Ready to begin week 6?

No choice in the matter ... it begins tomorrow. Jim seems to be dreading it and I can't blame him. We're trying hard to do this one day at a time but it's tough. I find it hard because I've got to look at our schedule for the week and try to ensure that everyone's got rides here & there and that if I need to be away Jim's not left alone, etc. It's harder than it sounds as I'm pretty sure my brain is only working at 70% of capacity (at the most) these days. As for Jim, well, it's pretty obvious why he has trouble not worrying about tomorrow.

Jim had the PICC tube placed Friday afternoon. It seemed to go without incident though it took 2-3 times longer than they told me it would. Then Saturday a nurse came to our house and taught us how to give Jim IV fluids through that line. (I'm so glad that Jim's mom came to learn too) It seemed like a ton of stuff to remember but I did it today and didn't seem to cause Jim any harm so it looks like we're now in the business of doing 3+ hours of IV fluids here each day. It should be easier on Jim since it means less time away from home. Those long days are REALLY hard.

Oh, and late on Friday we saw the surgeon to talk about the possibility of replacing the feeding tube with a new one placed in a different spot/method. The surgeon says that the anesthesia folks will want to know if they can put a tube down his throat - so that is something to ask the doctors tomorrow. On the other hand, I really don't think this surgery is going to happen. The bottom line is that Jim is not anxious to go through another surgery on top of his already weakened state, especially with no guarantees that things will be any better. I stand by whatever decision he chooses; we'll get through it either way.

It was a nice surprise Saturday to find that the nurse who came to our home is also the nurse that has taken care of Jim through almost all of his chemo treatments. Brenda is a lovely person and she works SO HARD! Those ladies in that chemo room are really special people. I thank God that he created people so different than myself; I couldn't do their jobs. If the emotions didn't kill me the medical/icky stuff would! (I obviously did NOT get my Mom's nurse genes.)

My brain is shutting down already which doesn't bode well for Jim as I still need to take care of his nighttime routine. I hate to wake him up for that but it gotta be done.