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Dave visited me yesterday and brought clean clothes YAY! Omg the smell of clean laundry. I was so wiped out yesterday that I thought I’d need to send him home right away, but I had forgotten that he doesn’t tire me out like other people. He is restful for this introvert to be near, and it made me feel better to be with him. That’s why he’s my person! Silly me. He stayed for a few hours and we had lots of good time together. He’s not a prolific texter and I’d rather die than talk on the phone, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Oh it was good to see his darling round face again.

I had a good long sleep last night and am starting to feel more like myself. I still have tons of fluid around lungs and belly, so I’m still puffy and short of breath, but it’s getting better little by little. I was able to eat two 4oz bowls of cream of wheat for breakfast, all at once! A couple days ago I couldn’t eat more than two bites at a time. My belly is still distended and gross (fluid) but we’ve flushed out enough that my stomach has a bit more room.

Today I can imagine feeling well enough to go home someday soon. I’ve been sitting up all morning. I did all my breathing exercises and a whole round of leg exercises!! So weak, have lost all that progress. Sigh.

Working on weaning down the supplemental oxygen. We cranked it down from 5 lpm to 4.5 this morning and I’m doing ok. Will try for 4 later.

Last night’s dinner was so good. I ordered the mac and cheese, with my fingers crossed… and it was great! Not Kraft, not orange, not mushy. Good flavor, good al dente texture. Sprinkle of crunchy breadcrumbs on top. I might risk the pizza for lunch… the only food I’ve had here that sucked was pancakes. Inedible disks of rubber.

And of course the cheesecake. I don’t think I’ve mentioned the cheesecake. I don’t like baked cheesecake, and I don’t like the kind with whipped cream folded in. They have the GOOD cheesecake here, chilled, tangy, not too sweet. I went researching recipes and I think the secret might be cream cheese plus sour cream plus gelatin. I have a recipe to try when I get home. I’ve been having a slice with every lunch and dinner. Drool. It makes such a big difference to have genuinely appetizing food to look forward to!

They have a big selection of steamed veggies too, and you can order exactly the ones you want and they PILE them on a plate! Broccoli, spinach, kale, carrots, green beans, peas, corn. I usually order three kinds with lunch and get a mountain of veggies to work my way through all afternoon. And they have real mashed potatoes. Not instant. There are little lumps of potato, and they’re using something like Yukon Gold or Rose, I think. There’s that touch of sweetness you don’t get with russets.

For breakfast I always get cream of wheat and a fruit and yogurt parfait, which is beautiful strawberries with thick yogurt and excellent granola, on the side so it doesn’t get mushy.

I think I’m getting hungry, heheh.