More victory!

Victory!

Surprise!

Thursday night my new urologist called and said that my blood test results with regard to my prostate were OK, but that I had low testosterone. TOngith Stephanie read more about this and this can be connected with a whole nexus of male menopause/andropause symptom and it has some weird treatments, which the doctor alluded to. I am to get another blood test and see him in six months.

Friday - after almost finishing one of his on-line classes in time for his Mom's birthday - Vincent first said explicitly what we suspected recently - that he thinks he'll stay here with us instead of going back to Ohio and staying with his father. He was somewhat disappointed with his father aborted a planned-for move to Florida and he told Stephanie he's been surprised how easily he's almost finished this class here. They don't currently have Internet access in the RV they were staying in - with no working toilet or shower. Today Vincent highlighted the creature comforts - a bed, food (homecooked by Mom), Internet access, video games - and didn't say what I think is also true: we've been getting along pretty well, enjoying each other's company, and for better or worse we haven't been bugging Vincent much about things we used to (school work, getting a job, cleaning his room, bad language, etc.). We've also done some fun things together. I wouldn't say Vincent is that much less isolated here - he's really disengaged from his friends (including ones we don't like) and stayed in the house for the most part - as in Ohio - but in principle he still knows how to get around here more (and Meemaw is no longer in Ohio). (We also do a better job of taking care of him - with doctor and dentist et al. visits - and he seems to have quit smoking here!).

Sunday night two more surprises awaited us when I pulled the two baby turtles out fo their habitat and put them in bowls of dechlorinated water with a piece of dog food I'd been soaking. First, it appeared after a while that Big Mac - who I saw on Saturday in the contained with food in the habitat - had defecated (which they would do in the water), and then Filet of Fish - the scrawnier, less active baby turtle - whom Dr. Williams and her colleagues had tube fed - began to bite at the piece of dog food. Filet of Fish ate! Check out the video above for more evidence of this.

-- Perry

- Perry

Other health

Aunt June and Aunt Sandy called us Tuesday to tell us that Grandpa Beck, 97, is in the hospital, facing undetermined ailments. His blood county and kidney count are low, he has bronchitis, and it's possible he had some mini-strokes. We may visit this weekend. We feel bad that we didn't spend time with him this summer, as we did last summer. This is complex, since Vincent has talked about returning to Ohio this weekend, but we don't necessarily want to encourage that (and all of us going to Ohio would certainly encourage that). I may go alone. This may impact Mom's visit, slated to start in eight days, since we may want to include an Ohio visit, which wasn't originally planned.

This week Mom is taking a two-morning AARP driving class, which hopefully is giving her tips on how to perfect her driving strategies and assess her driving abilities. After trying and failing at participating in a swim class several months ago, Mom engaged in regular one-on-one swim lessons. Her mixed feelings about water, being out of the water for 30 years, and Parkinson's made the in-class experience scary and humiliating. But her general work on stretching, strengthening, and balancing - and her specific work in the pool - made her return to the swim class a success. She's still better at some things than others, but no panic in the pool this time. Good work, Mom!

Our doctor said Tuesday that I have an infection in my inner ear - my stubborn than the more run-of-the-mill infections Vincent and I had last month - and so he put me on a new round of medication. If that doesn't work, I may head off to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, potentially to have the fluid in my inner ear drained though a tube (through my ear drum!). To try to prevent the need for this, I'm also supposed to do things like I do in an ascending or descending plane to clear my ears.

No luck feeding the turtles. We are buying a new heating element to try to get the terrarium at a better temperature (instead of only 77 degrees or 107 degrees). We tried hand feeding Monday and Big Mac tried to bite Stephanie (hope that's a good sign, that he's trying to eat)! It's very hard to get the pieces of food small enough (especially cutting up live worms into small pieces). We were also told we could try fruit.

Heard from Penny Tuesday on how Serge and Jacob's birthday parties went last week. It turns out that she and I will both be in the D.C./Baltimore area - me for a conference for work, her for another round of movement classes - so she may stay with me in Baltimore one night.

P.S. Our Weight Watchers leader and meeting were in the Louisville paper today. Check the article and accompanying pictures out at: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010309220035

-- Perry

More health

Friday I took Vincent for his follow-up visit to the oral surgeon did removed his wisdom teeth. Vincent’s mouth had been bothering him all week, but when we got there the doctor removed Vincent’s stitches (I missed it – I was out with the dog – in a couple of minutes. Vincent has used up almost a whole bottle of Advil, but is getting better. I’ve faced health issues as I re-re-injured my right knee (on my way to the doctor three weeks ago) and have started going back irregularly to physical therapy. Fall allergies – worsened by dust in Nancy and Bob’s basement and Nancy’s things now in our house. When I went to the doctor, I got some antibiotics for among other things an ear infection. Replacing it was a weirder ear condition that has made my hearing a little worse and has lately mimicked tennitis. Tuesday I go back to the doctor – but no running to the bus this time. In between, I’ll hope that my allergies and sneezing don’t wake me up in the middle of the night again. We’re also fighting health problems with our baby turtles, who haven’t eaten after three and a half weeks (despite one and a half reptile vet visits). This week we’re going to try to a different heat lamp.

-- Perry

Health issues

Vincent and I continue to battle colds and ear aches we picked up in recent weeks, even after we’ve run through a whole series of antibiotics. Fall allergies – plus suffering from all of the dust we’ve tracked into the house with the dozens and dozens of receptacles of fabric, etc. we brought from Nancy and Bob’s – also plague and this may be behind some of both Vincent and my symptoms. Ironically – on the way to the doctor – I ran to the bus last Monday and my knee is as bad as it’s been since I reinjured it in June. I’m behind enough at work that it’s hard to know how I’d go back to physical therapy regularly. I’m trying to do some stuff at home. Vincent has picked up a Perry-like illness – athletes’ foot, for which it’s possible we’ll try to take him to the doctor early this week. Vincent is already slated to go Tuesday to the dentist and to the psychiatrist and Wednesday to the oral surgeon to have his wisdom teeth pulled. I will take him to the Tuesday appointments and Stephanie will take him to the Wednesday appointment (her taking a day off of work, even though Tuesday will be her first day for bringing students to her new classroom, even though not everything in the classroom is ready), while getting to the doctor herself that day. After doing a lot of yard work and playing Wii Sports Resort Saturday, Stephanie’s back has been bothering her. We both hope to get back to Weight Watchers Tuesday also.

-- Perry