A Date with the Oral Surgeon

I had felt nervous about today's appointment..thinking now that I subconsciously had known that this would be a dead end. We had hoped that Ron would be able to get dentures, but the necessary procedures to make that happen are too complicated considering his overall poor health. Ron has two partial teeth, and the rest have broken off at the gum line. He has no infection or pain with this, but it does of course limit his eating/chewing. That being said, oral surgery to remove all teeth would be risky for him, and it would involve many months of healing. At that point he would most likely not be able to have dentures because of dry mouth and other problems with his mouth tissues from graft versus host disease. GVHD also has also caused skin and lung problems and is possibly a contributor to his brain damage. His ECP treatments at U of M treat the T cells in his blood, so they do not attack his own body as vigorously. Like an autoimmune disease.
We saw an oral surgeon in Bowling Green, so Ron has been referred back to UofM For follow up. At this point we don't think he will have this surgery due to possible complications from surgery, and he would be able to chew/eat less than he can now. And he probably wouldn't be able to get dentures anyway and would have a liquid diet. He wanted to have teeth again, and we had decided to undergo whatever was necessary, but I think we are at a dead end on this issue. Ron is compliant, accepting and luckily has an "oh, well" attitude about things. The fiery old Ron would have been extremely distressed. I felt much like I had when he lost the vision in his left eye 3 years ago. Fortunately his hearing aids have compensated for his hearing loss. So we move forward; Ron's bravery and gratitude for life continue to be amazing.

It is winter!

I enjoyed reading through our Christmas cards today and putting the picture cards in an album that I had brought back from the lake. It already had 2012 picture cards in it---don't know what happened to 2013. One thing is certain; they are NOT thrown away! I am sentimental to a fault when I try to sort through things, so I tend to just keep everything!

I included a couple pictures of the Super Bowl Sunday snowstorm at our Michigan home. It finally looks like winter wherever we go! We have a plowing service at both homes, but two of my neighbors here in BG have also shoveled for us. I am not tired of it yet! By this time last year, I had had E-NOUGH!
Ron and I finally had our "Christmas Outing" last evening. Life and weather kept happening, so we had to wait until the time was right. The many trees with white lights in the shopping area where we went were still lit, and it was beautiful with all of the snow.

Super Snow, Super Bowl 2-1-15

Jan is pictured in the calm before the storm. The 2nd picture is a Super Bowl party in Iraq. I am sure that I will have more pictures in the morning! We have over a foot of snow--still snowing and blowing most of the night. Tomorrow will be the first day that we have had to cancel a doctor or treatment appointment for Ron since 2010 when Ron was first diagnosed with leukemia. Tuesday's appointments are in question too!
We will be adjusting our calendar but am not sure how that will work yet. I have learned to be flexible. I am not going to drive if the roads are bad; I had my last white knuckle drive last winter. I did think about our Ford 150 today but know it was not sensible to keep 2 vehicles for one driver. It was good in the snow with its 4 wheel drive. --the Edge not so much.
Ron continues about the same; some of his difficulties fluctuate somewhat but no crisis. His spatial and problem solving difficulties impact our lives the most, but some things he seems to relearn. I have learned to not point out or over-coach things that really don't matter. He had gone out in the snow and cold again without a coat and would often carry his gloves instead of putting them on, but those problems are under control now. I am sure people wonder at times why he wears what he does. (and why I don't intervene) He almost always wears his two gold chains with pendants and now has a beaded chain for his glasses. (that is so not-Ron) His clothes are sometimes soiled with food or drink and mis-matched, but most of the time he looks sharp like he always did in the past. As his prednisone has been tapered, his diabetes has improved greatly, and his face is closer to his normal contour. He is also not itching like he has within the first week after his transplant. I don't know if he is not sensing it like he did or hopefully, the graft versus host disease is not affecting his skin so much. I am grateful for these positive changes. Grateful for many things.
Love, Jan