Friends,

Wow, where to start. Menchie and I closed on our new house last Monday. Within a couple of hours of closing, we had ripped out the kitchen cabinets, torn down a wall, and removed most of the plumbing fixtures in the house. It was very strange turning the water on. As soon as I did so I heard water flowing through the pipes so I went to be sure no faucets were on. I looked in the kitchen and it was dry, so I turned the water on. It came on with no problems and shut off with only a few drips. I looked under the sink, and water was pouring out of the source stops and a couple gallons a minute! next I went to the bathroom. The toilet tank was leaking into the bowl, I could hear that, but that was no big deal. The shower was dripping excessively and the tub spout was spraying water all over the bathroom. I didn’t even look under the sink, as I hurried to turn the water off again. That’s when we started taking the plumbing apart. I reached under the kitchen sink and the drain came off accidentally in my hand. No wonder there was a pitcher under the trap. We decided since we were going to remove the cabinets anyway, we might as well do that because it would make the plumbing easier. When we got the cabinet out, the drain pipe fell apart. It was great! We finally got all the plumbing off the bath area and a plumber will put in valves on everything. He was there today.

We will be going back to New Mexico this coming weekend to work on the house some more. We will be ripping up floors so we can replace any piping that needs to be replaced, and we will be painting and fixing the place up a little, so we can stay there in relative comfort.

Menchie drove both there and back, because I can’t see well enough to drive. She did an amazing job, driving over 800 miles in one day.

We had lots of medical appointments in the last week. I had an IVIG treatment, followed by a followup visit to my dermatologist. He was very pleased with the healing of my leg wound, and he reported that they got all of the cancer from that site. Next I saw my Oncologist, and he was very happy with my progress. He OK’d my cataract surgery. He also said that the stiffness in my joints was probably GVHD. The next day Menchie had a doctor appointment and I had a followup with my oral surgeon, who was pleased with the implants and the healing of my mouth. This morning I saw a doctor for a reevaluation of my VA disability. I suspect I might get a lot more since I have the joint stiffness and can’t see. They asked me what I can’t do that I used to do before. Lets see, type, drive, bike, fly, shoot, watch movies, tv, people, or whatever. I am looking forward to their decision.

Over the weekend, Menchie and I walked. She walked over 10 miles and I went almost 8. Good efforts for both of us. I was beat for the rest of the day.

My eyesight seemed to be improving a little, but today, just like a couple of weeks ago, I woke up with my vision much worse. I am giving a presentation at work tomorrow, and I won’t be able to see what the slides are in the presentation. I am a little down today because it is hard for me to get around now. I took the trolley today, and I had to ask someone for help to get a ticket because I couldn’t read the screen. I tried to read a magazine at the doctor’s office and the only things I could make out were the headlines.

On the medical front, my doctor let me reduce the amount of CellCept I am taking by one pill, so I am now taking 3 instead of 4 a day. That is the only medication I am taking on a regular basis right now.

I don’t have any lab work to share.

Have a great week!

Ted and Menchie Wilcox
www.wilcoxent.com/mzima/health.php
www.freedomathometeam.com/tmwilcox
tw@wilcoxent.com