A good day. Anne had breakfast and was fine afterwards. She had lunch and did OK. And she has been up walking twice. Each time she took a lap around the Gibson floor which is 1/14 of a mile each time.
She's been sitting in a chair at her window today, which is a first, so she is just feeling better.
Anne requested pain medication twice today, and nausea medication three times. The pain in the esophagus is always present, and she only asks for pain meds when it is bad. She has been having some hickups today which she is very uncomfortable with.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Day 44, Friday, 8:05pm
The hydration was just what the Dr. ordered. She really needed that, and she perked up right away and she looks and feels good.
At 7pm we had some dinner and Anne had asked for nausea meds ahead of time. She got some of the new Nytril about a half hour before eating. She ate a good supper and seems to be fine.
I'm thinking it was a mistake to take Anne off of the hydration last night, but hind sight is 20/20. We move on from here and hope for a good night tonight,and better day tomorrow.
Anne is like a different person tonight. No stress in her face.
Friends, thanks for reading, and for your prayers. I'm packing it in for another round trip. More tomorrow. Thanks again.
At 7pm we had some dinner and Anne had asked for nausea meds ahead of time. She got some of the new Nytril about a half hour before eating. She ate a good supper and seems to be fine.
I'm thinking it was a mistake to take Anne off of the hydration last night, but hind sight is 20/20. We move on from here and hope for a good night tonight,and better day tomorrow.
Anne is like a different person tonight. No stress in her face.
Friends, thanks for reading, and for your prayers. I'm packing it in for another round trip. More tomorrow. Thanks again.
Day 44, Friday, 4:10pm
Dr Ebrahim came in around 4pm. He says to Anne, "you look the same". Anne says, "I don't feel good". He said "then you aren't goin anywhere, else you'll be calling me at 2am asking me how to get back in here". Anne didn't argue.
Since Anne has gotten a bad taste in her mouth for the Zorfram (which she used for several weeks now) he has replaced it with Kytril for nausea. He said it is in the Zorfram family, and is a 12 hour drug.
Anne asked for some pain med at 3:45 this afternoon because of pain in the esophagus. She got some hydromorphone delivered.
She explained to the Dr that she is very lifeless and tired, so he is going to restart the dydration which was discontinued last night. Another reason is that she has such a hard time drinking with the sores in her mouth. Hydration always has a good effect on Anne, so I look forward to her feeling better shortly. The Dr. would like to see her taking R/T again on Monday as an outpatient, meaning back in Scarborough at MCCM. That is a goal. Let's hope the hydration gives Anne some energy.
Anne asked for some real soda so she's having some sprite (which is a first), so that's another good sign.
I feel so bad for Anne. She is just filled with so much courage it's hard to imagine.
What a long strange trip it's been!
Since Anne has gotten a bad taste in her mouth for the Zorfram (which she used for several weeks now) he has replaced it with Kytril for nausea. He said it is in the Zorfram family, and is a 12 hour drug.
Anne asked for some pain med at 3:45 this afternoon because of pain in the esophagus. She got some hydromorphone delivered.
She explained to the Dr that she is very lifeless and tired, so he is going to restart the dydration which was discontinued last night. Another reason is that she has such a hard time drinking with the sores in her mouth. Hydration always has a good effect on Anne, so I look forward to her feeling better shortly. The Dr. would like to see her taking R/T again on Monday as an outpatient, meaning back in Scarborough at MCCM. That is a goal. Let's hope the hydration gives Anne some energy.
Anne asked for some real soda so she's having some sprite (which is a first), so that's another good sign.
I feel so bad for Anne. She is just filled with so much courage it's hard to imagine.
What a long strange trip it's been!
Day 44, Friday, 02:55pm
Hi all,
Well the house didn't float away overnight, but lots of roads were flooded and closed on the way home. I walked thru 3" rushing water on the driveway to get from there to the house last night. The house was becoming an island with much water in the front and side yards. Then early this morning the rain stopped and all the ditches drained into the river which very high, only 5' from the road. No water in the basement, and no leaks anywhere, so all is well.
Anne is having a better day today than yesterday. She called me at home early, and didn't need me to bring anything in. She had some breakfast and tollerated that pretty well, except for some nausea. She got some nausea meds mid morning, started feeling better, no vomitting, and she had a good nap.
Her mouth is very sore today, and she struggles to speak and eating is difficult. I can see the sores on her lips and toung now and it looks painful. Who knows how long that side effect will last, but probably until the chemo works it's way out of her system.
She felt good at lunchtime, had some late lunch, and she is having some nausea from that now, but she hasn't requested any meds for that yet. She says she's ok. She had another nice nap after lunch.
Dr. Ebrahim had been in before I got here this morning and Anne told him she wants to go home. He said he'd come back to see her this afternoon to discuss that. Anne has only been up for one walk, and that was this noontime. It concerns me that she isn't interested in trying to walk some more, but what do I know. She isn't saying much about how she feels because it hurts her to talk. Something interesting that Dr. Ebrahim said yesterday was that he believed it was the two half doses of chemo from last Thursday (Cysplatin) that made her sick on Monday and not that (5F-U) which was pumped in over the weekend.
Right now Anne is kinda resting with a touch of nausea, being quiet and doing pretty well. We're waiting to see what Dr. Ebrahim has to say. I feel that Anne is a bit discouraged today, and certainly tired of having to use so many drugs, and she's tired. I'd bet that she doesn't get to go home till hopefully tomorrow, if not then Sunday. We'll see, but for sure some fresh air will do her good.
We can see a team practicing lacrosse out on the astroturf at Fitzpatrick Stadium. It's a good sign of spring, but it's only February.
Well the house didn't float away overnight, but lots of roads were flooded and closed on the way home. I walked thru 3" rushing water on the driveway to get from there to the house last night. The house was becoming an island with much water in the front and side yards. Then early this morning the rain stopped and all the ditches drained into the river which very high, only 5' from the road. No water in the basement, and no leaks anywhere, so all is well.
Anne is having a better day today than yesterday. She called me at home early, and didn't need me to bring anything in. She had some breakfast and tollerated that pretty well, except for some nausea. She got some nausea meds mid morning, started feeling better, no vomitting, and she had a good nap.
Her mouth is very sore today, and she struggles to speak and eating is difficult. I can see the sores on her lips and toung now and it looks painful. Who knows how long that side effect will last, but probably until the chemo works it's way out of her system.
She felt good at lunchtime, had some late lunch, and she is having some nausea from that now, but she hasn't requested any meds for that yet. She says she's ok. She had another nice nap after lunch.
Dr. Ebrahim had been in before I got here this morning and Anne told him she wants to go home. He said he'd come back to see her this afternoon to discuss that. Anne has only been up for one walk, and that was this noontime. It concerns me that she isn't interested in trying to walk some more, but what do I know. She isn't saying much about how she feels because it hurts her to talk. Something interesting that Dr. Ebrahim said yesterday was that he believed it was the two half doses of chemo from last Thursday (Cysplatin) that made her sick on Monday and not that (5F-U) which was pumped in over the weekend.
Right now Anne is kinda resting with a touch of nausea, being quiet and doing pretty well. We're waiting to see what Dr. Ebrahim has to say. I feel that Anne is a bit discouraged today, and certainly tired of having to use so many drugs, and she's tired. I'd bet that she doesn't get to go home till hopefully tomorrow, if not then Sunday. We'll see, but for sure some fresh air will do her good.
We can see a team practicing lacrosse out on the astroturf at Fitzpatrick Stadium. It's a good sign of spring, but it's only February.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Day 43, Thursday, 5:45pm
This has been a pretty good afternoon for Anne with no real sickness or diareah.
We had lunch together. Anne orders from room service, and I go to the caf. Anne had some humus, a plain wrap, and some oatmeal. She tried some hot chocolate but never finished that. It was a good lunch which she seemed to tollerate pretty well. There was some nausea which was treated with meds, but no real sickness.
Mid afternoon Dr. Ebrahim came by. He is a good Doctor. He is setting it up so Anne can resume R/T on Monday. He said "the R/T is not being done to cure the problem, rather it's a pre-surgery step to improve the situation, so, it isn't so important that Anne's R/T program has become interrupted". He said he is 'on' all this weekend, so when Anne is ready to go home, he'll be here to release her. He said she needs to be eating, processing food, and walking.
The Dr is going to discontinue her hydration IV for the night to see if Anne can do will without that.
Anne is ready to get cleaned up this afternoon. She wants to take a shower by herself. When she is all set for this, Nurse Cheryl will assist and will remove her medi-port. It has been in for 7 days now, and it is time to replace the access mechanism to the port. All of this happened this afternoon. After her shower Anne had some nausea, and she has had some Ativan thru the IV for that. Now she is resting comfortably contemplating something to eat. She must order from room service before 6:30pm if she wants something tonight.
Anne is concerned about the water at our house, with all the heavy rain today, 4" to 6". I guess she thinks the house might float away, which it almost has a couple of times over the years. Maybe she'll kick me out of here early tonight. Adam went over to feed Dixie on his way home from work tonight. Anne has decided to just have a pnut butter and jelly sandwich tonight, nothing from room service. I can make that here on the floor. If she's a good girl I may trim the crust off of the bread for her.
We had lunch together. Anne orders from room service, and I go to the caf. Anne had some humus, a plain wrap, and some oatmeal. She tried some hot chocolate but never finished that. It was a good lunch which she seemed to tollerate pretty well. There was some nausea which was treated with meds, but no real sickness.
Mid afternoon Dr. Ebrahim came by. He is a good Doctor. He is setting it up so Anne can resume R/T on Monday. He said "the R/T is not being done to cure the problem, rather it's a pre-surgery step to improve the situation, so, it isn't so important that Anne's R/T program has become interrupted". He said he is 'on' all this weekend, so when Anne is ready to go home, he'll be here to release her. He said she needs to be eating, processing food, and walking.
The Dr is going to discontinue her hydration IV for the night to see if Anne can do will without that.
Anne is ready to get cleaned up this afternoon. She wants to take a shower by herself. When she is all set for this, Nurse Cheryl will assist and will remove her medi-port. It has been in for 7 days now, and it is time to replace the access mechanism to the port. All of this happened this afternoon. After her shower Anne had some nausea, and she has had some Ativan thru the IV for that. Now she is resting comfortably contemplating something to eat. She must order from room service before 6:30pm if she wants something tonight.
Anne is concerned about the water at our house, with all the heavy rain today, 4" to 6". I guess she thinks the house might float away, which it almost has a couple of times over the years. Maybe she'll kick me out of here early tonight. Adam went over to feed Dixie on his way home from work tonight. Anne has decided to just have a pnut butter and jelly sandwich tonight, nothing from room service. I can make that here on the floor. If she's a good girl I may trim the crust off of the bread for her.
Day 43, Thursday, Noon
I got here for 9am today, and Anne was a sight for sore eyes. She looked great and had good color in her face. She had ordered something to eat, and she was waiting to have breakfast with me. It looked like all she had was plain yogurt, a small banana muffin, and some cranberry juice. She was feeling good. We have a new roommate this morning. I told her I was bored with the bobsled racing in the Olympics, and she lets me know it involves skill, she likes it, and she likes all the events. She always has been a great race fan. She sees things I don't even notice when we go to the stock car races in the summer, she knows her stuff. She's having a good mornin.
Anne couldn't finish the cranberry juice because of the mouth sores and sore throat. She said it's not the ordinary sore throat, rather it is definately related to the chemo, and different. She swishes with two liquids every so often to help with this, but it appears that she is struggling more and more with this particular side effect, so I looked into it and read where it can very painful, even to where pain meds are needed just for that. We hope it won't get to that. Whatever develops, Anne will get by it. She is known for saying "this too shall pass".
At 11am a Reiki practitioner came by. I had requested this for Anne yesterday. She asks him to wait till her meds come.
At the same time Anne is having discomfort, pain in her chest, and is needing to use the bathroom. She requested pain medication from Nurse Jess who seems wonderful. Anne didn't vomit or have any diareah this time, progress(???). We've been tryin to time her nausea meds better so that she can tollerate what she eats, and maybe that strategy is working. It was Anne's idea.
At noon Anne is having a hard time keeping her eyes open. She wispers to me "one more week". I'm sure she is thinking about finishing the 7 more radiation treatments. I didn't have a chance to ask whether she enjoyed the Reiki session. She's was on the phone with Luke when I came back into the room! She's pretty tired, she reminds me to get some lunch, and she falls asleep.
I want to let Luke and Erika know that when they call it's like rolling dice. There's a chance it might be a strong moment, or a weak moment, and they shouldn't be discouraged if they happen to call at a weak moment. They could just as likely call when Anne is 'up' and have a great conversation with their Mom. As we have said, Anne is on a roller coaster this week.
It's 12:30pm, Anne is resting, and it looks like she'll sleep thru the lunch hour.
Anne couldn't finish the cranberry juice because of the mouth sores and sore throat. She said it's not the ordinary sore throat, rather it is definately related to the chemo, and different. She swishes with two liquids every so often to help with this, but it appears that she is struggling more and more with this particular side effect, so I looked into it and read where it can very painful, even to where pain meds are needed just for that. We hope it won't get to that. Whatever develops, Anne will get by it. She is known for saying "this too shall pass".
At 11am a Reiki practitioner came by. I had requested this for Anne yesterday. She asks him to wait till her meds come.
At the same time Anne is having discomfort, pain in her chest, and is needing to use the bathroom. She requested pain medication from Nurse Jess who seems wonderful. Anne didn't vomit or have any diareah this time, progress(???). We've been tryin to time her nausea meds better so that she can tollerate what she eats, and maybe that strategy is working. It was Anne's idea.
At noon Anne is having a hard time keeping her eyes open. She wispers to me "one more week". I'm sure she is thinking about finishing the 7 more radiation treatments. I didn't have a chance to ask whether she enjoyed the Reiki session. She's was on the phone with Luke when I came back into the room! She's pretty tired, she reminds me to get some lunch, and she falls asleep.
I want to let Luke and Erika know that when they call it's like rolling dice. There's a chance it might be a strong moment, or a weak moment, and they shouldn't be discouraged if they happen to call at a weak moment. They could just as likely call when Anne is 'up' and have a great conversation with their Mom. As we have said, Anne is on a roller coaster this week.
It's 12:30pm, Anne is resting, and it looks like she'll sleep thru the lunch hour.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day 42, Weds., 8:45pm
Hi friends,
Anne had a good sleep till around 5:45pm, and she was doing well when she woke up from that. She ordered some pasta, and some squash to eat for supper, with a plan to take the anti-nausea meds before eating. She needs to wait to 8pm before she can have any Ativan, and the Nurse is certain that is the only thing that will do Anne any good. I'm not so sure about that, but Anne is OK waiting till 8pm.
We have a pretty good early evening, then Anne gets up to use the bathroom at 7:30. While she is in there she has a violent bout with vomitting, and we call for the Nurse to help. Sarah finally comes in to assist Anne. She explains that all the others are busy with admissions that came in. I don't buy it, but it is what it is. They seems to be shorthanded right now.
Anne comes out and is in rough shape. This lasts until the anti-nausea meds are given at 8pm. At 8:30 Anne stated that she cannot have any of the food she ordered, but she asks me for some toast. I make two slices and use margerine and p-nut butter and Anne loves that and is satisfy. It is now 8:52 and she is getting tired from the food and Ativan. I will start to pack it in and drive home before long.
She is enjoying the Olympics and I hope she has a good night. She deserves it.
Dana took care of Dixie mid day because Laurie is not feeling well, and Adam went over this evening to feed her. I really appreciate having this help. I'll go home and spend some time with ol'Dixie shortly.
Anne had a good sleep till around 5:45pm, and she was doing well when she woke up from that. She ordered some pasta, and some squash to eat for supper, with a plan to take the anti-nausea meds before eating. She needs to wait to 8pm before she can have any Ativan, and the Nurse is certain that is the only thing that will do Anne any good. I'm not so sure about that, but Anne is OK waiting till 8pm.
We have a pretty good early evening, then Anne gets up to use the bathroom at 7:30. While she is in there she has a violent bout with vomitting, and we call for the Nurse to help. Sarah finally comes in to assist Anne. She explains that all the others are busy with admissions that came in. I don't buy it, but it is what it is. They seems to be shorthanded right now.
Anne comes out and is in rough shape. This lasts until the anti-nausea meds are given at 8pm. At 8:30 Anne stated that she cannot have any of the food she ordered, but she asks me for some toast. I make two slices and use margerine and p-nut butter and Anne loves that and is satisfy. It is now 8:52 and she is getting tired from the food and Ativan. I will start to pack it in and drive home before long.
She is enjoying the Olympics and I hope she has a good night. She deserves it.
Dana took care of Dixie mid day because Laurie is not feeling well, and Adam went over this evening to feed her. I really appreciate having this help. I'll go home and spend some time with ol'Dixie shortly.
Day 42, Weds, 2:40pm
Today it was my turn to call Anne at 6:35am. She was asleep, therefore disoriented when she answered, so I was sorry I called. Anyway....she didn't need anything from home.
This is setting up to be another up and down day.
When I got into Maine Med it was 9am, and Dr. Ebrahim had already been in to see Anne. He had told her that she would be staying in the hospital till at least Friday. He thought she might resume R/T on Thursday or Friday.
Anne wasn't in very much distress or pain early today, and she was looking well. She was updating the new Nurse Meghan on her status when I walked in.
She ordered some breakfast (much to my dismay because she was shut off yesterday and restricted to liquids and dry toast), but she's the boss, and life doesn't have to be all bad, right? She enjoyed some oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and cranberry juice and by 10:30 was still in good shape and apparently tollerating it. By 11:00ish she was in some serious distress again, all of a sudden. So much so that it's the first time I've really sensed that she was down in the dumps, and maybe getting depressed. She was all of a sudden sad, and with a tear. Very unusual and worrysome to me. I did my best to encourage her to take one day at a time, and not to get overwhelmed with the whole thing. We requested nausea meds, and then Anne got some decent sleep till about 12:30.
At 12:30 Anne had bounced back. She woke up alert, had no pain and was feeling good. She ordered lunch at around 1:30, and she enjoyed some cranberry juice, humus and crackers. You guessed it, at 2:45 she was having nausea and requesting meds again. Adivan was delivered. She had some diareha. It's 3:15 and she appears to be restin, about to fall asleep. She awakens and asks me to read the blog to her. I'll do that.
I'm worried that this vicious cycle will continue till the chemo leaves here system. Last time this 'tune up' took 8 days, so let's hope this time is better.
This is setting up to be another up and down day.
When I got into Maine Med it was 9am, and Dr. Ebrahim had already been in to see Anne. He had told her that she would be staying in the hospital till at least Friday. He thought she might resume R/T on Thursday or Friday.
Anne wasn't in very much distress or pain early today, and she was looking well. She was updating the new Nurse Meghan on her status when I walked in.
She ordered some breakfast (much to my dismay because she was shut off yesterday and restricted to liquids and dry toast), but she's the boss, and life doesn't have to be all bad, right? She enjoyed some oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and cranberry juice and by 10:30 was still in good shape and apparently tollerating it. By 11:00ish she was in some serious distress again, all of a sudden. So much so that it's the first time I've really sensed that she was down in the dumps, and maybe getting depressed. She was all of a sudden sad, and with a tear. Very unusual and worrysome to me. I did my best to encourage her to take one day at a time, and not to get overwhelmed with the whole thing. We requested nausea meds, and then Anne got some decent sleep till about 12:30.
At 12:30 Anne had bounced back. She woke up alert, had no pain and was feeling good. She ordered lunch at around 1:30, and she enjoyed some cranberry juice, humus and crackers. You guessed it, at 2:45 she was having nausea and requesting meds again. Adivan was delivered. She had some diareha. It's 3:15 and she appears to be restin, about to fall asleep. She awakens and asks me to read the blog to her. I'll do that.
I'm worried that this vicious cycle will continue till the chemo leaves here system. Last time this 'tune up' took 8 days, so let's hope this time is better.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Day 41, Tuesday, 04:45pm
Today Anne called me at home at 6:35am. She asked me to bring in certain things she needed to get cleaned up today. She was feeling well, said she may be ready to go home today, and she had ordered something to eat for breakfast.
When I arrived at Maine Med she was still feeling well, and having a good day, however she stated to me that she is very weak and tired. Anne also told me "no kissing" tho because she had acquired some mouth sores. The Nurse provided a bottle of saline for Anne to rinse with 4-6 times daily since the sores have started. You guessed it, this is just another common side effect of the chemo. I had felt fortunate that she hadn't had any of this to date.
She's waiting to be taken to where she'll have a bath soon. The nurse had unplugged her medi-port so she could do that, and she waits.
Around 10 or so she went to the tubby with assistance. When done, she came back pretty quite rattled and uncomfortable. It took alot out of her, and it was said that the tub area was a very hot place. Anne doesn't like that situation at all, so I understood where she was coming from. She had good color in her face, if not too much red. The bath was a good thing, however it knocked her for a loop for awhile and she didn't feel well again until we were able to make her comfortable with the fan, cold compresses, etc... She did well for the next couple hours, and then she ordered some lunch.
About a half hour after eating she asked for some nausea meds, and she began feeling bad once again. She had some Zorfran added to her IV and she looked as though she was resting from that. She woke up to some vomiting, and was having a tough time. She complained that the Zorfran wasn't helping, so they gave some Phenegen thru the IV. It made her sleep heavily for a short time before Dr. Ebrahim came in to see her, so he woke her to talk. She was totally uncomfortable. I explain to him that it has been an up and down day, starting good, then with the bath making her miserable, then a good hour or so, now lunch making her miserable again. Dr. Ebrahim said Anne will have trouble with food going forward for some time, that's what happens at this stage of the game, and she should stick to liquids and maybe dry toast for now. Keep in mind, she just finished her chemo treatments yesterday, was de-hydrated, and she is about 21 R/T's into that program with about 7 more to go. Dr. Ebrahim said he will talk with Dr. Pryzant regarding if and when Anne will completing the remaining R/T's. Hopefully we can find out about that tomorrow, but most importantly, we want Anne to feel stronger and better than she does now.
As soon as Dr. Ebrahim left the room, Anne had a major bout with vomitting. Her worst one so far. She is just feeling real bad this afternoon and we attribute it to the food. She has discomfort in her chest, upper esophagus area. Dr. Ebrahim had mentioned this is to be expected.
There have been student nurses in here today and one has been wanting to talk with Anne, take her vital signs, etc.. When he finished fumbling around with that (he was nervous) he stated that he was coming back in to do some other things a little later on. With that, and with the day Anne has had I requested of the Nurse that Anne be left alone. I saw the student nurse in the hall and told him directly that Anne was resting now.
It has been pretty hectic in here today with our roommates moving out to go home, floors being washed, the bath event, the sickness after lunch, student nurses, etc., etc... The student nurse just came back in with the CSA Tori and I asked them to leave. It is dusk now and Anne is getting some shut eye. She will need to order something to drink before 6:30pm from room service. I can make her some toast right here on the floor.
Other than that I just need to sit with her, and remind her to do her swishing with the saline solution once in awhile. Again, we hope for a decent evening and a good night for Anne.
Thanks for listening !
When I arrived at Maine Med she was still feeling well, and having a good day, however she stated to me that she is very weak and tired. Anne also told me "no kissing" tho because she had acquired some mouth sores. The Nurse provided a bottle of saline for Anne to rinse with 4-6 times daily since the sores have started. You guessed it, this is just another common side effect of the chemo. I had felt fortunate that she hadn't had any of this to date.
She's waiting to be taken to where she'll have a bath soon. The nurse had unplugged her medi-port so she could do that, and she waits.
Around 10 or so she went to the tubby with assistance. When done, she came back pretty quite rattled and uncomfortable. It took alot out of her, and it was said that the tub area was a very hot place. Anne doesn't like that situation at all, so I understood where she was coming from. She had good color in her face, if not too much red. The bath was a good thing, however it knocked her for a loop for awhile and she didn't feel well again until we were able to make her comfortable with the fan, cold compresses, etc... She did well for the next couple hours, and then she ordered some lunch.
About a half hour after eating she asked for some nausea meds, and she began feeling bad once again. She had some Zorfran added to her IV and she looked as though she was resting from that. She woke up to some vomiting, and was having a tough time. She complained that the Zorfran wasn't helping, so they gave some Phenegen thru the IV. It made her sleep heavily for a short time before Dr. Ebrahim came in to see her, so he woke her to talk. She was totally uncomfortable. I explain to him that it has been an up and down day, starting good, then with the bath making her miserable, then a good hour or so, now lunch making her miserable again. Dr. Ebrahim said Anne will have trouble with food going forward for some time, that's what happens at this stage of the game, and she should stick to liquids and maybe dry toast for now. Keep in mind, she just finished her chemo treatments yesterday, was de-hydrated, and she is about 21 R/T's into that program with about 7 more to go. Dr. Ebrahim said he will talk with Dr. Pryzant regarding if and when Anne will completing the remaining R/T's. Hopefully we can find out about that tomorrow, but most importantly, we want Anne to feel stronger and better than she does now.
As soon as Dr. Ebrahim left the room, Anne had a major bout with vomitting. Her worst one so far. She is just feeling real bad this afternoon and we attribute it to the food. She has discomfort in her chest, upper esophagus area. Dr. Ebrahim had mentioned this is to be expected.
There have been student nurses in here today and one has been wanting to talk with Anne, take her vital signs, etc.. When he finished fumbling around with that (he was nervous) he stated that he was coming back in to do some other things a little later on. With that, and with the day Anne has had I requested of the Nurse that Anne be left alone. I saw the student nurse in the hall and told him directly that Anne was resting now.
It has been pretty hectic in here today with our roommates moving out to go home, floors being washed, the bath event, the sickness after lunch, student nurses, etc., etc... The student nurse just came back in with the CSA Tori and I asked them to leave. It is dusk now and Anne is getting some shut eye. She will need to order something to drink before 6:30pm from room service. I can make her some toast right here on the floor.
Other than that I just need to sit with her, and remind her to do her swishing with the saline solution once in awhile. Again, we hope for a decent evening and a good night for Anne.
Thanks for listening !
Monday, February 22, 2010
Day 40, Monday, 03:50pm
Ready for this ?!
This morning I woke up first and let Dixie out and in before 6am. Anne was still sleeping, and I layed down and fell back asleep. All of these things were out of the ordinary.
Next thing I knew it was 7am and I woke up to Anne yelling for me from the living room. I found her on the floor. She hadn't fallen. She was feeling so sick her balance was bad, and she had just sprawled herself out on the floor. She was calling for her bucket. Eventually we made it to the bathroom and we weren't going any farther. We couldn't get her dressed, and there was nothing I could do to make her feel better.
I called the MCCM hot line to get advice and update the on-call doctor (Dr. Aronson). He advised that I call 911 and have the rescue take Anne the Maine Med Emergency room. He would update Dr. Ebrahim, and said Dr. Ebrahim would see Anne in Emergency by 8:30am.
I got in there around 10am and Anne had better color in her face, although she looked like she had been put 'through the ringer'. She was being hydrated. Dr. Ebrahim had seen Anne and told her he was admitting her to a room, so we'll be headed back upstairs to the 5th floor to the Gibson Pavillion to get better for awhile, what ever it takes.
I went to the Caf at noonish for a sandwich, and when I returned Anne was gone from Emergency. She had been taken to her room in the Gibson Pavillion, on the other side of the 5th floor from where we were last time. She is feeling much better now, with real good color in her face. It's a nice day outside, and she has a very nice view from her window. She can look right down into Hadlock Field and everything to the west of Portland. We can see the awesome and snow covered Mt. Washington in the distance today, and the heli-port is right outside the window. I guess that would be exciting if that is used while we're here, but no doubt unfortunate for someone else.
Anne orders a half ham sandwich, a fruit smoothie, soy milk, and apple pie from room service. She obviously feels alot better, and I think this was looking good in her minds eye, however she only finishes 1/4 the sandwich, 1/2 the smoothie, one piece of apple from the pie, and all the soy milk. I'm worry about that soy milk because if you remember, it had disastrous affects last time we were here.
Now, at 4pm, a wave of nausea strikes, and Anne is given a new nausea med in thru the IV. I have to say, this medi-port, even with the pain it was to install, has turned out to be a Godsend after all considering all the IV sticks it has taken the place of. This new med for nausea was prescribed today because I think they like to have 3 types available. This way they can rotate them on a schedule throughout the day, and overlap coverage. Anne recently told the Dr she doesn't want any more of the Compazine, so that was discontinued, and replaced with Phenagen, which was used just now at 4pm for the first time. So, now she has Zorfran, Atavan, and Phenagen.
It's 5pm and Anne is having a hard time keeping her eyes open. The nausea is better now. Let's hope she will rest comfortably for awhile. She had a rough night last night, and a poor day today as you can imagine.
As far as we know, we are done with the C/T now, and we have about 7 more R/T's scheduled. Let's hope Anne can easily cope with those, and that she is able to start those again very soon. She missed R/T Friday and today as you know. I look forward to seeing Dr. Ebrahim tomorrow. I missed him this morning because he beat me in here.
We thank you all for being there to read, and for your continued thoughts and prayers. You are much appreciated, and your prayers help !! Thank you.
This morning I woke up first and let Dixie out and in before 6am. Anne was still sleeping, and I layed down and fell back asleep. All of these things were out of the ordinary.
Next thing I knew it was 7am and I woke up to Anne yelling for me from the living room. I found her on the floor. She hadn't fallen. She was feeling so sick her balance was bad, and she had just sprawled herself out on the floor. She was calling for her bucket. Eventually we made it to the bathroom and we weren't going any farther. We couldn't get her dressed, and there was nothing I could do to make her feel better.
I called the MCCM hot line to get advice and update the on-call doctor (Dr. Aronson). He advised that I call 911 and have the rescue take Anne the Maine Med Emergency room. He would update Dr. Ebrahim, and said Dr. Ebrahim would see Anne in Emergency by 8:30am.
I got in there around 10am and Anne had better color in her face, although she looked like she had been put 'through the ringer'. She was being hydrated. Dr. Ebrahim had seen Anne and told her he was admitting her to a room, so we'll be headed back upstairs to the 5th floor to the Gibson Pavillion to get better for awhile, what ever it takes.
I went to the Caf at noonish for a sandwich, and when I returned Anne was gone from Emergency. She had been taken to her room in the Gibson Pavillion, on the other side of the 5th floor from where we were last time. She is feeling much better now, with real good color in her face. It's a nice day outside, and she has a very nice view from her window. She can look right down into Hadlock Field and everything to the west of Portland. We can see the awesome and snow covered Mt. Washington in the distance today, and the heli-port is right outside the window. I guess that would be exciting if that is used while we're here, but no doubt unfortunate for someone else.
Anne orders a half ham sandwich, a fruit smoothie, soy milk, and apple pie from room service. She obviously feels alot better, and I think this was looking good in her minds eye, however she only finishes 1/4 the sandwich, 1/2 the smoothie, one piece of apple from the pie, and all the soy milk. I'm worry about that soy milk because if you remember, it had disastrous affects last time we were here.
Now, at 4pm, a wave of nausea strikes, and Anne is given a new nausea med in thru the IV. I have to say, this medi-port, even with the pain it was to install, has turned out to be a Godsend after all considering all the IV sticks it has taken the place of. This new med for nausea was prescribed today because I think they like to have 3 types available. This way they can rotate them on a schedule throughout the day, and overlap coverage. Anne recently told the Dr she doesn't want any more of the Compazine, so that was discontinued, and replaced with Phenagen, which was used just now at 4pm for the first time. So, now she has Zorfran, Atavan, and Phenagen.
It's 5pm and Anne is having a hard time keeping her eyes open. The nausea is better now. Let's hope she will rest comfortably for awhile. She had a rough night last night, and a poor day today as you can imagine.
As far as we know, we are done with the C/T now, and we have about 7 more R/T's scheduled. Let's hope Anne can easily cope with those, and that she is able to start those again very soon. She missed R/T Friday and today as you know. I look forward to seeing Dr. Ebrahim tomorrow. I missed him this morning because he beat me in here.
We thank you all for being there to read, and for your continued thoughts and prayers. You are much appreciated, and your prayers help !! Thank you.
Day 39, Sunday
Pretty much the same as Saturday morning. Anne doesn't feel well in the morning, and we head into Maine Med early for our appointment. At 10:20 she is taking hydration. She sleeps the whole time and never gets up to pee, which is a first. Anyway, we head home around noonish, and Anne feels like having a sandwich. We pick up her favorite, and she grabs a pastry too. It's obvious that she is feeling good for the moment. As it turned out, Anne was only able to eat 1/4 of her sandwich, and none of the goodie. It is still on the counter.
I went to Emma's 6th birthday party around 3pm, and stayed till 4:30. Anne wasn't able to go because of the number of runny noses that Adam said would be there. Anne slept most of the time I was gone.
It was a quiet Sunday evening and Anne didn't feel like eating anything at all. When we went to bed she asked for a few saltines for her bedside. It has been an up and down weekend, with Anne feeling ok only following the hydrations. Aside from that, she's been feeling lousy, and not wanting to eat. She has however been determined to get thru this chemo treatment. She is battling, and we are almost done with it, and the chemo pump will be removed at 10am in the morning.
I went to Emma's 6th birthday party around 3pm, and stayed till 4:30. Anne wasn't able to go because of the number of runny noses that Adam said would be there. Anne slept most of the time I was gone.
It was a quiet Sunday evening and Anne didn't feel like eating anything at all. When we went to bed she asked for a few saltines for her bedside. It has been an up and down weekend, with Anne feeling ok only following the hydrations. Aside from that, she's been feeling lousy, and not wanting to eat. She has however been determined to get thru this chemo treatment. She is battling, and we are almost done with it, and the chemo pump will be removed at 10am in the morning.
Day 38, Saturday
Anne slept off and on overnight, got up several times, and is feeling very poorly this morning, so poorly that we leave early for our 10:30am hydration appointment at the Maine Med Gibson Pavilion. By 10:15 Anne is being hydrated. This makes her feel so much better, and I asked if Anne can be hydrated twice a day, i.e. again later this afternoon. The nurse stated that this should not be necessary, and they questioned the insurance coverage for same. I was just curious.
We picked up a script on the way home, and got home around 3:30pm. Anne slept off and on for the rest of the evening and had little to nothing to eat, she just doesn't feel like eating.
We picked up a script on the way home, and got home around 3:30pm. Anne slept off and on for the rest of the evening and had little to nothing to eat, she just doesn't feel like eating.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Day 37, Friday, 12:30pm
Hello friends,
Anne made it thru the night, sleeping in snipits, and getting up only once. It was challenging for her to get up in the night for the first time with the infusion pump attached. The digital counter on the pump read '38.3' this morning.
Anne had a 1/2 piece of toast and seedless jam, some much diluted OJ, and a hard boiled egg to eat this am. All she had to eat last night was a hamburger at dinner time, and maybe a cracker later on at bedtime.
The ride into R/T this morning was hard on Anne. She wasn't saying much, so I knew she wasn't feeling well. She took all of her meds before we left for town. She is determined to make it thru this weekends treatment however, and the Dr is just as determined for her to complete this regiment. He told us up front he would treat this cancer aggressively, and somehow, ironically, we're greatful.
As we waited, they called Anne in for R/T and she walked in very slowly. She had vomited as she got into her 'johnnie' in prep for R/T today. Very unusual. After a few minutes the technician brought Anne out to the waiting room in a wheelchair, and even helped her to get dressed. She was feeling lousy. This is when they told me that Anne wasn't able to take her R/T today, because she was unable to lay on her back on the R/T table, due to nausea. Anne said everything is backed up in her throat, and it's very uncomfortable. Vomiting is Anne's worst nightmare. She has a tremendous tollerance for pain, however she is frightened to death to vomit. She doesn't like being 'out of control' in that way, is how she describes her thoughts on that subject. The R/T folks called over to the Treatment side to let them know we were on her way over for hydration, and to prepare them re: how Anne is doing so far this morning.
Everyone on the C/T side is expecting us, and Anne gets good attention from everyone there. They're all very concerned and want to help her as best they can. They infuse some nausea meds, and begin the hydration which will last 2 hours. After 15 minutes Anne is feeling a little bit better. She soon becomes tired enough to fall asleep pretty hard. You can imagine. She just about slept the entire 2 hours.
Nurse practitioner Melany writes down a plan for Anne to take her 3 different nausea meds over the weekend. She explains that Anne can mix them, i.e. she doesn't have to just stick to one kind. She will use them all and overlap the coverage.
We're given appointments for 10:30am on both Saturday and Sunday at the Maine Med Gibson Pavilion for hydration sessions. We'll be in there for about 3 hours each time. This is probably as good a time as any, so the relief she gets from the hydration will be for a good part of the day, not just the morning.
It's time to head home now, around 11:15. Not that Anne needs a pep talk, but I try to encourage her, reminding her that this weekend is 'IT' for the chemo treatments. She is bound and determined to get thru it better than the first time around a few weeks ago. It seems the pump and slow infustion of 5-Fu is working better than the first drug that gave Anne so much discomfort last time. Unfortunately, that's not saying much. She doesn't feel good at all as you can tell.
We'll try and come up with small helpings of things she feels like eating this weekend. We look forward to Monday, that's for sure.
Keep praying for Anne, and thank you all very much for that. It helps.
Anne made it thru the night, sleeping in snipits, and getting up only once. It was challenging for her to get up in the night for the first time with the infusion pump attached. The digital counter on the pump read '38.3' this morning.
Anne had a 1/2 piece of toast and seedless jam, some much diluted OJ, and a hard boiled egg to eat this am. All she had to eat last night was a hamburger at dinner time, and maybe a cracker later on at bedtime.
The ride into R/T this morning was hard on Anne. She wasn't saying much, so I knew she wasn't feeling well. She took all of her meds before we left for town. She is determined to make it thru this weekends treatment however, and the Dr is just as determined for her to complete this regiment. He told us up front he would treat this cancer aggressively, and somehow, ironically, we're greatful.
As we waited, they called Anne in for R/T and she walked in very slowly. She had vomited as she got into her 'johnnie' in prep for R/T today. Very unusual. After a few minutes the technician brought Anne out to the waiting room in a wheelchair, and even helped her to get dressed. She was feeling lousy. This is when they told me that Anne wasn't able to take her R/T today, because she was unable to lay on her back on the R/T table, due to nausea. Anne said everything is backed up in her throat, and it's very uncomfortable. Vomiting is Anne's worst nightmare. She has a tremendous tollerance for pain, however she is frightened to death to vomit. She doesn't like being 'out of control' in that way, is how she describes her thoughts on that subject. The R/T folks called over to the Treatment side to let them know we were on her way over for hydration, and to prepare them re: how Anne is doing so far this morning.
Everyone on the C/T side is expecting us, and Anne gets good attention from everyone there. They're all very concerned and want to help her as best they can. They infuse some nausea meds, and begin the hydration which will last 2 hours. After 15 minutes Anne is feeling a little bit better. She soon becomes tired enough to fall asleep pretty hard. You can imagine. She just about slept the entire 2 hours.
Nurse practitioner Melany writes down a plan for Anne to take her 3 different nausea meds over the weekend. She explains that Anne can mix them, i.e. she doesn't have to just stick to one kind. She will use them all and overlap the coverage.
We're given appointments for 10:30am on both Saturday and Sunday at the Maine Med Gibson Pavilion for hydration sessions. We'll be in there for about 3 hours each time. This is probably as good a time as any, so the relief she gets from the hydration will be for a good part of the day, not just the morning.
It's time to head home now, around 11:15. Not that Anne needs a pep talk, but I try to encourage her, reminding her that this weekend is 'IT' for the chemo treatments. She is bound and determined to get thru it better than the first time around a few weeks ago. It seems the pump and slow infustion of 5-Fu is working better than the first drug that gave Anne so much discomfort last time. Unfortunately, that's not saying much. She doesn't feel good at all as you can tell.
We'll try and come up with small helpings of things she feels like eating this weekend. We look forward to Monday, that's for sure.
Keep praying for Anne, and thank you all very much for that. It helps.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Day 36, Thursday, 07:00pm
Hello all,
Today was just as advertised.
We arrived in Scarborough at 7:45am for R/T. Following that we had a brief meeting with a dietitian on the R/T side, and at 9am we visited with a Nurse Practitioner over on the chemo side who set Anne up to use the mediport for the first time. This involved application of some cold prep (ethyl chloride spray) to the area where the port lives. Then a needle with a small fixture on it was inserted directly into the middle of the port. The fixture was taped to her upper chest, and the tubing to her clothing. This fixture can be used over and over for about a week. Anne didn't feel the needle at all. Some blood was drawn, and we were off down the hall to the 'treatment' room.
The chemo treatments started at about 10am. Chemo was preceeded by some infused nausea meds, followed by a bag of hydration, then a bag of vitamin 'P' (a solution that makes you pee). It's a vicious cycle, fill you with fluids, and make you pee. A three hour double dose of Cysplatin chemo was next. This was no problem for Anne and I could tell it wasn't bothering her by the look on her face.
That all lasted till about 3pm when the fanny pack w/pump was set up and connected to Anne's mediport. The instructions to use the pump were simple, if it beeps over the weekend, just check the tubing for kinks, then call the hospital hot line for assistance if necessary.
At 3:15 the infusion pump with the new 5-FU chemo was turned on. It involves 8400mg of this medicine infused at a very slow rate, now till Monday. The pump has a digital counter and when that displays approximately 192, it will be Monday and we'll be on the way in to have it removed.
Within 5 minutes Anne broke into a sweat and was real uncomfortable, so we notified the attendant Nurses. As the Dr observed and we waited 15 minutes or so for this to settle down, Anne became very nauseous (sp?). Anti-nausea meds were infused and did not seem to help too much for the first 15 minutes after. After more watching and waiting, we packed it in and headed home around 4:15. Anne was instructed to use the nausea and pain meds we have at home as needed tonight for any of these normal side effects.
At home now Anne wanted a hamburger for dinner. It was done. She is feeling awful right now. She has taken pain meds, immodium, stool softener, and nausea meds for the evening, and now she is asleep in the living room. I hope and pray for the best for Anne overnight tonight, tomorrow, and this weekend.
Tomorrow we will be in Scarborough again for R/T at 8am, and then off to the treatment room for hydration for a couple hours in the morning. Let's hope that is all she will need tomorrow. I expect she will need the hydration on Sat and Sun too, to make her feel as well as possible during this time.
This was a super long day. Anne certainly needs lots of rest tonight.
Your thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated. Thanks for being there.
Today was just as advertised.
We arrived in Scarborough at 7:45am for R/T. Following that we had a brief meeting with a dietitian on the R/T side, and at 9am we visited with a Nurse Practitioner over on the chemo side who set Anne up to use the mediport for the first time. This involved application of some cold prep (ethyl chloride spray) to the area where the port lives. Then a needle with a small fixture on it was inserted directly into the middle of the port. The fixture was taped to her upper chest, and the tubing to her clothing. This fixture can be used over and over for about a week. Anne didn't feel the needle at all. Some blood was drawn, and we were off down the hall to the 'treatment' room.
The chemo treatments started at about 10am. Chemo was preceeded by some infused nausea meds, followed by a bag of hydration, then a bag of vitamin 'P' (a solution that makes you pee). It's a vicious cycle, fill you with fluids, and make you pee. A three hour double dose of Cysplatin chemo was next. This was no problem for Anne and I could tell it wasn't bothering her by the look on her face.
That all lasted till about 3pm when the fanny pack w/pump was set up and connected to Anne's mediport. The instructions to use the pump were simple, if it beeps over the weekend, just check the tubing for kinks, then call the hospital hot line for assistance if necessary.
At 3:15 the infusion pump with the new 5-FU chemo was turned on. It involves 8400mg of this medicine infused at a very slow rate, now till Monday. The pump has a digital counter and when that displays approximately 192, it will be Monday and we'll be on the way in to have it removed.
Within 5 minutes Anne broke into a sweat and was real uncomfortable, so we notified the attendant Nurses. As the Dr observed and we waited 15 minutes or so for this to settle down, Anne became very nauseous (sp?). Anti-nausea meds were infused and did not seem to help too much for the first 15 minutes after. After more watching and waiting, we packed it in and headed home around 4:15. Anne was instructed to use the nausea and pain meds we have at home as needed tonight for any of these normal side effects.
At home now Anne wanted a hamburger for dinner. It was done. She is feeling awful right now. She has taken pain meds, immodium, stool softener, and nausea meds for the evening, and now she is asleep in the living room. I hope and pray for the best for Anne overnight tonight, tomorrow, and this weekend.
Tomorrow we will be in Scarborough again for R/T at 8am, and then off to the treatment room for hydration for a couple hours in the morning. Let's hope that is all she will need tomorrow. I expect she will need the hydration on Sat and Sun too, to make her feel as well as possible during this time.
This was a super long day. Anne certainly needs lots of rest tonight.
Your thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated. Thanks for being there.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Day 35, Wednesday, 2:50pm
Hello All,
I seem to have taken a break from blogging. No news is good news, for the most part. Anne had a nice long weekend with no treatments. Weather has been good too.
On Sunday we took a ride to Saco with Dixie to try and take a walk and explore the Saco Heath, a natural peat bog which is open to the public. We didn't actually make it all the way out to walk the heath. As it turns out, we were disappointed to learn that pets are not allowed, and walking in the heath involves a 15 minute walk thru the woods out to the boardwalk in the heath. There is alot of walking and hiking that can be done on the heath. Anyway, there was too much heavy ice in the woods to get to the boardwalk, so, we'll either put our spikes on and try this again soon, or we'll wait till Spring has sprung.
On our return to R/T yesterday (Tues) and today I couldn't help notice the many folks getting used to seeing Anne and me at MCCM each day. They would greet us and ask Anne "How are you doing doing?". She replies as follows: "I am doing ok, the pain is increasing, and I am having to use the pain medications on more of a regular basis now." Notice the positive spin she puts on it? I'm not sure I would be able to do so, knowing what she goes thru and how she feels. The radiation is definately catching up with her belly, it's a cumulative thing.
Tomorrow we have a full day of chemo scheduled. We won't see Dr. Ebrahim tomorrow, rather a nurse practitioner. Tomorrow Anne will take (via IV using the new mediport) her final 2 half-doses of Cysplatin. That will take all day, i.e. 9am - 4pm. Before we leave, a chemo pump will be rigged up in a fanny pack for Anne, and she'll be infused with the new 5-FU chemo for the following 4 days. Anne is pretty anxious about this. It is comforting for her to know that Dr. Ebrahim is on-call this weekend. Hopefully he will not be hearing from us.
The positive is, as we understand it, we'll be all done with chemo on Monday. The following Monday, March 1, should be the last R/T treatment.
We're still amateurs with all of this stuff. In laymans terms, what comes next is a rest, then surgery, then recovery, cancer free !!
Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. Your prayers help.
I seem to have taken a break from blogging. No news is good news, for the most part. Anne had a nice long weekend with no treatments. Weather has been good too.
On Sunday we took a ride to Saco with Dixie to try and take a walk and explore the Saco Heath, a natural peat bog which is open to the public. We didn't actually make it all the way out to walk the heath. As it turns out, we were disappointed to learn that pets are not allowed, and walking in the heath involves a 15 minute walk thru the woods out to the boardwalk in the heath. There is alot of walking and hiking that can be done on the heath. Anyway, there was too much heavy ice in the woods to get to the boardwalk, so, we'll either put our spikes on and try this again soon, or we'll wait till Spring has sprung.
On our return to R/T yesterday (Tues) and today I couldn't help notice the many folks getting used to seeing Anne and me at MCCM each day. They would greet us and ask Anne "How are you doing doing?". She replies as follows: "I am doing ok, the pain is increasing, and I am having to use the pain medications on more of a regular basis now." Notice the positive spin she puts on it? I'm not sure I would be able to do so, knowing what she goes thru and how she feels. The radiation is definately catching up with her belly, it's a cumulative thing.
Tomorrow we have a full day of chemo scheduled. We won't see Dr. Ebrahim tomorrow, rather a nurse practitioner. Tomorrow Anne will take (via IV using the new mediport) her final 2 half-doses of Cysplatin. That will take all day, i.e. 9am - 4pm. Before we leave, a chemo pump will be rigged up in a fanny pack for Anne, and she'll be infused with the new 5-FU chemo for the following 4 days. Anne is pretty anxious about this. It is comforting for her to know that Dr. Ebrahim is on-call this weekend. Hopefully he will not be hearing from us.
The positive is, as we understand it, we'll be all done with chemo on Monday. The following Monday, March 1, should be the last R/T treatment.
We're still amateurs with all of this stuff. In laymans terms, what comes next is a rest, then surgery, then recovery, cancer free !!
Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. Your prayers help.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Day 31, Saturday, 11:30am
Hi everybody,
Today is a well paced work day, getting caught up around the house. If were lucky there will be no trip to town today or tomorrow.
Anne had some new stomach pain last evening, and had to take some pain medication for it in the middle of the night. That's unusual, but maybe to be expected as Dr Ebrahim warned, now that R/T is winding down. Anne has had 18 R/T treatments, and now were counting down the last 10 of those.
Again this morning, Anne didn't feel well in her belly, and she said if felt distended and hard. Maybe we just stayed up too late watching the Olympics Opening Ceremonies, who knows, but that was enjoyable.
Today Anne asked for a bucket of KFC, some original and some grilled. I wonder who is going to eat the grilled? I think she is either feeling better, or the meds are allowing for that. If she is a good girl, I may go to KFC before the end of the day.
It's a beautiful day today, sunny and around 40 degrees outside. There's still a blanket of snow around the yard, but many bare spots as well. It hasn't snowed for over 2 weeks I think, at least. A friend of mine called from Dallas yesterday, and he had 6 inches fall in his yard Friday. We need some, but I don't look forward to the heavy wet stuff that comes in late Feb and March. One more blizzard of dry fluffy stuff would be most appreciated.
Have a good weekend everyone, and Happy Valentines Day tomorrow. I hope all of you guys have something special up your sleeves. You all know who and what I mean.
Take care, and thanks for your prayers and kind thoughts.
Today is a well paced work day, getting caught up around the house. If were lucky there will be no trip to town today or tomorrow.
Anne had some new stomach pain last evening, and had to take some pain medication for it in the middle of the night. That's unusual, but maybe to be expected as Dr Ebrahim warned, now that R/T is winding down. Anne has had 18 R/T treatments, and now were counting down the last 10 of those.
Again this morning, Anne didn't feel well in her belly, and she said if felt distended and hard. Maybe we just stayed up too late watching the Olympics Opening Ceremonies, who knows, but that was enjoyable.
Today Anne asked for a bucket of KFC, some original and some grilled. I wonder who is going to eat the grilled? I think she is either feeling better, or the meds are allowing for that. If she is a good girl, I may go to KFC before the end of the day.
It's a beautiful day today, sunny and around 40 degrees outside. There's still a blanket of snow around the yard, but many bare spots as well. It hasn't snowed for over 2 weeks I think, at least. A friend of mine called from Dallas yesterday, and he had 6 inches fall in his yard Friday. We need some, but I don't look forward to the heavy wet stuff that comes in late Feb and March. One more blizzard of dry fluffy stuff would be most appreciated.
Have a good weekend everyone, and Happy Valentines Day tomorrow. I hope all of you guys have something special up your sleeves. You all know who and what I mean.
Take care, and thanks for your prayers and kind thoughts.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Day 30, Friday, 02:15pm
Hello all,
Today Anne took R/T at 8:15. We drove from there to Kettle Cove to look at the breakwater on the ocean. On the way home from there we stopped into the town office for a quick visit. Then Anne was up for a little shopping, and arrived home at 11:30ish.
Anne is still feeling better. Once we sat down after lunch she told me there was pain in the stomach from this mornings R/T. She still however has a smile on her face due to the positives that came out of the visit with Dr Ebrahim yesterday. What a relief that was for Anne, to be able to envision and think about the end of these treatments.
We're looking forward to a quiet long weekend. Anne loves to watch the Olympic games which start tonight in Vancouver. She also likes to watch racing, and the Daytona 500 will be on sometime. I'll watch very little of the NBA All Star Game, but will tune in to the 3 point shooting contest. I hope Paul Pierce does well in that because at this point, the Celtics need any mental edge they can get.
Next weeks treatments will start on Tuesday.
Thanks for being there. Have a good weekend.
Your prayers are helping.
Today Anne took R/T at 8:15. We drove from there to Kettle Cove to look at the breakwater on the ocean. On the way home from there we stopped into the town office for a quick visit. Then Anne was up for a little shopping, and arrived home at 11:30ish.
Anne is still feeling better. Once we sat down after lunch she told me there was pain in the stomach from this mornings R/T. She still however has a smile on her face due to the positives that came out of the visit with Dr Ebrahim yesterday. What a relief that was for Anne, to be able to envision and think about the end of these treatments.
We're looking forward to a quiet long weekend. Anne loves to watch the Olympic games which start tonight in Vancouver. She also likes to watch racing, and the Daytona 500 will be on sometime. I'll watch very little of the NBA All Star Game, but will tune in to the 3 point shooting contest. I hope Paul Pierce does well in that because at this point, the Celtics need any mental edge they can get.
Next weeks treatments will start on Tuesday.
Thanks for being there. Have a good weekend.
Your prayers are helping.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Day 29, Thursday, 05:55pm
Hello everybody,
Well, with all my fear about Tuesday night Anne made out just fine. She slept using the new bed wedge we had picked up. She only had to get up once all night, at 4:30am. She needed help getting out of bed and back in because the incisions were still pretty tender from the mediport implant surgery Tuesday morning. She didn't need any such help Weds night, so I'm encouraged that she is healing up.
Wednesday was pretty uneventful, however Anne wasn't comfortable at all. She was mostly anxious about the appointment with Dr. Ebrahim on Thursday. With all the anticipation about that, she hardly slept Wednesday overnight, poor thing. She wasn't looking forward to restarting the C/T, not at all.
As it turned out, the appointment this morning was a good thing. We sort of got a pep talk from the Dr. and it made Anne feel much better. I asked him if she would get 'credit' for the 1.8 C/T's that Anne had completed earlier, the one's that made her sick. He said a resounding 'yes', that those treatments were beneficial, and in those terms she does get full credit. He stated that he usually likes to complete the C/T the first 2 weeks and the last 2 weeks of R/T, so we did the math and discovered that we're pretty much still on schedule.
Anne should actually complete her C/T on Feb 22, and her R/T on March 1.
The new chemo program looks like this. Two half doses of Cysplatin next Thursday (rather than a half dose on two consequtive Thursdays). This will take almost all day, and it will be the end of that drug. Following that (same day) they will set Anne up with a fanny pack containing a 'pump' used to administer the new chemo (the one that is replacing the Iranetecan). This one is called 5-F-U and it has the same benefits, and many of the same side effects (and more as we have been reading), however they use the pump to administer this over a 4 day period, a little at a time. This is the plan so that Anne will better tollerate it. Keep your fingers crossed. We'll have the pump removed on Monday Feb 22.
Overall, Anne has had a fantastic day today. The anxiety was gone, and after R/T we drove out to Bug Light on Casco Bay and watched the waves, tankers, ferrys, etc. for a while. She was relieved, and she is still doing well this evening. She caught up on last nights sleep this afternoon.
Knowing that she will be finished with C/T a week from this coming Monday, Anne looked happier that she has for many days.
Dr. Ebrahim cautioned us that the R/T is a concern and usually creeps up on you and really starts to wear you down the last couple of weeks. Anne has 12 more treatments.
Labs were taken today to make sure the kidney function is ok.
Thanks for reading, mailing, caring, etc....
Your prayers help.
Well, with all my fear about Tuesday night Anne made out just fine. She slept using the new bed wedge we had picked up. She only had to get up once all night, at 4:30am. She needed help getting out of bed and back in because the incisions were still pretty tender from the mediport implant surgery Tuesday morning. She didn't need any such help Weds night, so I'm encouraged that she is healing up.
Wednesday was pretty uneventful, however Anne wasn't comfortable at all. She was mostly anxious about the appointment with Dr. Ebrahim on Thursday. With all the anticipation about that, she hardly slept Wednesday overnight, poor thing. She wasn't looking forward to restarting the C/T, not at all.
As it turned out, the appointment this morning was a good thing. We sort of got a pep talk from the Dr. and it made Anne feel much better. I asked him if she would get 'credit' for the 1.8 C/T's that Anne had completed earlier, the one's that made her sick. He said a resounding 'yes', that those treatments were beneficial, and in those terms she does get full credit. He stated that he usually likes to complete the C/T the first 2 weeks and the last 2 weeks of R/T, so we did the math and discovered that we're pretty much still on schedule.
Anne should actually complete her C/T on Feb 22, and her R/T on March 1.
The new chemo program looks like this. Two half doses of Cysplatin next Thursday (rather than a half dose on two consequtive Thursdays). This will take almost all day, and it will be the end of that drug. Following that (same day) they will set Anne up with a fanny pack containing a 'pump' used to administer the new chemo (the one that is replacing the Iranetecan). This one is called 5-F-U and it has the same benefits, and many of the same side effects (and more as we have been reading), however they use the pump to administer this over a 4 day period, a little at a time. This is the plan so that Anne will better tollerate it. Keep your fingers crossed. We'll have the pump removed on Monday Feb 22.
Overall, Anne has had a fantastic day today. The anxiety was gone, and after R/T we drove out to Bug Light on Casco Bay and watched the waves, tankers, ferrys, etc. for a while. She was relieved, and she is still doing well this evening. She caught up on last nights sleep this afternoon.
Knowing that she will be finished with C/T a week from this coming Monday, Anne looked happier that she has for many days.
Dr. Ebrahim cautioned us that the R/T is a concern and usually creeps up on you and really starts to wear you down the last couple of weeks. Anne has 12 more treatments.
Labs were taken today to make sure the kidney function is ok.
Thanks for reading, mailing, caring, etc....
Your prayers help.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Day 27, Tuesday, 09:15pm
Hello everybody,
Today was a long one. Anne took R/T at 8:45M on schedule, then we drove to town to Mercy Hospital for the installation of the Mediport.
Perhaps I made the implant sound easy when I described it yesterday. That is however how it was presented to us. Like there was nothing to it. I know it will be a good thing in the long run, but Anne is hurting tonight.
She of course couldn't have anything to eat after midnight last night. This morning she didn't get up as quickly as usual. She watched the news in bed as she had to break her routine of having something to eat shortly after getting up. I could tell she was anxious about the procedure that was scheduled for 10am.
We arrived at Mercy at 9:30. The nurses were very gentle, calm, and informative. They made Anne comfortable, but it was a long wait before things finally started to happen. At 11:30 they finally took Anne into the operating room to install the device. At 12:30 they came out to the waiting room to let me know the job was done, that she was resting, and that I would be allowed back in when she woke up. Anne had a good snooze after the port was installed, and they came for me at 1:30. They fed Anne, and we rested and finally left around 3pm.
There are two incisions, one on her neck where the plumbing was piped to the vein. The other as I described yesterday, near the collar bone, where the device is implanted. These incisions are a couple of inches apart. Anne tells me the one up on her neck hurts the most.
Anne hasn't moved from the recliner since we got home at around 4pm. It was a long day for her, and knowing that she is very sore, it may be a long night. Actually, the area will be sore for several days, up to a week. The port can be used however as soon as tomorrow if need be. I expect it will be used for the first time on Friday if chemo starts again. I am concerned about the pain she is feeling, and the night ahead. We're treating the area with ice, and we're using pain killers as needed. I'm sure you are getting the point, as we are certainly learning as we go, just how difficult it is to go thru cancer treatment.
Anne has been thru alot today, expecially considering the anticipation she was feeling, and then the wait, and then the procedure, recovery, ride home, etc..
We pray for manageable pain levels, and of course that no infection will set in.
We go back to R/T again first thing at 8:45am tomorrow. Hopefully we can come straight home from that for a change. It hasn't usually worked out that way. The next morning, Thursday, we see Dr. Ebrahim right after R/T. As we've said, Friday brings R/T and maybe C/T starts up again. In order to get thru this we must continue to look past this tough treatment, further down the road to the bright spot when Anne is going to feel better. The first two days this week have been tough, and I know that Anne is anxious about Friday next.
Your thoughts and prayers help !! Thank you so much.
Today was a long one. Anne took R/T at 8:45M on schedule, then we drove to town to Mercy Hospital for the installation of the Mediport.
Perhaps I made the implant sound easy when I described it yesterday. That is however how it was presented to us. Like there was nothing to it. I know it will be a good thing in the long run, but Anne is hurting tonight.
She of course couldn't have anything to eat after midnight last night. This morning she didn't get up as quickly as usual. She watched the news in bed as she had to break her routine of having something to eat shortly after getting up. I could tell she was anxious about the procedure that was scheduled for 10am.
We arrived at Mercy at 9:30. The nurses were very gentle, calm, and informative. They made Anne comfortable, but it was a long wait before things finally started to happen. At 11:30 they finally took Anne into the operating room to install the device. At 12:30 they came out to the waiting room to let me know the job was done, that she was resting, and that I would be allowed back in when she woke up. Anne had a good snooze after the port was installed, and they came for me at 1:30. They fed Anne, and we rested and finally left around 3pm.
There are two incisions, one on her neck where the plumbing was piped to the vein. The other as I described yesterday, near the collar bone, where the device is implanted. These incisions are a couple of inches apart. Anne tells me the one up on her neck hurts the most.
Anne hasn't moved from the recliner since we got home at around 4pm. It was a long day for her, and knowing that she is very sore, it may be a long night. Actually, the area will be sore for several days, up to a week. The port can be used however as soon as tomorrow if need be. I expect it will be used for the first time on Friday if chemo starts again. I am concerned about the pain she is feeling, and the night ahead. We're treating the area with ice, and we're using pain killers as needed. I'm sure you are getting the point, as we are certainly learning as we go, just how difficult it is to go thru cancer treatment.
Anne has been thru alot today, expecially considering the anticipation she was feeling, and then the wait, and then the procedure, recovery, ride home, etc..
We pray for manageable pain levels, and of course that no infection will set in.
We go back to R/T again first thing at 8:45am tomorrow. Hopefully we can come straight home from that for a change. It hasn't usually worked out that way. The next morning, Thursday, we see Dr. Ebrahim right after R/T. As we've said, Friday brings R/T and maybe C/T starts up again. In order to get thru this we must continue to look past this tough treatment, further down the road to the bright spot when Anne is going to feel better. The first two days this week have been tough, and I know that Anne is anxious about Friday next.
Your thoughts and prayers help !! Thank you so much.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Day 26, Monday, 02:00pm
Hi friends,
Today Anne completed her 14th radiation therapy. WOW, that's now 14 of 28, a milestone !! I guess you can call it hump day. If we stay to plan, Anne should complete these on March 1st.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were relatively uneventful days for us (easy for me to say). Anne isn't feeling on top of her game, and she had more bouts with you know what, but she is hanging in there. You can imagine,,,she is concerned about resuming the chemo, considering what it did to her last time. The Dr. told us he was going to treat this disease aggressively. I read where one of the chemos being used attacks the cancer cells when they are actively reproducting, and the other chemo being used attacks the cancer cells when they are resting. If I were a cancer cell, that would be an aggressive attack on me.
Tomorrow at Mercy Hospital Anne is going to have a 'mediport' installed. This is a device installed under her skin which will be used going forward for all of the infusions (IV's). No more IV sticks in the hands and arms. This is described as a plastic 'bottle cap' shaped device installed in the upper chest below the collar bone. It makes the patients life much easier, and it will be used over and over again to draw blood and/or to give IV's. It can be used for quite some time, i.e. even after Anne finishes her treatments and has surgery later on. It introduces a small risk for infection, but patients like having these.
We see Dr. Ebrahim on Thursday and we expect him to resume chemo on Friday. If so, and if we only have 2 more chemo treatments, we'll be done chemo on February 19. However, we don't know what the new program will call for. Please pray for a successful new chemo program for Anne. One that she can easier tollerate would be most appreciated by Anne I'm sure.
Thank you everybody.
Your prayers help !!
Today Anne completed her 14th radiation therapy. WOW, that's now 14 of 28, a milestone !! I guess you can call it hump day. If we stay to plan, Anne should complete these on March 1st.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were relatively uneventful days for us (easy for me to say). Anne isn't feeling on top of her game, and she had more bouts with you know what, but she is hanging in there. You can imagine,,,she is concerned about resuming the chemo, considering what it did to her last time. The Dr. told us he was going to treat this disease aggressively. I read where one of the chemos being used attacks the cancer cells when they are actively reproducting, and the other chemo being used attacks the cancer cells when they are resting. If I were a cancer cell, that would be an aggressive attack on me.
Tomorrow at Mercy Hospital Anne is going to have a 'mediport' installed. This is a device installed under her skin which will be used going forward for all of the infusions (IV's). No more IV sticks in the hands and arms. This is described as a plastic 'bottle cap' shaped device installed in the upper chest below the collar bone. It makes the patients life much easier, and it will be used over and over again to draw blood and/or to give IV's. It can be used for quite some time, i.e. even after Anne finishes her treatments and has surgery later on. It introduces a small risk for infection, but patients like having these.
We see Dr. Ebrahim on Thursday and we expect him to resume chemo on Friday. If so, and if we only have 2 more chemo treatments, we'll be done chemo on February 19. However, we don't know what the new program will call for. Please pray for a successful new chemo program for Anne. One that she can easier tollerate would be most appreciated by Anne I'm sure.
Thank you everybody.
Your prayers help !!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Day 22, Thurs, 01:35pm
We want to thank all of you out there for your prayers, kind thoughts and words, cards, flowers, etc. etc.. Thank you so much.
Last night Anne asked me to get the clippers out. I did it and she asked me to shave her hair off, I did that. What a beautiful sight she is. She looks great. You can imagine and understand, one gets pretty tired of finding one's own hair in various places such as in the tub, on the pillow, or on one's own dinner plate. So we have taken care of that and Anne feels much better about these things.
Yesterday and last night Anne had alot of discomfort in her belly. She didn't complain, rather she just told me when I asked her what was up. The pain lasted overnight, and it persisted this morning. I think this is due to the cumulative affect of R/T. She is also tired alot of the time, but never discouraged. She maintains her excellent attitude.
Anne is having more trouble swallowing food now. This is to be expected. Her appetite is pretty good now though, so we are grateful for that. I guess you can't have everything. I can tell that she isn't feeling very well most of the time, and she is moving around much slower, and sleeping more.
I've noticed that her breathing patterns changing when she sleeps. She doesn't have that full in/out breathing with a slight growl as usual. You can imagine what the R/T is doing to her esophagus. It has to hurt. Even so, she is sleeping pretty well.
She has now completed 12 of the 28 R/T's.
We won't know what the new chemo program will be like until a week from today when we see Dr. Ebrahim. Best case is that she only has 2 more days of chemo. We pray that Anne will better tolerate the new chemo, no matter what the program calls for. We also pray for excellent results.
I'm going to accompany Anne as she drives to 'Curves' today. She is a wicked trooper. I'll have to wake her up to do so, as she is snoozing right now.
Anne said she might want to take in a movie tomorrow. I hope they start early, we have R/T scheduled for 8:30am.
Your prayers help !!
Last night Anne asked me to get the clippers out. I did it and she asked me to shave her hair off, I did that. What a beautiful sight she is. She looks great. You can imagine and understand, one gets pretty tired of finding one's own hair in various places such as in the tub, on the pillow, or on one's own dinner plate. So we have taken care of that and Anne feels much better about these things.
Yesterday and last night Anne had alot of discomfort in her belly. She didn't complain, rather she just told me when I asked her what was up. The pain lasted overnight, and it persisted this morning. I think this is due to the cumulative affect of R/T. She is also tired alot of the time, but never discouraged. She maintains her excellent attitude.
Anne is having more trouble swallowing food now. This is to be expected. Her appetite is pretty good now though, so we are grateful for that. I guess you can't have everything. I can tell that she isn't feeling very well most of the time, and she is moving around much slower, and sleeping more.
I've noticed that her breathing patterns changing when she sleeps. She doesn't have that full in/out breathing with a slight growl as usual. You can imagine what the R/T is doing to her esophagus. It has to hurt. Even so, she is sleeping pretty well.
She has now completed 12 of the 28 R/T's.
We won't know what the new chemo program will be like until a week from today when we see Dr. Ebrahim. Best case is that she only has 2 more days of chemo. We pray that Anne will better tolerate the new chemo, no matter what the program calls for. We also pray for excellent results.
I'm going to accompany Anne as she drives to 'Curves' today. She is a wicked trooper. I'll have to wake her up to do so, as she is snoozing right now.
Anne said she might want to take in a movie tomorrow. I hope they start early, we have R/T scheduled for 8:30am.
Your prayers help !!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Day 21, Weds, 02:45pm
Hello friends and followers,
Tuesday was uneventful, with Anne having a better appetite and ability to eat and handle foods. We picked up a bed wedge, which is something she wanted going forward thru this process to help her sleep.
We have rescheduled the R/T every day, so we don't have to be in there at 7:30am. It ranges from 7:30 to 9:30 now. On chemo days, we have kept the R/T scheduled for 7:30.
We don't meet Dr Ebrahim till next Thursday. I think he is giving her a rest from chemo treatments for a time. We expect chemo will restart next Friday, however we are not sure of that. The Dr has to come up with a new program for Anne's chemo, minus the Iranetecan type.
Anne is having stomach pain due to the R/T we guess, however she is taking things slow and she doesn't complain. She just went to Curves with her friend Karolyn. I'm a little surprised by that, knowing how she is feeling, but good for her, and she is in good hands.
She is not going to get the Octreotide shots going forward, just going to stick with the Immodium, religiously.
Thank you for reading and sharing.
Your prayers help !!
Thank you.
Tuesday was uneventful, with Anne having a better appetite and ability to eat and handle foods. We picked up a bed wedge, which is something she wanted going forward thru this process to help her sleep.
We have rescheduled the R/T every day, so we don't have to be in there at 7:30am. It ranges from 7:30 to 9:30 now. On chemo days, we have kept the R/T scheduled for 7:30.
We don't meet Dr Ebrahim till next Thursday. I think he is giving her a rest from chemo treatments for a time. We expect chemo will restart next Friday, however we are not sure of that. The Dr has to come up with a new program for Anne's chemo, minus the Iranetecan type.
Anne is having stomach pain due to the R/T we guess, however she is taking things slow and she doesn't complain. She just went to Curves with her friend Karolyn. I'm a little surprised by that, knowing how she is feeling, but good for her, and she is in good hands.
She is not going to get the Octreotide shots going forward, just going to stick with the Immodium, religiously.
Thank you for reading and sharing.
Your prayers help !!
Thank you.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Day 19, Mon, 02:20pm
Hi Friends,
Welcome home Anne !! She returned home today around 2pm. She had a good day all day yesterday, and we left the hospital today around 10:30am.
R/T was arranged today for 12:45, so we had some time to kill and went to Whole Foods market. That lasted about 5 minutes as she needed to get out of there into the fresh air. We picked up 4 things that looked good to her.
We then called MCCM and they took her in early for R/T, which went well and didn't bother Anne at all. She is snoring in her recliner at here at home right now.
Daily R/T is back on schedule at 7:30am Mon-Fri, but no chemo until at least next Thursday Feb 11, which is our next appointment with Dr. Ebrahim.
Other notes:
The soymilk was a disaster last Saturday night, so no more of that.....
Dave had nightmares last night about a Kobe Bryant jump shot with 7 seconds left on the game clock.
Dixie was super excited to see Anne come home today.
This blog may be boring for a time, but I'll do my best to keep it going.
Thank you everybody !!
You're prayers help !!
Welcome home Anne !! She returned home today around 2pm. She had a good day all day yesterday, and we left the hospital today around 10:30am.
R/T was arranged today for 12:45, so we had some time to kill and went to Whole Foods market. That lasted about 5 minutes as she needed to get out of there into the fresh air. We picked up 4 things that looked good to her.
We then called MCCM and they took her in early for R/T, which went well and didn't bother Anne at all. She is snoring in her recliner at here at home right now.
Daily R/T is back on schedule at 7:30am Mon-Fri, but no chemo until at least next Thursday Feb 11, which is our next appointment with Dr. Ebrahim.
Other notes:
The soymilk was a disaster last Saturday night, so no more of that.....
Dave had nightmares last night about a Kobe Bryant jump shot with 7 seconds left on the game clock.
Dixie was super excited to see Anne come home today.
This blog may be boring for a time, but I'll do my best to keep it going.
Thank you everybody !!
You're prayers help !!
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