From Elizabeth:
I just had a nice chat with Maddy. She reports that she
slept "okay" and feels "okay." I'm assuming okay means
adequate, but not great. Anyway, she sounds good today,
upbeat and strong, except for the breathlessness from her
pneumonia.
She had a visit this morning from some respiratory experts
and is expecting to see more of them this afternoon.
She said these are the people who specialize in hard-to-
treat pneumonias. She added she feels like they have
already thrown every antibiotic in the book at her.
She doesn't sound to me as though her breathlessness
is increasing day by day, but she says it does hurt a little
to breath.
The occupational therapist(s) had been in to see her
this morning, and they are going to take her to the gym
in the hospital tomorrow and work on getting her walking
again.
Maddy says her tremors (which are a chemo side-effect,
not from any IVs she had in the ICU) are getting worse.
Fortunately, they affect "only" her arms and hands,
not her legs, so she will be able to walk in the gym.
Paul, she has not yet had a chance to use the earbuds
I sent to see if they are satisfactory, but she
appreciates your offering another pair.
Maddy started today by having 4 slices of toast with
one of her nurses. Together they went through at least
a third of a jar of Irish whiskey marmalade from her
Britfoods package.
Speaking of which, the Ribena drink in that package
is the only thing that helps her swallow some of the
huge foul-tasting antibiotics, so I ordered several
more individual-serving cartons for her yesterday,
along with more digestive biscuits and some Earl
Grey and lapsang souchong tea. If you've never had
the latter tea, it's very strong and smokey. Many
people don't care for it, but Maddy and I think it's
wonderful.
This latest food package should reach Becca's ofice
tomorrow (Wednesday).
Would someone who is going to Becca's after-
Thanksgiving bash bring a phone dialer for Maddy?
She needs something like a stylus that comes to a
fine but strong point. Her hand tremors make it
impossible for her to dial the cellphone with
her fingers.
Finally, I'd like to echo Becca's request for
those who visit her to see if they can rearrange her
room. She reports there is hardly space to turn
around in.
Elizabeth