One malt, one walk, one chair

(Title adapted from "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" by George Thorogood)

Kevin here, catching up on the last couple of days...

Thursday

Mom and I got Mike a vanilla malt, size small - the "Junior" according to the register at Andy's Garage in Midtown Global Market - for lunch Thursday.

He hadn't eaten much of anything on Wednesday - his mouth is sore from the chemo and possibly some of the other drugs, and the oxygen blasting into his nose has dried out his nasal passages and throat, despite the bubbling tank of distilled water it's blasting through. He was also nauseated from the various drugs, which didn't help much.

Mom and I took a walk to Midtown Global Market (henceforth MGM) to have lunch while he napped. It's about a half-mile from Abbott, but there is a skyway that connects the two, so we had an easy walk over across the Greenway. We chose Andy's Garage for lunch, because of the malts. Mike had wanted ice cream the night before, which I failed to deliver for Movie Night. In my defense, I did manage to find buttered noodles.

When we got back with the malt, Mike was awake and sitting up. He managed to eat the whole thing over the span of about 20 minutes, which was very good. We had a good talk before I headed off to watch Alex's baseball game, in which I reminded him that he needs to get out of bed before he can go home. Mom called later to let me know that he did get in a walk and spent about an hour in the chair instead of the bed.

Friday
I just got in a short visit on Friday after work, before he started drooping about 8pm. Ray & I walked over to MGM to pick up food again. I got a malt this time. :)

We picked Mike up some refritos and rice - easy foods to eat, not too spicy, but not bland.

He's off the catheter, and was off the IV as well. Oxygen was down to 3.5, heading to the below-3-liters-per-minute level that would allow him to use a portable system instead of a stationary oxygen concentrator. This would be a good thing.

When I got there, he was up and sitting in the chair, and Jen said he'd been walking around when she got there. He got in another walk today, using the walker but not relying on it.

Saturday release is possible. Here's hoping.

- Kevin