Doctor Visits -Old Photos - Desoto Falls

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Doctor Visits

We had a full day of doctors yesterday. My appointment was first at 9 am with the gastroenterologist. My stomach does not empty properly... does not empty completely.

The appointment was to discuss the drug, Reglan. Reglan has some very serious side effects... Parkinson type. Some of these side effects are not reversible. I had to figure out if I thought the risk outweighed the benefits of me using the drug. I had to decide how well I am doing without the drug.

I have churned this decision over in my mind for a few weeks. I have prayed hard for help in making this decision. I believe our prayers are always answered. Sometimes we don't get the answer we like and sometimes we just don't listen for the answer.

I also asked my sweetheart... my love of my life... his opinion. I told Frank that my gut feeling was not to use Reglan. It really scares me. I told Frank that I seem to be doing okay without the medication as long as I don't eat raw fruits and veggies (crunchy cooked ones too) and don't eat too much. These foods are foods I really like and it is hard not eating a crunchy apple. Frank listened to me and read things about Reglan on the internet (the first thing that comes up on the medication on the internet is about a lawsuit... that in itself is not encouraging) and he agreed with me as long I thought I was feeling okay and not in pain.

I was really nervous about this doctor's visit. I really thought that the doctor was going to try hard to convince me to take Reglan. The doctor listened to me and repeated everything I said and he said that because I seemed to be doing okay with the diet change that he wouldn't recommend the medication right now. A sigh of relief from us both.

The doctor went over my medication list. Some medications interfere with the digestion process. He said that there are some on my list that interfere... such as calcium, but it is a better choice to keep taking the vitamin. Boniva can irritate the stomach and esophagus and this can cause problems with digestion. We talked about Reclast which is given through the vein once a year. It would be a better choice. I had all ready talked a little about that with our family doctor and I will probably go that route. If my condition gets worse and I need help I just call the gastroenterologist's office.

We were home a few minutes before eleven and we heated our dinner and ate... relaxed a while. We watched Medium that Frank had recorded.

Frank's appointment with his oncologist surgeon was at 1:40 pm. The CT scan showed that fluid puddles were a lot smaller than a couple of months ago and a cyst was smaller. Frank stays on the octreotide injections for three more months. He has started the once a month injections, but for two weeks he has to do both. He has about a week more of that. Then he will have a bit more freedom in his life. Frank doesn't see this doctor again until August 11th.

Yeah! Happy Dance! Our doctor visits went well!

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Old Photos

After Frank's appointment we went over to his sister's home. Not to see his sister, but her sister-in-law. Frank made copies of some old family pictures for her. Three of them were actually drawings. Frank likes to work with black and white film and he likes taking pictures of old pictures. He gets them to look better than the originals. There was one picture that looked so ghostly that he didn't think he could get any better than the original... there just did not seem to be enough contrast to work with. His copies of the pictures turned out much better than the original. Frank brought out a few details of a baby sitting in the mother's lap. Knickers and knee stockings could be seen on one of the boys. It was just amazing how much detail that Frank pulled from the picture that had so little contrast. Did I mention that three of the pictures were on curved paper... they had been hung on the wall in oval frames. Frank really did well with them.

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Desoto Falls

This place was part of one of our day trips when we were camped at Cloudland Canyon State Park. We went to Ft. Payne Alabama to stroll through the flea market... if I remember correctly. On our way back we stopped by Desoto Falls State Park. It is a gorgeous park. We didn't spend long there because we were so tired from the flea market. We'll go back one day and possibly camp (in our travel trailer) in the park. They have been in the process of renovating the campground.

Isn't this boat shelter just perfectly framed with the rhodendrum and moutain laurel.

I'm glad there was a railing on this path to keep us from falling.

The rushing water

The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him. -- William McGill