another progress report

Stanley continues to do well, except for his leg. His coumadin level was just right when it was checked on Friday: 2.2. We had decided if the level was okay, then he could go to the weekly check instead of biweekly—a lot less of a pain in the ass.

We were running late getting to the cardiologist because of heavy traffic, so I dropped him off at the door before I went to park. We figured there’d be plenty of time since he usually has to wait before getting called back. Not this time—he was gone before I got there and wasn’t in the usual patient monitoring room. It figures, because his cardiologist, David Lomnitz, finally talked to him. Finally. And it’s not like he had to make any effort—Stanley was getting tested in the hallway outside Dr. Lomnitz’s office.

Stanley said Lomnitz said, “Your wife is quite a blogger.” Lomnitz also apologized for messing up on Stanley’s checkup, claiming that Stanley looked so well (which he didn’t—he was pale at the time, and had blotches in his eyes, a sore leg, and a persistent cough) that he didn’t think anything was wrong. Said he’s put in a phone call to Dr. Robinson to get info on Stanley’s case (Dr. Robinson always sends a copy of his report to Dr. Lomnitz and to Dr. Horn—I’ve heard him dictate several). And had Stanley set up an appointment with him in July.

We still don’t know when the CAT scan of Stanley’s calf artery is scheduled—Dr. Gagne’s assistant or scheduler said she’s still waiting to hear and that it takes two business days to hear from Oxford. That was Thursday, so unless we hear from them first, we’ll start the nagging process. Stanley’s leg really, really bothers him and it’s driving him bonkers. Or bonkerserser. We did hedge work today—Stanley trimmed and we both cleaned up—and I could see him limping.

But the hedge is trimmed. Sort of. We had to do it because it was getting way too hard to get out of the driveway—we live on a curve; every inch counts. So they’re trimmed about seven feet up, with the tops kind of bowing over the sidewalk. Enough so we can get out of the driveway and the city doesn’t give us a ticket for obstructing the sidewalk. Next weekend, when Stanley is more functional, he will get up on the ladder and do the tops. (I don’t do ladders. I’m a ninny about them.)

Stanley gets to start driving again on June 22. I am so looking forward to that. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll give him a dose ... I probably won’t. But I reserve the right to!

Oh, the kitties. I had them tested for Bartonella, the bacteria that can cause endocarditis via a cat bite (rare, but it does happen—and it’s still not established that Stanley’s endocarditis was caused by Bartonella). If they are carriers, the idea is to get them treated so they’re not—why risk it? Twitch does not have Bartonella—he’s in the clear. Slink tested positive for it, so he’s being treated for it with azithromycin for three weeks ($100 for the drug—geez!) Neither cat has ever bitten Stanley—in fact, I don’t think Slink has ever broken Stanley’s skin, so I really doubt they are the source, but I’m taking the safer route. If any cat gave him Bartonella, it was probably Lexi, a cat at the Connecticut Humane Society in Westport we were thinking about adopting until she bit Stanley so hard I thought he was going to faint.

Today was finally a gorgeous day—we’ve had several days of gloom and damp and COLD. Tomorrow, however, it’s supposed to start getting really hot and humid—it’s supposed to get up into the nineties this week! I think we’d better go dig up the box fan so we’re set for working (I really hate air conditioning unless it gets so hot I’m getting sick to my stomach—we try not to put the window a/c in until we really have to, like in early August).

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