3/11/11 Perfect Spring Day with a visit to the Houston Zoo

Our day started with our normal breakfast stop at Panera Bread. We headed to MDACC to pick up Joe's new medication, an Inhaler. It is called Flovent HFA 110 mcg. It is a steroid where Joe will take two puffs of the inhaler with deep breaths and holding it for 10 seconds. I dropped Joe off at the front door of MDA as he went up to the 10th floor Pharmacy. The Pharmacist gave him instruction on how to use it for it to be effective. We came back "home" to try it out. I primed the unit and at first I had it upside down. About an hour later Joe stated that he felt his lungs clearer but as the day wore on, he started spitting up gobs of phlegm. He can only do the inhaler once every 12 hours. We pray that it gives him some relief.

In the meantime I got a return e-mail from our dear Julie Stephens up in Dallas. She offered us the invitation to come spend two nights with her next week when he have three free days mid week. We will get to see Lily, her new baby, and get to play with Campbell who loves Mr. Joe. I offered to cook dinner one night to give Julie, a full time Mommy and devoted wife a break. It will be fun to me to do something special for Julie and Russell. I guess it has to be Italian since that is what I do best. I will make sure they have plenty of leftovers for future meals to give Julie a break once in awhile. One day we will visit the Dallas Aquarium with Julie and the kids. I think I will leave Joe at her house since I think that it would be too hard on him. I will give him a choice so he does not think I am dictating him what to do.

Joe has been suffering a serious bout of Cabin Fever that it has really gotten to him that he wants to hurry things up and get home to Atlanta. I keep finding things for us to do that won't be hard on him physically where there will be plenty of places for Joe to sit and rest. So far, I have been successful and I can see how it boosts his morale.

Today was our designated Houston Zoo day but I waited until after 3PM when the school field trips have left. There was still a good crowd there but it was very pleasant on a perfect spring day. The total cost for the both of us to enter was only about $12 which is a good deal compared to the cost of the Atlanta Zoo. The Zoo had ample free parking and is located in Hermann Park where all the Museums are. There was a Municipal Golf Course across the street with plenty of golfers taking advantage of the marvelous weather. Before one enters the Zoo you will see a large lake surrounded by the Majestic Knobby Pin Oaks. There are walking paths, large fountains, large monuments, and it is colorfully landscaped. One would think you were in Europe with their large parks. What a great place for the citizens and guests! It is all in walking distance of the Texas Medical Center. How great is that!

We walked around maybe a third of the Zoo for about an hour and a half since that was the maximum limit that Joe could handle even sitting every 10 minutes or so. He got some entertaining walking and got a jolt of happiness seeing the animals, great landscaping and walking under those great majestic Pin Oaks that I love. It was good exercise for the both of us and a wonderful way to get natural Vitamin D.

I want to thank Barbara Beckman reminding me what a real City Slicker I am. She educated me on the last blog the difference between a Bull, a Steer ((a castrated bull) and a Cow. I can hear her laughter all the way from the state of Washington. I love it and I laughed at myself also.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and your comments on the blog. I am amazed that people are actually entertained by this diary. It has helped me greatly coping with Joe's Mantle Cell Lymphoma journey. I am so grateful to new friends that I have made during this adventure who have astounded me with their courage and tenacity. They are so inspiring.

Keep Fighting my fellow Lymphoma and MPD friends and caregivers!

Please take a moment after reading this to say a prayer for the people of Japan with shocking devastation.

CIAO!