Monday, September 20, 2010
P.S. to Update for Sept. 20, 2010
David had a very positive visit this afternoon with the internist and has several tests scheduled, which we hope will go a long way towards finding the answers to these blackouts and collapsing episodes. He will see the doctor again Oct. 13 and we hope to have some ideas then.
Update - September 20, 2010
Good morning! I have not updated this blog for almost a month, so there is lots to tell you.
The last week of August and the first week of September were pretty quiet – just the usual stuff. I had chemo on schedule; David had another trip to London for an eye check-up that went well. We enjoyed going to a pig roast one weekend and having lunch with another couple as well. I had a couple of solo lunch and dinner dates – an enjoyable time and I was feeling pretty good.
However, the Saturday night of Labour Day weekend, I had a lot of pain in my side during the night and I asked David to take me to Emerg. Sunday morning. We were there the whole morning – another CT scan and chest x-ray – and lots of waiting. However, I do have to say that they took me right in – didn’t even ‘touch down’ in the waiting room. The verdict was that I had a lot of fluid around my right lung but in light of my plans to fly to Texas later that week, doing a fluid drain at that time was not a good idea. So, home I went with a prescription for pain pills.
Two days later, (Tuesday) I had a regular appointment in Windsor with my oncologist. She had some concerns from the CT scan I had had in July and did not realize that I had had another one Sunday morning. She was unable to call that up (the hospitals are linked wirelessly) and did not want to make a decision about the fluid either until she had seen the most recent x-ray and scan. She is concerned that the cancer might have invaded my liver - NOT news I wanted to hear. However, not much I can do about it. We left it that I would have a regular appointment again Oct. 6.
Wednesday, Amy arrived after her own doctor’s appointment , which went very well. We packed and got ourselves ready for an early departure the next day. I was concerned to leave David for that long because of his dizzy spells and when Amy arrived and saw how he was, she called back to Kitchcner and asked if Lian could come to Chatham for longer than the weekend planned. Lian agreed; she’d arrive by supper Thursday and stay until Wed. morning. So, I felt much better about that – Mike would be down for the weekend, too.
Thursday morning we set off in high spirits to drive to Detroit to catch the plane. It is a direct flight to Austin of 2.5 hours – very doable on an oxygen concentrator. We had expected a lot of checking for my machine, but nobody was interested. I am able to be a ‘wheelchair person’ and that gets me a lot of other advantages getting through the airport to the gate. We had a good flight, Steve was waiting in the luggage area and it was 93F ! Yeah, Texas !
We had a wonderful week there. Amy had rented a little house through HomeAway.com that was only a few blocks from Steve and Kristen’s house, right in the neighbourhood that we knew. We just loved it ! Very well appointed and attractive. We had lots of meals out, lots of visits with Kristen’s mom, lots of good times and helped Steve celebrate his birthday. I saw Clay’s school and classroom (got the full tour!), went to his violin lesson, warched Emmy working on learning to crawl, and Lily just enjoying life. ( Lily is 2 and likes to be barefoot so that she has better traction. ) The last day, Steve and Kristen treated Amy and I to a morning at Lake Austin Spa, which we all enjoyed. Amy and I had facials and manicures and Steve and Kristen had pedicures – Steve wound up with ‘shiny toes’. It was a great day.
We returned to Detroit Thursday to a rainstorm and 60F weather – I wanted to get right back on the plane and go back to Texas. While we had been in Texas, there had been a call from my oncologist’s office saying that I had the fluid drain scheduled for Friday, Sept. 17. I was a little anxious (How big will that needle be, anyhow?) but it turned out to be quite easy. The radiologist removed 1.2 L of fluid; an ‘after’ x-ray showed that there was still more, so I might have to do it again. If so, it will be no problem.
Mike and Lian returned this past weekend and did their usual magic around the house. All my big ‘jungle’ of tropical plants are safely back in the house, back grass is cut, lovely meals prepared and eaten, groceries bought – all the things that I used to be able to do so effortlessly. We appreciate the help and love of our children so much. I truly don’t know what we would have done this year without that.
Today we have a doctor’s appointment for David to see if we can get some answers to these dizzy spells – I am hoping and praying for help for him with that.
So – things are going well, although the possibility of liver involvement is scary. I should find out more about that in October. Sometimes I feel like there is a monster lurking in my body, ready to pounce when I least expect it and that is very unnerving. However, those are also the moments when I have to make a conscious decision to trust in God’s ongoing care for me and turn away from that fear. Regardless of the outcome, I know that I live ‘under the bubble’ of His care; nothing happens to me that He does not know about or is not able to help me with. I just have to keep looking at Him and not the monster.
May God keep you today, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
The last week of August and the first week of September were pretty quiet – just the usual stuff. I had chemo on schedule; David had another trip to London for an eye check-up that went well. We enjoyed going to a pig roast one weekend and having lunch with another couple as well. I had a couple of solo lunch and dinner dates – an enjoyable time and I was feeling pretty good.
However, the Saturday night of Labour Day weekend, I had a lot of pain in my side during the night and I asked David to take me to Emerg. Sunday morning. We were there the whole morning – another CT scan and chest x-ray – and lots of waiting. However, I do have to say that they took me right in – didn’t even ‘touch down’ in the waiting room. The verdict was that I had a lot of fluid around my right lung but in light of my plans to fly to Texas later that week, doing a fluid drain at that time was not a good idea. So, home I went with a prescription for pain pills.
Two days later, (Tuesday) I had a regular appointment in Windsor with my oncologist. She had some concerns from the CT scan I had had in July and did not realize that I had had another one Sunday morning. She was unable to call that up (the hospitals are linked wirelessly) and did not want to make a decision about the fluid either until she had seen the most recent x-ray and scan. She is concerned that the cancer might have invaded my liver - NOT news I wanted to hear. However, not much I can do about it. We left it that I would have a regular appointment again Oct. 6.
Wednesday, Amy arrived after her own doctor’s appointment , which went very well. We packed and got ourselves ready for an early departure the next day. I was concerned to leave David for that long because of his dizzy spells and when Amy arrived and saw how he was, she called back to Kitchcner and asked if Lian could come to Chatham for longer than the weekend planned. Lian agreed; she’d arrive by supper Thursday and stay until Wed. morning. So, I felt much better about that – Mike would be down for the weekend, too.
Thursday morning we set off in high spirits to drive to Detroit to catch the plane. It is a direct flight to Austin of 2.5 hours – very doable on an oxygen concentrator. We had expected a lot of checking for my machine, but nobody was interested. I am able to be a ‘wheelchair person’ and that gets me a lot of other advantages getting through the airport to the gate. We had a good flight, Steve was waiting in the luggage area and it was 93F ! Yeah, Texas !
We had a wonderful week there. Amy had rented a little house through HomeAway.com that was only a few blocks from Steve and Kristen’s house, right in the neighbourhood that we knew. We just loved it ! Very well appointed and attractive. We had lots of meals out, lots of visits with Kristen’s mom, lots of good times and helped Steve celebrate his birthday. I saw Clay’s school and classroom (got the full tour!), went to his violin lesson, warched Emmy working on learning to crawl, and Lily just enjoying life. ( Lily is 2 and likes to be barefoot so that she has better traction. ) The last day, Steve and Kristen treated Amy and I to a morning at Lake Austin Spa, which we all enjoyed. Amy and I had facials and manicures and Steve and Kristen had pedicures – Steve wound up with ‘shiny toes’. It was a great day.
We returned to Detroit Thursday to a rainstorm and 60F weather – I wanted to get right back on the plane and go back to Texas. While we had been in Texas, there had been a call from my oncologist’s office saying that I had the fluid drain scheduled for Friday, Sept. 17. I was a little anxious (How big will that needle be, anyhow?) but it turned out to be quite easy. The radiologist removed 1.2 L of fluid; an ‘after’ x-ray showed that there was still more, so I might have to do it again. If so, it will be no problem.
Mike and Lian returned this past weekend and did their usual magic around the house. All my big ‘jungle’ of tropical plants are safely back in the house, back grass is cut, lovely meals prepared and eaten, groceries bought – all the things that I used to be able to do so effortlessly. We appreciate the help and love of our children so much. I truly don’t know what we would have done this year without that.
Today we have a doctor’s appointment for David to see if we can get some answers to these dizzy spells – I am hoping and praying for help for him with that.
So – things are going well, although the possibility of liver involvement is scary. I should find out more about that in October. Sometimes I feel like there is a monster lurking in my body, ready to pounce when I least expect it and that is very unnerving. However, those are also the moments when I have to make a conscious decision to trust in God’s ongoing care for me and turn away from that fear. Regardless of the outcome, I know that I live ‘under the bubble’ of His care; nothing happens to me that He does not know about or is not able to help me with. I just have to keep looking at Him and not the monster.
May God keep you today, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Update - August 26, 2010
Good morning ! All is well on our front! We returned to the Ivey Institute this past Tuesday for David’s eye check-up, prepared for the news that he might have to have surgery the next day. However, the report was great – eye was stable and healing and nothing else was necessary at that time. So we happily returned home and enjoyed a Wednesday free of appointments.
I had no treatments this week, either, so it has been a quiet time for both of us.
This followed a lovely birthday weekend for me – by Saturday, all four kids were home and we had a great time together. Steve took over the kitchen and fed people as they arrived but we went out to our favourite restaurant for supper. By Sunday they had to start leaving again but we had a good time together while it lasted. Pete was not on his way to Brazil as I had thought – he made a ‘boomerang trip’ from Seattle to be here and Steve flew up from Texas. Time together is the gift that I think I value the most anymore and I appreciated so much the effort that all of them made to be here.
Plans are in the works for Amy and I to fly to Texas for Steve’s birthday in September. We’ll be there for a week and I’m very pleased to think that I can do this and also that I will be able to be in Texas again. So – I really am feeling better !
Thank you again for your prayers and loving support. Hardly a day goes by without someone sending a card or some other thoughtful gift. I appreciate it all so much. May you be aware of God’s presence with you today as you go about your life.
I had no treatments this week, either, so it has been a quiet time for both of us.
This followed a lovely birthday weekend for me – by Saturday, all four kids were home and we had a great time together. Steve took over the kitchen and fed people as they arrived but we went out to our favourite restaurant for supper. By Sunday they had to start leaving again but we had a good time together while it lasted. Pete was not on his way to Brazil as I had thought – he made a ‘boomerang trip’ from Seattle to be here and Steve flew up from Texas. Time together is the gift that I think I value the most anymore and I appreciated so much the effort that all of them made to be here.
Plans are in the works for Amy and I to fly to Texas for Steve’s birthday in September. We’ll be there for a week and I’m very pleased to think that I can do this and also that I will be able to be in Texas again. So – I really am feeling better !
Thank you again for your prayers and loving support. Hardly a day goes by without someone sending a card or some other thoughtful gift. I appreciate it all so much. May you be aware of God’s presence with you today as you go about your life.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Update - August 19, 2010
Good morning ! It’s been a while since I updated this blog, but things have been happening again, as you will hear.
Last week, I had a chemo treatment on Monday (Aug. 9) as well as my second dose of the bone strengthener, Aredia. I was expecting to have a few ‘down days’ after that, as I had had the first time, but fortunately, that didn’t happen. No reaction to anything ! Wednesday afternoon, I was at the hospital for a respiratory test to see if I need additional oxygen ( would support funding for this.) It also went very well. However, on Wednesday David also began to notice that the cloudiness in his vision that he had been experiencing since July 28 was getting worse – big ‘floaters’ in his left (good) eye. When he woke up Thursday, he could hardly see out of the eye at all and was quite concerned, as the vision in his right eye is still not 100%. He called the optometrist for an appointment and we went in Friday morning.
When the optometrist looked at David’s eye, he decided to call the surgeon in London who had treated the right eye and we were asked to come up there as soon as we could. Fortunately, Amy had come here Thursday, intending to just pick up her dog, who had stayed with us while she was in Seattle the previous weekend. So – off we went, Amy driving. The surgeon – and several other people – had a good look in David’s eye and decided that it wasn’t immediately critical – but that we should return for the clinic at 8:30 Monday morning. This is at the Ivey Eye Institute, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in north London, north of Oxford and Richmond, if you know the city. For us, it is a 90 min. drive, so that meant up and out by 7:00 a.m.
After another careful check Monday morning, the surgeon decided that there was a tear on the retina and that he would ‘spot weld’ around it with a laser, to keep additional eye fluid from leaking in behind it and tearing it more. (The cloudiness had been caused by blood from the retina tear.) So – laser treatment (which hurt) and instructions to return at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, in case there had to be further surgery. Wednesday(yesterday)we got better news – the weld is holding but it needs more time to heal. No surgery needed – but come back next Tuesday (Aug. 24) for a check at 1:15 in case there needs to be surgery the next day. In between, in Tuesday, I had my second chemo treatment of this cycle, which went well, as usual.
So – no dull moments, still ! Amy was a real trouper – stayed with us and drove all the trips to London and then took herself off home Wednesday afternoon. We had been to London and back, including breakfast out, by noon that day ! She will return Friday, with Steve. This coming weekend is my 65th birthday – not sure how that happened – but we are looking forward to a family dinner together Saturday night. Pete is winging through from Seattle via Detroit on his way to Brazil again and will be here about 24 hours and Mike and Lian will come down Friday night or Saturday morning, once Mike gets over his jet lag from his trip to China this week. I can’t believe how the world of business just says casually to people – ‘Oh – you have to be in *** next week. Have you bought your ticket?” The amount of money spent on business airfare must be staggering.
Keep on praying, please !!
I will conclude by saying that I feel great and one could say almost healthy – just a little short of breath. I have to travel with my portable oxygen converter but it lets me go almost anywhere by myself. I also have to expect to be very tired by the end of the day and not get discouraged – a night’s rest and I am ‘topped up’ again. So things are really going very, very well for me. I appreciate all your prayers and concern. God has been so good and I am so thankful for each day.
Last week, I had a chemo treatment on Monday (Aug. 9) as well as my second dose of the bone strengthener, Aredia. I was expecting to have a few ‘down days’ after that, as I had had the first time, but fortunately, that didn’t happen. No reaction to anything ! Wednesday afternoon, I was at the hospital for a respiratory test to see if I need additional oxygen ( would support funding for this.) It also went very well. However, on Wednesday David also began to notice that the cloudiness in his vision that he had been experiencing since July 28 was getting worse – big ‘floaters’ in his left (good) eye. When he woke up Thursday, he could hardly see out of the eye at all and was quite concerned, as the vision in his right eye is still not 100%. He called the optometrist for an appointment and we went in Friday morning.
When the optometrist looked at David’s eye, he decided to call the surgeon in London who had treated the right eye and we were asked to come up there as soon as we could. Fortunately, Amy had come here Thursday, intending to just pick up her dog, who had stayed with us while she was in Seattle the previous weekend. So – off we went, Amy driving. The surgeon – and several other people – had a good look in David’s eye and decided that it wasn’t immediately critical – but that we should return for the clinic at 8:30 Monday morning. This is at the Ivey Eye Institute, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in north London, north of Oxford and Richmond, if you know the city. For us, it is a 90 min. drive, so that meant up and out by 7:00 a.m.
After another careful check Monday morning, the surgeon decided that there was a tear on the retina and that he would ‘spot weld’ around it with a laser, to keep additional eye fluid from leaking in behind it and tearing it more. (The cloudiness had been caused by blood from the retina tear.) So – laser treatment (which hurt) and instructions to return at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, in case there had to be further surgery. Wednesday(yesterday)we got better news – the weld is holding but it needs more time to heal. No surgery needed – but come back next Tuesday (Aug. 24) for a check at 1:15 in case there needs to be surgery the next day. In between, in Tuesday, I had my second chemo treatment of this cycle, which went well, as usual.
So – no dull moments, still ! Amy was a real trouper – stayed with us and drove all the trips to London and then took herself off home Wednesday afternoon. We had been to London and back, including breakfast out, by noon that day ! She will return Friday, with Steve. This coming weekend is my 65th birthday – not sure how that happened – but we are looking forward to a family dinner together Saturday night. Pete is winging through from Seattle via Detroit on his way to Brazil again and will be here about 24 hours and Mike and Lian will come down Friday night or Saturday morning, once Mike gets over his jet lag from his trip to China this week. I can’t believe how the world of business just says casually to people – ‘Oh – you have to be in *** next week. Have you bought your ticket?” The amount of money spent on business airfare must be staggering.
Keep on praying, please !!
I will conclude by saying that I feel great and one could say almost healthy – just a little short of breath. I have to travel with my portable oxygen converter but it lets me go almost anywhere by myself. I also have to expect to be very tired by the end of the day and not get discouraged – a night’s rest and I am ‘topped up’ again. So things are really going very, very well for me. I appreciate all your prayers and concern. God has been so good and I am so thankful for each day.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Update - Aug. 4, 2010
Good morning - not much to report this week. It's my 'week off' and I have nothing medical happening at all !
Last weekend, we made plans to drive to Dublin, Ohio, where David used to live and work. However, at the last minute, David's vertigo acted up and he felt unable to drive. I was all packed and primed to go somewhere, so we agreed that I would drive to Kitchener and spend the weekend with Amy. I enjoyed the drive and felt that I had taken another big step back towards a more normal life. (It's about 2 hours from here.) I also had time with Mike and Lian, who live in the same city.
This coming Friday evening, Pete and Jocelyn are having a reception in Seattle for their friends who could not make it to Detroit in June. Amy, Steve and Mike and Lian are all going to be there. I will be there in spirit, as David probably will also, but that's as close as I can make it. Even if I took the trip out there successfully, it's not starting until 7:00 PDT (a reasonable time, to be sure) but that is 10:00 p.m. EDT and I am usuially done and horizontal long before that. So, I will wait to hear the stories.
That's pretty well all there is to say for now - just a regular week, normal life, trying to keep up with the house chores and figure out what to have for supper, the perpetual question. Hope you have a good week at whatever you are up to.
Last weekend, we made plans to drive to Dublin, Ohio, where David used to live and work. However, at the last minute, David's vertigo acted up and he felt unable to drive. I was all packed and primed to go somewhere, so we agreed that I would drive to Kitchener and spend the weekend with Amy. I enjoyed the drive and felt that I had taken another big step back towards a more normal life. (It's about 2 hours from here.) I also had time with Mike and Lian, who live in the same city.
This coming Friday evening, Pete and Jocelyn are having a reception in Seattle for their friends who could not make it to Detroit in June. Amy, Steve and Mike and Lian are all going to be there. I will be there in spirit, as David probably will also, but that's as close as I can make it. Even if I took the trip out there successfully, it's not starting until 7:00 PDT (a reasonable time, to be sure) but that is 10:00 p.m. EDT and I am usuially done and horizontal long before that. So, I will wait to hear the stories.
That's pretty well all there is to say for now - just a regular week, normal life, trying to keep up with the house chores and figure out what to have for supper, the perpetual question. Hope you have a good week at whatever you are up to.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Update - July 27, 2010
Good morning – two weeks since I last reported in but I have quite a bit of news to tell you.
Last week was quite busy – on Monday, (July 19) my chemo day, it was discovered that my hemoglobin was down to 81 (from the normal 120 or so) and I almost didn’t get my chemo. (This happens when you are given chemo over a long period of time – it destroys fast-growing cells and the red blood cells in your bone marrow would be one of the ones ‘under attack’. They said it was surprising that I hadn’t already had a transfusion, due to the amount of chemo that I have had.) I was scheduled for a blood transfusion Wednesday morning – 2 units and 4+ hours to do this! Then Tuesday afternoon, I already had appointments in Windsor for a CT scan and bone scan. For the bone scan, you get a needle of radioactive dye that has to circulate through your body and you have to wait while it does that. I got the needle at 1:30 but had to wait for the scan until 4:15 – and then it took most of an hour. Lots of practice waiting ! The rest of the week was fairly quiet; a good thing, because it was still very hot and humid.
Amy came back Sunday to be with us for my chemo yesterday morning and also for the trip to Windsor to hear about the results from the scans. I was quite anxious – more than I realized – and afraid that I was going to hear that my bones looked like Swiss cheese. However, God is good and so was the news ! I have only the two metastases on my head – lumpy head – and the CT scan showed that my liver is still clear, so I am clean, clean, clean except for the cancer in my lungs. Such a relief !!! The doctor explained that the CT scan also showed progression of that cancer since April but that she didn’t feel it was accurate – that I had dropped farther after the CT scan in April than we realized and was now on the upward swing but still not back to where I was in April. However, I feel extremely well and everything is working very well – breathing especially – so we are going with that. The blood transfusion has helped with my energy levels – no red blood cells, no oxygen, no energy – and my colour is better too – according to onlookers!
We celebrated this good news by going to a Red Lobster in Windsor and ordering lobster ! Haven’t had one for years ! It was quite an exercise – they don’t cut it open for you as some places do, so you have to wrestle it ‘to the ground’ all by yourself. But boy! Did it taste good!
We are contemplating actually going away on a weekend trip to see if we remember how to do it – haven’t been too many places since all of this started. We did make it up to a park on the St. Clair River south of Sarnia, one of our favourite places, to have a little picnic a week ago Sunday and enjoyed that. For those of you who don’t live in this area, that’s the river between the USA and Canada, and between Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. You can look across and watch road traffic in the USA on the other side and if you were a good swimmer you might be able to swim across. There’s always a good chance of seeing a lake freighter, too – pretty impressive at close quarters.
So I am very happy to report this good news to you and to thank you once again for all your support and prayers, especially during the last few months when things looked pretty black. I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be here long past October now but each of us only has today and I am still practicing living in ‘now’.
May God’s presence be known to you today.
Last week was quite busy – on Monday, (July 19) my chemo day, it was discovered that my hemoglobin was down to 81 (from the normal 120 or so) and I almost didn’t get my chemo. (This happens when you are given chemo over a long period of time – it destroys fast-growing cells and the red blood cells in your bone marrow would be one of the ones ‘under attack’. They said it was surprising that I hadn’t already had a transfusion, due to the amount of chemo that I have had.) I was scheduled for a blood transfusion Wednesday morning – 2 units and 4+ hours to do this! Then Tuesday afternoon, I already had appointments in Windsor for a CT scan and bone scan. For the bone scan, you get a needle of radioactive dye that has to circulate through your body and you have to wait while it does that. I got the needle at 1:30 but had to wait for the scan until 4:15 – and then it took most of an hour. Lots of practice waiting ! The rest of the week was fairly quiet; a good thing, because it was still very hot and humid.
Amy came back Sunday to be with us for my chemo yesterday morning and also for the trip to Windsor to hear about the results from the scans. I was quite anxious – more than I realized – and afraid that I was going to hear that my bones looked like Swiss cheese. However, God is good and so was the news ! I have only the two metastases on my head – lumpy head – and the CT scan showed that my liver is still clear, so I am clean, clean, clean except for the cancer in my lungs. Such a relief !!! The doctor explained that the CT scan also showed progression of that cancer since April but that she didn’t feel it was accurate – that I had dropped farther after the CT scan in April than we realized and was now on the upward swing but still not back to where I was in April. However, I feel extremely well and everything is working very well – breathing especially – so we are going with that. The blood transfusion has helped with my energy levels – no red blood cells, no oxygen, no energy – and my colour is better too – according to onlookers!
We celebrated this good news by going to a Red Lobster in Windsor and ordering lobster ! Haven’t had one for years ! It was quite an exercise – they don’t cut it open for you as some places do, so you have to wrestle it ‘to the ground’ all by yourself. But boy! Did it taste good!
We are contemplating actually going away on a weekend trip to see if we remember how to do it – haven’t been too many places since all of this started. We did make it up to a park on the St. Clair River south of Sarnia, one of our favourite places, to have a little picnic a week ago Sunday and enjoyed that. For those of you who don’t live in this area, that’s the river between the USA and Canada, and between Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. You can look across and watch road traffic in the USA on the other side and if you were a good swimmer you might be able to swim across. There’s always a good chance of seeing a lake freighter, too – pretty impressive at close quarters.
So I am very happy to report this good news to you and to thank you once again for all your support and prayers, especially during the last few months when things looked pretty black. I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be here long past October now but each of us only has today and I am still practicing living in ‘now’.
May God’s presence be known to you today.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Update - July 12, 2010
Good morning – hard to believe it’s been this long since I updated the blog but things have been busy, as you will see.
We came home from the weddings two weeks ago today – arrived home about 3:30 in the afternoon from Kitchener. I went out for groceries about 5:00 p.m. and as I was arriving back home at 5:30, David saw me and decided to come and help. He stood up quickly, forgetting that he needs to be slower and to wait, because of his vertigo problems. He made it to the door of his den, realized that he was going to fall and turned to go back to his desk chair. He didn’t make it – he passed out and fell, striking his face on the edge of his desk and falling with his head under it. I was in the house by then and rushed in to see what was happening. I could see that he was bleeding but not from where. He was groggy and couldn’t move himself, but in a few minutes he was able to roll over onto his back and out from under the desk. He had bruised his face and was bleeding around his left eye. I decided an ambulance was the only option and he agreed. He was taken to ER after being checked out and eventually had 6 stitches under his eye. However, he is on blood thinners and that caused tremendous bleeding; most of his face turned dark purple and his eyes were terribly swollen for a few days. He still has vestiges of the bruising two weeks later.
A neighbour saw the ambulance and came over to check it out. She took me to the ER and stayed with me, eventually bringing David home as well. It was quite shocking and very painful for him as well; he had a headache for several days and didn’t wear his contacts because of his bloodshot eyes. Most of that seems to have passed now. I was very impressed with the ambulance crew – their kindness and their efficiency.
A week ago today, I had two doctor’s appointments in Windsor. In the morning, I saw the radiologist, who confirmed that the treatment the first week of May had been very effective in improving my breathing and reducing the tumour that was restricting the airflow. I do not need to see him again unless my oncologist feels it is necessary. (This would be because there was another tumour in my lung that was possibly treatable by radiation.) In the afternoon, I saw my oncologist and the news from her was more mixed. She showed me my two chest x-rays from May and June and pointed out the improvements – less compression of my heart, more breathing room in my left lung – all very good news. This shows that the new chemo is having an effect and I will be staying on it indefinitely (as long as it is working, at this point.) I have a weekly treatment for two weeks and then the third week off. The bad news was that the lump on my head is a bone metastasis and that the cancer is spreading to bones as well as lungs. However, she was quite matter-of-fact about it and said, “This is what it is; this is what we are going to do.” I am now on an additional medicine called Aredia which is not chemo but a bone-strengthener. It is also used for osteoarthritis. Tuesday, I went for my chemo in Chatham and wound up getting the Aredia right away. It didn’t have any effect at the time, but I had a low fever that night and spent the next two days in bed, just wiped out. I didn’t feel nauseated or anything – just had no energy and actually slept for part of Wednesday, quite unusual for me. I’m still coming around from it and do not feel anything like I felt at the weddings – but there are other contributing factors to that, I’m sure. I will have a treatment of Aredia every three weeks.
Amy was with us all week and Mike and Lian came down for part of the weekend but everyone went home last night and today it’s just David and I.
I’m struggling with this bone cancer diagnosis; I was feeling so well at the time of the weddings that I thought I might get a break and be ‘normal’ for a while. Now I have to figure out what this means and what consequences I will have to deal with – not too positive the last couple of days, I must admit. However, I have been reminded by several family members that I am much better than I was in April and that I have just come through a fairly intense time of travel and emotion and I should give myself a break. So I am trying to do just that. I’m really not a good patient – I can cope with an illness as long as I don’t feel bad!
I know that God is still in this with me and I continue to trust in His guidance – blindly, sometimes, like a little kid hanging onto a parent’s hand or coat – but trusting in the knowledge, wisdom, purpose and love of the One who is leading. Thank you so much for your prayers – there are so many of you who are so kind to remember me.
We came home from the weddings two weeks ago today – arrived home about 3:30 in the afternoon from Kitchener. I went out for groceries about 5:00 p.m. and as I was arriving back home at 5:30, David saw me and decided to come and help. He stood up quickly, forgetting that he needs to be slower and to wait, because of his vertigo problems. He made it to the door of his den, realized that he was going to fall and turned to go back to his desk chair. He didn’t make it – he passed out and fell, striking his face on the edge of his desk and falling with his head under it. I was in the house by then and rushed in to see what was happening. I could see that he was bleeding but not from where. He was groggy and couldn’t move himself, but in a few minutes he was able to roll over onto his back and out from under the desk. He had bruised his face and was bleeding around his left eye. I decided an ambulance was the only option and he agreed. He was taken to ER after being checked out and eventually had 6 stitches under his eye. However, he is on blood thinners and that caused tremendous bleeding; most of his face turned dark purple and his eyes were terribly swollen for a few days. He still has vestiges of the bruising two weeks later.
A neighbour saw the ambulance and came over to check it out. She took me to the ER and stayed with me, eventually bringing David home as well. It was quite shocking and very painful for him as well; he had a headache for several days and didn’t wear his contacts because of his bloodshot eyes. Most of that seems to have passed now. I was very impressed with the ambulance crew – their kindness and their efficiency.
A week ago today, I had two doctor’s appointments in Windsor. In the morning, I saw the radiologist, who confirmed that the treatment the first week of May had been very effective in improving my breathing and reducing the tumour that was restricting the airflow. I do not need to see him again unless my oncologist feels it is necessary. (This would be because there was another tumour in my lung that was possibly treatable by radiation.) In the afternoon, I saw my oncologist and the news from her was more mixed. She showed me my two chest x-rays from May and June and pointed out the improvements – less compression of my heart, more breathing room in my left lung – all very good news. This shows that the new chemo is having an effect and I will be staying on it indefinitely (as long as it is working, at this point.) I have a weekly treatment for two weeks and then the third week off. The bad news was that the lump on my head is a bone metastasis and that the cancer is spreading to bones as well as lungs. However, she was quite matter-of-fact about it and said, “This is what it is; this is what we are going to do.” I am now on an additional medicine called Aredia which is not chemo but a bone-strengthener. It is also used for osteoarthritis. Tuesday, I went for my chemo in Chatham and wound up getting the Aredia right away. It didn’t have any effect at the time, but I had a low fever that night and spent the next two days in bed, just wiped out. I didn’t feel nauseated or anything – just had no energy and actually slept for part of Wednesday, quite unusual for me. I’m still coming around from it and do not feel anything like I felt at the weddings – but there are other contributing factors to that, I’m sure. I will have a treatment of Aredia every three weeks.
Amy was with us all week and Mike and Lian came down for part of the weekend but everyone went home last night and today it’s just David and I.
I’m struggling with this bone cancer diagnosis; I was feeling so well at the time of the weddings that I thought I might get a break and be ‘normal’ for a while. Now I have to figure out what this means and what consequences I will have to deal with – not too positive the last couple of days, I must admit. However, I have been reminded by several family members that I am much better than I was in April and that I have just come through a fairly intense time of travel and emotion and I should give myself a break. So I am trying to do just that. I’m really not a good patient – I can cope with an illness as long as I don’t feel bad!
I know that God is still in this with me and I continue to trust in His guidance – blindly, sometimes, like a little kid hanging onto a parent’s hand or coat – but trusting in the knowledge, wisdom, purpose and love of the One who is leading. Thank you so much for your prayers – there are so many of you who are so kind to remember me.
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