Wow, a week off (of chemo) can "almost" make a cancer patient feel.....normal? Doug had radiation every day but no chemo pump. His week of showers was nice! He is still extremely fatigued but ate better this week, he actually gained 3 pounds back (he had lost 10.) Still not able to go anywhere that didn't have a toilet conveniently available though. He did go to work 4 days.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of mowing on a gorgeous Saturday. It's my first time on this mower and after the first 2 hours I decided power steering or one of those knob thingys on the steering wheel would have been nice. My Grandpa Heying had one on one of his tractors and I always thought they were so cool! It's a man's machine. We used to have a (smaller) Dixon Zero turning radius and I could run that baby like no body's business! Anyway after 5 hours it looked pretty good and my sense of satisfaction was definitely met. On Sunday Andy my big brother came over and cleaned gutters, weed whacked and leaf blew. It was awesome. I attempted to use the weed eater for the first time and after Doug had to "fix" it when I broke the string 3 times, I gave that up! Andy offered to do a huge weed whack of the front area of the house so I took him up on it. I can't tell you how much I appreciated his help. The rest of the day I spent raking and hauling stuff to the burn pile. At one point Doug came out and mentioned pulling out 3 trees (2 volunteer and one intentional) that I had been wanting OUT of there for along time. I was all "don't offer if you don't mean it!" So he got the truck and drove and instructed me in the best way to put the chain on, etc. (those of you that know Doug well know what I mean:) We got them pulled out and I loaded them in the truck and we hauled them to brush dump pile in a corner of our field. Just as soon as we got back to the house he was done. Just about over did it. It looks ............bare......but really good in my opinion :)
So he "just" had radiation on Monday. We saw the Specialty nurse on Tuesday as Dr Travis was totally booked. She took all the info then went and consulted with him and he advised to start back on the pump Tue - Sat. Staci also suggested he come in for iv fluids / nutrition. She scheduled him for about every other day and if he felt like he didn't need it he could call and cancel. He worked Monday - Thursday this week and had to take Friday off. Fortunately Friday I got off in time to come home and get him and take him to treatment. He got iv fluids Friday and since his port was running chemo it can't be used for anything else (unless he had a double port which his mom had and we don't want that!) So he had a dreaded needle stick in the under side of his fore arm. All the needle sticks I've seen on my two boys and that's the first time I've ever seen it there. It worked though and his color went from pasty to normal. P.T.L. :) After that was his last radiation for the week. Boy I pray this is working to shrink the tumor. His tailbone is burnt from the radiation as is the front more private area. Our nephew's wife makes skin care products and she blessed us with a whole box of stuff so we are trying that along with another lotion called Renew by Mellaluca. I used that on Eric's chest when he had radiation and it worked well.
Today (Saturday) we went to H.O.G. in Fayetteville to get de-accessed and de-pumped. Last time we were there they just flushed his port with heparin and pulled the needle. Today there was 4 ml left (which would have been about 4 hours but they close at noon - sharp) so she pushed the rest of it in in about 30 seconds. He told her just to skip it he didn't care but she kept on until he said "now I'm going to feel like crap for the rest of the day." She stopped with 1 ml left. (We thought maybe she would get in trouble if there was too much left in the pump?) And yep, we barely made it home :( He went right to bed and got up about 4 hours later, ate watched the Iowa game for a little while and went back to bed. He's soaking in a tub of magnesium and bubbles right now. He's feeling quite a bit more pain where the tumor is. Shrink and Die you cursed thing!!!!
We got Eric's monthly blood work last Friday. Everything looks good with only one number that's a little wonky. The nurse at ACH emailed the results and said it had been 2 years since Eric's echo of his heart so she scheduled one for his appointment Oct. 10th. I guess since the out of pocket has been met for him, why not? :)
I got to work in the office 4 days this week, 1 on my route. Always fun for a change and to get to work with my friend Denise. Mon-Thur I did the regular bulk pickup at the pharmacy warehouse. It's not heavy just a bit monotonous but the TUL truck driver and I pass the time with trivia from 70's television shows. I know, "really?" but you should try it sometime! I just feel blessed to have some extra hours for the extra need :)
Doug has been drinking the nutrition packed Isagenix drinks every morning. I truly think this (along with a few supplements) and fruit smoothies is keeping him well. Next week I plan to go to the natural Dr and get the supplements specifically for his condition.
Thank you to all that have sent cards and blessed us in soooo many ways. A friend from church thanked me for being so transparent. This is our season right now and as stinky as it is we are so thankful for God's grace and mercy every single day.
As always, thank you sooo much for your prayers. I can't imagine going thru this without the Lord and support of family and friends.
We love you all!
Jan
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