One of the hobbies my wife and I have is gardening. Even though it is getting more and more difficult to keep up with it because of my escalating conditions, we’re trying.

I have noticed on our local Nextdoor several different people on different occasions asking where they can purchase homegrown tomatoes. My suggestion to them and you is to grow your own. We have had ripe tomatoes from our gardens on the table since late March/early April, and continue to have an abundance. We have also provided select neighbors with the fruits of our labor. I made the short video embedded below to “show you how it’s done,” so to speak. Enjoy.

We have another almost full week of doctor’s appointments as follows for me:

1. Monday 8/4 dialysis labs at 1300
2. Tuesday 8/5 1115 postop catarac surgery plus new eyeglass prescription
3. Wednesday 8/6 1100 Dr Watkins Ft Worth Neurologis workup for neuropathy treatment 8/18

I have been doing more research into my lower extremity diabetic neuropathy. Below are twenty symptoms of it, with comments as to whether I am experiencing them: Graphic above and symptoms from this link: https://neuropathyjournal.org/top-twenty-symptoms-of-peripheral-neuropathy/

Each person’s experience varies depending on their type of Neuropathy, but in general, the following are the most common Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy:

1) Severe strange pains in your feet, legs, hands, and other parts of the body; including “crawling insects” under your skin; Mine come and go

2) Balance is difficult when walking, getting dressed, getting out of bed, or whenever you close your eyes; Yes, I have this. My wife has to help me get out of bed.

3) Numbness / heavy / cardboard / heavy cement feeling/ Novocain feeling in your feet and legs; Yes, bottom of my feet at times.

4) Tingling or “vibration” like feelings in your feet and hands; Just my feet.

5) Electric shocks starting at the bottom of your feet/foot that shoot up your leg(s) and on almost any part of the body; No, not my trip.

6) Bone pain, especially in the feet on walking or standing; No, not yet.

7) Painful muscle spasms/cramps; Yes, all the time; wakes me up.

8) Skin may become painful to touch or lose the feeling of touch, with Agent Orange skin rash; Yes, loss of touch

9) Burning sensations in your feet and hands; Very few times, but yes

10) Loss, or lessening, of sensation for hot and cold; Yes, plus cold feet.

11) Feeling like you are wearing socks when you are not; Nope.

12) The feeling you are walking on crumpled socks or stones; Yes, a few times.

13) Feet feel swollen or large; Nope.

14) Difficulty moving your hands or feet; Feet, yes.

15) A feeling of clumsiness, tripping (foot drop) or dropping things; Yes, as relates to feet.

16) Attacks of daily severe exhaustion with strange fatigue; Exhaustion, yes.

In more severe cases of Peripheral Neuropathy, you may also experience the following:

17) Problems with not sweating in the lower body with excessive sweating in the upper body; Yes, upper body.

18) Digestive (fullness; alternating diarrhea/constipation) and/or urinary problems (overflow incontinence); Yes, fullness but could be do to IPN

19) Sexual problems (loss of sensation/feeling/moisture); Yes, no feeling.

20) A tightening of your chest with an increased difficulty in breathing and/or swallowing; uncorrectable vision problems. Not yet.

Yesterday, we reviewed the results of a recent Doppler Scan I underwent as part of a workup for treating the numbness in my legs. Today, we will review an adjacent MRI, followed by a blog on what is projected to be done about the numbness.

Below, I will first post in layman’s terms the result of the MRI that Perplexity provides, followed by an embedded three-page PDF of the actual findings for your comparison.

Layman’s version:

Thoracic Spine MRI (middle back)

• No evidence of active bone injury or fracture.
• Increased thoracic kyphosis: The curve of the upper back is more pronounced than average, which is common with aging or weakened spinal support.
• Degenerative disc disease: The discs between the vertebrae in the middle back are worn out (“dehydrated”) and narrowed. Some rough bony outgrowths (“osteophytes”) and uneven endplates are seen—signs of arthritis in the spine.
• No protruding (“bulging”) discs, no joint arthritis, and no pinched nerves: The spinal cord, nerves, and bone structures look normal.
• Other tissues, blood vessels, and areas around the spine look normal.
• No signs of cancer or other destructive processes.

Summary: The changes seen are typical age-related “wear and tear” (degeneration) of the discs and spine in the middle back, but nothing immediately dangerous or unusual was found.

Lumbar Spine MRI (lower back)

• Age-related changes are present (“degenerative disc disease”) throughout the lower back. This includes worn-out discs, bone spurs, and arthritis in the joints between the spine bones.
• Mild scoliosis: The lower spine curves to the right a bit.
• Evidence of muscle spasms, with the low back being “straighter” than normal.
• Hemangioma at L1: A benign (non-cancerous) blood vessel growth in one of the bones of the spine—this is typically harmless.
• No evidence of acute fracture or bone marrow problems.
• Nerve canal narrowing (spinal stenosis) and “pinched nerves” at several levels:
  • L5-S1, L4-5, and L3-4: There are disc bulges and joint changes that significantly narrow the spaces where the nerves exit the spine (“neuroforaminal narrowing”) and the central spinal canal (stenosis). This can cause pain, numbness, or weakness in the legs (radiculopathy).
  • No herniated discs or significant narrowing at L1-L2 or L2-L3.
• A small fluid-filled area in the abdomen (“peritoneal fluid signal structure”) is noticed by chance and needs more scans (CT or MRI) to figure out what it is, but it may not be related to the back symptoms.

Summary: There are multiple sites in the lower back with “wear and tear” changes, some causing significant narrowing around nerves, which matches complaints of nerve pain. There is also a note about a non-spine-related fluid area in the abdomen that needs further checking, but otherwise, there’s no sign of serious bone disease or cancer.

Takeaway: Both MRI reports show typical age-related changes in the back with areas that could cause pain, stiffness, or nerve issues, but no immediate life-threatening findings. There is one unrelated area in the abdomen that needs further evaluation to determine its nature.

Actual MRI:

Yesterday, we had a visit from a VA social worker to conduct a home visit as part of the process to attain Caretaker status for my wife, who is acting as such. It was straightforward as far as the visit went. He asked a list of canned questions about my abilities to care for myself, and by extension, what my wife was doing to assist me. He took a walking tour of our home to check for safety-related items, trip hazards, in-place smoke alarms, etc. All pretty standard stuff; he found no items missing or needing correction.

We did pick up a few requirements we did not know about and other tidbits.

1. We must finish the online Caretaker course before our file goes to the final decision board.
2. In over several hundred such inspections, only two have been rejected at the point we are now at.
3. I am required as part of the program to travel to the VA in Ft Worth once a year to be reviewed by my VA team. It is a requirement to be in the program.
4. The VA will provide my transportation if requested for the meetup in 3.
5. We will be eligible to receive 12-17 respite hours per week for my wife at our request.
6. While we have out work cutout for us to finish the caregive course, the end, regardless of the outcome, is in sight.