Sunday, July 19, 2009

We are Home ~

Finally have Michael home and settled in for the night.

Day 3 was pretty much the same as the other 2 days; late start, minimal nausea, up most of the night, etc. I was able to get Michael to take a nice walk outside yesterday before he started his treatment. It was a beautiful day. Well as beautiful as it can get in Texas (high 80’s to low 90’s).

We woke up this morning and had everything packed by 10:30 and waited. And waited and waited. We had to wait for Michael to get his Nuelasta shot. With Michael getting his treatment so late, his Nuelasta shot was not scheduled until 10:00 this evening. We did talk the “on-call” doctor filling in to move it up earlier. He was able to get his shot at 4:45. We got home around 6:00 this evening.

We were able to make it home with no Ativan and not pink bucket. However, once we did get home, he had nausea. He is also having some minimal pain. We will see how he does through the night.

We continue to keep each of you in our daily thoughts and prayers and we ask that everyone keep all these beautiful people fighting this dreaded disease in their prayers as well.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Day 2 and “International Sarcoma Awareness Week Begins” ~

Day 2 went pretty uneventful this time which is a good thing. He actually did get some rest while getting his treatment. He was unhooked around 4:30 this morning. Just minimal nausea is all. Still no headaches today (for both of us) which is good. They will hook him back up to Wall-e around 4:00 today. They are only going to do a 3-day cycle. This seems to be the best one for him. The doctors felt that the 4th day was just a little much on his counts this time and don’t even want to attempt the 5th day. So today will be his last day for chemo and we will get his Nuelasta shot tomorrow. Due to the last start each day, he will not be able to get his shot until tomorrow evening. So we will be here until tomorrow evening. That’s ok.

Today begins International Sarcoma Awareness Week. Here is a link to see if any events are in your area.
www.team-sarcoma.net. Unfortunately, we don’t have any events close to us and Michael is still stuck in the hospital (at least those are his words). You can go out and support these events through facebook also.

We will begin day 3 around 4:00 today. Let’s just hope it is as uneventful as last night / this morning. Hope everyone has a great day and for those of you here in North Texas, enjoy the nice weather. At least we won’t have the triple digits… Maybe I can talk Michael into taking a walk outside before he gets hooked up to Wall-e.

We continue to keep everyone in our thoughts and prayers. We pray everyone having an event today for Team Sarcoma has a wonderful time and a great turnout. We can’t wait to see pictures.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Day 1 is in the Books ~

Well, we were hoping to get his treatments started early, but for some reason, he didn’t get his treatment started until 4:00. With all the hydration, pre-meds, and post-meds, his treatment usually lasts 12 hours. He didn’t get done until around 5:30 this morning, so we are both pretty tired. It makes it real hard to get any sleep when Wall-e begins to beep. He only had a little nausea this morning. His stomach is bothering him a bit but we hope it’s nothing. He’s already doesn’t want to eat much. Luckily he doesn’t really have a headache. I think he gave it to me so I am not a very cheerful visitor for him, or maybe he likes it that way since I am not talking much… You know how men can be… (Love ya sweetie!!)

They did get him started at 4:00 to begin his “Day 2”. He is getting his “red cheeks” from the steroids in one of the pre-meds, so they are bringing him his benadryl. Hopefully he will get a little sleep.

We do thank everyone for the kind words of encouragement to Michael. He does enjoy each and over one of them. We continue to keep each of you in our thoughts and prayers.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Quick Update ~

Hi all, found a typo in my previous update, Michael is in room J229 again. Fingers must not have been working very well today.

Anyways, looks like we are going to have long nights this time around. Michael didn’t get hooked up to Wall-e (that’s what he calls his IV pole) until 4:00 this afternoon. Not sure what the delay was. This means that he won’t finish up his last post-meds until 4:00 in the morning. Then of course shortly after that is the time they usually come in to draw his labs.

I will try to update either later tonight or in the morning. We continue to keep everyone in our thoughts and prayers.

Checking in for Next Chemo ~

Just a quick note, we will update again later this evening.

Took Michael this morning to his doctor’s appointment and had his labs drawn. The doctor is pleased with where his counts are at. His white blood count is 4K and his platelet is at 148, so over to the Jackson building to check in for chemo. We are in room J239 again. We have checked in and waiting for them to get the meds to come back up from the pharmacy so he can begin. We are hoping to get started soon so he can hopefully get some quiet through the night.

Michael hasn’t been feeling the greatest this week. He did have a slight fever earlier in the week and we think a touch of a stomach bug. He seems to feel a little better, just to come in and feel horrible again.

Please pray for minimal side-effects again this time and continue to pray for all our beautiful cancer warriors out there.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Just a Quick Update ~

Took Michael in to see the doctor today and get his labs done. As expected, he counts are very low. Right now is white blood count is at .8K and his platelets are at 29. He is low but not low enough for a transfusion. We will continue to monitor him though the week. Of course, any changes, fever, etc. I will take him back into the doctor. He is still on his antibiotics the doctor had him start last Thursday. They did look in his mouth and right now doesn’t see anything of concern. We will continue to give him some pain medicine to help ease the pain and to use his “miracle” mouthwash.

This evening we are having a hard time controlling his headache. Right now his is resting comfortably in his chair so I am going to let him sleep.

We continue to keep each of you in our thoughts and prayers.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

4th of July Weekend & Our Son’s 18th Birthday ~

First, we want to wish our son a Happy 18th Birthday! Today our youngest turned 18. It’s amazing to see your children grow up to young adults. Happy Birthday Michael!! We are so proud of your accomplishments! We love you from the bottom of our hearts and wish you nothing but continued success in your life.

Next, we hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. We had a nice one. A little lay back than most years. We only had a few family members come up from the Houston area instead of our big 4th of July Celebration. We had some great food and a small fireworks show. This year Michael got to “watch” the fireworks. Normally he is the one producing the show for our family and friends, but since he’s in-between treatments, he was not up to it. Our daughter and I got to have fun with the fireworks. I think she had a great time. I must say, it was fun but it is not the same as watching.

Michael is doing ok. He has his moments. He was running a slight fever earlier this week. He is still having the headaches and still has difficulty sleeping. He is still having pains in his back and legs. This time, his teeth and gums are bothering him pretty bad. You can see where his gums have changed some in a few places. Today he is starting to feel the effects of the Nuelasta shot, but so far it’s not too bad. He is in pretty good spirits for the most part.

Tomorrow we go in for his lab work and see the doctor. I will try to update everyone later. We pray everyone has a safe, fun, wonderful weekend. And oh yea and one more time ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!! WE LOVE YOU!!