Going home today - Friday, December 1st, 2006
Day 5 of cycle 1
Yesterday was still another good day. Jeff from church stopped by for awhile in the afternoon for a visit. Thanks Jeff. My wife stopped by late in the afternoon and stayed and ate supper with me. Our son G called to say he had a meeting on Saturday in a nearby town, and if okay would stay with us Friday night so we said sure. Got to bed about 9:45pm, and with the aid of some sleeping pills slept pretty good.
Got my usual wake-up at 4am so they could listen to my lungs, draw blood, and start my last Cytoxan infusion. Got back to sleep, but at 6:30 they came in to get blood pressure, etc. Decided to get up about 7am.
Yesterday, Dr L said he would not be by today, but someone else from his practice would stop by. Dr S came by about 7:30, confirmed that I would be going home today, probably by 5pm. He also told me that Dr L's father (I believe) had died and he was attending his funeral today, so please keep Dr L's family in your prayers.
I asked about when my immune system would be compromised, and Dr S indicated that probably by middle to end of Week 2, so I guess I still have a few more days before then. I took about a 20 minute walk this morning around the hospital, and seemed to not have quite as much energy as the previous couple of days, so maybe chemo side effects are starting their course, or I'm just way out of shape (I am, but still there is a change).
Thanks be to those of you have called, sent email, cards, and prayed for me and my family. It is most appreciated.
May God bless you, me, my family, and the medical team. Your prayers are welcome and appreciated.
More later.
Good to be home - Saturday, December 2nd, 2006
Day 6 of cycle 1
In case some are wondering why I am starting out with "Day 6 of cycle 1"; The chemo protocol that is being used on me is broken down into 2 different treatment cycles, 1 and 2. Each cycle is 3 weeks long (unless there is a problem). Cycle 1 has a few more chemos than cycle 2. The plan, as I understand it, is that cycle 1 and cycle 2 will be repeated for a total of 6 or 8 cycles - 6 if the cancer is gone by then, otherwise 8. At the end of each 2 cycles, they will also run a CT Scan to determine if the cancer is growing, staying the same, or regressing. If it is growing, they stop immediately, and figure out what to do next - that would not be good news, so I hope to continue to 6 or even 8 cycles.
As I mentioned yesterday, I did get a little tired in the morning, and did not take an afternoon walk. It was a little boring, because I'm sitting there waiting for the last of the Mesna to drip, drip, drip out of my IV so I could leave. The staff was also waiting because they had patients waiting for my room. The IV stopped at 4:31pm (not that I noticed - the pump put out a intermittent beep until the nurse came in). Based on previous experience I figured that it would be another 30 minutes before the person with the wheelchair would be there to take me out, but she was there within 10 minutes. I arrived at the exit door about the time Verna drove up, so it all worked out fine.
Supper was good. I didn't take notes on what it was, but it was at home, with my wife, at a table - it just doesn't get much better than that. (I guess unless you are the wife that has been out getting your prescriptions, shopping for you, cleaning the house, picking up hubby from the hospital, and fixing supper!)
A nurse from home health care came by the house about 6:30pm to hook me up to my Adriamycian (aka Red Devil) chemo for the next 72 hours, and left about 8pm. It's in a portable IV that can be used as a fanny pack, or hung from the shoulder. If there are no problems, someone from home health care will be back about 7pm on Monday to disconnect me.
My throat was a little on the sore side yesterday afternoon, and all through the evening - kind of like the beginning of a cold, but I think it's a combination of medicine, and maybe I didn't drink enough fluids yesterday while waiting for the IV to stop. Today it seems to be better, but not completely normal. My energy seems to be back up this morning, and that's good.
Thank you God for another day. May God bless you all, also.
Fatigue is starting to set in. - Sunday, December 3rd, 2006
Day 7 Cycle 1 (Sunday)
The last couple of nights I have not slept very well. Part of it is because I'm drinking more liquids, and therefore having to get up 4-5 times during the night; part of it is because I still have this IV hooked to me (laying next to my pillow at night); and part from the chemo itself.
This morning we got up and attended church. Thank you Lord for allowing me to come to You in the presence of my church family. However, I observed how my legs grew tired of standing, which I had not noticed before. We did not attend Sunday School this morning, but instead came home. After a quick snack, I went back to bed for a couple of hours, and I feel much better now - not 100%, but better.
Food is still tasting good, but I don't seem to really get hungry very much. The information that we have received said that it would be better to eat more smaller meals a day, so that is what we have started doing.
May the Lord bless each of you.
Monday was a better day - Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
Day 8 Cycle 1 (Monday)
Sleep was still a problem Sunday night, but after taking my anti-nausea medicine at 7 am (every 12 hours), I returned to bed for about another hour and a half. Felt pretty good most of the day, but did take an hour nap in the afternoon.
Earlier this year, I had purchased some bird feeders, and they were getting low, so I went out and filled them up in the afternoon.
A little after 5pm, and I received a call from the RN who is coming out about 7 to remove my Adriamycian IV that I've been carrying around for the last 3 days. I won't miss that thing. Couple of times, I had it laying on the floor, started to walk away, only to be reminded that I was still attached to something!
The bag has been disconnected, and it is a great feeling to walk around without a bag attached. The simple things in life are good.
Excuse me, while I go enjoy the evening.
God Bless you all.
Tuesday was a good day - Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
Day 9 Cycle 1 (Tuesday)
Sleep was better last night - up too many times, but was able to get back to sleep more quickly.
Took a shower this morning, a regular shower with no tubes attached. It was great. Today I caught up on some of my hobbies, and my energy level seemed almost normal. I drove down to Dr L's office for an afternoon appointment - just a shot of Neulasta. Neulasta is supposed to encourage the bone marrow to rebuild white blood cells.
Other than that, a pretty normal day. I have another appointment with Dr L on Friday, and because everything is going well, I may not update my blog until then.
Thank you Lord for today, and the hope for a better tomorrow.
I remind me of my grandmother - Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
When I was growing up, my father's mother lived with each of her children, and she would come for a month or two at a time. I was always amazed when I saw her unpacking her bags, at how many different medicines she had. Then, yesterday, I looked at the medicines that I was taking.
Diovan - Blood Pressure
Coumadin - Blood thinner
Lipitor - Cholesterol medicine
Valtrex - antiviral
Allopurinol - prevent gout
Kytril - anti-nausea
Levaquin - antibiotic
Fluconazole - anti-fungal
Then, I have three more that are given - just in case.
The first 4 will be taken pretty much continuous, while the rest of them will be taken during certain phases of the cycle - but, yesterday and today, I take them all.
Prayer works! Thank you Lord. - Thursday, December 7th, 2006
Day 10 Cycle 1 (Wednesday)
As I look back over the last week and a half, one thing stands out to me - my side effects have been very mild. I did have some fatigue on Sunday (day 7), but that is gone now. I did have some mild mouth "tinglings", which I thought may be the start of mouth sores, but that is gone now. I have had no nausea. My taste and appetite are normal, and my hair (what little there is) hasn't started falling out. One side effect that I've noticed in the last couple of days are small pains in my bones; this is a normal, and expected, side effect of the Neulasta shot that I received on Tuesday - and simply means that the bone marrow is producing new white blood cells, so that is good. The pain only lasts for a second or two.
I could attribute these lack of side effects to modern medicine, and to some extent that is true (because the Lord helps doctors to come up with new and better medicines), but I believe that it's because I've had a number of people, like you, praying to the Lord on my behalf. And I know that the Lord answers prayers. He has also brought me peace of mind during this period, a peace that non-believers could not begin to understand.
During the next few days, my immune system will be at its lowest, and I would ask your prayers that I might not be exposed to anything that might harm me. I would also ask that you keep my medical team in your prayers, and my wife.
Have a Blessed Day.