won and had chased off the field for their celebration. Oh well! I told the front desk that their satellite system SUCKED! The guy laughed at me!
On Sunday we attended St Philips Presbyterian Church around the corner from us. It is a bright clean lines church. The organ and choir is in the back of the church up in the balcony. Both Joe and I prefer to have it the way our church has it with the choir and music up front. The preacher is Bernard Nord with beautiful head of white hair with a great speaking voice and charisma. We were greeted at the door by several greeters and we told them who we were and where we came from. They gave us a goody bag as a welcome gift. Sweet. We sat in the next to last pew since I still had my nasty hacking cough and if I started to have a spasm I could leave quickly. After the passing of the Peace and the preacher introduced us to the rest of the members which was sweet and funny. The preacher has a son who lives in Monroe, Ga. The couple sitting behind us was visiting the church for the first time since their Presbyterian Church was closing and merging with St Philips. Membership issues seem to be an issue in Houston also. The service was very similar to our church with no surprises. They also were having a membership meeting after the service to elect the next slate of officers. Like our church, I enjoyed the children's sermon at the altar's steps. The kids seemed to love the attention.
Sunday was a take it easy day with Joe and I watching football games and reading the Sunday Paper. Joe spit cleaned our car as I took a nap for several hours. For dinner we went to OUTBACK STEAKS which Joe enjoys so much. He had the ribeye steak Pittsburgh style and I had the small fillet the same way. I thought my fillet was a bit grainy and declined the offer from the manager to exchange it but I thought I was being overly fussy. It turned out that half of my fillet was inedible. I must have gotten the end of the fillet cut but I did enjoy my glass of Pinot Grigio and my Caesar Salad which Joe was not allowed to have. I missed seeing Desperate Housewives but I did get to see the wonderful Brothers and Sisters. I do not like Central Standard Time (CST) since I miss so many of the prime TV shows since they come on an hour earlier here. I am out of my rhythm. I was able to to catch up on part of my blog which was painful to write. We headed to bed at midnight. Again I had a tough night with the dry itching cough every few minutes.
I will start a new blog entry of today's events since there were some important health updates on Joe.
Ciao!
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