A Better Day

Today was a very good day.  Less nausea, more energy, better appetite.  I brought plenty of food, but we ended up at KFC for lunch and Taco Bell for dinner.  Nothing I brought sounded good to Larry.  No issues here - no cooking or cleaning required from me!  We thought about going to a movie, but thought we might fall asleep before it was over.  So we came back to the lodge and watched American Idol.

We had a good meeting with the radiation oncologist.  We'll see him again on Friday then one more time prior to surgery.  He says Larry is tolerating treatment very well.

Another good meeting with the medical oncologist (chemo).  He also says that Larry is tolerating treatment very well.  Lab work looked good.  We'll see him next week for another look at lab work, then a couple times before surgery.  If all is well, then he will work with the surgeon to schedule surgery.  It's looking like mid-March.  We still need to watch for fever and to be cautious in public.  Extra hand washing, etc.  Fever > 100.4 will require immediate trip to the ER and admission for IV antibiotics. 

Did we tell you that Larry gained 15 pounds last week - they pumped so much fluid into him.  Well, as of today, all 15 pounds are gone and a few extras too.  Now that his appetite is improving, we'll have to watch the diet.  Surgeon is looking 5 pound loss every week until surgery.

We've met a few folks here at the lodge.  A couple checked in last night - from Hawaii!  They have been in town for treatment since November - not sure where they've been staying.  Another man is taking part in a one-year clinical trial.  He's been here for a few months and will be staying for several more.  Some are here for just a week or two and others are staying much longer.  The facility is very nice and they do a lot to make it feel like home away from home.  Still, it will be good to be home Friday evening.  Two more days!

Pat

Uneventful Couple Days

Larry's got 4 of 10 radiation treatments completed for the week.  Wednesday is "doctor day".  Two  radiation treatments, blood work, visits with the two oncologists.  They will be paying close attention to his white blood counts - if too low he will be at increased risk for infection.

Slight nausea - no energy - generally feeling "blah".

Thank you to Erin and all in Lightspeed Panel Ops for the Zen garden arrangement that was delivered on Saturday.  It was a very pleasant and much appreciated surprise.  It's nice to know that you are thinking of us.

Pat

Mike's Basketball Championship Game

Mike's team won the 6th grade basketball championship today!!!! Way to go, boys! They were 2nd of 6 teams at the end of the season. Got a bye in playoff round 1. Won round 2 by 2 points. Championship today - down by 1 at the end of the game, but ref called a foul that put Jackson on the foul line for 2 shots - no one else on the court. The game was all on his shoulders. Missed the first shot, made the second to tie. Whew! that was close. Overtime and Mike's team ended up winning by 6. Coach is treating the boys to dinner Monday night. Congrats to Mike and his team!

Oh - Larry's feeling pretty good.  He made it to both games!  Great weekend so far and we still have the Super Bowl to watch.

Home Sweet Home!!!

We're home!!!!!  And feeling pretty good.

There was some trouble with the IV very early this morning.  At 3 am the nurse came in to add new chemo bags.  Larry noticed that there had been a leak.  Apparently a problem with the IV.  It took 2.5 hours, 3 nurses, 5 needle pokes, a bit of digging around to get the new IV started.  Not much sleep for Larry.  My Friday was spent watching Larry sleep! I guess he got caught up, because by the time we got on the road, Larry was feeling pretty good.

There may be some delayed side effects from the chemo, but so far so good.

We're settled in at home for the weekend.  Larry asked for a later appointment on Monday - they obliged.  So we'll be watching the Super Bowl with Stephen & Mike.  Then back to Cleveland Monday morning.

Here's sight we were happy to see - empty chemo bags and an IV pole without Larry attached!

One More Day

It's the end of Day 4, one more day.  We're both looking forward to heading home for the weekend.  The chemo doc is pleased with how well Larry is tolerating the chemo treatment.  Larry might disagree.  He has slight nausea a couple times a day - quickly relieved with medication.  His back is still sore - best relief will come from the chair and bed waiting at home.  Not much of an appetite and generally feeling "blah".  He's not getting much good sleep at night - chemo bags changed at 2am then blood draw at 4am.  Blood counts are looking good so far, but counts generally drop to the lowest level the week after chemo.  They'll be checking blood a few times next week.  If white counts go too low, they may want an extended stay.

I'm hoping that Larry rebounds with some comfortable rest at home.  Next week should be much better - no IV pole to tote around and we'll be hanging out together at the Hope Lodge.

I went down to the cafeteria for lunch today and on my way back I heard drumming coming from the main lobby of the new building (the curved building from yesterday's photo).  I went to check it out.  Drumming, cymbals and a dancing creature.  It was a celebration of the Chinese New Year.  Two people were under the creature costume that was covered in gold.  Sorry, didn't have my camera.  Nice celebration, but totallly unexpected in a hospital setting.  I just Googled and found that 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit and 2010 was the Year of the Tiger.  The creature must have been the exiting tiger - definitely not a rabbit.

Sandra Lung - Happy New Year AND Happy Birthday!!!!  Have they ever before fallen on the same day?

Pat

A Few Photos

It's the morning of day three.  A bit of nausea and a back ache.  The back ache is not from chemo but from sleeping and sitting on unfamiliar furniture.  Larry is looking forward to going home Friday and sitting in his La-Z-Boy.


Follow this link for a few photos of Hope Lodge and Cleveland Clinic: Link to photos

Pat

Treatment - Day 2

I found 4-5 inches of snow on my van this morning.  Roads were snow covered but passable.  I got to the hospital in time for Larry's 7:30 appointment to find out that it was cancelled - the machine was down.  Radiation treatments are supposed to be 6 hours apart, but because of the machine malfunction, they doubled up on his 2:15 treatment.  That was the excitement for the day.  Otherwise pretty boring.  As I write this I'm lying in the hospital bed while Larry sits in the chair and tries every possible button on the bed.  Yes, he's bored!  Larry is still feeling pretty good.  A little nausea before lunch, but medication took care of it pretty quickly. 

That's all for now. 

(Dave - we liked the joke you posted this morning!)

Pat