Hi Paul,

Yes, I have a caretaker. It's required in order to stay at Hope Lodge. She's my partner in life and I'm very blessed. Her positive attitude and fighting spirit is a huge benefit. She's also very pro-active concerning ways to help me...massage, cooking etc. (she's a marvelous cook and I'm going to mourn the loss of my taste buds for sure!).

The nerve pain from the surgery is still my biggest challenge. My left shoulder is still very weak and painful despite PT I'm doing at home 3X a day or more (arm raises and shoulder shrugs). You can see a big difference in my traps when I do a shoulder shrug. It's as if the nerves controlling it are gone. My RO prescribe Neurontin and it's has helped a bit but the incision area and beyond is still very sensitive and painful. Fortunately, my swallowing has improved and I've been able to eat solid foods the past week. I still have to wash things down but it's much better than it was.

If there's anything anyone can share concerning nerve pain issues I would appreciate hearing about them.

"T"