Making Progress

February 25, 2015 – Making Progress

I'm happy to report that Elliott is making progress.  Yesterday was a cold but bright day.  Around 11 o’clock in the morning, when Elliott had finished reading the newspaper, I turned to him and said, “Enough lounging around the house.  You’re going out with me.”  He was hesitant at first, but I assured him that he’d be okay.  And sure enough, for the first time in nearly three weeks, Elliott left the confines of home.  It was just for a short ride in the car while I ran an errand, but he was able to bask in the sunlight and view the amazing sights along Route 50 in northern Virginia.  He was even okay without supplemental oxygen for the duration of the ride (about 45 minutes), which his doctors recommended trying occasionally.  Of course, we had loaded an oxygen tank into the car – just in case.  And as soon as we got home, he reconnected himself to the oxygen concentrator.  We’re still waiting for the new portable equipment.  His pulmonologist’s office doesn’t seem to be in any great hurry to process the necessary forms and fax them back to the new oxygen supplier. 

Elliott's new toy?

In the meantime, there’s been another encouraging development.  No, Elliott is not involved with a new construction project.  I couldn’t resist snapping that photo in the Trader Joe’s parking lot this morning.  And while I’m on the subject of Trader Joe’s, I’d like to recommend a new wine I recently discovered there.  It’s a Sicilian red, Nero d’Avola.  (That’s the name of the grape.)  The wine is very reasonably priced, its deep ruby color looks wonderful in a glass, and it’s full of flavor.  I’m still scouting out low sodium products whenever I go grocery shopping.  In response to my request, Elliott wrote out a list of foods he’d like me to prepare for him.  I wasn’t surprised to see some of his long-time favorites, such as macaroni and cheese, but “lazonia?”  It took me a second to figure out that one!  Rest assured, Elliott, that lasagna will be on the menu soon.  It’s too bad he wasn’t interested in tasting my salt-free Indian braised cabbage.  With the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, fennel, cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek, pepper, turmeric and lemon juice, it had plenty of flavor without any salt at all.  The recipe came from Olive Trees and Honey, a vegetarian cookbook by Gil Marks. 

Indian braised cabbage - without the salt

Anyway, back to Elliott’s project.  Every year, completing all the tax returns (my mother’s and Matt’s, as well as our own) has been a major project for Elliott.  This year, he seemed so tired that I hadn’t mentioned taxes to him.  Also, I was hoping to do the taxes myself before he noticed it was tax season.  In case you’re wondering why, it’s not that I love doing taxes, but it takes me about one-tenth the amount of time it takes when Elliott is in charge. 

So, I bought TurboTax, quietly installed it on the computer, and started working on my mother’s return.  Alas, a few days ago, Elliott made a comment about getting to work on the taxes.  Now 2014 tax prep is officially a Team Thompson project.  I’m afraid the inevitable result will be arguments, miscommunication, and frustration.  But we’ve survived it in the past, and I’m sure we’ll survive it again this year. 

And I have a new writing project.  The working title is Elliott Thompson:  The Complete Care and Maintenance Guide.  There’s a very practical reason behind this ambitious effort.  I’ll be going away for a few days in March (hurray!), visiting family and friends in southern Florida.  During the time I’m gone, Marshall has volunteered to take my place in the house.  The purpose of the guide is to give him the information he’ll need to ensure that Elliott receives proper care.  The deadline is rapidly approaching so I’d better get back to work on it. 

We're Back!

February 17, 2015 – We’re Back!

Finally, we have a much-needed snow day, which means I can stay home.  So no more procrastinating – it’s time to get back to the blog.  Even though I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks (yes, it’s been that long), I’ve been writing down my random thoughts in order to clear them from my mind.  Doing this has been very therapeutic for me, but I realize it leaves me out of touch with the outside world.  Get ready for a long post, which I’ve divided into two sections. 

Part 1 – Calm Returns to Convento

First of all, I’ll address the question everyone’s asking, i.e. how is Elliott doing?  Rest assured, he’s doing better than he was at the beginning of the month.  His condition seems stable now.  Our daily routines, such as monitoring his vital signs and making sure he follows his dietary restrictions, are falling into place.  He uses oxygen most of the time, which means he’s tethered to a hulking oxygen concentrator, a machine that resides just outside the entrance to the kitchen.  A long stretch of bright green tubing allows him to roam freely on the upper level of the house.  He’s comfortable, except for flare-ups of back pain, and he sleeps well at night.  He’s not physically active yet, but we’re hoping that will change soon. 

Elliott is looking forward to the arrival of a light-weight, portable Inogen oxygen concentrator that he can use outside the house.  For his recent doctors’ appointments, he had to push his walker while I walked beside him, matching his pace step by step, and pulling a wheeled cart with a big oxygen tank.  We looked like an exceedingly strange set of conjoined twins. 

Last week, we placed the order for the new equipment and now we are just waiting for paperwork from doctors and approval from Medicare.  It’s hard for Elliott to be patient, though.  After being trapped inside for the past couple of weeks, he has a severe case of cabin fever.  But considering the recent weather (temperatures well below freezing), he should be happy to stay indoors.  By the way, Elliott really appreciates the visits from friends and family.  And thanks to all of you who’ve called and sent email messages, too. 

Even though Elliott does less nowadays and I do more, I’m managing to keep up with some important activities, including daily exercise, my class at GMU, and my weekly fused glass class.  Fortunately, Elliott doesn’t require constant supervision, so I can get away for a few hours at a time.  I even found time to work on some glass projects in an open studio session at Workhouse yesterday, right before the big snowstorm.  I’m currently working on several different pieces, including a Seder plate that I hope to complete before Passover, which is in early April.  In the evenings, after Elliott has gone to bed, I relax by reading for an hour or so.  I’m about to start my seventh free-reading book of the year.  

Three recently finished pieces of fused glass

For those occasional moments my extra responsibilities weigh me down and lead to thoughts of self-pity, I turn to Trader Joe’s.  In fact, one day last week when I was in dire need of appreciation, Trader Joe’s held a Customer Appreciation Day.  It’s amazing what some live music, a triple-tiered chocolate truffle, and a few sips of good red wine can do for one’s mood.  Which brings me to the second section of this blog post.  

Part 2 – Food for Thought

Under normal (i.e. non-crisis) conditions, it’s not unusual for me to spend a lot of time thinking about food.  Now that Elliott’s been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and has new dietary restrictions, I’m finding myself thinking about food even more.  Every time I go grocery shopping – in other words, at least once a day – I look for low sodium items.  I’m also learning how to rely less on convenience items and shortcuts.  For instance, when I saw that commercially prepared chili powder contained salt, I decided to put together my own combination of spices.  Last Friday, when we had family from Yorktown arriving for a weekend visit, I used my custom-blended chili powder in the bison chili that I served for dinner, along with homemade cornbread and guacamole (both salt-free).  

 

Elliott with his grandson Tyler (visiting from Yorktown, VA)

It seems that Elliott and I are on mutually exclusive diets.  Things that he can eat are things I should avoid, and vice versa.  Since Elliott’s blood sugar and cholesterol levels are fine, he can pig out on ice cream, mashed potatoes, French bread and pastry.  I, on the other hand, have to watch out for carbs and sugar but can tolerate more salt in my diet.  Eating out will certainly be difficult, but I think I’ve figured out a solution to the brunch problem:  We’ll order a bagel with cream cheese and lox.  Elliott will eat the bagel and cream cheese, and I’ll eat the lox!

This past January’s Winter Restaurant Week is now a happy memory.  (I thought I wrote about this already, but I don't see it any of my previous blog posts.)  Of course, Elliott couldn’t join me for excursions into DC, but I found two willing participants.  With Kathy, I sampled the scrumptious Italian cuisine at Fiola.  Grilled arctic char on a bed of “melted” leeks was a standout.  We ordered two different desserts, shared them, and had a hard time deciding which was better – the pistachio cake with Chantilly ice cream, or the chocolate-hazelnut trifecta consisting of gianduja (my new vocabulary word for the day – it means a chocolate hazelnut paste originating in the Piedmont region of Italy), chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline gelato.  The restaurant is located a couple of blocks from the National Gallery of Art, making it an ideal choice for a museum-going day.

Later that same week, with Cheri, I made a second Restaurant Week foray into DC.  This time, we had a full day of walking, shopping, and eating in Georgetown.  We discovered the new DC outpost of Rent the Runway and checked out the fancy dresses.  

Before lunch, we even did some historical sightseeing.  The Old Stone House, maintained by the National Park Service, is the oldest structure in the city.  It's worth taking the time to stop in if you're in the neighborhood. 

The Old Stone House

All the walking built up big appetites and we were ravenous by the time we arrived at La Chaumiere on M Street.  It was my first time dining at this traditional French bistro, whose rustic décor features a central stone fireplace, wood beams and stucco walls decorated with copper pots and old farm implements.  My Restaurant Week lunch included moules farcies (baked mussels) with garlic butter and poire Belle Helene, along with a glass of Cote du Rhone.

The cozy dining room of La Chaumiere on a wintery afternoon

Although not officially part of Restaurant Week, my lunch with Matt at Matchbox on a blustery winter day was very satisfying.  It was great seeing him and watching him devour a Fire and Smoke Pizza (the heat comes from chipotles in the sauce) and a dessert consisting of a giant brownie, a big scoop of peppermint ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream.  I must admit I helped him finish off the last few bites of dessert.   

Matt needed my help with this dessert at Matchbox.

For a while, I thought that Elliott’s dietary restrictions might stop me from entertaining, but I’ve since determined that it’s simply another challenge to overcome.  Earlier this month, I prepared lunch for several family members who traveled from Baltimore, southern Maryland, and Fredericksburg to visit Elliott.  The menu had to be low salt for Elliott, gluten-free for Marie-Claude, low-sugar and low-carb for me, free of unhealthy fats for everyone, and vegetarian for – well, no one in particular, but why not?  After rifling through my mental database of recipes, I came up with a selection that pleased the whole group:  quinoa-chickpea salad with baby spinach and walnuts in a lemon vinaigrette; sliced fennel and red onion with blood oranges; hummus and spinach-kale yogurt dip with crudités; a low-sodium Swiss cheese; rice crackers – and a whole-grain bread for the gluten-tolerant; fresh strawberries; dried figs; and dark chocolate-covered almonds.  

Family visitors for a healthy brunch

In other words, don’t be afraid to accept an invitation to our house for lunch or dinner.  While the food may be low-sodium, low-carb, sugar-free, and/or gluten-free, I can guarantee it will be delicious – no modesty here. 

This additional attention to diet is having a beneficial effect on my health, as well:  I’ve lost eight pounds since the end of October.  I’ve also made an immensely important discovery about rugelach, those rolled up, jam- and nut-filled, cream-cheese dough pastries which have long topped my list of favorite foods.  I bought a package (at Trader Joe’s, of course) to serve to guests, thinking I would have to watch longingly as lucky others indulged.  But a quick check of the nutrition label revealed that a single piece of rugelach (5-6 bites worth) has only 7 grams of carbs and 4 grams of sugar!  And 120 calories, too, but that isn’t nearly as outrageous as I was expecting.  Overall, in the calories vs. satisfaction equation, satisfaction definitely outweighs calories, meaning that I can splurge occasionally on rugelach without guilt.  I'd take a photo of a rugelach to show you, but I just ate the last one.  

More Changes for Elliott (and Me)

February 2, 2015 – More Changes for Elliott (and Me)

Ugh.  I’ve been dreading writing this.  Last week was horrendous, mainly for Elliott.  But we survived, and life is slowly returning to a calmer state.  I’ve already mentioned how he started to experience breathing problems back in December.  I’ve written about the oxygen concentrator that he started using in mid-January.  We weren’t overly concerned since his pulmonologist had reassured us that it was a simple COPD flare-up.  But about ten days ago, when Elliott’s breathing hadn’t improved and he kept getting weaker, we decided to consult our long-time primary care physician.  At an appointment exactly one week ago, Elliott began a series of tests (blood tests, EKG, CT scans, ultrasounds, echocardiograms) that led to a lengthy visit to the emergency room, 2-day stay in Fairfax Hospital, and a diagnosis of congestive heart failure.  

Elisa and Matt visiting Elliott at Fairfax Hospital

Remember how pleased I was that Elliott had gained about ten pounds over the past few weeks?  Well, all that weight was fluid his body had retained – in his legs, his belly and his lungs.  No wonder it was hard to breathe.  Once he started intravenous diuretics, he lost the fluid and the weight and he started to feel much better (although he was still using oxygen).  

Now that Elliott is home, we’re adapting our routines to include new medications and daily monitoring of his weight (a gain would indicate fluid retention), blood pressure, pulse and oxygen saturation level.  He’ll probably continue to need supplemental oxygen, which will restrict his activities considerably.  At the moment, we’re looking for an easy-to-carry portable oxygen concentrator that will permit him to get out of the house for a few hours at a time.  In the meantime, he seems content to nap or to sit quietly during the day.  A visiting nurse will be coming to the house a few times a week to check on his condition.  I’m working with Marshall and Matt to schedule times when they can come to stay at the house when I need to be away for more than a couple of hours. 

Elliott’s diet is also undergoing scrutiny as we try to reduce his sodium intake.  I’ve already discovered that many of his favorite foods are much too high in sodium.  For example, those big fat Entenmann’s cinnamon buns are loaded with salt.  Ditto for many of the cheeses he loves.  But it will be an adventure to search out low-sodium alternatives and at least Elliott’s not complaining.  As soon as he’s feeling a little stronger, I’m sure he’d be delighted to welcome visitors – in person, or by phone. 

Although a diagnosis of congestive heart failure is nothing to celebrate, we both feel relieved that the mystery behind his breathing problems has been solved.  While it’s a condition that can’t be cured, we’re confident that we can manage it and enable him to continue enjoying life.