Bon appetite

It was a long day at the CNR clinic, but much was accomplished. Gilly gained a kilo since the last visit, and his strength has improved as well. We now have a referral slip to hand to the primary nurse tomorrow so that she can arrange for Gilly to see the psychologist on the oncology team. Dr. MacDonald plans to consult with Dr. Kavan tomorrow regarding putting Gilly on progesterone to boost his appetite. His blood results show that his protein level is good. We were sent off with instructions to continue along the same lines, since progress is being made. Nelda will call the nutritionist at the CSSS to ask her to do a home visit mid-month, so Gilly will have more frequent follow-up.

All this took 2 hours and 45 minutes. Gilly was exhausted and freezing because of the air conditioning. Tamara was home for a visit when we returned; there’s no better medicine for either one of us. She urged her father to have some lunch (2 hours or so late due to the long appointment) and he gradually ate meager helpings of some of his all time favourite foods.

When it came time to sit down for supper, I was sure he would refuse to eat, since lunch was so late. Tamara put some food on his plate, but I explained (before he came up, of course) that it’s best to give him a small, empty plate and allow him to serve himself from a regular sized dinner plate. He feels less pressured this way, and tends to eat more.

She wanted to make hotdogs for dinner, but I insisted that he be presented with healthier food choices; he doesn’t need the nitrates (nor do we). I agreed that hot dogs be one of various options, because he needs the calories no matter what. She lovingly prepared a mixed grill. He sat down for dinner (after being beckoned repeatedly) and put a hot dog on his plate. Tamara glanced in my direction and smiled. He studied it for awhile, returned it to the dinner plate and proceeded to serve himself some meat, potatoes and green peas. “Did you notice that I’m eating?” he asked. “I was afraid to break the spell, so I decided not to say anything, but yes, I certainly did notice.” “Are you hungry?” I asked. “Yes, I am,” he admitted.

I wonder what that’s all about; it could be that the Temodal has finally started to flush itself out of his system (his last dose was Saturday night), or perhaps the discussions that took place in the nutrition clinic made an impact on his thinking. Maybe knowing he has gained some weight has had a positive psychological effect…who knows? My best guess is that having Max and Tamara grace our table is the most powerful contributing factor.

Tomorrow we have physio at 8:45, we meet the primary nurse at noon, and Gilly has yet another dentist appointment at 1:00 (his tooth started to hurt again this morning at breakfast). Somewhere in between, I have to scoot over to Vanier to submit my course pack.

If all goes as planned, it’s back on Autoroute 15 North later in the afternoon for four more days in paradise. The photo above depicts a cozy scene; man and his dog, settled in for the night, warm and toasty. If I recall correctly, I was taking my evening dip in the lake at the time to bring my body temperature down to a tolerable level. I guess opposites really do attract.