Another big day

Today marks another big day in the sense of milestones. We met with the doctor this afternoon who said that Roger did not need to get any more antibiotics....which means that Roger does not need the picc-IV line. So, today the doctor said the picc line could be removed. Now mind you, this picc line runs from a point near the bend in Roger's forearm, up his arm to a point near his heart. Kinda a little unsettling to think of this thing in him let alone being removed. We both anticipated pain or discomfort or some sort of anesthesia or something to get this thing out of his arm. Um, no. Nothing that elaborate. Roger sat in a chair, a nurse sat next to him. She removed all the bandages, and tape...which proved to be the most painful part...and then grabbed the picc line and pulled. A thin, super thin tube came out of his arm approximately 18 inches long. Roger said he didn't feel a thing. TOO WILD. He didn't bleed. It was out. A pressure dressing was applied and then a bandaid. And voila! One less set of tubes sticking out of Roger!!! One step closer to our new normal. This means that the only tube that Roger has left sticking out of him is the feeding tube and the original chemo port which is below his skin. The feeding tube is still important as he continues to lose weight. Today's weighing in found Roger almost 4 more pounds lighter.

We went to a movie yesterday which was just freakin' awesome. I spent a good portion of the movie looking over at Roger and asking "are you ok?" "do you need my scarf?" "do you need my coat as a cushion?". At the point when I knew I was going to get "the look", I stopped asking. The movie: Sherlock Holmes. Really good. Even Roger seemed to enjoy it. He seems to be more of a movie snob than I am. I'm just happy to be going to a movie and having a little movie popcorn! It was so nice to go out and do something.

The goals for the next couple days - getting out more, longer walks, eating MORE or at least getting more calories/protein in, and just generally trying to get back to normal.

We'll continue to keep you up to date on the daily progress. Overall though, Roger is a little stronger each day. No marathon running yet (well ever...Roger isn't big on running). Nonetheless, he's a little better.

Thanks for all the continued support and prayers. ~ Roger and Angie