Hello all:
On the 8th my husband had the nerve conduction studies. As we suspected, the damage from the chemo is quite severe. He has absent ankle reflexes, atrophy in his foot muscles and diminished nerve function in the lower legs, ankles and feet. It was diagnosed as Axonal Neuropathy, indicating that the axons (part of the nerve system) are damaged. The doc who did the test says this is probably contributing to his dizzy feeling, because he’s getting bad feedback from his legs and feet while walking.

Then they moved up the neuropsych evaluation from December and we had that on Wednesday. The very nice doc interviewed us together. He asked my husband “why are you having this evaluation?” Husband said “honestly, I don’t know.” I was stunned. He knows exactly why but wasn’t going to say.
Doc looked at me and I listed 1. Irrational anger, 2. Unfounded suspicious behavior, 3. Believing I’m having an affair when there is ZERO evidence or reason, 4. Right after the chemo ended he believed his ex-wife was following him and I produced her obit showing she died over 10 years prior which he finally believed, 5. Depression due to his physical condition, 6. Worry and stress about the cancer, 7. ED, 8. Cognitive decline.
Husband agreed he had these issues. The doc said therapy would likely help with most of these and he then started the testing to assess the cognitive decline issues. I left for some errands and was to return at lunch while all the testing was done.
At lunch, my husband was really down because he said his memory was horrible and he did awful on the tests. We ate our lunch in the truck. Then he went back in for another 90 minutes of testing while I waited. He was quite tired when we were done and I drove home. We should have the final report in 3 - 4 weeks.

Then, we got an email from his neurologist the next day, noting the neuropathy and recommending therapy for the balance issues. He also recommended an EEG to further assess his brain function.
I’m not sure where all this is heading but I;m glad we are getting this done. He’s now quite depressed after the testing showed such extensive nerve damage in his legs. On the one hand it’s nice to have the testing confirm what he’s experiencing but on the other hand it’s devastating that it’s so bad.

Meanwhile, that really nice horse we bought last year and had with the trainer in Ft. Worth had been sick with the strangles (equine distemper). The trainer kept saying he would be okay and had taken him to the vet earlier in the week. Friday he was having trouble breathing and the vet called to ask if the horse was insured (no). Said he wasn’t doing well. A few hours later he called to say he had abscesses deep in his lungs and trachea and the was nothing that could be done other than put him down. So that’s what they did. Just awful. This was the one thing my husband had been looking forward to: watching this horse’s progress in his training and then going to watch him get shown. We both had looked forward to this. I had used some of the money I saved for retirement to “splurge” on this horse because my husband wanted him so much. Now he’s angry at the trainer, angry at life, at fate, angry at me, angry at the whole world.

Today was pretty rocky, with him blowing up mid-day, then apologizing and we had a decent afternoon. He went to bed at 6 p.m. and I stayed up to watch tv. A few minutes ago I went back to go to bed and bumped the door as I went in. He started yelling at me asking why I’m trying to wake him up. I tried to apologize and explain but it got worse. Being the mature woman I am, I slammed the door as I left and he yelled some more.
I don’t even feel like trying anymore.

Sure am sorry to hear about that horse. I hope he one day appreciates what you did (use the money you had set aside).

"As we suspected, the damage from the chemo is quite severe."

It sure can be. I've known folks who had extreme complications from Chemo that plagued them rest of their lives. It's rough.

Thanks. Things have evened out somewhat. Yes, he usually remembers that I have saved over the last 30 years and have used some of it for his dreams. We are recovering from the shock and disappointment of losing this horse. Meanwhile, we await the neuropsych report, and actual referrals for PT and an EEG from the neurologist. The last week has been good with us treating each other considerately. My sister comes to visit December 1 and although he says it’s fine for her to come he usually behaves badly when people invade his privacy. Fingers crossed that it will be okay.