Friday afternoon, I worked on the Saturday email, and for dinner, Amy mixed spaghetti and meat sauce. I had my dessert and drugs, then got ready to sleep. I had my knee and leg massaged and went to sleep.

On Saturday, I woke up a few times, and by 9:30, I had finished my breakfast and taken my medication. I showered, and by 12:30, I was ready. The family was coming over that afternoon to celebrate my birthday on July 1st. Amy went out to pick up all kinds of goodies and I stayed home. These days, unless I’m heading to the gallery, I don’t go out. By 2:45, Alyssa, Adam, Teddy, and Benny showed up. My brother and his family also came. By 3:30, Lance and Chloe showed up. Shortly after, my mom came over; she didn’t stay very long, but she had to see me and the great-grandchildren. My brother and his crew left a little while later – but they had to play with little Benny.

Dinner, for everyone else, was going to be made on the barbeque, but the gas line was broken so Adam went to buy a new one. When he returned, they began the process. Amy took chili and added a filet mignon hamburger, then mixed it for me. It was a great spicy dinner, which I had in the kitchen; everyone else had dinner in the dining room. I had planned to have dessert in the dining room, but as I made my way, I saw little Teddy (with her beautiful smile) and just started laughing (no medication seemed to work for that issue). So, I sat on my chair in the living room and had my ice cream. Thankfully, I had a towel because some of the dessert ended up spilling out of my mouth. When all was done, I had Lance and Adam take the large piece of furniture from our bedroom, which held the TV, and switch it out with a 12-inch-deep piece of furniture from the downstairs bedroom. Once they made the swap, I was able to use my walker to get to the bathroom in our bedroom; the previous piece of furniture was much deeper. They also moved our heavy glass table in the kitchen about 2-3 inches closer to the wall, so there was a bit more room for people to walk by when I have my walker next to the table. Oh, Lance brought in a box containing a Volcano Classic Vaporizer, which, according to Google…utilizes a process called convection heating to gently release the active ingredients from the herbs without burning them, resulting in a smooth, flavorful vapor.

That evening, Amy helped me get dressed, and then, while I was still sitting on the edge of the bed, she put one of the creams on my knees. She went to get herself ready, and I tried to get in the bed. It turns out the cream made my knees stick to the sheets, and it was so difficult to crawl on the bed – I guess we learned something new that evening. We then tried the vaporizer and went to sleep.

Sunday, I woke up 5 or 6 times, and by 9:30, I made my way to the kitchen with a new plan for the medication. I took the basic ones to start with Sertraline, Meloxicam, and Riluzole. Then I had Nuedexta. After that, I took a shower and got dressed (with Amy’s help). It was about 12:30, and Amy left for an appointment; I made my way to the kitchen and took the Doxy (seems it does not do well with other drugs and food – it has not been working for me since I started all these medications). Two hours later, which is the time suggested to wait for the Doxy before taking food, I had the protocol and two protein shakes. Amy got back around 3:30 with more things – lots of water (I use so much of that through the feeding tube). For dinner, Amy made me lasagna – it tasted so good – and then had some ice cream and two drops of that RSO.

Monday, I was up 3 times, and by 8:30, I got up (even though I think that RSO made me tired) and decided to take a shower first. I then got on the edge of the bed for Amy to help get me dressed, and then the doorbell rang. It was the person who installed the chairlift. Amy came back to the bedroom and got me dressed while the guy was working – those compression socks are tough for her to get on my feet and legs.

I then went back to the kitchen, and when he was done, I had to try the chair (the lower rail blocked part of the opening to the downstairs doorway to the bedroom, bathroom, storage room, etc. So he scaled back the railing, but when I went down, there was no way for me to get off the chair since it was too high. We’ll see what they do next.  After he left, I sat in the kitchen waiting for two hours before taking the Doxy. Then we headed out (for the first time in a long time) to Bussani Mobility; they provide minivans and ramps, among other services. The cost of one of their vehicles ranges from $ 80,000 to $90,000. We spent a good deal of time there and then headed to the mall so Amy could return some things – I sat in the car. When we got home, Amy had to go get gas, and I had to hit the bathroom. Well, I made it about ¾ of the way to our bathroom and then wet my pants. I got everything off in the bathroom, cleaned myself up, covered my pants and underwear in a towel, and then got back to the edge of my bed. I put on new underwear and waited for Amy to help get me new pants. We then had dinner, this time a mixed Fettuccine Alfredo and then ice cream (oh, all the drugs as well). By 9:30, I was off to the bedroom – these days, the walking is very slow and more difficult. While brushing my teeth, my back was painful, and when I finally got to the bed, Amy had to help me get on to it and then rubbed my back … I fell asleep.

On Tuesday, I woke up twice, and then at 6:00, I got up (it took 6 minutes to get out of bed) and decided to take a shower first; my knees were a problem. As I was finishing up, I dropped my glasses and opened the door, and Amy came in to get them. I made my way to the bed, got partially dressed, and went to the kitchen to take the medications and shakes.  By 8:40, I was back in the bedroom, getting dressed and ready to leave. We had a client coming in and I needed to be there. We arrived at the gallery by 10:40, and the client showed up around 11:30. I was with them, and they acquired two works. After they left, I had my protein shake, and then my good friend Michael Richman came over to spend some time with me. Amy had ordered some food for lunch, but they brought the wrong things. So, Michael & Amy split a sandwich, and Amy showed me a grilled cheese sandwich that she had never ordered—I kept it on my desk. After Michael left, I had Amy make some soup, and she cut up the grilled cheese, and I ate about half of it. Then Lance made some strawberry ice for me.  Our mail arrived late, and it included a birthday card from Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo. We headed out around 5:30 and got home after 7. I had dinner, drugs, ice cream, and a drop of RSO. Finally, I went to sleep.

On Wednesday, I woke up three times and also used the urinal just before getting out of bed. Amy helped me get up, and I went to the kitchen to do my typical morning routine. While sitting in the chair, I needed to use the bathroom again (so strange how many times I have to go), but I wouldn’t be able to walk to the bathroom, so I did the next best thing: I used an empty 8-ounce water bottle. I almost filled it. Finally, I got to the shower (Amy had put my toothbrush and mouthwash in there as well). Afterward, my wife helped me get dressed and carried the walker downstairs so I could use it to reach the front door and then proceed to the second chairlift.

We arrived at the gallery after 11, and Lance and Neil came down to help me get out of the car and onto the scooter. I spent most of the day scanning 24 new Stu Dunkel paintings (one above). It’s sad how long it now takes me to get things on the scanner these days. I had protein shakes for lunch while scanning, and we headed home around 5. For dinner, we both had Chicken Tikka Masala, but mine was mixed, and then ice cream; oh, and drugs. After that, Amy built a step for the bed, and I tried it, but it wasn’t good, so she took it apart and put it back in the box. I finally got into bed, with Amy’s help, and went to sleep.

Thursday, I woke up twice and the alarm went off at 7, but I was so tired that I did not get up until about 7:45. I went to the kitchen, did my breakfast, and had to use one of the small water bottles – not sure why I need to go to the bathroom since I used the urinal around 7. I went to shower; my legs weren’t doing well, and then I got to the edge of the bed. Amy helped me get dressed, then went to the car – that last process takes a good 20 minutes. We got to the gallery around 11:40 and took my Doxy. Around 2:00, Amy brought me small pieces of pizza that they had ordered. I couldn’t chew it, so I used the protein. After 5:00, we went home, and when I arrived at the house, I went to the bedroom to put my belongings on the nightstand. As I moved back with the walker, I somehow messed up and fell to the floor. Amy ran into the room to try and help me get up, but there was no way to lift me. She went out of the house, and our next-door neighbor – Rami – was sitting outside with some of his friends. They came rushing in and helped me get up. If they were not around, I have no idea if I would have ever gotten up! I made my way to the kitchen and had dinner. First, Amy made me Chicken Fajita, but there were tiny pieces, so she me Clam Chowder and finished with ice cream. I got to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I will say that walking is even more difficult now. It seems that each week, things get worse. Amy helped me get on the bed and went to sleep.

Friday, I woke up 4 times. The first time I used the urinal and, I must have tilted the Male Interface and made a mess. My problem was that I couldn’t get up, so I dealt with it until the morning when Amy got me new underpants. I moved to the kitchen and had my great morning experience, then showered. Amy helped me get dressed, and we went to the gallery – we arrived around 11:00. Neil and Nathan helped me. I took my Doxy through the feeding tube, and then Lance decided to take my phone and new watch to set up a feature that would let the family know if I fell! For lunch, I tried grilled cheese, but all I did was bite the inside of my mouth, so I went to the protein option.

Oh, in case you are curious, here is what my bathroom looks like today!