The Georges in Peru

Amy's doing well on the headache front, but she (and thus we) had a rough night because of her tummy.  My brother calls it the 'Peruvian weight loss program', but Amy's about 55 kg (121#) and doesn't need to lose weight.  And not being able to run to the bathroom makes it even worse.  Thankfully, the cipro (antibiotic) I gave last night seems to already be working and she ate a decent breakfast this morning and no more troubles.

So what do we do all day?  I wake up around 5:30 or 6 am and usually help Amy use the bathroom and help her take her morning meds.  I then try to get her settled back in bed and I make breakfast for the kids.  I check on her every 5 minutes or so, since this is the time of day I'm the only one awake to be watching her.  I wake up Mia at 6:20, Ben wakes himself up and I wake up Paul around 6:30, unless I forget, in which case I wake him up when I realize that he hasn't come to breakfast.  Being a boy, he just gets out of bed and comes downstairs without needing to fix his hair or nails.  I wake up Sarah around 6:45 and she sits with Amy while I go for my morning run.  She runs with me some mornings, so we have Uncle Lyle watch Amy while we are out.  Amy sleeps most of the day (about 20-22 hours).  She's been going downstairs for all three meals, but the walk up the stairs afterwards nearly wipes her out and she goes back to bed to sleep.  Our fellow missionaries have been bringing us the midday meal, which everyone loves.  I love not having to try to cook while watching Amy.  The kids like the variety of food.  Amy likes the chance to see people, and we all like the distraction of dinner guests.  Sarah has been reading "The Westing Game" to her when she is awake.  I often read her emails.  When she's awake she alternates between lucid and confused, but she still cracks jokes and says she feels guilty she isn't helping more around the house.  I have to physically stop her from trying to help clear the table after meals since she can't carry things back to the kitchen.  She only leaves the house to go to church or walk around the block when she feels strong.  Church is very hard because there are lots of stairs in and out of it, none with handrails.  During the night, I tie Amy to myself with some baling twine on a carabiner, so she doesn't try to get up to go to the bathroom unaccompanied.  All of her recents falls occured before I started doing that.  I figured out last night to tie her to my pillow.  Still wakes me up without tying me down or me waking her up if I have to get up.  

During meal times, if Amy isn't feeling well, someone sits with her while the rest eat.  Last night, as I sat with Amy and she chatted about how much her head hurt and how nauseated she was, I heard a crash/thud and a yell, "Dad!  Uncle Lyle fell on the floor and his head is bleeding!"  Lyle has been victim of Montezuma's revenge for the last day and a half and it made him so light-headed he passed out at supper, fell on the floor and cut open his forehead.  Luckily, I still have all the needed equipment for minor surgery in my pharmacy, so the George Family OR team (Sarah and Ben held lights, Paul handed me equipment and Mia sat with Amy) got to work and patched him up.  Our couch has seen a lot of surgeries.  I used especially large needles as payback for all the mean things Lyle did to me from when we were kids. 

Amy is doing better today and even ate a bit of breakfast.  But she is still having lots of pain and is pretty confused most of the time.  Please pray that her pain subsides.

Today, some women from church came to make Amy one of her favorite dishes, causa.  It is a dish of layered mashed potatoes and vegetables with avocados and tuna.  It's quite good.  Amy sat in the rocking chair in the kitchen while they worked, which she enjoyed.  

Ben isn't pictured because he went out to a cebichería (fish restaurant) with friends for the last day of summer vacation.  School begins tomorrow.  They are not thrilled by this.

Amy has had less headaches, but she is getting weaker, especially on her left side (as expected, since the tumor is on the right side).  We had to carry her to this fine meal, but she was able to walk upstairs to her bedroom to sleep afterwards.

My brother Lyle came to visit today.  It has been raining so much here in Arequipa, many of the flights have been cancelled.   Since most years it doesn't rain, it has been deemed an unnecessary expense to install the instruments needed at the airport to allow planes to land in fog or rain.  So I was glad when I woke up at 5 am to see completely clear skies for the first time in a week and I knew his flight would come in.  It is great to have my big brother here!

Lyle and I howl at each other when we see each other for the first time in a while.  I think he scared the woman in pink.

Amy's had a worse day today.  More headaches and more pain pills.

Most people think Breakfast in Bed is a great thing.  Currently, we are in the opposite opinion.  For the first time in 3 days Amy was feeling good enough to go downstairs and eat breakfast at the dining room table!  Maybe 'Waffle Wednesday' was the impetus she needed.  Her head didn't hurt much yesterday and when I offered some pain meds she said, "No.  I'm tough!"

We are blessed on our team here in Arequipa to have a married couple that used to work as nurses in hospice care in Germany before they came to Peru.  They have been a great help and support, bringing helpful chairs and cushions and bread and sitting with Amy when the rest of us went to church on Sunday.  We are so thankful for the Reuters and all of our team here.