Good afternoon, AU family!

I have so much good news to report regarding Wayne's recovery from surgery last week!

Today was a HUGE day! Physical therapy had him doing chair pushups (dips), etc. Then came Speech therapy & he was able to put the one-way valve on his trach & surprised the therapist with the strength of his voice! He got his reward - that much hoped-for cup of ice chips! (He has had nothing by mouth since last Wednesday).

Cheeky monkey! He had asked for some water & a swab to rinse his mouth out... As I turned my back to fetch something else, I caught motion out of the corner of my eye... the sly bugger had taken a sip from the cup!

He will officially start liquids tomorrow, but they want to be sure he's not leaking into any tissues anywhere from the mouth.

He is cleared to get a wheelchair, even with all the IV pole, He's very keen to get rolling since I told him it would reduce the swelling in his arms & hands...

cont'd

God bless 🙏 I hope for a blessed speedy recovery.

Thank you, Jody!

It will take about a year, I think. We've decided not to do the radiation & chemo, because we all know what damage they do.

If anyone does not know, just ask Dennis1776, he's been through it - radiation & chemo AT THE SAME TIME! 😱

Squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most easily cured cancers. As soon as Wayne is allowed drinks, he will be getting distilled water with some baking soda in it to help with pH issues...

When we get home, we both go on a program of Ivermectin (I have some issues with residual from a bad mold exposure in 2017 & I'm just betting the IVM will help me, too.)

I'll be meeting with the dietician to explain why we don't want any shakes or formulas that contain soy or canola oil (hard on pancreas & liver). I'll give her my own recipe & ask if he wants to "tweak it." If he insists on pushing something else, well, then, his services will not be required.

And that's FINAL!

You sound as though, you are on this! I am so glad he has you to navigate through it. My sister’s boyfriend is doing both chemo and radiation atm. It is horrible! I wish you both health and happiness. May the Lord continue to bless you. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. 🙏❤️

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this, too, Jody.

We are NOT doing radiation or chemo. Dennis1776 did that & he regrets it. They burned out his salivary glands & he almost lost his esophagus! 😲

We want that Quantum Unified Field technology & the Scalar Wave room...

That, plus a course of Ivermectin, plus the shakes I make, loaded with fresh turmeric root from the garden (with the skin ON because the skin contains lots of anti-tumor constituents), along with black pepper to potentiate the turmeric, plus the good mushrooms & some maca powder (an adaptogen, which helps the body handle stress).

The docs don't know it yet, but Dr. Hasney is convinced he got it all. He told me post surgery, that he didn't have to take as much bone out because it was good, healthy bone... They were going to take the whole jaw, but Wayne got to keep about 40-45% of it.

I'm thinking God began healing Wayne before he could get to surgery.

That's my story & I'm sticking to it.

Thank you. How horrible for Dennis! 😔
I am taking notes, I appreciate you walking us through your journey. Through God, anything is possible. 🙏❤️ Please keep us updated when you can hun! We’re all pulling for him! He has a pretty spectacular Lady. God bless, always. 🙏💋

Aww, shucks, ma'am! You make me blush. I'm only doing my little bit - patient advocacy. God is doing all of the heavy lifting & placing His people in the right positions to do the most good!

We have angels all around us & we can FEEL them!

Beginning last night, lots more progress!

We got a new night nurse, Andre, a muscled Black man whose laugh is like warm honey on a sunny day, dripping down deep into my soul.

He is a traveling contract nurse, doing his bit in NOLA atm. Last night, we chatted about that useless JP drain & I used the "like teats on a bull" analogy. He threw back his head & laughed that deep, soulful laugh of his, then asked where we were from.

We said, "Texas," and he said, "Me, too!" I asked him what town & he said, "Lubbock." THAT had me. I told him, "I was born in Amarillo!" Then we hugged & it was Old Home Night. He went to Texas Tech University for nursing school & I graduated from West Texas A&M. Our schools were football rivals!

Andre took excellent care of us all night, even took Wayne's vitals without waking him up. He administered pain meds without waking him up & said, "I can tell he's having pain in his sleep because his heart's over 100 & the blood pressure's up a bit." All I could say was, "God bless you, Andre. I've been trying to explain this to the other nurses, but they don't believe me."

Next time I saw him, he was educating the other nurses on how to determine if a patient is in pain... AND he took it on himself to teach the others how to use the intraoral Doppler. Poor fellow never had time to get a bite of food, so I shared my bacon jerky & dried cherries with him, which he loved.

Then An was on duty today & he went through the motions with the Doppler, but never got a reading. He just faked the whole thing, but he didn't escape my notice. He got the stinkeye from me again.

Andre will be our night nurse again tonight and I hope he will be until we leave the hospital.

Bless Andre, we got the most sleep we've had so far... I got about 4 whole hours last night! Wayne got about 6, sleeping deeply.

This morning, Physical Therapy came & got Wayne up & walking with a walker, non-weight-bearing on the right leg. He made the whole circuit of the large room! She was well pleased with him.

After that, Speech Therapy came in & handed Wayne a cup of ice & worked with him with the 1-way valve, which he was wearing whenever not sleeping. She was pleased! (She's also from Mobile, AL & soon to move back home to be closer to family.)

Then Dr. Hasney visited & said Wayne would get a trial of drinking fluids & eating soft foods TOMORROW! He said if we get him eating & drinking, he can go home a couple days after.

Today, the ENT specialist came with a gift - an end cap for the trach. He said if Wayne can go 24 hours without breathing thru the trach, they will remove it & close the stoma! This is HEWGE, folks!

God is moving His hand & I SEE IT!

Bless his heart, the most painful spot right now is that road rash on his thigh, which they want open to air now.

He looked at me today & said, "I am so DONE with that camp toilet; I'm going to use the real bathroom." So I disconnected as much of the monitoring stuff as possible, along with feeding tube & Doppler lead & got him the walker & he got to the bathroom all by himself!

Grinning with success, he got himself back next to the bed & got into it, me standing there just in case. I had just finished making up the bed for him (the aide leaves big wrinkles & doesn't get it tucked in well).

Wayne couldn't stop grinning, said he "felt like a man again," LOL.

Wayne's pain had been at Level 7 after all the movement & working, but he waited patiently. An, the day nurse we got again today left to get his pain medication at 4pm and didn't come back until 6pm, saying he "forgot."

What kind of nurse "forgets" his patients in pain? I was seething & he could see it

I can read your words for hours! I am so glad you are meeting kind folks. A lot of them can miss things, thank God you are there to keep them in line. How very awesome to meet someone from your general area. One step at a time for Wayne. He sounds like he is getting along brilliantly. God is there carrying you both. Your eager approach is humbling, to say the least. I know it has to be difficult for you, those hospital minutes tick by like hours, when you’re tired, cold and worried. You make us feel like we are there with you both, which we are. Keep shining Sweetie! 🙏❤️

I'm just being ME, Jody. Everybody is taken, so I just gotta be me.

My Pop taught me when I was just a girl that if you have to eat a turd, there's no point nibbling.

So here it is. We deal with it. We ask Grandfather for help & support & to place the right folks in the right place at the right time to effect the best healing. He is so faithful & never late, although He does like to make an entrance!

Room temp is the hardest for me. When I have pain, I feel cold & my temp drops below normal, but this place is 67F! Of course, it prevents lots of nosocomial infections, so I'll roll with it. I did bring 2 pair of wool socks (and had them in the window to dry after washing them out, LOL). I have my big old robe I made back in 2010, complete with holes around the front shoulders & lapels from me catching sparks while lighting our fires in Uruguay, LOL... It's raggedy, but I don't care what anyone thinks about me. I'm not here to make friends; I'm here to support Wayne.

Omg 😂🤣 I think we were separated at birth! 😂 You are a breath of fresh air!! I love the look, you are kicking ass and taking names.
Living your best life, for you! Thank you for giving me this gut laugh. Remarkable, you are. 🙏❤️

LMFAO!!!

Remarkable, I dunno; unusual, for sure!

Can you IMAGINE a 130-lb. Vietnamese male nurse going up against me?

LOL - I have Aikido & TaiKwanDo, baby. I may be fat, but I'm VERY flexible!

Told Wayne it was a shame he had no balls for me to kick or at least manage to squash while innocently helping Wayne in & out of the bed or something... I'd find a way.

But what can you do with the nutless?

Just shake your head & try to talk sense into them, so I did that.

An & I "made nice" today & I became "Forgiveness Dog," LOL.