November 7, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Decisions.

Decisions have been made. We are having Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Today I ordered our traditional feast from Primos. Linda , Christina's mother wanted to have it at her place again but we prevailed. For Ken eating at home is easier. If he gets weary, he can retreat to his chair in our TV room, which is not in the living room. Today I selected the food for our party on December 8th, which will be held again at the Yacht Club, just down the road. Christina will send the Save The Date today. I always have a birthday party for myself so we are doing it again. We invite our friends and their children to start the holiday season. For the first several years, we held the party in Mexican restaurants but last year we selected the yacht club, which proved to be a success. We will dine on pasta. Mexico is on our mind. The first decision is do we want to go. The next question is how can we get there. And the third question is how we could function when we are there. One decision has already been made. We have booked our condo for 6 weeks from December 22 to February 2. Ken thinks we should go. David and Suzanne and the girls are on the cusp of making the booking to come on Boxing Day. Wonderful Wendy may join us. Now the other decisions are still pending. The longer I am away from taking Ibrance the more energy I will have. But more decisions must be made. But we have made good progress today. More decisions must be made shortly. We are up to the task, I bet.

November 6, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. The shower.

Ken is perfectly capable of taking a shower by himself. This afternoon I took a nap. From the bathroom I could hear Kashina's voice. "Lift up your right arm," I could hear her say. Then,"now your left," "I forgot to wash your beard and mustache". "Now turn around so I can scrub your back." Kashina was helping Ken take a shower. It was very sweet. Evidently, when Ken told Kashina that he was going to take a shower, she offered to help so he said yes. When the shower was over, I could hear Ken say that that was the best shower he has had in months. Clearly, he liked the assistance. Kashina is our helper. She is a good one. She has a CNA certificate, which means, Certified Nursing Assistant and it shows. She expertly bandaged Ken's arm. And she can put drops in his eyes easily, which is difficult for me to do. In a short period of time, she has become indispensable to us. She helps Ken do his exercises and she walks with him for about 20 minutes each day. And she helps at home, doing the laundry and emptying the dishwasher and putting out the trash. But the most important part of her task is her kindness to Ken. She is dear to Ken, encouraging and light hearted. But listening to her instructions to Ken this afternoon took the cake. I suspect that Ken will take all his showers when she is working. He has always been a smart man.

November 5, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. My Eyes.

I was all set to have my vision improved by having new lens changed in my glasses. Just before we left for the summer, I had a procedure called needling to reduce the pressure in my right eye, which continued to be too high. It worked. My pressures were low, but my vision was poor. 20/60. Dr. O. thought that as the pressure increased just a bit, the vision would settle down. When I returned, I would be able to return to better vision. But it has not worked that way. In July, the pressure was 4, which is too low. Today it is 6, which is still too low. My vision continues to deteriorate. My vision in my right eye is 20/100. My left eye is fine except I have a small amount of vision in my left. I have big blotches where I can not see but what I can see I have 20/25. Close to perfect. So the procedure worked too well. Now the good doctor applied drops to add a bit if scar tissue to the right eye. She wants the pressure to increase a bit. In one month I see her again when perhaps my pressures will be perfect. Then I will be able to have new lens made for my right eye. Today I was all set to have my vision improved. I should have known better. Next time I will only expect to have another appointment and another procedure. The good thing is that I really like the lady doctor. She is a glaucoma specialist who has a cabin in the mountains of Idaho. She and her daughter spent two weeks in July hiking the mountains. We talk beautiful places as she examines me. Eventually she will send me back to Dr.K. But not yet. First she must get my pressures right. In the meantime, I hope my vision will improve in my right eye. I think it is kind of funny. For the past 18 years, I have been fighting to keep my pressures down. Now we have succeeded but now we must get them up a bit. I think the whole thing is amusing. At least my optic nerve is not getting damaged. I just keep hoping for the best. And continue to make appointments.

November 4, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Time.

Time has always been important to me. The first day of our trip down the Grand Canyon our guide urged us all to remove our watches. "We will be regulated by the sun, so you have no need to pay attention to the time of the day. We will get up with the sun, we will eat lunch when the sun is high and we will retire for the night when it is dark". Everyone did as they were told...except for me. I kept my watch on the whole time. I am more comfortable knowing the time and I would have been very uncomfortable removing my watch. If you ask me how I tell the time of the day, I would tell you that I use my wrist watch. But I would be wrong. Today we met Christina and the girls for brunch. We all arrived at the same time at 11:15. Near the end of the meal, Ken asked me for the time and I gave it to him. Kate corrected me and said that we turned the clocks back last night so my watch was wrong. Up until then, I had no clue that we should have moved the clocks back, so I was surprised. No one had mentioned it to me and I do not watch TV news. I was amazed that we arrived at the restaurant at the right time. Then I realized that I am using my cell phone to tell time. The first thing I do every morning is put on my watch but evidently I do not look at it. The whole morning, I was using the corrected time on my cell phone, which of course, is done automatically. Thank heavens for cell phones. I could have missed brunch.

November 3, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Hockey Night In Canada.

Even here in Mississippi, we get to watch "Hockey Night In Canada". We watch it on the NHL channel. Once upon a time, it was the only hockey you could see on TV. In fact, in the early years, only the last two periods were shown. When we lived in Toronto, we had no television so we watched the game at Don and Doreen's house. Now we watch lots of hockey on TV. We can watch every Nashville Predators games and most evening we could watch a game if we wish. But hockey Night In Canada has been one of the few constants in my life. This evening I had a clicker working overtime. The Toronto Maple Leafs were playing the Pittsburg Penguins in Pittsburg and the Leafs won 5 to 0. Payback. At the same time the Predators were playing. At the moment they are winning 1 to 0, which is not a winning score that is guaranteed. Then we get to watch a late game too. Almost too much hockey. Ken and I seldom go out at night so we have a date at home on Saturday night and watch Hockey Night In Canada. And we have fun.

November 2, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Evaluation.

Our cruise was lovely. We were looked after hand foot and finger. But Ken feels that he will not be able to take any more cruises. Even the calm waters of the Mississippi made the boat rock just a bit. Even docked, the boat had a roll. AnD Ken said that the ground under him sometimes moves already. Perhaps no cruises in our future. Getting around in New Orleans was impossible. We made an error in staying those four days. But now we know that we can not function in big cities. Mobility is an issue for both of us and vision is difficult for me. No big cities will be in our future either, at least when we are on our own. We travelled well on commercial airlines getting to Minnesota but we will not take two flights on the same day. One flight a day we can manage easily but two a day wears us out. So now we know. Traveling on the private jet was a dream come true. I wish I was rich. Our summer in Nova Scotia was excellent. Ken loved sitting looking at the ocean and he had no trouble with the stairs. Often he was up and down 4 or 5 times a day. The walking path at the arena worked well for both of us. Although it is boring, it is secure with the rail on one side and the wall on the other. Ken walked over 1 K each time. When we stayed home, Ken walked around our property. And being around friends was a treat for both of us. We hope we are able to spend another summer there. Our helper Katie was an added bonus. Now we must evacuate our future journeys. We are booked into our Mexican condo for 6 weeks. We must decide how we can get there and how we can function there. Soon we will talk. But not yet. We have just completed our evaluation of our ambitious summer of 2018. And we are pleased.

November 1, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Dr. Collins.

Young Dr. Collins is moving to Florida. His wife's family live in Jacksonville. Everyone lives there so the family decided to raise their only child, who is three, along with their cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents. Dr. Collins and his wife have no family in Jackson. We are sorry he is leaving. He is a good Urologist. And he is the only doctor we know who encourages us to keep up with our wandering ways. "Just keep going as long as possible," said the good doctor today. Ken was not in good condition the first time we saw Dr. Collins, which was at the end off March. Ken arrived in a wheelchair and using a catheter. Now Ken looks good and walks well using the walker. All his plumbing works. So Dr. Collins is pleased with Ken's progress. Now we will be turned over to another Urologist in the same practice, which will be fine. Dr. Collins is having a hard time saying goodbye to all his patients, some of which he has cared for since he completed his residency. He begins work in Florida January 2. We will miss his efficiency and his quiet manner. We never wait. Before we see Dr. Collins we have already seen the nurse followed by thew Resident Doctor who asks lots of questions. By the time we see Dr. C., he has revived the situation and he gives us his decisions. He looks like he is 16 except he has gray hair. But he knows his stuff and we like his style. And of course he thinks the same way as we do as to how to lead your life. We wish him well in Florida.