Friday, October 7, 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Fundraiser

http://www.giveforward.com/medicarejustdoesntcoveritall?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fb_wall&utm_campaign=user_vanity_page

Just wanted to post this over here as well. Thank you again for all of your support.

May 2011

I am really horrible at updating this so I apologize for that. The stroke that Ron had in December did more damage than we realized. He had a neuropsych test done and the results were pretty surprising. I won't bore you with all the medical speak but his inability to control his impulses and the changes to his personality are significant. Our next step is to try to find some sort of cognitive therapy but as of yet I am not having much luck finding a place that accepts Medicare. Ron does not qualify for any supplemental insurance to his Medicare so we are required to pay the 20% that Medicare doesn't cover. That may not seem like a lot but when you count up how many doctor visits he requires plus the upcoming tests, well we are having trouble. Ron needs to have 2 tests done on his bladder to insure that the first chemo medication he was on did not cause bladder cancer...yes, the chemo causes bladder cancer. They are pretty positive that his issues are due to the miswired parts of his brain but we need to get these tests done to verify. We also need to get him in for treatment with a neuropsychiatrist. That is one of the downsides to living in the country, all of the doctors and specialists are at least an hour away. He has an appointment next week with his rheumatologist. I will try harder to keep this updated. Thank you for reading!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Ron had another stroke.


On December 18th, 2010 Ron woke up feeling off. The only thing he could really express was that everything felt "backwards" We called for an ambulance and off to the ER we went. Normally it is 3 or 4 days before Ron is cognizant enough of the stroke to allow a trip to the hospital but this time we were at the ER within 24 hours of the original onset. We won't know specifically what triggered it but it did have to do with some medication issues. He suffered a 2cm to 3cm lesion deep within the Basal Ganglia part of his brain. Physically, he is doing alright. The kept him in the hospital 4 days. He still has some balance/weakness issues along with swallowing issues and a few other things. Mentally he is much more subdued. I think this stroke scared him more the others because he could actually feel the change. This month will be very active for us as we are moving and also trying to fit in lots of doctor visits for Ron. We haven't really been told what this means for his long term. We will be going to see the neurologist soon and hopefully we can work towards more clear answers. I was very grateful to have him with us for Christmas and being able to ring in the new year with my very best friend. We celebrate 10 years of marriage in a few days. Our New Year's Resolution to each other was to just live better, for ourselves. Thank you all for the continued love and support. This relapse proves how much we still need you.