Catch up

So this is my first post since JULY and a lot has happened!

-We drove to FL. While there, DJP became very brave and actually put his head in the water at the pool! He also thought drinking the pool water was funny... We were also able to visit with friends on the drive home that we haven't seen in a few years which was nice.

-Our trivia team won the finals of Season 29! It was a huge surprise because we didn't think we had done well enough. However a big shout out to Jason's dad because he kept telling us that The Green Lantern is somehow related to The Lone Ranger and that was one of the four final questions. We were the only team who knew that!!!!

-School started again for both Jason and myself. Jason is working on a proposal to teach a seminar class on Baseball. I am getting used to having a new principal and going to a few new meetings. I will also be doing some curriculum writing this Fall for the Common Core Standards(adopted here in MD last year). DJP has also been to class with Jason due to an occasional babysitting issue. He likes to wonder around and even got himself up on a chair and sat at a desk!

-DJP is now 18 months old! He's weighing a hefty 27ish pounds and 33ish inches tall. He is picking up new words and sounds all the time. The newest from this week is "Gobble Gobble" because he likes to carry around the turkey from his FP farm set. DJP has learned to run from place to place and the number of bumps and bruises has increased as well! His latest stunt is climbing up the sliding board and sliding down on his tummy-no fear anymore!

-Mom was working on her follow up chemo treatments until this past Monday when she went back into the hospital. She is retaining fluid again (like she did 2 years ago) and the doctor is running every test possible. She's doing okay, just very tired because of all the monitoring and testing. She was moved to the oncology floor yesterday evening. Hopefully she will get more rest there. If you're reading this and didn't know sorry...I cannot call everyone! However if you would like to see/call Mom, let me know and I will give you contact information.

Updates

People (and you know who you are!) have been asking about Mom. She is doing 100% better! She doesn't really need to walk with the cane unless she's walking a long distance, her feet have gone back to their normal size and she's lost ALL of the fluid plus a couple extra pounds. The doctor does think that her thyroid has been acting up (hence the extra weight loss) and has adjusted her medication for that. When we saw her yesterday, she had finished cutting the grass, had washed the car and was just moving around like I haven't seen her do in quite some time. Today she was off to the beach for the week.

School started on Monday. My schedule changed a bit-I was supposed to have 2 Spanish 1 classes, 2 Spanish 2 classes and 1 Spanish 3 class. We had enough students for an extra section of Spanish 1, so I picked that up and gave up the Spanish 3 class. It's nice having that extra Spanish 1 class because the classes aren't packed with 34 students!!! One class has 16, another 27 and the other 28. My Spanish 2 classes are small as well-19 and 24. The real test will start on Tuesday-Can I remember all their names???? Especially since Back to School night is on Wednesday!

I'm still feeling fine. Changed when I take my vitamins and that seems to have done the trick-no more nausea! I absolutely hate that feeling. I would rather throw up than have that gross feeling hang around all day. I'm still tired at the end of the day, which makes driving the 12 miles home interesting! Hopefully, that will change in another week or two.

And finally, I did receive another package from my SP and have taken pictures, but have not uploaded them onto my computer (so sorry, Bees!). I received a skein of yarn (blue and orange in color-Go Gators!) and a package of Pomegranate Cashews from Harry & David's (my favs!).

Resting Comfortably

Dad is resting comfortably. He was able to get into the hospital bed (with assistance) that was delivered last night. He is also using oxygen. The oncologist said that it was okay as long as it was helping him. Dad didn't eat a whole lot today-a bit of a TastyKake (his favorite) and a ThinMint Cookie. He told Mom that the TastyKake wasn't cold enough-he likes them from the freezer. (They taste better in my opinion and they don't melt as quickly.) Dad was also a big fan of ice chips today. He crunched away.

We all talked to the oncologist this morning and asked the big question of "how long?" We got an answer that was not a surprise to any of us. He told us because everyone is different that it could be anywhere from a week to a month. We are okay with that and know that Dad will no longer be in any pain and that he will be in a better place. We know there are many who await his arrival with open, loving arms.

"...Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ICor4:16-18
(Lynette, thank you so much for sending this passage to me. It has gotten me through some rough days. I love you!)

It was the White ones

Dad went to have more blood drawn yesterday and his white cell count is up therefore he can eat anything he wants to eat. When we talked last night, he was eating grapes. I asked Mom if he really wanted them but they needed to be pealed, would she have done it? She says no. Ever tried to peal a grape? I have and it's really not pretty.

Dad continues to be extremely weak. Mom said that she fed him last night because he couldn't even lift the fork. He was only able to talk on the phone for about a minute before he was out of breath and coughing. The coughing has increased since Dad's last round of chemo. It will probably continue to worsen as the mass in his right lung continues to grow. Also, his speech has started to slur again so the oncologist upped the steroid dose.

Mom also said that Hospice was going to be set up sometime today. Hopefully, they can come to the house on Thursday when we'll all be there so that Mom won't have to relay messages/questions for us.

Love to all!

Not well

The latest news with Dad is that the mass in his lung has gotten larger. The oncologist canceled the PET scan on Monday because the CT scan told him what he needed to know. Dad has had a stressful last two days due to having blood drawn for typing so that the blood transfusion could happen today. It went well, but Dad is extremely tired. Mom said that he napped off and on since they arrived home. Dad was able to sit outside for awhile-he said it felt good in the warm air.

Because of Dad's low (we think red, but it could be the white) blood cell count, he cannot eat anything raw-not even veggies! If he has fruit, Mom has to wash and peel it. Dad's appetite has been good so that is a plus. He goes in Monday for more blood work and on Thursday he will see the oncologist again.

Chris, Jason and I will be visiting tomorrow, so I will be able to post another update later this weekend.

Love to all and keep praying!

Mardi Gras...just a bit delayed

This week apparently everyone forgot that it was Mardi Gras on Tuesday...even the French teachers at school. Unfortunately, celebrations were a bit tame around these parts-a few students brought King Cakes to school and some beads and doubloons were shown. Dad received his own King Cake yesterday from his cousin, Deanna, and her husband, Richard, who live in Louisiana. It was sitting on the front porch when Dad and Mom came home from the oncologist's office (more about that in a bit). The King Cake was one with blueberry and cheesecake filling and came (as the box claimed) with a party-enough yellow, green and purple sugar and sliced almonds to decorate the cake, icing so the sugar sticks, a glove to apply icing, beads, doubloons and even a cup from which to drink.
I had the honor of decorating the King Cake. It smelled really good while I was decorating it...yum! Then I went to show Dad what I had done and took this:Then we cut the cake and everyone had a piece. It was sooo good! Mom was warning Dad that his blood sugar would be high because of the sugar, but when she finally did the finger stick, it was only one point higher than before he ate dinner! Who knows? Thank you to Deanna and Richard for the wonderful and yummy surprise!

Now for the oncologist visit...Dr. Bahrain thinks that Dad has an infection somewhere but cannot seem to figure out where due to Dad's shortness of breathe. He prescribed Cipro (an antibiotic) and sent Dad to have a CT scan because the one near his office was not working. When Mom and Dad got to the lab, they were told that the appointment had been canceled by someone at the oncologist's office. It was frustrating for Dad since he'd been wanting answers and he had been out longer than he usually is. Needless to say he was extremely tired when he and Mom finally arrived back home. Dad has another appointment on Monday (weather permitting) as well as one on Wednesday. Hopefully we'll know more then.

We'd also like to send big birthday wishes and hugs to SC for Jack's 3rd birthday!!!!

Sorry that I have been slow in posting here this past week or so...grad school has taken over!

Dad started his second round of chemo Saturday night and has been doing well with it. It has made him cough a bit and of course not sleep as much as he needs. He has finished radiation for now and even went out for a bit on Saturday with Chris and Aunt Felicia. They took him to Lowe's and Home Depot to look for material for a job that Aunt Felicia is helping out with. Mom has been having Dad sit out in the sun room for while each day so that he gets a different view. On Saturday, we let him walk up the 6 steps from the sun room to the house instead of walking around the house to the front door where there is only one step. Jason walked in front of him and Chris behind him in case he had trouble or stumbled. No problems! He surprised us all by going up the steps rather quickly.

For now, all is well, but keep praying!

Quick Chemo Update

Dad went to have the bone and nausea drips today (bone-to strengthen his bones; nausea-to alleviate the nausea from the chemo pills). He won't start the chemo until Saturday. The oncologist wants Dad to be finished with the radiation before he starts the second round of chemo. He will be finished with the radiation on Friday.

Fewer Meds

Dad went to see the oncologist today. He was taken off most of his medications except for the steroid (which is down to once a day), the stomach medicine (Prevacid), insulin (which he will continue to take as long as he is taking the steroid) and oxycodone as needed for the pain in his side (due to taking a little fall on Sunday). Dad will finish this round of radiation on Friday (yeah!) and will start his second round of chemo tomorrow evening.

The oncologist said that there probably won't be anything new until they do CT scans and all in three months. This is just one long wait which is why we've just got to take it one day at a time.

Keep praying...

Happy Valentine's Day

We received the BEST Valentine's gift a bit early yesterday! Dad was released from the hospital mid-afternoon, went for his radiation treatment and then went home. I talked to him on the phone and he sounds like a new man! He's grateful to be home and you can hear it in his voice. Chris helped Mom bring Dad home and Aunt Felicia is spending the weekend with them. Jason and I will be going to visit this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and know that we all love all of you!

P.S. Happy Blogoversary to me...it's been two years! Lots has happened in that time and this has been a great way to capture it all.

Good News/Bad News

The Good News: The thoracic surgeon removed the tube from Dad's chest on Wednesday. This means that the fluid has pretty much stopped and the area needs to heal from the inside out. Dad does still have a bit of fluid draining from the area, but not anything to be worried about.

Dad is also half way through the 14 small radiation treatments. He was excited about that when I talked to him yesterday. Plus, the doctors have been hinting that Dad may be able to go home on Saturday (I'm sure only if the Bad News is cleared up. See below.)

The Bad News: Hospitals are notorious keepers of germs. One of them is MRSA. Dad has MRSA, but only in his nose, not in his blood stream. This is scary because of all the news coverage on MRSA last year in schools and locker rooms. We have been assured this is NORMAL and is being treated with antibiotics. Dad can still have visitors, but gowns and gloves need to be worn.

Besides being nauseous (which seems to have subsided at the moment), the only other side effect from the radiation seems to be a hoarse voice. Dad says that it doesn't hurt but does feel like he's talking loudly sometimes. Having suffered from dry, sore throats from talking too much at work, talking loudly is due to hoping others can hear you.

Right now things seem to be calming down and hopefully Dad will be home soon! (He's been in the hospital for two weeks as of today.) Keep the good thoughts and prayers coming.

Out of ICU!

Dad was moved on Monday night into "intermediate care," which is a step up from ICU. This also means that visiting hours have changed AGAIN. If I recall correctly, they start at 1:30pm (and really cannot remember when they end...). Dad has been sitting most of the day in a chair and has also been getting the nurses to walk him a couple of times a day. Last night, he told Mom that he was going to watch NCIS (his favorite show), get the nurses to walk him on last time and then go to bed.

Dad has also been going each afternoon for his round of 14 smaller/shorter radiation treatments. These do not seem to tire him out as much as the round he had last week and he's been eating more as of yesterday. I think last week's radiation treatments caused a lot of nausea and since Dad hasn't been sick a day in his life, has never experienced the nausea/vomiting and has tried to avoid it by not eating a whole lot.

The doctors keep saying that the fluid that is coming out is lessening, but not stopped as of yet. They have said that once they can take the tubing out, Dad can go home. It would be nice if that would happen soon!

On another note, many of you know that my department chair is pregnant with twin boys. As of today, she has been put on bed rest because she is already 1 centimeter dilated. Her due date is not until the end of May. The boys are healthy and so is Momma, but please keep them in your prayers as well so that all goes well!

Yesterday's Visit

Jason and I went to visit Dad yesterday. After an overnight stay in the Post Op Recovery (since there were no beds in ICU), Dad finally got a bed around 3:30pm. Dad was barely awake when we arrived and I told him to sleep. Mom said that he didn't sleep very well Friday night since Recovery was pretty noisy-no walls! He slept a good two hours. We were serenaded by snores.

Before visiting hours were over, Dad did eat a bit of apple sauce and drink some cranberry juice. The ICU nurse (another Katie) wanted to start him out with something small since he really hasn't had much to each since Thursday and has been nauseous as well.

Hopefully today Dad will be moved back to the Oncology floor where it's a bit quieter and he can have his "penthouse" again.

Procedure Update

Dad's procedure went fine and he is currently in the post op recovery since there are no beds in ICU. Apparently, everyone in ICU is staying the same (read: not getting better) and needs to stay put. Hence, Dad has no bed per se and will most likely spend the night in the recovery area. The nurses did let Mom go back (technically, family is NOT allowed in recovery) and said that it would be more quiet there for Dad to get some rest. They also told Mom that they would get Dad up and into a chair (doctor's orders).

As I mentioned before, the procedure went well. The doctor did find a bunch of small lesions while doing the procedure and sent them to pathology. I suppose in a week or so we'll know the results.

Jason and I will be going to visit again tomorrow. I'm off to rest my exhausted self since I slept for 3 hours (between 9pm-12am) last night.

Day 8

The thoracic surgeon finally met with Dad the other day and he will be performing a pleurodesis today. This procedure will hopefully eliminate the space for fluid build up in the pleural sac. The procedure is 60-70% effective and the doctor will know within a day if it will work for Dad. (Like we've been told, every patient is different!) Dad will be in the hospital at least one to two days after the procedure barring any complications.

Dad has had radiation treatments at the cancer center every day this week and has one today too. He will have about 14 shorter treatments to come. Dad has been getting some nausea with the treatments this week and has been getting more tired throughout the week-he's been falling asleep about an 1/2 hour to an hour earlier each night. Last night, he was cat napping whenever any of us stopped talking.

A new round of student nurses came through yesterday and Dad had one assigned to him. She took his vitals, checked him out from head to toe and got him up to walk before dinner arrived. Dad was not hungry when dinner arrived, but was more interested in sleeping. So we let him sleep and took Mom to get some dinner.

I'll update here later today when I know more about how the procedure went.

FYI

Just so everyone knows, Dad can have visitors! The oncology floor of Franklin Square does not have visiting hours like other floors of the hospital. At least for now, Dad has been going to the cancer center around 1-3pm and is usually gone for 1 1/2 hours. So, anytime before or after that is fine. Dad enjoys seeing faces other than ours every day!

Day 5 and counting...

Dad is still in the hospital. The thoracic surgeon has not made it in to see Dad yet. We keep being told probably tomorrow. Hopefully, that will be TOMORROW! Dad has been going each day by transport to the cancer center to have his radiation treatments. He has two more that are scheduled-tomorrow and Friday. Dad has been getting up and the nurses have been walking up and down the hall with him at least once during the day. He then gets to sit up in a chair, usually while he eats dinner. Mom says that after dinner Dad is exhausted-from all his journeys this week, I'm sure-and ends up falling asleep around 7-8pm.

Jason and I will be going up to the hospital after work tomorrow to spend some time with both Mom and Dad. Sorry that my posts have been a bit scattered, but I'm physically and mentally drained with having spent the weekend at the hospital, teaching, my own doctors' appointments and grad school. I hope to be better once I have a schedule for myself with my grad school work.

Keep praying and thinking good thoughts!

P.S. Mom has been doing well with the physical therapy with her hand-so much so that the surgeon no longer needs to see her unless she has a problem. He ok'd more therapy time for her and it really has been working! She can touch her pinky finger to her thumb (not the other way around like we thought-that was hard even for me!) and has been using her hand more and more naturally...for the most part.

Day 3

Yesterday, Jason and I went back to the hospital to see Dad and hopefully give Mom some relief. Mom had called earlier and said that the oncologist was coming in to the hospital to see Dad sometime in the afternoon. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. During the wait, Dad asked if he could sit up in one of the chairs instead of being in bed. The nurses checked and they actually got him up and walked him up and down the hall once. He didn't have any troubles breathing and on his return got to sit in a chair. He was happy about that. His speech has steadily improved with each dose of the steroid and has not been having too much trouble getting out what he is trying to say like he was on Friday.

Around 4:30pm, Jason decided to see if we could find out if the oncologist was actually coming in or not. He wasn't. We did get to talk to him on the phone and he answered all of our questions. For now, Dad's condition is guarded and everything depends on how well he responds to the chemo. Dad will start the next round on February 10th as long as the insurance company approves the drug. The clinical trial is on hold for the moment because of the newest brain lesions. The NIC does not want to have patients who have the potential for strokes or brain aneurysms.

Today, Dad will go across the street to the Weinburg Center for another round of radiation on the two new lesions on his brain. He will also have a consult with the thoracic surgeon to decide whether or not they will put the talc into the pleural sac to curb the fluid build up in Dad's lung.

Day 2

This morning did not start off well. Mom called me about 10:30am saying that the doctor thought Dad had a stroke because his speech was slow and the right side of his face was a bit droopy. He was taken for a brain scan a bit before noon and the results showed that he did NOT have a stroke (Thank God!).

He does have two new lesions on his brain. The one on the left side is larger and there is swelling around it. The doctor said that the swelling is causing the stroke like symptoms. The nurse gave Dad a large dose of a steroid that would lessen the swelling and every six hours he gets another dose of the steroid.

As the day progressed, Dad's speech improved and he was able to talk to us and not get frustrated that he couldn't spit out the words. He ate all of his lunch and dinner and looked better when we took Mom to get dinner around 8pm. His speech should continue to improve and hopefully we will know more on Monday when all the doctors make their rounds.

I will be going back tomorrow for a little bit so that Mom gets a little break. Keep those prayers coming! Love to you all!

Another visit to the ER

Mom called my cell around noon today to leave a voice mail telling me she was taking Dad to the ER again due to breathing troubles. Of course, because of the situation, I know have my cell phone on me all day every day. I answered and asked if she wanted me to meet her. No. Did she want me to call Jason and have him meet her there. No. I asked again if she wanted me to come...she hesitated and I said that I'd get the rest of my classes covered and be there as soon as I could.

I absolutely LOVE my department (big hugs to all of you!) because they volunteered to cover the rest of my classes for the day and even made in house calls to the main office to tell them I would be leaving and that my classes were covered (thanks Jeannette!). They made leaving so much easier!!!

When I got to the hospital (Jason and in-laws in tow), Dad was in a "room" in the ER and waiting to see a doctor. He had oxygen which was helping his breathing a bit, but it was still labored. When the ER doctor came in to listen to Dad's lungs even I could hear the distinct difference between the left and the right (the one causing all the trouble, which seems to be typical of the cancer). The doctor explained (drawing on the sheets...) how last week the sac was only 1/4 full but this week, it was 3/4 full. She also explained that Dad would be admitted and he would have the fluid removed as soon as possible.

About an hour later, Dad was taken up to the Oncology floor (he likes to call it the Penthouse since all but 4 rooms are singles and of course he's seen two of the four that are not singles!). There was a problem with the bed not locking into position and the nurse's assistant having to call maintenance. When the maintenance man shows up, the bed works properly. Go figure. The nurse on duty couldn't be found. (He apparently was hanging out on the first floor-we figured this out as we left for dinner.) Then the doctor who would be performing the procedure (a bit different from last week's...a catheter) came by and explained what would be happening and why. Very blunt man-first one that's ever called the cancerous object in Dad's right lung a "mass" rather than a "spot." Once the catheter was in, Dad was feeling a bit better but just wanted to rest, so we went to dinner where Chris and Tom joined us.

After dinner, Mom, Chris and Tom went back to the hospital and my crew headed home. Jason and I will be going back to the hospital tomorrow. As far as we know, Dad will be in the hospital until Monday when the thoracic surgeon comes in and will possibly have another procedure done where some sort of talc (?) is placed into the pleural sac so the fluid does not build up again. I'll keep everyone posted as things progress.

Keep the prayers and good thoughts coming...We all need them!!!