Wal-Mart After Dark

There are three places on the planet no God-fearin’ person should visit after 8 p.m.: Duval Street in Key West, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and Wal-Mart in Niles.

We knew after surgery that it would be super important to get Johnny up and moving as soon as possible. While he was at IU, he walked laps around the unit and did fantastic considering the zipper he has up the front of his torso. After coming home on Saturday, I told him he had the weekend to feel better and sleep, but once Monday came we were heading back to the YMCA.

We set our goal for the first time at the Y to once around the track (it is a 1/10th mile indoor track). I figured it would loosen him up a bit and get things moving again. We agreed we would stop whenever he was ready. In true Johnny fashion, he managed to walk four full laps before his calves started to burn. After the first lap, he complained that he was having burning and pain in his arms. I looked at him and laughed (‘cuz I’m super compassionate like that). He had his shoulders and arms all hunched up and wasn’t moving them at all while he walked. I said, “Dude, relax and move your arms. Shake them out a little.” He was just so concerned about moving his legs around that track that his arms completely forgot they could move independently. Once he shook them out, they were fine. When we were at the 3 ½ lap mark, an elderly gentleman (OK, seriously he was like 90!) lapped us. Again, I laughed and Johnny’s comment was, “He’s sprinting.” We saw a bunch of friends at the Y, which was nice. Thanks for the encouragement, everyone!

Tuesday I spent most of the day trying to deal with the insurance company, and fortunately I think everything has worked itself out, but it took the entire day. Because of that, we didn’t make our trip to the YMCA. I had a few things that I needed at good old Wal-Mart, and Johnny decided that would be his exercise for the day. It was about 8:00 pm, and believe me when I say I know where the pictures from the “People Of Wal-Mart” emails originate. OMG. It seems that the tooth-to-tattoo ratio in our Wal-Mart is approximately 1:15. And for some reason, the higher the T/T ratio the more important they think their conversations are, and the louder they speak. Why people drag their tired children to Wal-Mart at bedtime and expect them to behave and then SCREAM at them to “shut yo’ mouth” is just amazing to me. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. We made it back to the car safely, and Johnny mentioned that we might want to stick with the Y from now on.

Today, Johnny’s cousin -- also Johnny, aka Johnny Robert -- stopped by with his son, Dillon, for a visit. Dillon is a hoot and sat on my lap and played the “Opposite” game and the “Name Parts of Your Body” game. Then he told me he liked my boobs. It seems like the attention is usually on Johnny when we get visitors (as it should) so I was super psyched that Dillon paid attention to me, even if it was my frontal region. Come back any time, Dillon!

Overall, Johnny is still tired most of the time, although I see his energy level getting better each day. His incision area still looks fantastic and I can’t wait to get my hands on those staples!

We see Dr. Ansari tomorrow at 9:45, just for an update on how things went with the surgery and HAI pump placement. Hopefully, we have our ducks in a row for starting chemo at some point next week. I recommended that they ask the pump rep to stop in for a little refresher course on filling the reservoir, and wouldn’t you know -- they took me up on my suggestion. I’m hoping that he will be there for the first filling, but as long as they get an in-service, I’m good with that. I talked to one of the infusion nurses that was there when the last pump patient was seen about 10 years ago, and the patient is still with us. Talk about relief! That was the best news I’ve had in 7 months!

Thanks to everyone providing meals again to our family. Barb Garrard, Linda Arnold, Amy Rudlaff, Joann Hathcoat, Michelle Nichols, Pam Reed, and Tori Davies you guys are great! It is nice to know that my family is being fed great meals, even when I am too overwhelmed with everything else to concentrate on making a meal. Truly a blessing.

Please continue to pray. Our prayers are now turning towards success of the chemotherapy. We know that the chemo has a lot of work to do, but firmly believe that it can handle the task, especially when backed up by the prayers of our friends and family.