2012 03 26 Monday March 26

Post date: Mar 27, 2012 3:57:56 AM

Martha had a good weekend, and today was good, too. When Martha calls us on the phone, most of the time she seems really well oriented, but she still seems to get time-disoriented once or twice a day. She had a long visit with Dr. Smith today, who told her that she is progressing well in therapy, but she shouldn't be too anxious to get out soon. He has to balance her progress with her safety, and she is not yet nearly strong enough to manage in her home safely by herself. He told her he would like for her to train to use a walker and/or cane, but he wants her to be strong enough they are not required but she will have them for backup stability. Dr. Smith also told her he hasn't yet received the results from last week's CT scan, so he planned to call Dr. Krisht's office to find out about it, as he needs to know about it for her ongoing care. Furthermore he is making some adjustments to her medicines. (One problem has been some swelling in her feet and lower legs. This happens to her occasionally since her chemotherapy days, so they will treat it and don't expect it to be a big problem.)

Amanda continues to do better on her new medicine, though she still isn't progressing as quickly as she would like. Her blood pressure has gone too low a few times since starting it, so she has to adjust her other two meds to balance it. She wanted to get by to see her mother today, but her pressure went high this afternoon because she hadn't taken enough of the others. It will take a few more days to get all the meds balanced. However, her "high" pressure today wasn't up to "scary" levels like it was back in January and February, so it's really not too worrisome. She and I both have to keep reminding her how much better she is than she was just a few weeks ago, and that her doctor thinks her recovery will take months yet.