#171 / 2010 Winter: Placitas, NM, New Year's Eve

NEW YEARS EVE 

#171

We spent New Year’s Eve on the road to Albuquerque arriving at Gary Brower and Jim Gay’s home up in Placitas before dark. I was tired and konked out before midnight. Joe declined rapidly.

My next report: Jan 4

Our new traveling companion, cancer Happy New Year to all, Beatlick Joe and I are living large up in the hills of Placitas. We left the Mountain View Hospital in Las Cruces with a tip from the nurse, keep Joe's leg elevated. He has developed a second blood clot in his right leg, so now he has matching blood clots in each leg. I was so excited when we left Las Cruces but Joe's energy level declined as soon as we left the hospital. What has made the only difference for him is keeping that leg elevated. His pain has subsided somewhat. I have to encourage him to take the pain pills, but when he does he is a lot more comfortable Just yesterday for the first time since this all started he said he was able to lay down and get in a comfortable position where he didn't have any discomfort. It doesn't last of course but that is the first improvement for anything since this whole scenario began. Cancer was such an unexpected companion and its effects have been so swift that I am not quite prepared. We hoped to have at least six months to get things in order. All of you who love Joe so much have been so generous. Especially with housing. We have made the decision to move to Albuquerque and begin a new group of doctors. Here we can have dependable shelter for the winter, although it is just couch surfing, but very comfortable couch surfing, and really not couches but bedrooms. Apparently it is an uncomplicated transition to move his health care to Albuquerque. We already have made arrangements for a new doctor and I am hopeful that Joe can get more treatment. We have opted out of any extraordinary measures but things are declining so rapidly with no treatments at all save our feeble homeopathic cures, that I am anxious to see another doctor and see what options might still be available to at least get him more energy. Joe has crutches and a wheelchair coming tomorrow to address the fact he can't walk with painful clots in his legs. But that can improve over time. So we continue with two shots a day of the blood thinner Lovenox and incrementally his legs are improving. He hasn't had to slow down with a flurry of social visits and we are seeing and hearing from all sorts of old friends and relatives. Joe really enjoys this. But our new companion must be honored. I have a new respect for cancer. Joe was not sick one day of his life and felt great until just two months ago. Then it all fell apart. He has lived a very moderate life, not a big drinker, certainly not a big eater, and very active hiking and biking. He has a pure heart and good thoughts, low stress. It's hard to figure why this happened to him except to say that it might have run in the family. His mom died of stomach cancer, very quickly, in her late sixties. I made a new's year resolution not to drink, he's not drinking, and he has curtailed a lot of his diet as well. We are trying to avoid growth hormones in regular dairy products and I am making him the first batch of Essiac tea today. We had a great visit with friends today. Joe has spent at least six or seven hours out of the bed today. That means he is feeling somewhat better and we are excited about meeting a new doctor up here. Thank you all for your support, we will keep you posted. I love you all. Beatlick Pamela