"Charlie" wrote in message
. ..
wrote:
Hi guys,

I'm doing good. They DID do the procedure. The pain was an artifact
OF the procedure. I should of been FORCED to take the painkillers
about 1500 instead of being allowed to sleep. But the instructions
fell into an information gap somewhere between the physician and me.

I'll probably end up addicted to morphine but I'm willing, so long as
it keeps the pain at bay. Which it does, if they give me enough of
it.

Right now I'm feeling no pain; shoulld be able to bathe by myself.
Mixed feelings about that :-)

Lab results are VERY GOOD. Going down this morning for another check
but if the present trend continues, I'm on the road to recovery, at
least from that portion of the PAIN. If we can keep the pain
corralled we're good to go for a more aggressive chemotherapy regime;
go after the tumor where it lives. The more of it we can eat up with
the chemo, the better my chances of being around for Christmas. And
beyond.

Vetebroplasty. Good medicine. Cats gave me head-dives this morning
as I WALKED amongst them. No canes. And NO PAIN.

Still got a few probllems to work out, such as no strength, but the
lab reports say the demon is back in its cave. So take a bow, guys.
A lot of this has been due to your support, most of which has not been
publicly posted. Hell of a note, Badwater Bill and all, happening at
the same time. I'd rather have the pain if it would bring him back.

-R.S.Hoover
Happy to hear that you're doing better. From a purely personal & selfish
standpoint, I'd hate to lose your great info & writing style. :-)

A word of advice on interaction with the medical community, at the risk of
offending med pros:

Always, Always take someone with you who has good hearing, a reasonable
level of intelligence, and your best interest at heart when you speak with
health care pros, and if possible, have someone in the room with you 24/7
in the hospital. My wife & I have had more than our share of interaction
with the medical system over the last few years, through our own needs and
those of family members.

You need a second set of ears because you aren't likely to hear everything
& also might misinterpret something that another's perspective can help
you understand.

You need someone with you in hospital because health care staff are all
grossly overworked (profit motive & next quarter balance sheet view of the
hospital corp, even if the hospital has a religious name in front, or
overwhelming bureaucracy in state/fed hospitals) and even if they want to
give good care, they make MANY mistakes if actions aren't monitored by
someone who cares. (Hospitals, through mistakes/malpractice kill something
like 6 or 7 times more people each year than guns in the USA.)

Your best self-help in getting healthy is someone to 'watch your back'
while in the medical system.

Charlie

I'll second, third and fourth Charlies advise. Right after open heart
surgery, I found myself with what looked and felt like three garden hoses
going down my throat and had both hands and feet restrained. I was not
getting enough oxygen and thought that I was going to die trying to breathe.
I tried but couldn't communicate with the nurse so this sucking real hard
trying to get air lasted for three hours. As soon as they pulled out their
garden hoses, it was like someone turned on the oxygen. I told the staff
that there needed to be someway to communicate. Had my wife been in there,
probably not possible, I think she would have got the message and been able
to get me some help. Also while riding a wheel chair down the hall with a
file folder, assumed to be mine on my lap, I got curious and opened it to
find someone elses name. I didnt' get to see if I was scheduled to give
birth, have a leg removed, or be checked for insanity. I've heard of nurses
painting words on limbs saying "Not this one".