Last night Marc discovered that one of his calves was larger than the other and his foot was swollen. It had been bothering him a bit for a week, but he felt it was getting better until yesterday. The mom of one of his martial arts students is an oncologist. She looked at it told him to go to ER and have it imaged. So off we went.
Last time we were at ER, he had a superficial vein clot. This time he had a deep vein clot. The ER doc called the oncologist on duty at OHSU. Marc had to have blood drawn to check his platelets before they gave him the blood thinner. The good news is that his counts are already up. So, next chemo treatment will go on schedule! He has been put on lovenox. It is a blood thinner that he has to inject into his abdomen twice a day. The nurse asked who was going to give him the shot. NOT ME. He was a bit freaked out by it and kept saying he'd never put metal into his body on purpose before. I told him I could probably do it if he needed me to, but he finally poked the needle in and didn't even feel it. When he began putting in the medicine, he said he could feel it stinging. The nurse told him that his abdomen would bruise and that he should give the injection in a different place each time. He will be on this med for 7 days.
We will see Dr. Blanke for a follow up in the next few days. Marc will probably be put on another blood thinner at that point that is an oral med.
The other good news is that I don't have a meeting at school till 10:00 this morning and my room looks passable for the open house tonight.
My good friend Debora, the best K teacher at Yacolt, had said last time we went to ER that the kids could call her if they didn't want to stay alone. She lives about 1.5 miles from us. Last night Rose called her about 10:00. She took Rose to her house for the night and Brett went to his friend Jordan's house. Debora and Jordan's mom Kim are also good friends. Brett and Jordan have gone to school together since we moved to Yacolt. His parents both work at my new school. Kim is a school Psych at the middle school and George teaches 3rd grade in my building. They are wonderful people. We are so blessed. Especially since there are many others who are willing to step in and help out. Many have already and many more will will get their turn as time passes.
This morning Marc said he doesn't know what is wrong with himself. It feels like his body is falling apart. The bummer is that is chemo's job.
My goal is to get all my planning done before Labor Day Weekend so I can finish painting in the living room. The dr. appointment may throw a monkey wrench into that. The other thing I am working on is getting pictures on this site and finding a way for it to email when a blog is posted. Thanks for your prayers and patience.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Round 3 Take 3
Yippee!!! Marc's numbers were way, way up yesterday and he was able to have treatment number three. The long break gave him time to regain some strength and stamina. However, he is finding today that it is gone with the wind.
Marc and I have disagreed on how his treatments have effected his energy level. He feels it from the inside while I observe the outside. His first treatment was very hard on him. He maintains that the second was easier. That's not what I observed. Last night I came up with a new theory that might work for both of us. Before the first treatment, he was feeling good. It had been six weeks since surgery and he felt better than ever. The chemo treatment slammed him against a wall - so to speak. He had regained some strength and energy, but wasn't feeling normal before the next treatment. By this treatment, he was feeling great again, and again has been slammed by it. The new theory is that he felt the second treatment was easier because the change in how he was feeling wasn't as dramatic. If you are feeling like a "10" and chemo slams you to a "-1," that feels different than if you are only feeling like a 3 or 4 and drop to a -1. Does that make sense to anyone else besides me? Marc thought it might.
Last week Brett went to the beach with some friends and had a wonderful time. Marc and Rose spent several days at his parents' house, and after dropping them off, I spent a couple of days with Donna in Port Townsend. It was wonderful. We shopped, made jewelry, relaxed, walked on the beach, saw the lighthouse, and ate wonderful Thai food. The weather was perfect and I must admit to being a bit of a brat. I just had to call my friend Allen to remind him that THIS is God's country. Poor guy is stuck in LA.
I picked up my keys to my new classroom yesterday. The school is still strewn with boxes, table parts, and many other remnants of the building process. There were several teachers working on unpacking. Already some people are unhappy about the rooms not being identical. In some respects (lack of storage in some rooms), I support their gripes. In others, not so much. Some rooms have fewer windows than others. Yes, it's not equal, but really, in the grand scheme of things, is it the end of the world? I reread the schedule last night that the principals had mailed. We have all day tech training on Friday. Then we have meetings Monday - Wednesday. Wednesday night is open house. Today is going to be a long day. Panic is just below the surface!
Marc's next appointment is September 5th. I am working on a way to send out an automatic email when blogs are posted. In the FAQ section of this blog site, there seems to be an answer to this question. However, with school just around the corner, that will have to wait for a bit.
Marc and I have disagreed on how his treatments have effected his energy level. He feels it from the inside while I observe the outside. His first treatment was very hard on him. He maintains that the second was easier. That's not what I observed. Last night I came up with a new theory that might work for both of us. Before the first treatment, he was feeling good. It had been six weeks since surgery and he felt better than ever. The chemo treatment slammed him against a wall - so to speak. He had regained some strength and energy, but wasn't feeling normal before the next treatment. By this treatment, he was feeling great again, and again has been slammed by it. The new theory is that he felt the second treatment was easier because the change in how he was feeling wasn't as dramatic. If you are feeling like a "10" and chemo slams you to a "-1," that feels different than if you are only feeling like a 3 or 4 and drop to a -1. Does that make sense to anyone else besides me? Marc thought it might.
Last week Brett went to the beach with some friends and had a wonderful time. Marc and Rose spent several days at his parents' house, and after dropping them off, I spent a couple of days with Donna in Port Townsend. It was wonderful. We shopped, made jewelry, relaxed, walked on the beach, saw the lighthouse, and ate wonderful Thai food. The weather was perfect and I must admit to being a bit of a brat. I just had to call my friend Allen to remind him that THIS is God's country. Poor guy is stuck in LA.
I picked up my keys to my new classroom yesterday. The school is still strewn with boxes, table parts, and many other remnants of the building process. There were several teachers working on unpacking. Already some people are unhappy about the rooms not being identical. In some respects (lack of storage in some rooms), I support their gripes. In others, not so much. Some rooms have fewer windows than others. Yes, it's not equal, but really, in the grand scheme of things, is it the end of the world? I reread the schedule last night that the principals had mailed. We have all day tech training on Friday. Then we have meetings Monday - Wednesday. Wednesday night is open house. Today is going to be a long day. Panic is just below the surface!
Marc's next appointment is September 5th. I am working on a way to send out an automatic email when blogs are posted. In the FAQ section of this blog site, there seems to be an answer to this question. However, with school just around the corner, that will have to wait for a bit.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Round 3 - Take 2
Technically, I guess I missed updating on Friday like I said I would. But since it is only slightly into Saturday, I'm feeling ok about it. Bummer for you guys is that you are all sleeping and if you checked before going to bed, you are still wondering how Marc's appointment went this morning.
The short answer is that he did not have chemo today.
The long answer is that Marc's body's ability to make white blood cells is improving ever so slowly. He went from 0.3 to 0.4. He needs to be at 1.5. However, today we had a far better explanation of the game plan. Dr. B's nurse, Ann, talked with us about the drugs available to help with this process. The shot that was mentioned when we were there on Wednesday has to be given within 24 hours of chemo ending. So, even if he weren't part of the study and could have that drug, the timing isn't right. The drug's job is to make the white blood cells live longer. Marc doesn't seem to have a huge problem with the life-span of his white cells, just in his ability to produce them. So for now he plans to stay in the study.
Dr. B. also has an alternative plan. First, he will reduce the dose of Oxaliplatin. Second he will discontinue the bolus of the fluorouracil (5fu). Dr. B. feels that with these two changes Marc's body will be able to handle the chemo better and be able to keep the white blood cell factories in working condition. Marc was originally a bit concerned about the amount of lectures that Dr. B. gives around the world and the amount of time he spends out of the office. Today was so reassuring to him - Dr. B. is monitoring his case closely even if we don't see him in person. Dr. B. wants Marc to wait until his next regularly scheduled appointment for his next chemo treatment rather than coming in to be checked in between. So, the next treatment is scheduled for the 22nd. As it stands all plans for visiting family and friends will still work out!
Once we came home from OHSU, I had to take the kids to the fair. Rose was in 4-H a few years ago with Jack. She became good friends with one of the other girls her age and they like to go on the rides one day during the fair. Rose has continued this tradition even though she isn't in 4-H any more. I was planning to be there just for the afternoon, but it stretched a bit further. Then Rose stayed even longer to attend a 4-H dance with her friends. It was in the sheep barn. :-) I met Kayla's mom 1/2 way to pick Rose up. Rose's report was that the dance was "lame." There were mostly "little kids" there. She had a good time and came home and crashed. Brett didn't stay at the fair very long and took the bus home. I guess he's outgrown it or just wasn't in the mood today.
All in all it was a busy, but satisfying day.
The short answer is that he did not have chemo today.
The long answer is that Marc's body's ability to make white blood cells is improving ever so slowly. He went from 0.3 to 0.4. He needs to be at 1.5. However, today we had a far better explanation of the game plan. Dr. B's nurse, Ann, talked with us about the drugs available to help with this process. The shot that was mentioned when we were there on Wednesday has to be given within 24 hours of chemo ending. So, even if he weren't part of the study and could have that drug, the timing isn't right. The drug's job is to make the white blood cells live longer. Marc doesn't seem to have a huge problem with the life-span of his white cells, just in his ability to produce them. So for now he plans to stay in the study.
Dr. B. also has an alternative plan. First, he will reduce the dose of Oxaliplatin. Second he will discontinue the bolus of the fluorouracil (5fu). Dr. B. feels that with these two changes Marc's body will be able to handle the chemo better and be able to keep the white blood cell factories in working condition. Marc was originally a bit concerned about the amount of lectures that Dr. B. gives around the world and the amount of time he spends out of the office. Today was so reassuring to him - Dr. B. is monitoring his case closely even if we don't see him in person. Dr. B. wants Marc to wait until his next regularly scheduled appointment for his next chemo treatment rather than coming in to be checked in between. So, the next treatment is scheduled for the 22nd. As it stands all plans for visiting family and friends will still work out!
Once we came home from OHSU, I had to take the kids to the fair. Rose was in 4-H a few years ago with Jack. She became good friends with one of the other girls her age and they like to go on the rides one day during the fair. Rose has continued this tradition even though she isn't in 4-H any more. I was planning to be there just for the afternoon, but it stretched a bit further. Then Rose stayed even longer to attend a 4-H dance with her friends. It was in the sheep barn. :-) I met Kayla's mom 1/2 way to pick Rose up. Rose's report was that the dance was "lame." There were mostly "little kids" there. She had a good time and came home and crashed. Brett didn't stay at the fair very long and took the bus home. I guess he's outgrown it or just wasn't in the mood today.
All in all it was a busy, but satisfying day.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Round 3
Round 3 of chemo did not go as expected. It didn't go at all. The routine at the infusion center is for Marc to check in, get weighed, and have blood drawn. They run three different checks on his blood. Two are done quickly right at the infusion center and the third goes up the hill to check potassium levels or something like that...You think I'd know that by now! If all the levels are within range, the chemo drugs are started.
This week, one of Marc's blood levels was off. His white count was low, but not too low for chemo. However his ability to produce white cells was low. It was 0.3 and it needed to be between 1.1 and 5.5. He also had two enzymes from his liver that were elevated. The nurse said that could be from any number of things.
We will go back Friday to check again. If that level has come up, he will have chemo on Friday. If not, we will go in on Monday morning and try again. If not, the next try will be Thursday.
This has been quite hard for Marc. He feels pretty good and had no outward physical indications that things were off. He asked the nurse what he could do to raise the level, and she said "nothing." That's probably the hardest of all for him!
We are supposed to leave for his parent's house on Monday. If he is able to have chemo on Monday, we can still go, but he will have his chemo bag attached and will be feeling extremely fatigued. If his blood levels are too low on Monday, we'll go and he'll be checked when we come back on Thursday.
I'm planning to leave Marc and Rose with his parents and go on to Port Townsend with my sister Donna for a bit of R&R. Their good news is that Dick's lymphoma was misdiagnosed. The specialist at Virginia Mason had special tests run on the tissue that was removed in Utah and concluded that there is no cancer! Yippee!!!
If you just read all that and wondered if we are abandoning poor Brett. No worries. He is leaving us to go to the beach with two friends. I told his friend's mom she was a brave woman to take three teenage boys to the beach for five days! She just laughed. They really are good kids and will have a blast.
More news Friday.
This week, one of Marc's blood levels was off. His white count was low, but not too low for chemo. However his ability to produce white cells was low. It was 0.3 and it needed to be between 1.1 and 5.5. He also had two enzymes from his liver that were elevated. The nurse said that could be from any number of things.
We will go back Friday to check again. If that level has come up, he will have chemo on Friday. If not, we will go in on Monday morning and try again. If not, the next try will be Thursday.
This has been quite hard for Marc. He feels pretty good and had no outward physical indications that things were off. He asked the nurse what he could do to raise the level, and she said "nothing." That's probably the hardest of all for him!
We are supposed to leave for his parent's house on Monday. If he is able to have chemo on Monday, we can still go, but he will have his chemo bag attached and will be feeling extremely fatigued. If his blood levels are too low on Monday, we'll go and he'll be checked when we come back on Thursday.
I'm planning to leave Marc and Rose with his parents and go on to Port Townsend with my sister Donna for a bit of R&R. Their good news is that Dick's lymphoma was misdiagnosed. The specialist at Virginia Mason had special tests run on the tissue that was removed in Utah and concluded that there is no cancer! Yippee!!!
If you just read all that and wondered if we are abandoning poor Brett. No worries. He is leaving us to go to the beach with two friends. I told his friend's mom she was a brave woman to take three teenage boys to the beach for five days! She just laughed. They really are good kids and will have a blast.
More news Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
