(Originally posted April 23, 2009)

I've been so drained lately by work and this frackin' cold that doesn't seem to want to leave me alone that blogging has been slightly beyond my abilities. Don't give up on me, I'll try to do better.

Today J.J. went to see our family doctor alone (the first time since his stroke that I've not tagged along to a doctor visit). He's still having trouble with his knee, so he had another round of scans and will be seeing an orthopedic specialist on Monday. His hair is also falling out handfuls at a time; along with some other symptoms he's having, this might indicate that his thyroid is not functioning adequately. This sometimes results from a stroke and is often due to the pituitary (located in the brain, not terribly far from the location of J.J.'s stroke) not sending the right signals to the thyroid to produce and release T3 and T4. He's having blood drawn and we'll get results in the next couple of days. His blood pressure is back up a little (140/90), so he will be returning to the doctor's office twice a week for the next few weeks to monitor this. It might be that he needs a medication change for this.

I'm starting to forget what J.J.'s voice sounded like before the stroke, which is both good and bad, I suppose. Good because I'm getting used to him sounding the way he does now. Bad because I don't want to forget. I may never hear it in person again; I'd like to at least retain it in my memory. But in any case, time marches on and J.J. is getting much more conversational again. He still has a few words that appear to be missing from his vocabulary that are taking longer to return (the most recent discovery is the word "kitchen"), but for the most part if he takes his time and doesn't rush he does just fine.

The CPAP is still a struggle for J.J. He's having lots of trouble getting used to it, but he's giving it a chance, which is all I can ask. If he still hasn't adjusted to it by next week's sleep study, he may be switched to wearing oxygen at night.

Everything else is going pretty well here. Kids are doing fine; Eli's birthday is Saturday so we're gearing up for the big day. Due to my company's big event on Saturday and J.J.'s sleep study next Friday night, I think it's going to be the weekend of May 8 before we have his sleepover, which is the birthday party he's requested this year. But my parents will be coming over Saturday to take him to Toys R Us to spend his birthday money, and we're having cupcakes Saturday evening, and honestly I think he'll be so busy he won't even notice.

That's about all the news that's fit to print. Now I must go check on the progress of dinner (Eli is assisting J.J. to put together a meatloaf) and prepare to make it an early night tonight!