Chemo-Cycle 4, Day 2

Michael didn’t finish his first treatment up until 5:00 this morning. They started his hydration at 3:00 pm yesterday, but did not actually begin the chemo meds until 8:00pm. He didn’t really have any side effects from Day 1.

They did draw his blood this morning and his counts are going down. The doctors said this morning they will more than likely end this cycle early. Normally they don’t draw blood on day 3, but they will get his blood counts in the morning to see where his counts are at to see if we they will do day 3.

Since they didn’t actually start the chemo meds until 8:00 last night, they didn’t want to start them again until this evening. He started his hydration around 6:00 and the chemo meds around 8:00. If they give the meds to close together, it would make him sick. His fatigue is beginning to set in and he hasn’t had any nausea so far today. He still has a few hours to go tonight for his treatment. He more than likely will not be done until around 5 in the morning.

I will give an update tomorrow. Thanks for everyone keeping us in their prayers.

Beginning of Chemo-Cycle 4

We hope everyone had a nice and wonderful holiday. We did. It was a nice and quiet Christmas with the family. Of course we all ate too much.

One of my cousins in Colorado who is going through cancer treatment as well shared this with me and I wanted to share with everyone. Thanks for sharing Kathy Jo.

What Cancer Cannot Do
Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It cannot corrode Faith
It cannot destroy Peace
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade the Soul
It cannot steal Eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit
-- author unknown

We are back at the hospital today to begin “Chemo-Cycle 4”. They drew blood when we came in (like we do each time before we begin his treatment) and his neutrophils were done just a little bit. All his other counts looked good. We had to wait for the nurses to get the “OK” to begin his treatment. We did not get to start his hydration until 3:00 today. With this being his longest day, he will probably not get done until about 3 or 4 in the morning. I will try to give another update later or in the morning.

Please continue to keep Michael in your prayers.

Happy Holidays

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hopefully Santa was good to everyone.

Michael’s Doctor’s Appointment

Michael had his follow up appointment with the oncologist on yesterday. While Michael was getting his lab work done, all the ladies in the lab started to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. He turned so red.

His white counts are up to 9.3K. This is good. Some of his other counts are down just a bit, but they doctors feel they will be up by the 29th when they want to admit him for his next treatment.

His headache has been getting better and he hasn’t really had much of a cough the last few days. One of his doctors called him “stuffy” and was joking with him telling him with his counts up, now is the time to get sick. Michael still has a bad sinus infection right now. She switched some of his medicines around to try to get rid of this infection. We are supposed to call in on Monday to let them know how he is doing. We just want to make sure he has no signs of infection by the 29th.

After the doctor’s office, we did a little Christmas shopping and then went to my parent’s house for dinner and to celebrate Michael’s birthday. The kids were already there. Rebbecca got a cake for him and he opened a few presents. He got to spend some time with his nieces and nephew. It wasn’t much, but he seemed to have a nice birthday.

Today, he doesn’t feel good at all. He is worn-out from all the running we did yesterday (doctors, a little shopping, visiting). He’s not running a fever, but he is coughing more today and his headache is back. He has been resting all day. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow.

Please continue to say an extra prayer for Michael.

~Latest Update~

Michael is doing OK. He still doesn’t feel that great. He is still taking his medication, but still feels like isn’t right. We did get his cough and fever under control (this is a real good thing) but still getting some bad headaches. We go back to the doctor on Thursday so we will see what they say. You can see it in is face that he isn’t feeling well.

Kids will start their holiday break Friday afternoon. They get to be home for 2 whole weeks. We are going to stay home this year for Christmas. Then we get to have fun all over again and go back to the hospital for cycle 4 on December 29th. At least we have him home for Christmas.

I have had requests for our address. It is:
4838 Cheryl Lane
Kaufman, TX 75142

I will give you all another update after we visit the doctor again on Thursday. Hope everyone stays safe and warm.

First Week after Chemo Cycle 3

Michael was doing pretty good most of the week. His first few days home he was still fatigued. This time he has been trying harder to get up, do things and just move around.

I myself went to the doctor on Tuesday to get some medicine. I have a severe sinus infection. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have anything I can pass on to Michael.

A few of his side effects when he does get home from Chemo is a headache and he does have a slight cough. Yesterday evening, he started with a different type of cough and headache and was running a slight fever. With this being the low point of Michael’s blood count, the doctor put in back on his antibiotics and cough medicine. With the weather finally getting colder down here, it is just a cold, but hopefully we can catch this before it turns into something bad. We will go back to the doctor next Thursday.

Later this weekend, I will update more on how he is feeling. Again, thanks for all the prayers and support. We couldn’t do this without you.

Chemo Cycle 3 – Days 3, 4, & 5

Wednesday – Day 3:
Michael started his hydration and pre-meds around 11:00 and started his chemo around 1:00, getting only two of the chemo meds and finishing up around 10:00pm. Luckily he had no nausea today, but his fatigue is increasing. I will say he does get spoiled by the nurses. The nurse manager actually brought him pizza today.

Thursday – Day 4:
His white blood count is currently at 6K. This is a lot better than the last time. His routine is getting pretty set by now. He starts his hydration and pre-med’s around 11:00 and then begins his chemo. This is the day he only gets one of the chemo meds. He finished his chemo and post-meds around 9:00. He is extremely tired.

Friday – Day 5: WE GET TO GO HOME!!
We talked with the oncologist this morning. His blood counts are looking ok. They are where they should be at this point. He did get his shot of Neulasta (to help stimulate growth of the white blood cells). By afternoon, we were able to take him home. He’s been resting most of the day and will through most of the weekend.

If all goes ok through the next few weeks, this will be the cycle that we will go 4 weeks instead of 3 due to the Christmas holiday. This will allow Michael to be home for Christmas and hopefully at a good point in his blood counts.

Chemo Cycle 3 – Days 1 & 2

Monday - Day 1:
We checked Michael back into the Hospital on Monday. He walked in picking on the nurses again. They did his lab work and his white counts looked real good. His count is higher going in this time than the last cycle so the doctor feels good about this treatment. Around 11:00 am they started him on his pre-hydration and pre-meds. He did receive all 3 of his chemotherapy meds. He finished up around 11:00 pm. He had a good day on Monday, no nausea or any other side effects.

Tuesday - Day 2:
Tuesday morning he felt alright. He didn’t get much sleep. His blood counts still look good. Again, they started his pre-hydration and pre-meds around 11:00. Around dinner time fatigue started to set in and he did have some nausea. He finished up his treatment around 11:00 again. Again, he didn’t get much sleep.