We've had another busy, busy week. It slowed down in the last couple of days, but 2 days we were out of the house before 7:30.

Tuesday was Bill's visit with his pulmonologist and it had mixed results. His PFT (pulmonary function test) was improved over the one done in January. That's not surprising since he was still recovering from pneumonia then. But, whenever he exerts himself his O2 level is dropping into the low 80s, which is dangerously low. That also explains the trouble he had walking while we were at the wedding, not just the humidity and hills. So, we're back to oxygen during the day...if necessary. Dr. Burbeck said that if he is just puttering through the house, and his level is 94 or above, he doesn't need it. But, if he's doing any walking outside the house, such as at Walmart and especially on his treadmill, he needs to be using it. Of course he still needs it at night too. Bill was not happy about this and I finally told him that he may as well just stop taking his meds and die then if he wasn't going to try to do everything to help make his life better. After a couple of hours he decided that it wouldn't be too bad, and this was before the new equipment came.

A new company is supplying everything, and it is much better than the old one. They brought a small concentrator (bigger than the one we bought but smaller than the homefill one we had before). They also brought 2 medium size tanks and a six pack of small tanks. They told us that they would check with us every 1-2 weeks and see what we need replaced and they would replace the inner filters in the concentrator every 6 months. They also said that we can call the company and let them know if we are going to be out of town, where we will be and when and they will have equipment waiting for us! I don't know if we will take advantage of that since we have the small concentrator, but we may for the convenience of getting replacement tanks while travelling. After 30 days we can swap all of the tanks for a portable concentrator that runs on batteries or AC/DC, but our O2 man, Billy, said what the ads don't tell you is that the battery life is very short and that they aren't as lightweight as advertised. So, something to think about for a month.

We took the small concentrator to Bill's mancave and set it up next to his treadmill. Of course we made sure that the tubing wouldn't get caught in the machine. And, he's using it while he's out there. He also didn't argue about taking a small tank yesterday when we went out for breakfast and then to walmart. He only used it at walmart and did fine.

This company also has a nurse affiliated with it and he's coming Monday to do some kind of test. It may be a PFT and I can always give him a copy of the one done Tuesday.

Wednesday we had to have his quarterly labs done, so we were out the door early to be there when they opened. We then went to breakfast and were going to get my ring inspected to keep the warranty valid. But, we would have had to wait almost an hour for the store to open and then drive the hour home, so we decided we would do that another day. Just as long as it's done sometime this month.

Thursday was a down day, after the early mornings. I've found that I don't mind getting up early, but I don't like getting dressed that early, especially without much coffee!

Yesterday was my birthday and Bill took me out for breakfast and dinner. The most work I did was making coffee in the morning, popping a frozen pizza in the oven for lunch and filling our weekly medicine containers. Bill bought me a new book and I had ordered a knitting kit that I had been eyeing for quite some time. It came in yesterday and the yarn is lovely and nice to work with and the pattern is working up pretty fast.

Stephanie called yesterday with his lab results and they were all good. His kidney level was better than it had been in May and Dr. Hosenpud is not ordering any med changes. She did ask if he had seen the dermatologist and I had totally forgotten that we were supposed to make an appointment to see one! So, that's something to do next week, get that appointment made.

Bill's already out walking on the treadmill. I think he's trying to get it done before it gets too hot. Our heat index yesterday was 116 and it just took your breath away to go out. It's not supposed to be as hot today and there's a decent chance of rain this afternoon, then it's supposed to cool down some.

I think that's it for this week. Other than the nurse coming Monday and getting the derm appointment we have nothing scheduled so we'll be back to as normal as it ever gets in this house! Have a good week!