this time last year

May 10, 2009...my sweet husband

four  months later...Sept. 2009

After suffering respiratory failure due to 35 radiation treatments on his throat Bob was "off and on" a ventalator in ICU at Baylor Hospital , Plano... from Aug 20th until Sept. 5,   (16 days) ...He  was then transferred to Kindred Rehab Hospital, Dallas...We were at Kindred from Sept. 5 until Oct. 2nd...He remained in ICU   for the first week there...while in ICU  I was allowed to use a room on the second floor, when he was able to leave ICU we were given a double room and I was allowed to stay with him day and night..

By the middle of the month he was strong enough to be out of bed for a while....his physical therapist ..she called herself "Sarge"..... worked him hard..

Brian was his radiologist

Barb, David and the little boys came for a visit

we were counting off the days...wanted to be home by his birthday Oct. 5

 Sept. 25.. after seven weeks in the two hospitals he was able to go outside for the 1st time

his trech was removed on Sept. 30th.

Oct. 2nd...going home...going home...going...he smiles :)



OCTOBER THRU APRIL 13  TH.

He worked very hard for the next six months trying to recover...



The  following is a post from Oct. 24

after having had another scan...

He had just stepped out of the shower... sitting on his bathroom chair ...I was drying him off....he was cold...the phone rang...I threw a towel around his shoulders ...running from the room I said "it may be the doctor"...it was.

"good news...looks like we got it all...he's cancer free"

 it looks like?

"The original site is clean"..

he continued.."there's one lymph node in the neck we want to check further...probably just scar tissue...we'll do a CT Scan next week and if it lights up we'll just remove it." ....(if it lights up?)

Now this part is even more strange...I returned to the bathroom and relayed the message to Bobby...all he did was put his arms around me to comfort me as I shed tears (of course) into his neck.

He said nothing.

"Aren't you relieved?"...

a mild "I guess so."...

"you guess so?"

"hadn't you considered the possibility of the treatment not being successful?"

"not really...it's hard for me to get excited about anything .. there's so much wrong with me."

and he was right...there was much wrong..he was too weak, too sick to survive the illnesses that ensued the following five months...pneumonia (twice), sinus infections, edema (fluid accumulation in his throat and arms because of damage to lymph nodes, skin tears that wouldn't heal, arrhythmia, blood clots, continued weight loss, the onset of diabetes and high blood pressure, low oxygen levels, co2retention, seizures,  many, many drugs, headaches and eventually a fall that caused brain injury...too much, too much..first he could not walk or stand, then he could not sit  could not hear, could not speak, could move only his arms, rarely opened his eyes...could not breathe.

..........   this time last year.........