Update - Saturday, December 9th, 2006
Days 11 & 12 Cycle 1 (Thursday & Friday)
Friday we went to Dr L's office for some blood work, and my last chemo for Cycle 1 (Vincristine). The Vincristine took about 2 minutes to inject, but all total we were there for two hours. Dr L said my blood numbers looked good (but stay away from crowds), and pleased when I told him of my almost non-existent side effects. This weekend will probably be my most vulnerable time (called “Nader”). My next appointment with him is on Wednesday.
I have noticed over the last couple of days, an itchiness to my scalp (yes, I take showers, and no I don't have lice), which might be the forerunner of hair loss. And on to a sensitive and personal problem, not normally discussed openly: constipation is starting to be a problem, and I would ask for your prayers concerning this. Loss of hair is not going to bother me, and in fact I'll be disappointed if it doesn't fall out - because people say it may grow back thicker, and I could use that.
A note for my Grandmother: Dr L gave me a new prescription today. It is for Dexamethasone, a corticosteroid. The prescription is for 40mg / day, but the pill is only made in a 4mg size - so, I get to take TEN pills per day - the good news is that it is for only 4 days - the bad news is that they are very bitter.
That's it for this day. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Some side effects appearing - Sunday, December 10th, 2006
Day 13 Cycle 1 (Saturday)
Over the last couple of days I have experienced a numbing feeling in the tips of my fingers - this is a known side effect of the Vincristine shot that I received on Friday. Thinking back, I also observed this after a week earlier after my first shot of it. The numbness is slowly disappearing.
I observed some small mouth sores today (another side effect of Vincristine) for the first time, so have started using a mouth wash that is helping. If it gets worse, I will start using “Magic Mouthwash”, a formula that Dr L gave to the Pharmacist that is Lidocaine based - talk about numbness, I think my mouth will be numb. I'm going to delay that until it's really necessary.
I also noticed a weakness in my legs again. I suspect that this, as it was last week, caused from the Vincristine, at least it's one of many possible side effects.
With the aide of prayer and some more daily pills (total is now 20 per day Grandma), my other bodily functions have returned to near normal.
On a totally unrelated topic: I have been doing family history (genealogy) for the last 11 years. Over the years I have been searching for leads as to what happened to a sister of my Grandfather Mortensen who came over from Denmark. I was excited this week when I found some leads, made a few phone calls, and spoke to a descendant of hers. People like to talk about family, and my family just got a little larger.
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Feeling good, but with some problems. - Monday, December 11th, 2006
Day 14 Cycle 1 (Sunday)
After I posted yesterdays blog, I realized that I left out that I've also developed night sweats. Sometimes, it's just around the neck; sometimes, it's my whole torso. We don't find that listed as a side effect to any of the drugs, but I do know it is a possible side effect of the lymphoma itself! Who's winning the race? I'll discuss with Dr L this week.
Mouth sores have still been a problem today. Used Dr L's Magic Mouth Wash after supper, and that seemed to help. We'll see what Monday brings.
Other than that, I'm feeling good. Because of my immune system, I stayed away from Church today, and an evening Christ-Care group. Verna recorded the later, and I listened to it after she returned home. Hopefully, someone recorded the church service this morning.
On a totally unrelated topic: In the afternoon, I took a box of old slides, from 1959 to 1961, that had turned red with age, and with my Nikon scanner, and some software, scanned them in, restored the color to it's original, and saved them to my computer for viewing. Generally, they turned out pretty good - except for those that were out of focus to begin with - garbage in equals garbage out in any processing, or you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear.
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Pretty much a routine day. - Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
Day 15 Cycle 1 (Monday)
Mouth sores are gone. Thank You Lord. Gums are still tender, however. Night sweats are continuing. Some finger tip numbness.
Pill count was 20 for Monday (for the fourth day), but should drop to 9 on Tuesday.
Energy level is normal (for me), appetite is okay, and food still tastes fine. Sleep is about normal.
This week is a rebuilding week, with no new drugs. A period when my immune system should recover, but probably not to its original levels (and probably won't until after all treatment is finished).
Got the okay to attend Men's Wednesday morning bible class, but if I hear anyone sneeze or cough, I will vacate immediately - nothing personal guys.
Looking forward to the rest of the week.
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
A bump in the road - Thursday, December 14th, 2006
Day 16-18 Cycle 1 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)
Tuesday was a very routine day, so I decided not to update my blog, because basically nothing happened.
Wednesday I got up and went to bible class. When I walked from the car to church (up about 10 steps), I suddenly felt out of breath, and I felt a strange palpitation in my heart. After about 15 minutes, that seemed to disappear. I went ahead and did some things at church after bible class, before returning home, and seemed to feel fine, except for just not having much energy - and my chest just didn't feel normal.
Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 I had a regular appointment with Dr L to get some blood work done, and to discuss the start of Cycle 2 (next week). I mentioned my morning episode to him, and he listened to my heart, then had a nurse do an EKG. When that was finished, he was going to admit me to the hospital that afternoon. He said I had Atrial Fibrillation (AF). He said this condition was not a side effect of any of the chemos that I've taken, but it needed to be looked at.
Verna and I drove home, packed a bag and she drove me to the hospital, arriving about 5pm. By 7pm Dr H, a Cardiologist, was in my room, described what AF was (I had no clue), and what my options were. We decided to have him do a “procedure”, actually two, the next morning. Wednesday evening was spent hooked up to a wireless EKG monitor, so that I could be monitored from the nurses' station. They also gave me some medication to reduce my heart beat from 150 beats per minute.
Thursday morning, after a night of not much sleep, They took me down for the first procedure at 8:15. It was a “Trans-esophageal Echo-cardiogram”, where they place a small ultrasound device down my throat to look at my heart. They wanted to make sure that I did not have any blood clots, as a result of the AF. The actual procedure took only a few minutes, was relatively painless - if you don't mind someone sticking something down your throat. Actually, they gave me a gel-like substance to gargle with, then swallow; to lubricate, and to numb. Then they gave me something so I was not completely out, but just didn't care anymore.
They did not find any blood clots, so they then preformed a “Electrical Cardioversion” - seen those on the ER show, right? With the paddles? It was a bit more civilized than that. After they hooked me up to all the monitors, they then gave me a shot, and I was out completely for a few minutes. When I woke, I could immediately tell that my heart was beating properly again. Thank you Lord. Also, instead of using paddles, they taped electrical strips to my back and chest, on each side of my heart. I have no idea if I jumped.
I believe I will be released on Friday, but we will see. They want to keep me around again tonight so they can monitor my heart - or is it just to keep me from sleeping well.
The good news for now is that the AF is gone, the bad news is that once you have, you'll probably have it again. So that means more medications on a forever basis. Move over Grandma.
Sounds like my chemo will continue on schedule for next week. More on that later.
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
The bump gets a little longer - Friday, December 15th, 2006
Day 19 Cycle 1 (Friday)
Dr H came in this morning and said that my heart is fine, but they want to do something to keep AF from happening again. They want to thin the blood down and give me a drug to help keep the AF from happening again. Said it might take two or three days for this to happen, as they needed to monitor me as they give me the new drug. That means Sunday would be the earliest that they would release me. I was rather disappointed by that news, as I was really hoping to go home today. He also said that if I were not undergoing chemo that they probably would send me home without worrying if the AF would come back. He feels like the stress of chemo may cause it to come back, and therefore we should try to prevent it - and I guess I agree with that.
Dr L came in later and said that it may be necessary to postpone cycle 2 by a week - depending on what happens this weekend. Said he would make that decision on Monday. The bad news of that would be I'd be in the hospital on Christmas day - not my first choice place to be. He also expressed a concern about the blood being thinned, because that may cause problems down the road with chemo. I asked him if he and Dr H were talking to each other, and he assured me that they were. They are trying to look at the risk/benefit of the treatments and come up with the correct one.
I'm feeling fine, except for being wired to my wireless EKG.
My finger tips are still numb.
My hair is starting to leave me - YES, it's falling out. I think that after I washed my hair this morning there may have been about the same amount of hair on my washcloth as there was on my head (not really, but it was hairy).
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Just call me Patch - Saturday, December 16th, 2006
Day 20 Cycle 1 (Saturday)
My hair continues to come out, although it is very “patchy”. I can run my fingers through the hair, grab almost anyplace, and out it comes - no pain. Some patches are hanging in there, and some are not. Head sometimes feels a little cool.
I'm feeling fine again today. Dr H has me on Sotalol, and medicine that is supposed to regulate blood pressure, and reduce the possibility of Atrial Fibrillation. Looking that up on Google, says that it is normal for you to get this in the hospital, so you can be observed. They have said they need to monitor the first 6 pills. I'm taking them twice a day, and should take the 6th one at about 9pm on Sunday - so I guess that means (possibly) a Monday morning exit from the hospital.
A partner of Dr L stopped by this morning and said that he “believed” that Dr L intends to continue chemo this coming Monday, so I am keeping my fingers crossed (and praying) that that is the case. Otherwise, as I said yesterday, I'll spend Christmas day in the hospital.
I took a walk in the hospital yesterday, after laying around for 2 days, and Wow!, my legs were like rubber. A 5 minute walk was all I could do. I realized that I must get up and move around more, so later in the day I took two more 5 minute walks, and I felt better. Today, I've taken two longer walks so far, and plan to take some more after lunch.
I had a surprise visitor last night! About 7:30pm, my youngest son “R” stopped by. He lives in Raleigh (150 miles away), and had called about 5pm to see how I was doing (he was en-route at the time). Needless to say (but I'm going to say it anyway), I was pleased! Thanks R. Today, he's doing some work from our house, and will stop up here later, and go home on Sunday.
My finger tips continue to be numb. I feel good. The Lord has truly blessed me. I know He has something in mind for me, and I don't know what that is, but I look forward to it.
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
I'm getting tired - Sunday, December 17th, 2006
Day 21 Cycle 1 (Sunday)
I'm getting tired of having wires attached to my chest, and tubes connected to my chest. I'm getting tired of waiting for something to happen, but nothing happens. I'm getting tired of being in the hospital when I thought I would be home. It's just not where I wanted to be, or when I wanted to be there. But, I'll get over it…. (hopefully)
In talking with the doctors this morning, I am still hopeful that I will be discharged on Monday. Hopefully that will happen and I'll stay on schedule for my chemo. That would mean Monday to Dr L's office for the start of Cycle 2, then Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday back to the hospital for chemo. With that, chemo would be done for cycle 2, and the remaining 2 weeks would be for my body to recoup. Cycle 2 is supposed to be harder on me than Cycle 1, so maybe I shouldn't be so quick to move on. But it is necessary!
I did enjoy that fact that son R surprised me this weekend, and enjoyed our conversations. My Lay Minister also brought me Holy Communion this afternoon, and I felt like I needed that. Thanks to both of you.
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
Going Home Today, and cycle 2 overview - Monday, December 18th, 2006
Day 1, Cycle 2
Spoke with Dr L and Dr H this morning, and they are sending me home. Well, actually, Dr L said to wait here until his nurse calls me with a time to come to his office to start cycle 2.
From Home…
Left the hospital about 9:30am and arrived at Dr L's office about 10am. Started chemo, after blood tests, of Rituxan® about 11 until 3pm. Got home around 4pm.
Current side effects:
- Numbness of finger tips
- Hair is still coming out
Below is what's going to be happening during Cycle 2, which is also 21 days long.
Cycle 2 Overview
| Day 1 (Mon) | Dr L's office | Chemo: Rituxan |
| Day 2 (Tue) | CMC | Chemo: Methotrexate, continuous infusion |
| Day 3 (Wed) | CMC | Ara C, 2hrs every 12 |
| Day 4 (Thu) | CMC | Ara C, 2hrs every 12 |
Day 5 thru 21 - The rest of the 21 day cycle will be to allow the body to rebuild, and I believe they will do another CT Scan near the end, to see if any progress has been made.
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.
I had a 16 hour vacation - Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
Day 2, Cycle 2 (Tuesday)
Monday afternoon / Tuesday morning was like a mini vacation. I was home; had a meal with my wife; did some web surfing on my computer; slept in my own bed (with no wires or tubes connected); took a shower (a long, long shower); and ate breakfast with my wife. It was Great, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank You Lord, I needed that.
This morning I headed for Dr L's office for an 8:30 appointment, then by 10:30am was checking in at the hospital. Room was not available, so I waited until 12:15 to get to my room - worse than the Holiday Inn. I did get a room with a view - it looks right out over the main entrance way (wish they would wash the windows, however). Because of the delay, the chemo is still not here, and probably won't be until 7 or 8 tonight. So, in the meantime, I've taken some walks, and have updated some things on the church website.
Current side effects:
* Numbness of finger tips
* Hair is still coming out
That's it for this day. Thank you for your prayers, emails, cards, and phone calls. God bless you all, and may God bless me, and my family, and the medical team on my case.