*****
January 13, 2010
A grand adventure...that's what we'll be having for the next six months.
On Monday, we visited Jamie's surgeon for a very post-op check up. When he removed Jamie's colon he also removed 65 lymph nodes. Out of those 65 nodes, only one had any cancer attached to it. Not bad. Not zero, but it could have been much much worse. The surgeon is pretty confident that he removed all the cancer, but just to be on the safe side we were referred to an oncologist. Since Jamie is so young, it's best to try to completely eradicate anything that might be floating around.
On Tuesday, we visited Jamie's new oncologist. A nice guy. We also met three nurses that we'd probably see and talk to way more often than we would with the doctor. They were all very nice and encouraging. Jamie will start a 12-cycle treatment within the next few weeks.
First he has to get a port-a-cath installed (sounds like he's a computer!). On Wednesday of next week we'll head to the hospital to have that done as an out-patient procedure.
His treatment will happen every other week -- not quite as schedule friendly for a working wife as my mom's one-treatment-every-21-days.
But no worries. Mom will save the day! I have always been so thankful that my mom is able to come at the drop of a hat, and I've never
been more thankful of that than now. I'm sure she and Jamie will be able to commiserate with each other during some of his treatments so I can keep working and save up my sick/vacation time for any major events (like his later surgeries). They're pretty well suited to hang out together, which I think is AWESOME. Yes...AWESOME, with all capital letters.
I think Mom will be the best asset for us to have. She'll be able to help Jamie through some of his side effects, let him know what worked for her, help keep a watch for anything I might not notice, and truly be able to say "I know how it feels".
12 treatments, one treatment every other week. 24 weeks. 6 months! WOW! And Mom has said she'll stay with us the entire time if we need her.
We're taking it all in stride. It's not a terrible horrible thing. It's just a thing. And, it's just a thing that has to taken one day at a time. As long as we can still make each other laugh, we'll be a-ok.
We appreciate all of your prayers and thoughts through the first hospital stay and through the first surgery. We hope you still have room in your prayers and thoughts for the months ahead.
We'll keep you posted on how everything's going from time to time.
Much love,
Beth
*****
January 20, 2010
Port Day
Jamie's port insertion went very smoothly. It was a welcome relief to see him sitting up, sipping Pepsi, and chatting up the nurse in the recovery room after his surgery. After his surgery in December, all he could do was lay there in a lot of pain. It was quite pitiful.
We checked in at 8:45am and were heading out by 2pm. The procedure itself barely took an hour. Most of the time was just spent waiting for the procedure to start. He was only in recovery for about an hour.
It was very nice for him to be able get dressed and come home after the procedure, rather than having to wait for a hospital room to open up and then stay there for a week. We'll have to do that again, but not for a few months.
I hope for his next surgery they'll be able to give him some sort of medication during the surgery or as soon as it's over to help with his excruciating back pain. In December, I don't think they realized that his back was what he was complaining about. They just thought it
was his belly, since he'd just had major abdominal surgery. I'll try to think to mention it to a nurse or someone at pre-op before his next surgery.
He's feeling ok. His shoulder aches and he said it felt like he got hit with a baseball. Right now he's sitting at the computer playing a video game. Video games require very little movement torso movement. Not sure how well he'll sleep tonight. His port is on his right
side and he usually sleeps on that side. Guess he'll be facing me for most of the night! :)
Up next are a CT scan of his upper body (his November CT was only of his gut) and his first chemo treatment. It's possible that both will be next Monday, January 25, but we're not 100% sure yet. We'll keep you updated.
Thanks a million times more for all of your thoughts and prayers. We're getting positive energy sent our way from everybody and it sure is working!
Much love,
Beth
*****
January 25, 2010
1 down, 11 to go
Jamie had his first chemo treatment today. We headed over to the Cancer Center bright and early for labwork and a quick visit with the doctor. Then we scooted over to the hospital.
Because of the health care coverage Jamie was able to get, we have to go to the hospital for his treatment. It kinda bummed me out to begin with because the Cancer Center facilities are NICE. Super nice. Everything looks so new and colorful. The color pallet is very soothing; mint green and soft purple. It's quite classy. The hospital looks like a hospital. But at the hospital, Jamie gets his own room, his own TV, a bed, and a bed tray for the computer. Oh, and he even gets a lunch tray! The patients treated at the Cancer Center are all in one big room (though it is a very pretty room with comfy recliners). I think he definitely prefers the privacy.
He didn't have any troubles with his port. Hooray! The nurse had no troubles hooking him up through his port. He gets two bags of medicine at once over two hours. Then he gets a third medicine infusion that lasts about an hour. After that, we head back over to the Cancer Center for him to be hooked up to a pump that infuses that third medicine over 46 hours at home. On Wednesday he'll go back to the Cancer Center to get unhooked from his pump.
So far, he's dealing well with the situation. We're both looking at the situation as it is what it is for now. There's no sense in worrying until there's something to worry over Of course, I say that to myself over and over again, yet I still have a mouth full of fever blisters that are obviously stress-related! Worry must be going on in the background of my mind and I'm not fully aware of it.
Mom said she and Jamie were talking last Tuesday when she got here and he said that I was being very zoomy around the house for the days up til then. I was cleaning, vacuuming, beading, baking cookies, making tea. And she said, "She's not very emotional, so that's probably how she's dealing with everything." Probably so, but in my very rational mind it was just "I'm doing this because the house hasn't been cleaned since Thanksgiving, I've promised Jamie cookies for over a week now, and Mom thinks it's nice when there's tea in the fridge when she gets in."
We greatly appreciate all the thoughts and prayers, and hope you'll continue to think of us for the next several months.
Much love,
Beth
*****
February 8, 2010
2 down, 10 to go
Jamie and Mom had a long day of being out the house. They arrived at the Cancer Center around 8:30am. His labs were drawn around 9am and he met with his nurse. He didn't get to see the doctor today. He didn't have any problems with the first round of treatment, so not seeing the doctor wasn't a big deal. Then, he and mom headed up to the outpatient chemo unit. He got settled into his room. He didn't get his infusion of steroids and anti-nausea medicine until after noon. By the time I got over there around 1pm to have lunch with him he
had only been on the 2-hour pumps for about 45 minutes. After the two 2-hour infusions finished (they can be run at the same time) he had his third chemo infusion, which only took 15 minutes.
Once the infusions were done, he and Mom went back to the Cancer Center to get his take-home pump. Mom said she'd wait out in the main lobby while Jamie was called back to the waiting room because hooking him up to the take-home pump didn't take very long after the first treatment. He waited in the waiting room for about an hour before the nurse hooked him up to the pump.
They got home 5 minutes before I did!
The annoying thing about chemo medicine is that each treatment is hand mixed for each individual patient. The Pharmacy Technician can't mix the medicine until after the patient's lab reports have come back, so the doctor can make sure the patient doesn't need any changes
made to the medicines. Ah well...such is chemo.
I think Jamie enjoyed having me for about 45 minutes during lunchtime. I enjoyed eating my half-stale peanut butter sandwich and nabs with him. (For those readers who aren't Southern, nabs are Lance Sandwich crackers....I like the cheesy crackers with peanut butter in them.)
Jamie let me drink his tea (which was awwwwwwful) since he couldn't have anything cold.
He has noticed that cold things bother him a bit more this time. The chemo in the take-home pump has cold neuropathy as a side effect, which may make him sensitive to cold while he is on the treatment. Right now he's sitting at the other computer with a glove on his mouse-hand. He won't be able to drink cold liquids for a few days and needs to keep his hands and feet toasty. He's expecting to get warm new slippers in the mail tomorrow.
We haven't figured out whether or not he should even attempt to go back to work yet. Target works on a week-by-week schedule and his chemo is every other week. It's hard to know, so early in treatment, how he'll fare. But that's ok. The dean of my department thought it would be a grand idea to get me to teach an online study skills class. Yep. I'm a college instructor! My new part-time pay (yes, this is extra work for extra pay!) will make up a good bit of the difference now that he isn't working. I just finished grading 31 papers yesterday.
And, I've been asked to join a brand new chamber orchestra. Unfortunately, it's in Greensboro and doesn't pay yet, but I've just can't say no to the opportunity, especially since one of my violin buddies recommended me to the conductor. Maybe the group will mesh well together, have great concerts, get donors, and get paid to play! AWESOME! The first rehearsals and concert are the week of my birthday. We're planning to play some fantastic pieces, including two that I already know.
Speaking of my birthday, it's the day of Jamie's next treatment. So, I've decided to take the day off to spend with him in the hospital. Couldn't think of a better way to spend it than with my most favorite guy in the whole world!
Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers and cards. We love everybody!
Much love,
Beth
*****
February 22, 2010
3 down, 9 to go
Today was both a happy and a blerg day. It was blerg because it was a chemo day. It was happy because it was my Birthday!
I decided to take the day off from work and spend it with my hunny while he had his treatment. Today's treatment went much faster than the last one. We were in the hospital room shortly after 9:30am. The longest wait was for his lab work to come back and the pharmacy to send up his chemo. He was finally hooked up to the drips around 11am.
Everything went pretty smoothly. His port is still working wonderfully. I think since his port is accessed every other week it doesn't have time to heal over and scar up on the inside like Mom's did with only going every 21 days. We pray that it continues to work for the next 9 treatments.
Jamie did notice that the cold tingly feeling in his hands came on much faster this time. His hands felt tingly before we even left the hospital. The cold tingly feeling never completely let up from the last treatment, so I'm sure he'll be wearing his brand new gloves and avoiding the fridge for a long time. We've kept the water pitcher out on the kitchen counter since his last treatment. He says that even room temperature water is chilly and almost uncomfortable going down. Good think he likes coffee and hot chocolate.
After chemo, we went to PetSmart where he let me pick out my birthday present. A brand new Beta fish! We now have a pet that doesn't have leaves, though his fins are pretty leafy-ish. I'll take pictures as soon as we get the fish put in his bowl. He is very dark inky blue and very pretty.
Jamie's pretty tired this evening. I think the chemo is starting to hit him a little harder each time now. Maybe it'll plateau soon. Thursday tends to be the day that the nausea hits him the hardest, but then Friday is noticeably better.
This past weekend was very nice. The temperature was around 60 and the sun was out all day. We were able to take a quick day trip down to Concord Mills for a little shopping, and we discovered a new favorite restaurant -- Steak n' Shake. Jamie enjoyed being out in the wide,
wide world for a while. Hopefully we'll have more nice weather soon.
Thanks always for your support, thoughts, and prayers.
Much love,
Beth
*****
March 8, 2010
4 down, 8 to go
We're one-quarter of the way to the end. YAY!
Before each chemo treatment, Jamie gets lab work done and gets to see the doctor, PA, and/or nurse. Today he actually got to see the doctor again. The oncologist asked how he was doing and Jamie let him know that the side effects (mostly the uncomfortable cold tingly
sensation) seemed to be getting worse with each treatment. We all thought that was probably normal, but the oncologist said it wasn't. The only side effect that should increase in intensity each time is fatigue. The doctor said that if the side effects continued to get worse after this treatment, then he would scale back the chemo a bit. It's nice that something can be done to make things at least a little better.
The cold tinglies from the last chemo treatment only just started going away this past week. It wasn't until late last week that he could stand to drink/eat cold things. I made sure to feed him ice cream and milkshakes everyday for the past few days so that maybe he would have his fill for a while.
Last weekend Jamie got a HUGE box of goodies from his family and friends back in Washington. He got lots of things to keep him toasty warm -- socks, gloves, hand warmers, toe warmers, things that get warm in the microwave, electric heating pad, etc. It was AWESOME! Lots and lots of thanks to the Washington folks! Oh...and they threw in some candy too. Needless to say, not much of the candy is left.
The weather is slowly getting warmer. We're supposed to be in the 50s and 60s all week, with some wet weather moving in later in the week. Rain would be good. We're both tired of shocking each other every time we get out of the recliner. Hopefully warmer weather will help
alleviate Jamie's cold tinglies.
Thanks again for your continued thoughts and prayers!
Much love,
Beth
*****
April 5, 2010
The halfway point
Today made 6 of 12 chemo treatments. YAY!
Jamie wasn't too excited about going in today; so, this morning I asked if he wanted me to come with him. He shrugged but gave me big puppy dog eyes that said "Pleasepleaseplease!"
Good thing I did. It was a LONG day. The longest by far.
He had his usual labwork done. The results were ok, but his platelet count was lower than the doctor wanted. Platelets need to be around 100 and Jamie's were in the 70s. The PA requested for the count to be done by hand -- it's usually done by a machine. That added only a little extra time and was worth the wait. The recount got his platelets up to 103. He was good to go with a treatment today. Best to get it out of the way than have to wait a day or more.
The doctor put in new orders for his chemo mix and reduced the potent-ness (Is that even a word?) by 20%. The PA said 20% wasn't a big step down, but would hopefully make the next week a little more bearable. Jamie said he overheard somebody was getting their chemo reduced by half. Patients start chemo at the highest level of potent-ness and then doctors will reduce it if the patient has a hard time with side effects.
We were in the hospital room earlier than usual, but then had to wait forever to get the pre-meds. Apparently the outpatient chemo unit was overbooked and only had two chemo nurses! Poor nurses and poor pharmacy. Jamie was finally hooked up to his pre-meds around noon.
The pharmacy sent up one chemo bag 45 minutes before they sent up the second one. The two bags can be run at the same time and were once the second one arrived, but we then had to wait for the second one to finish waaaaay after the first one finished. The third bag ran for
24 minutes. We only had 15 minutes to spare to get back to the Cancer Center for Jamie to be hooked up to the take-home pump. He was the last patient they saw.
Needless to say, if I had gone to work today, I would have beaten them back home.
He did well throughout his long day. His biggest complaint was being bored and being hungry. He's chowing down on supper at the moment.
We had a good Birthday/Easter weekend. Thanks for all the cards and presents! Jamie and I went out to supper at Outback for his birthday on Thursday. I finally baked his birthday cake on Saturday. Mom and I bought flowers yesterday and she planted them all herself. Maybe
I'll get some pictures this weekend if it's sunny. The weather is turning hot and yellow (pollen).
Sorry about not sending out an email about treatment #5, but it wasn't really noteworthy. He went in, everything was normal, he got hooked up, he waited, he got unhooked, he got his pump, he came home. No news is good news! :)
We're on the downward slope of his adventure!
Thanks for your continued thoughts, prayers, and love!
Beth
*****
April 19, 2010
7 down, 5 to go
Jamie's treatment took much less time today than it did two weeks ago. All of his meds arrived at the same time and the two that could be run together, were. He was home by about 4:30pm. He had a good lunch (mmm...McDonalds!), a sizable snack when he got back home, and had a good supper too.
Feeding him is becoming a little difficult. He's a pretty picky eater to begin with (at least compared to me!) and now he's even more picky-er. Most things don't taste right anymore, while the thought of some things completely turns him off. I'm feeding him whatever he
wants, even if it's going out to eat several times a week. One of the chemo meds makes him very sensitive to cold, which makes drinking and eating cold things pretty painful. The weekend before a chemo treatment the cold sensitivity has gone away just enough that he'll eat
ice cream or milkshakes -- and I give him all he can handle. The cold from the ice cream is still uncomfortable, but he says it's worth the discomfort! Luckily, he didn't lose any weight between last treatment and today. In fact, he might have gained a pound or two.
He'll probably be miserable and sleep away the next few days. Thankfully we're on the downward slope.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!
Much love,
Beth
*****
May 11, 2010
8 down, 4 to go
Jamie is 2/3 through his treatment!
Yesterday went fine. On Friday, he went to the doctor to have his labs drawn again. His platelet count was up to 130 from 84 the previous Friday. He must have fought off whatever little bug/virus he had caught the previous week.
We went out on a date Friday -- Iron Man 2 and Mexican for dinner. He really enjoyed being out of the house for a while. After church on Sunday, we took Mom out to dinner. Jamie seemed to have a pretty good weekend -- not feeling too horribly bad, though he definitely didn't want to go to the hospital on Monday for treatment, but who can blame him?
Thanks lots for your prayers, thoughts, and cards! We love love (to quote David Reutimann).
Beth
*****
May 24, 2010
9 down, 3 to go
Today was an exciting day, but not in any chemo-related way. More on that later.
Jamie's 9th treatment went well. He was back home by 3:30 -- a record! I always go to the hospital to have lunch with him on treatment days, but today I surprised him by not going back to work for the afternoon (with my boss's blessing of course). He was happy.
Once his in-hospital infusions are finished, Jamie goes back over to the Cancer Center to get hooked up to the pump he brings home. Today, the nurse who took us back to a chair looked at us and said "I think I know your parents. They're in my parents' Sunday school class at Calvary Baptist." I said, "Probably so. My mom goes to Calvary with Roy and Sandy Matthews." She replied, "I know Mr. Roy and Mrs. Sandy! My parents have been praying for you." Jamie said, "It's a small world." So sweet! I told Jamie that he'll have to come with me and Mom if Mr. Roy has another ice cream party for the Sunday school class this summer so he can meet everybody.
But on to the excitement.
After we got back home, Mom and I ran off to Target and Walmart. Near the end of our time in Walmart, around 5pm, the lights flickered off, which was really odd. Odd, until we looked out the doors to see it raining buckets. No thunder or lightning though. Not much wind. Back out on the road, we encountered a busy intersection with blinking red/yellow lights and two of Winston-Salem's finest directing traffic. The next light was working normally. The third light wasn't working at all and there were no cops. We wondered if the power was out at home. The light right by our place was working fine, so we figured our building had power. Driving by the apartment we saw the door open. Jamie usually doesn't keep the door open while we're out and about. Mom said, "I bet he's sitting in the dark." Sho' nuff, he came to the door as we were coming up the sidewalk. "Are you in the dark, bunny (because that's what I call him...isn't it cute?)?" I asked. "Yep," he replied. The power didn't come back on until almost 8pm. Mom did word puzzles, Jamie watched Futurama on his Zune (Ipod-like thing), and I practiced my violin (concert on Friday!).
Mom and I missed the really exciting part. Apparently a transformer about 50 yards away went kaboom. Mom said she talked with one of our neighbors and he told her it literally shook the apartment building! Jamie said it was loud.
Thanks for all the cards, prayers, thoughts, and love!
Beth
PS. Jamie got a little puppy love yesterday from a snuffly little Shih Tzu named Snickers.
*****
June 7, 2010
NO MORE CHEMO!
Jamie is finished with chemo. The doctor had no problems stopping treatment early. The past few treatments had made Jamie feel just awful, like the flu but without the flu.
We should soon hear from the surgeon's office regarding a consultation appointment. Hopefully, he can have his next surgery before the summer is over. We're so happy!
Not much else to share right now, but we're glad chemo is over. Now maybe his appetite and taste buds will come back. I'll feed him whatever he wants!
Much love,
Beth
