Happy Passover to all who celebrate or take interest in such things. David and I had a lovely seder together and it was the best since The Before Times. We thought about trying to host a seder since we now have the outdoor space, but we do not have the furniture, the dishes are only partially unpacked (not for lack of effort–David has been an unpacking machine) and honestly, neither of us had the spoons to do anything big this year. But next year, watch out!
In other news, I am really liking our new primary care doctor. She is a concierge doc, so she doesn’t come cheap, but she gets it done. I was having some stoma pain (my stoma is the hole where the feeding tube goes into my stomach) and I asked her for some topical lidocaine ointment. She not only gave me a script, but she found me an ostomy clinic where nurses deal with nothing but stomas of all kinds.
I had my appointment at the ostomy clinic this week. The nurses were wonderful (I got two for the entire appointment) and they were excited to get to work with a relatively healthy patient. We had a good conversation about stoma care, they introduced me to some local resources (including an independent pharmacy) and they sent me on my way with a goodie bag.
Next week, David and I both have our extensive, two hour physicals with the new doctor. She has already ordered extensive lab work and David and I dutifully offered up our veins. I am not expecting any surprises, but it will be nice to talk to a doctor who is focusing on more than just my broken digestive tract.
I am continuing to increase my feed and I am now at 48ml per hour. Last year at this time I was at 54ml hour. I was able to read silly novels and knit. I am not there yet, but I am definitely seeing an increase in my energy. Even David commented that I turned a corner in the past week. It has been a long time coming. Next week it will have been a year since my hospitalization and the precipitous drop in my feed down to 25ml per hour. That is a year that I am glad to have left behind me.