An Update as of 10/25/12

This was another milestone day on Bob’s healing journey. Bob was discharged from the hospital and walked home under his own power, using the wheelchair as a walker (and a luggage cart!). Receiving two doses of immune suppression medication was not a pleasant experience for Bob, but the proof is in the pudding because he has been feeling so much better since having them. This has been a challenging illness to treat because we do not have a confirmed diagnosis. All of the tests for known antibodies done by the Mayo Clinic and the world expert in Spain came up negative, so Bob falls into the 30% of cases that fall outside of the known antibodies for which tests have been developed. We are therefore left with the “walks like a duck, quacks like a duck” strategy, and Bob’s good response to the immune suppression is encouraging.

This morning when I arrived at the hospital, I did not find Bob in his bed. I was a little confused and concerned at first, but I found him down in the Day Room exercising on the exercise bike! (I was also worried because he was alone and he was supposed to be supervised in case he should have a seizure -- until I remembered that the Day Room was monitored by a camera). Yesterday in therapy, Bob had been cleared to walk without a walker as long as he had someone walking with him, and he also walked up and down two flights of stairs! We celebrated by having a “date,” walking down to the hospital cafeteria for dinner.

Although Bob has begun remembering things far back in his own personal history, he struggles to remember much in the past five to ten years. In trying to piece together his personal history, he has been intrigued to have discovered his Smartphone. He has been interested to discover text message streams, and particularly to have found his Facebook account. What might you learn about your life through exploring your phone?  

Bob’s developing but impaired memory has certainly been challenging but has also provided some levity. Bob’s journal has turned out to be an important tool in keeping track of his days and activities because he often forgets what he has done soon after he finishes it. Our first morning back in the condo, his dad made breakfast for everyone and then thoroughly enjoyed taking a shower. He wrote in his journal:

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs & Bacon

Shower: Megan & Eggs

We had another laugh when Bob was brushing his teeth in the hospital. He kept brushing for a long time, but he had mentioned how grungy his teeth felt after taking the chemotherapy, so I figured he was enjoying it. Then he started laughing. When I asked why, he said “I’ve been sitting here wondering how long until this thing would turn off, but I just realized that it is not an electric toothbrush!”

Some things are not as funny as they once were. One night in the hospital Bob decided to turn on the television to pass some time. Perusing the channel guide, he knew right away that he wanted to navigate to Comedy Central. The Daily Show was on. Bob looked at Jon Stewart and said “ I recognize the face, but who is that guy?” He watched for a few minutes,  said and “For a guy who can’t remember anything of the past five years, this really isn’t that funny” and he changed the channel.

Bob is concerned that he has had no memory of Barak Obama being elected or serving as president, although he has been interested to learn of current events through the presidential debates and political ads. He is really surprised that if Obama was responsible for taking out Osama Bin Laden, that the election would even be close. He is also so grateful that we have health insurance through this whole ordeal. He can’t imagine that having passed legislation to make this kind of insurance accessible to everyone has been construed as a political liability.

Bob starts outpatient therapy in the morning – the next new chapter in his journey of recovery.

-Megan