Dentist: When I was growing up, my parents could not afford to send me or my brothers to the dentist. Consequently, we all had teeth issues, and in my case, I finally went to see Dr. Adrian Johnson here in Macomb in 1964 as a freshman at WIU. It really is a wonderful story; Adrian took pity on me and we established a long-term relationship as he attempted to salvage my teeth. I had huge cavities in virtually every tooth, and we worked out an arrangement where I paid him $20 a month. And away we went..... Dr. Johnson saved my dental structure! I will forever be indebted to him and his wife Marie for agreeing to take on my case. I have since been fanatical about my oral hygiene and prior to my current predicament, brushed, flossed, water pik'd, and gargled every day. There is a possibility with my type of cancer that I can real dental problems due to the proximity of the radiation. One guy who shares membership in this cancer club lost all his teeth. I believe I will be spared that indignity; however, my mouth is a daily challenge.
I saw my dentist the other day, and he tried to fit a fluoride tray in my mouth. The gag reflex prohibited that option. It is important to have fluoride treatments now. I also have more plaque build-up than I've ever experienced. This leads me to my other topic.......
Dry Mouth: One of the biggest inconveniences of my condition is the loss of salivary gland activity. Think about it. The mouth is full of moisture due to the salivary glands which act as a natural lubricant and cleansing agent for what we ingest. Mine don't work very well as many of them were killed and wounded by the radiation, and only some of them will come back. We don't know what percentage that will be but I constantly have a dry mouth. I now take a water bottle on my walks just to hydrate a little bit. At night, I wake up at least every hour to get a drink from a glass I keep on the table next to my bed because my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. These little indignities are what complicated and frustrate the recovery from this form of cancer.
Food: Good news here. So far--and I'm talking about very little portions at a time--peach, milkshake, applesauce, jello, soup, and macaroni & cheese. These are minuscule amounts of food and it takes me forever to eat any of them BUT I am adding them to my menu. A side problem is the reality that the back of my tongue is still healing and is quite swollen. Consequently, the opening is small and sometimes food gets lodged there, and I go into a gasping, choking mode where have to expel the food so I can breathe. This is a little scary, but I'm slowly figuring it out.
Everything that transpires regarding my mouth, its maintenance, and the consumption of any food group is a huge challenge. No offense to PEG, but I have to learn to eat more by mouth so I can say good bye to the feeding tube which restricts me to the house.
Dog: Sometimes surprises come in different packages, and Friday one of them arrived at our house for a visit in the form of Libby Epperly, Chicago. She is a soft coated Wheaten Terrier and her travelling partner is Bill Epperly from Western's Board of Trustees who was in for an all-day board retreat. Bill asked Diane if we would care to dog sit and as long-time dog lovers (remember Irish Setter Murphy and Golden Retriever Tanner??), we readily accepted. We both had fun with Libby, and she is welcome back anytime. I can see how dogs are used for therapy. Do NOT drop your dog off at our home!
April 20th PEG tube surgery and Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf
April 22nd 35 Radiation Treatments begin Oil Leak Becomes Massive
April 23rd Chemo number 1 of 5 commences and Oil Leak Worsens
July 16th Oil Leak Capped (we hope)!!! and I ate part of peach---PRICELESS
