The girls are on spring break this week. Kate is convinced that EVERYONE else in the world is on vacation outside Eden Prairie. For some reason it was very hard for her to understand that we weren't going to D.C. this week. Mary and Bill got us tix to the water park in Owatonna, which we did yesterday (the girls had a ball). They have play dates tomorrow and Thursday, but somehow none of that was enough on Saturday for Kate. UNTIL Jenna got all excited about the fact that when we do go, they'll be missing school. Since Jenna was excited, it was a little easier for Kate to accept.
Joe's leg finally started feeling better on Sunday. It was looking like New York and D.C. were going to be big problems. He thought it would have been pretty funny to have me wheeling him around NY while we were there, ha...ha.... but, he can finally hobble around without breaking a sweat and he's dropped the percocet dosage from maximum to minimum. He saw the Dr. today and is ok to fly next week, so we're good to go!
We're planning a happy hour April 22nd. More to come on that later.....
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
good news
Joe came home from the hospital on Tuesday! We were back at the Dr. office on Wednesday :( He didn't come home with any pain medication and really should have. They said that the clot will take months to dissolve and he will be in a lot of pain for at least the next 6-8 weeks. He doesn't like drugs any more than I do, but he's rather fond of the percocet now!
The other good news is that Northwest waived the change fee for the family which allowed us to rebook the D.C. trip two weeks later!!! So we can all still go. Hopefully Joe will be able to walk around a little bit better by then.
My last chemo was on Tuesday :). At least for awhile. We wait 4 weeks for another scan and then we would (hopefully) be approved for a clinical trial at that time. My Dr. is listening now when I tell him that we are going to cure this cancer. When I asked which therapy would be more likely to cure me, he said the clinical trial was more likely than the chemo. He said I was "swinging for the fence". Damn straight. He also chuckled a bit when I told him that I went skiing a couple weeks ago, he was obviously surprised, but he said "that's great". Maybe most chemo patients with a plate on their leg don't usually do such things.
The other good news is that Northwest waived the change fee for the family which allowed us to rebook the D.C. trip two weeks later!!! So we can all still go. Hopefully Joe will be able to walk around a little bit better by then.
My last chemo was on Tuesday :). At least for awhile. We wait 4 weeks for another scan and then we would (hopefully) be approved for a clinical trial at that time. My Dr. is listening now when I tell him that we are going to cure this cancer. When I asked which therapy would be more likely to cure me, he said the clinical trial was more likely than the chemo. He said I was "swinging for the fence". Damn straight. He also chuckled a bit when I told him that I went skiing a couple weeks ago, he was obviously surprised, but he said "that's great". Maybe most chemo patients with a plate on their leg don't usually do such things.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Joe's status
Joe is still in the hospital. Apparently his blood is just as stubborn as the rest of him. He has a clot down most of his left leg, which will take months to dissipate. In the interim they are trying to thin his blood, but for the last couple days it refused. It started to get better this morning, so they hope that he'll be able to leave by tomorrow. He has now spent more time in the hospital than I have.... At least he has been well fed. His sister and brothers have been bringing food the whole time he's been admitted, so he can't gripe too much about hospital food!
The good news is that the blood is finally responding to medication, the bad news is that he can't go to D.C. on Saturday. So now we start arguing with the airline about how much it will cost to postpone the trip for a couple weeks. The really good news is that we can choose to postpone the trip and still all go!
The girls are fine, Kate is still pretty tired. They had busy weekends with their cousins, birthday parties, and visiting dad a couple times in the hospital. They aren't allowed to stay long, since they get a little wild and I'm afraid they're going to rip out Joe's IV. That would be a bad thing....
The good news is that the blood is finally responding to medication, the bad news is that he can't go to D.C. on Saturday. So now we start arguing with the airline about how much it will cost to postpone the trip for a couple weeks. The really good news is that we can choose to postpone the trip and still all go!
The girls are fine, Kate is still pretty tired. They had busy weekends with their cousins, birthday parties, and visiting dad a couple times in the hospital. They aren't allowed to stay long, since they get a little wild and I'm afraid they're going to rip out Joe's IV. That would be a bad thing....
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Enough Already
What's going on at your house? Ours is a disaster! The girl's school had an outbreak of the Norovirus. On Friday somewhere between 120 and 170 kids threw up AT the school or ON the bus. EWWWWW. Kate got it on Saturday night (Joe was out of town snowmobiling). I got it Monday night, but just for a couple hours thank goodness. Jenna got it around midnight Monday, and Joe ended up with it Tuesday morning. I've never washed so many sheets and towels in my life, or used as many Clorox wipes around the house!
Luckily I felt pretty good on Tuesday and could still get chemo. I didn't want to delay the chemo because otherwise next weeks dose would be too close to the D.C. trip and it wouldn't be any fun to be tired the whole time we were there. At least that worked out!! Dianne had to run out of the hair salon with wet hair to get me down to Mayo in time because Joe was sick and couldn't drive. So I'm in the middle of the crappy time right now. It was going ok, both girls got on the school bus this morning....BUT Joe ended up driving himself to the ER (why are guys so stubborn???). He has a clot in his leg. They are admitting him and telling him it's kind of a big deal. Joe of course, thinks it's no big deal, he's just dehydrated and will be fine after an IV.
Mary called this morning and asked how it was going.......she ended up saying "I'm coming up there right now, how much more can you take!". Thank God for family!
Luckily I felt pretty good on Tuesday and could still get chemo. I didn't want to delay the chemo because otherwise next weeks dose would be too close to the D.C. trip and it wouldn't be any fun to be tired the whole time we were there. At least that worked out!! Dianne had to run out of the hair salon with wet hair to get me down to Mayo in time because Joe was sick and couldn't drive. So I'm in the middle of the crappy time right now. It was going ok, both girls got on the school bus this morning....BUT Joe ended up driving himself to the ER (why are guys so stubborn???). He has a clot in his leg. They are admitting him and telling him it's kind of a big deal. Joe of course, thinks it's no big deal, he's just dehydrated and will be fine after an IV.
Mary called this morning and asked how it was going.......she ended up saying "I'm coming up there right now, how much more can you take!". Thank God for family!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Facebook mania!!
I have yet to start on Facebook. Nora says it's addicting and from the looks of it, every one is on it except me. At least all of Spooner High, and Central College!! I'm going to be stubborn just a bit longer, since it sounds like something I'd want to spend all day on, looking for old friends. But I do love the comments the FBers have left!
Next Chemo round starts March 17. Joe also got word today that we have an appt at Sloan Kettering April 6th. Here we come New York City! Lets hope they have a brilliant idea to help cure me of this cancer thing. Sooner, rather than later would be nice, but greedy.
The girls have spring break soon, so we booked a trip to D.C. for 4 nights. I've been talking about the Cherry Blossoms for about 18 years, and it seems like there is no time like the present. It's one of those things that come up when you start to think about what you would do if you only had a year left to live. Now, I'm not saying that's all I have, but it helps to prioritize which things I would do. For instance, I've always wanted to see the Great Wall, but I'm not sure the kids would enjoy that trip as much as I would and at this point I'm not willing to leave them for that long, just for a vacation. D.C. they should have a pretty good time with (and it won't bankrupt the family - or not as much). This summer I want to take a car ride and see some of the National Parks out west, hike as much as my leg will allow. The girls and I are probably pretty well matched at this point :). As you can see, I'd like to see and do as much as possible with the family this year. It should be a good summer and we're taking advantage of it!!
Next Chemo round starts March 17. Joe also got word today that we have an appt at Sloan Kettering April 6th. Here we come New York City! Lets hope they have a brilliant idea to help cure me of this cancer thing. Sooner, rather than later would be nice, but greedy.
The girls have spring break soon, so we booked a trip to D.C. for 4 nights. I've been talking about the Cherry Blossoms for about 18 years, and it seems like there is no time like the present. It's one of those things that come up when you start to think about what you would do if you only had a year left to live. Now, I'm not saying that's all I have, but it helps to prioritize which things I would do. For instance, I've always wanted to see the Great Wall, but I'm not sure the kids would enjoy that trip as much as I would and at this point I'm not willing to leave them for that long, just for a vacation. D.C. they should have a pretty good time with (and it won't bankrupt the family - or not as much). This summer I want to take a car ride and see some of the National Parks out west, hike as much as my leg will allow. The girls and I are probably pretty well matched at this point :). As you can see, I'd like to see and do as much as possible with the family this year. It should be a good summer and we're taking advantage of it!!
Monday, March 9, 2009
What's UP
Ahhh, my week off chemo. It's the week I can get things done! Now even the Navelbine makes me tired - not sick like the Carboplatin - but really tired. That means that I'm now out of commission two of the three weeks it takes to finish a round of chemo. However....One more round of chemo and then a break!!! It will be nice to have NO chemo for while, although that scares the crap out of me. At least the chemo is stopping any cancer progression (remember when I didn't know if I'd even finish the chemo schedule, HA, big talk for a scardy cat). My Dr wants to find a clinical trial for me, but that is a hit or miss thing. Hopefully we would find one that knocks down the tumors and keeps me kicking for a nice long time. No guarantees on finding the right one. He also mentioned that I have on average 4 months before the tumors start growing again after the chemotherapy has been completed. Yikes! Time to start taking the diet, supplements and lifestyle changes seriously in order to keep the cancer at bay. I've been kind of lax on the diet since I'm on chemo - probably not the right attitude to take - but still serious enough spend a fortune at Whole Foods!!
Joe has sent all my info and records to Sloan-Kettering in NY and we're waiting on a response from them to see if they would take a peek at me to see if there is anything they would do differently from Mayo. I finally called the nutritionists and am waiting on a call back before I pick one. I saw a new TT practitioner and can't believe what a difference it makes in my attitude. I go in questioning how am I supposed to get through this and come out believing I'm already recovering. Thank goodness Julie offered to give me some sessions, otherwise I never would have tried it, or given it a chance! Hope is the best gift!!!!!
Joe has sent all my info and records to Sloan-Kettering in NY and we're waiting on a response from them to see if they would take a peek at me to see if there is anything they would do differently from Mayo. I finally called the nutritionists and am waiting on a call back before I pick one. I saw a new TT practitioner and can't believe what a difference it makes in my attitude. I go in questioning how am I supposed to get through this and come out believing I'm already recovering. Thank goodness Julie offered to give me some sessions, otherwise I never would have tried it, or given it a chance! Hope is the best gift!!!!!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Hugs for nurses
My veins seem to be disappearing. There is always trouble at blood draws and trying to get the IV's started for chemo. Last Thurs I had to give blood, and the phlebotomist was committed to getting blood out of a vein on my right elbow. Have you ever had someone stick the needle in, miss the vein (in his defense my veins do "roll") and just keep moving the needle around hoping to hit the vein? I had to tell him that one wasn't going to work. He pulled the needle and went for another vein in the elbow, even though I mentioned that the ones on the hand looked pretty good today...... He did eventually get blood out of the second poke, for some reason it felt like he had been digging around in my arm for about, oh, an hour!
My counts were low, but still good enough for chemo last Friday. We went down to Mayo and Marcia was my nurse. She heated up the arm and then started smacking it, trying to get the veins to come up. Then she started singing to my arm. The other nurse came running in asking if Marcia was really singing, and I had to admit that she was, but it worked. She got a vein to come up and the IV in with one stick. I complemented her on the singing and IV, she said she'd been training for that stick for 15 years. You gotta love those chemo nurses...... I have a feeling that most good nurses never get the credit they deserve. Lisa and Deb can probably attest to that. But a good nurse can change the whole experience around, at least in the chemo ward. Marcia made me laugh (as well as the 4 other patients in our bay), and obviously cared a great deal about what she did. Like I said, ya gotta love em!!
My counts were low, but still good enough for chemo last Friday. We went down to Mayo and Marcia was my nurse. She heated up the arm and then started smacking it, trying to get the veins to come up. Then she started singing to my arm. The other nurse came running in asking if Marcia was really singing, and I had to admit that she was, but it worked. She got a vein to come up and the IV in with one stick. I complemented her on the singing and IV, she said she'd been training for that stick for 15 years. You gotta love those chemo nurses...... I have a feeling that most good nurses never get the credit they deserve. Lisa and Deb can probably attest to that. But a good nurse can change the whole experience around, at least in the chemo ward. Marcia made me laugh (as well as the 4 other patients in our bay), and obviously cared a great deal about what she did. Like I said, ya gotta love em!!
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