Laugh Therapy

On Friday, Kristine went for her 3 month scan appointments -- MRI of the head and CT of the chest.  It was the standard procedure.  First to Pennsylvania Hospital at 9 am for the CT.  Of course, we forgot to request the referral ahead of time so we had to call our primary care physician's office to process an emergency request (we've learned that it's best just to lie and get it done quickly then to try to explain why we didn't allow them the requisite 72 hours for processing).  The referral appeared in the Penn health system records within minutes.  The CT took about 40 minutes including the wait time.  

When we were through we wheeled across the street to Spruce MRI for Kristine's next scan. The staff there are all very friendly and know Kristine by name.  We wait for about 20 minutes before the nurse assisted Kristine into the back room for her procedure.  She asked Kristine if she would be listening to her usual radio station, B101, for the 30 minute scan.  Kristine replied to confirm the selection.  The morning scans were running behind schedule and I had a meeting to catch in Wilmington that afternoon -- 45 minutes away.  Our friend Simone was nice enough to meet Kristine a little early at the MRI office to pick her up so I could get on my way.  It was raining hard that day but they decided to go out to lunch after she was finished anyway. 

Kristine's cough has been steady.  It gets a little worse in the evening when she is tired and whenever she is tense.  She has not coughed up any blood since she was in Texas several weeks ago.  The lump on her right shoulder where cancer has developed in a lymph node looks to be stable in size from what we can see.  Although Kristine has noticed more pain in her right shoulder, arm and neck.  This is likely related to the swollen lymph node.  It could also be related to the extra work she continues to do on her right side to compensate for her left.  We will hear back from both the oncologist and the neurosurgeon this week to discuss the results of the scans. This is always the most stressful period -- waiting for results. 

On Sunday, the weather was nice.  Kristine and I wanted to get out of the house and enjoy the warm temperature.  We have found it difficult to use the wheelchair in the city.  The uneven concrete and brick walkways make for a jarring and unpleasant stroll for Kristine.  Just the thought of pushing her around reminds me of our escapes from the rehab center in late Fall last year.  She relished in the bumpy ride then.  Instead of barring the terrain by wheelchair, we opted to go for a ride around the city in the car.  So with the windows down and Rufus in the back, we drove through the streets of Philadelphia watching the locals with spring fever and listening to Jim Gaffigan's new comedy routine.  We laughed nearly the whole trip until the album was over and then headed home.  The laughter was good therapy for both of us.