Trucking Along

Hi, all! Just wanted to take a minute to let you all know that things are going relatively okay around here. We haven't been in the hospital in 8 days!!! Mark is not well, of course, but I think the oxygen is really helping to keep things from getting completely out of whack so often. And having the home health nurses coming every few days to stay on top of things is a HUGE help. Mark IS retaining fluid: five pounds in four days. That's a sure sign that his heart failure is progressing. But hopefully an increase in his dose of Lasix will do the trick. We went in yesterday to have blood work and a chest Xray done (to take a look at the amount of fluid on his lungs), but for the moment, he is able to be at home and to get up and down the stairs, etc. (Even though his new bed is downstairs, his computer is still upstairs. Jason offered to bring it all downstairs, but he wants the exercise, he says. Yes, for Mark, having his beloved computer at the top of the stairs is definitely motivation to exercise!)

For those of you who live in the area, I need to let you all know something important. The nurse said that we (the kids and I) all need to get flu shots, and also that we need to be scrupulous about hand washing/sanitizing. Also (here's where you-all come in) we need to keep him away from sick people. This is going to be a challenge. I whine about it sometimes, but I rather like having our home be Grand Central Station. However, I need to ask that anyone hacking or sniffling or feverish or any of that keep a wide berth from our place this winter. Although, with three kids in school, I'm not sure how we'll manage that! Well, we'll give it our best shot!