Keep laughing

I had the pleasure of spending time with Mrs. R. recently, who's 91 years old and a widow for over 20 years.

She still lives alone but has home health assistance for 4 hours everyday.

Here are just a few of her one liners that made me laugh:

Does talking to your kids (her 54 year old twins) bring you joy? "No, not really, because they still always just want to borrow money (she laughs)."

That's a nice lazy boy chair you have over there (she was sitting in another much smaller recliner). "I call it my bobbie trap chair. Once you get in it, you can't get out. I tried it twice but haven't been in it for the last 7-8 years. Only my company sits in it now (she laughs)."

That's a nice picture of your daughter receiving a diploma up on the wall. "Thank you, I consider it one of my greatest accomplishments. She's deaf and I had to work like hell to make sure she got a normal high school diploma and not a special ed diploma. It's opened up so many doors for her over the years. I was a real pest but kept pestering the school principle and the school board members to the point that they all knew me by my first name and could recognize my voice on the phone (she laughs)."

I know you have a hernia. "Yes I do...do you want to meet George? He was little George at first but has been big George for the last few years (she laughs)."

You seem to have a great sense of humor. "You know I lost it for awhile, but got it back. Things weren't too pleasant for many years of my marriage. My husband smoked and drank too much. We always had an extra bedroom in our home and it got used a lot." Did you sleep there to get away from him? "No, whenever I would kick him out of our room, he would sleep there...I loved my bed too much to ever leave (she laughs again)."

Anyone listening?

The often quoted study on how quickly doctors interrupt patients comes from 1999 (JAMA. Jan 20, 1999; 283-287).

On average, doctors interrupted patients for the first time (during a medical interview) after only 23 seconds.

Interestingly, the study also showed that most patients only have 2-3 main concerns to discuss and, if given the chance, will state their concerns in an average of 32 seconds.

A more recent study has been done (March 2007).

It showed that now doctors interrupt their patients within 18 seconds of the start of the medical interview.

It's not all bad news for those glass half-full folks. 44% of physicians who were given training in conducting open interviews were found to allow patients to express all their concerns, compared to only 22% of those without the training.

It's not so good news for the glass half-empty folks...56% of physicians who were given the special training still interrupted.

Our dogs re-birth

Everyone in our neighborhood thinks we have a new puppy.

Our Dog, Bailey, is a ten year old beagle.

For the last few years, up until recently, she had been sleeping 21 hours a day, lost all the hair on her tail, had recurrent skin infections and pretty much declined to take any walks (she would just lie down in the yard and refuse to move).

We had an extensive evaluation a few years ago, when these symptoms started, and was given a diagnosis of "lameness."

Recently she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and started on medication.

A thyroid test had not been done in the past.

Now that she has settled into her dose, she has lost weight, her hair has grown back and she's back running non stop laps around the living room couch.

It's been pretty cool to see.

Maybe we should just tell folks  she's only 7 years old since she spent the last three years in hibernation.

Happy Memorial Day!

My wife was literally "radioactive" for a few days after taking treatment for thyroid cancer (and needed to be quarantined) and my daughter had a horse show up in Gainesville, Florida so I was "on duty."

My daughter has been riding in competitions for a number of years and I've been able to make an appearance at most shows, but have never been the full time parent (my wife has always had that role).

It was a great experience.

My daughter did well but the time spent together during the long weekend was, as they say, priceless.

She's glowing!

I can honestly say my wife is "HOT" tonight.

Actually, she's hotter than normal and will be that way for the next 48-72 hours.

She took her dose of radioactive iodine (I131) this morning (for thyroid cancer) and needs to be in semi-quarantine for the next 2-3 days.

We can't get within 6 feet of her, she needs to use a separate bathroom (good thing we have two) and double flush, she needs to wash all her clothes and dishes separately and we can't hug, kiss or "trade body fluids (these are the exact instructions given)" for a week.

It's going to be a long 2-3 days for her but at least she's home!

Just a temporary fog

My wife had her thyroid out three weeks ago due to cancer.

Although the surgery was curative, its been recommended for her to take a dose of radioactive iodine (I131) to prevent a possible recurrence in the future.

She needed to wait to become very hypothyroid prior to being given the dose.

A TSH is a test that helps to measure thyroid function.

A normal level is up to about 4.5.

The higher the TSH, the greater the level of hypothyroidism.

Her TSH was 64 this past Monday.

It helps to explain her fatigue, feeling like she was walking through a cloud and the difficulty in putting a complete sentence together.

She takes the I131 tomorrow and can then start on thyroid medications.

The clouds should lift quickly.

Just 6 tasty steps

Mr. D. is an amazing 63 year old who had a stroke almost one year ago.

He has made great progress but continues to have trouble swallowing and has had a gastric tube in place for sometime now.

His last swallow study still revealed small amounts of aspiration, so he has been instructed (by a speech therapist) on the Super Supra-Glottic Swallow maneuver to improve airway protection during swallowing.

Here are the 6 steps (I'm not kidding...these are the exact instructions):

1. Take a deep breath and hold it very tightly
2. Take a bite of food or sip of liquid
3. Bear down while continuing to hold your breath
4. Swallow hard with greater effort than usual while continuing to hold your breath and bear down
5. Cough when breathing out
6. Breathe

Believe it or not, its been effective.

I give him all the credit in the world.

I'm fairly certain the same instructions could also constitute a pretty good way to lose weight.

Maybe I should give it a try!