Things went very well yesterday - it was a long day of sitting in a chair for Ed with the various IV bags and injections, but Dr. Menco has big lounge chairs with a beautiful view out the window and Ed watched a movie and slept, so the time wasn't so bad.
He felt pretty good yesterday afternoon and evening - Kristin came by and watched a movie - and Ed slept pretty well. He started the Prednisone this morning along with his cadre of other meds, and so far so good. I'm at the office but I just talked to him and he and Tyler were getting ready to take a walk. I'll be going home in an hour to relieve him of his TPN backpack - and I'm sure he'll want Tyler to take him to Camarillo for a quick peek at the hot rod progress. I just love that we have so many "support" meds to make the chemo side effects manageable - I don't think 20 years ago, ANYONE felt like walking the neighborhood the day after they had chemo!
The drainage tubes came out with no problems yesterday, and even though we love the surgeon, he's off our dance card list for future appointments. Maybe he'll stop by for a beer and a BBQ sometime instead. THAT would be wonderful.
Ed gets his Neulasta shot this afternoon and then we see Dr. Mazur about the progress of getting rid of the infections. I'll give you an updated report this evening (if I don't fall asleep during a movie like I did last night!! )
It's nice to feel like we're back on the merry-go-round instead of the roller-coaster. I bought Ed hot air balloon ride tickets as one of his Christmas presents.....and if all goes well for the next few weeks, I'm going to book it for sometime in late May. THAT will be a very fun trip with lots of reasons to be soaring !
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Noon Monday, April 11, 2011
We're getting used to being so flexible and able to shift gears at a moment's notice -- if only we were younger, we would have the beginnings of a skill set toward a career in Cirque du Soleil......
We arrived at Dr. Menco's for the Rituxan today and since Ed has felt so good and the fevers are under control, they offered him the option of combining the Rituxan and the chemo into one longer infusion appointment today and then having the Nuelasta injection tomorrow and starting the Prednisone tomorrow as well. Ed opted for the combo appointment so he won't have to sit again tomorrow for several houirs. So he is there now until about 3:30 to have everything and we can go straight from there to the surgeon's office and get the drains taken out from the surgery. It's nice to combine several appointments to cut down on the driving back and forth.
So I'll let you know later this evening how it's all going. Keep good thoughts and prayers for a smooth week and for the Nuelasta to be super effective this time and keep him from getting an infection!
Sorry I didn't hear the doorbell last night, Lyndsay and Peter. Next time just knock louder if you know we're home........us older people don't hear as well as we used to!
More later.........
We arrived at Dr. Menco's for the Rituxan today and since Ed has felt so good and the fevers are under control, they offered him the option of combining the Rituxan and the chemo into one longer infusion appointment today and then having the Nuelasta injection tomorrow and starting the Prednisone tomorrow as well. Ed opted for the combo appointment so he won't have to sit again tomorrow for several houirs. So he is there now until about 3:30 to have everything and we can go straight from there to the surgeon's office and get the drains taken out from the surgery. It's nice to combine several appointments to cut down on the driving back and forth.
So I'll let you know later this evening how it's all going. Keep good thoughts and prayers for a smooth week and for the Nuelasta to be super effective this time and keep him from getting an infection!
Sorry I didn't hear the doorbell last night, Lyndsay and Peter. Next time just knock louder if you know we're home........us older people don't hear as well as we used to!
More later.........
Sunday, April 10, 2011
7 PM Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wow! The weekend went by SOOOO fast....... but it was great to be home and have Ed feeling well enough to have visitors, and to get up and go out too. Thanks, Tom for the beautiful flowers (roses and stargazer lillies which have all opened - love them!) and most of all for the gift of your time, driving up from Huntington Beach after a long work week to visit. Leo & Georgette came by and Ryan and Chantel as well so it was a busy Saturday. We both really enjoyed seeing all of you....it feels good to have family and friends around. It's always been such a core part of our lives and we've really missed the connections and conversations and friendships.
Today, Kent Truman came by and we had a great visit (lots of hot rod talk) and my daughter Stacy and her husband Gary came by with their adorable tribe (Luke, Hope and Cade) to have an outdoor adventure in the backyard at Grandma Liz and Ed's house! Lots of lizards, flower picking and tromping through the shrubbery, rock climbing and a few just-in-the-knick-of-time "saves" as not-yet-2 year old Cade followed his big brother and sister up and down the patio stairs and almost too close to the pool. They were so much fun, scampering and exploring and chattering away about karate, Disneyland, bugs, critters and "Carolyn", the lady who drives the trash truck in their neighborhood! Kent, you have 3 little fans who'd love a ride in your dump truck next time - Ed has some serious competition for the tractor - you two could start a side business doing kid's parties with your heavy equipment!
Ed and I drove out to his Mom's house in Camarillo and then stopped at Lazy Dog Cafe at the Oaks Mall for a quick dinner - Ed insisted we stop, so he watched me eat. (I ordered goat cheese and beet salad and raw ahi tuna, so he wouldn't feel bad watching me eat stuff HE'D like to eat - he doesn't like any of that stuff.) He's really wanting to start eating again - but so far, it seems his body has other plans and has been quite uncooperative the last 2 times he's tried. With everything that's scheduled this week, he wants to wait again until he's out of the time zone for the anticipated "feeling crummy" period and then he'll try eating again He'll get the 3-hour Rituxan infusion in the morning on Monday, drainage tubes taken out of his chest tomorrow afternoon, chemo Tuesday morning for 3 hours, blood tests for the infection on Tuesday afternoon, the Nuelasta shot on Wednesday and then hopefully, a quiet rest of the week in terms of doctor appointments. There is an emotional aspect of the chemo that takes a little getting used to - - the idea of voluntarily poisoning yourself (or driving someone you love to have it done ) is surreal to say the least. Understanding the concept objectively isn't so difficult, it's just hard to explain the feelings and emotional conflict. The company this weekend has been a welcome distraction and source of comfort.
I'll let you all know how Monday goes, but it may be late in the day tomorrow before I get to the blog. Ed is now peacefully dozing through 60 Minutes. He got some good color in the sun the past 2 days, and he looks content. A cup of tea, in one of my Mom's china tea cups, is next on my "to do" list, Ed's antibiotics and last meds at 9, then an early night to hit the hay.
Sleep well.
Today, Kent Truman came by and we had a great visit (lots of hot rod talk) and my daughter Stacy and her husband Gary came by with their adorable tribe (Luke, Hope and Cade) to have an outdoor adventure in the backyard at Grandma Liz and Ed's house! Lots of lizards, flower picking and tromping through the shrubbery, rock climbing and a few just-in-the-knick-of-time "saves" as not-yet-2 year old Cade followed his big brother and sister up and down the patio stairs and almost too close to the pool. They were so much fun, scampering and exploring and chattering away about karate, Disneyland, bugs, critters and "Carolyn", the lady who drives the trash truck in their neighborhood! Kent, you have 3 little fans who'd love a ride in your dump truck next time - Ed has some serious competition for the tractor - you two could start a side business doing kid's parties with your heavy equipment!
Ed and I drove out to his Mom's house in Camarillo and then stopped at Lazy Dog Cafe at the Oaks Mall for a quick dinner - Ed insisted we stop, so he watched me eat. (I ordered goat cheese and beet salad and raw ahi tuna, so he wouldn't feel bad watching me eat stuff HE'D like to eat - he doesn't like any of that stuff.) He's really wanting to start eating again - but so far, it seems his body has other plans and has been quite uncooperative the last 2 times he's tried. With everything that's scheduled this week, he wants to wait again until he's out of the time zone for the anticipated "feeling crummy" period and then he'll try eating again He'll get the 3-hour Rituxan infusion in the morning on Monday, drainage tubes taken out of his chest tomorrow afternoon, chemo Tuesday morning for 3 hours, blood tests for the infection on Tuesday afternoon, the Nuelasta shot on Wednesday and then hopefully, a quiet rest of the week in terms of doctor appointments. There is an emotional aspect of the chemo that takes a little getting used to - - the idea of voluntarily poisoning yourself (or driving someone you love to have it done ) is surreal to say the least. Understanding the concept objectively isn't so difficult, it's just hard to explain the feelings and emotional conflict. The company this weekend has been a welcome distraction and source of comfort.
I'll let you all know how Monday goes, but it may be late in the day tomorrow before I get to the blog. Ed is now peacefully dozing through 60 Minutes. He got some good color in the sun the past 2 days, and he looks content. A cup of tea, in one of my Mom's china tea cups, is next on my "to do" list, Ed's antibiotics and last meds at 9, then an early night to hit the hay.
Sleep well.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
2:00 PM Saturday, April 9, 2011
No news is good news.......in our case, very much so the past couple of days. We've really just had some most enjoyable quiet time, especially today! It's sunny and serene in the backyard - we've been out most of the day soaking up the rays and the fresh air. We took a long and relaxing walk for about 40 minutes this morning - got reaquainted with our neighborhood after feeling away for the past 2 months! Ed's friend Tom Chesari ("TC" from the blog comments almost daily - :) ) came up from Huntington Beach to visit and he helped Ed bring the new patio furniture from the garage to the patio.
After we lost the sun behind the huge trees in the backyard, we moved them down by the firepit, lit the fire ring and enjoyed the warmth! (It's not very warm out today with the breeze, but the sun is irresistible.) Tom left a bit ago after a great visit and Ed is dozing contently in the chair, so I thought I'd dash in and update the blog. By the way, we were enjoying some bird watching with the new binoculars our neighbors Peter and Lyndsay dropped by last week as a wedding gift. For those of you who've known Ed for any length of time.....did you ever think you'd see the day that he would use binoculars to actually watch "wildlife" ????......I mean the kind that doesn't involve a string bikini????? I know...... me either. Thanks, Peter and Lyndsay..... a very thoughtful gift. We appreciate it very much.
Our friends Leo and Georgette will be over later today and Ryan and Chantel as well...... so it will be a nice relaxing and social day. Tomorrow we may go for a drive to get out a little before we settle in for the week of chemo starting Monday, but we'll be around at least part of the day if you want to get a spot on Ed's "dance card".
The fevers are gone, thank goodness, but he'll continue on both antibiotics for another week or so just to make sure. He's been feeling really quite well the past 2 days. Every day this way is a great blessing.
We hope you are all having a splendid weekend with rest, recreation and rejuvenation on everyone's schedule!
Ed & Liz
After we lost the sun behind the huge trees in the backyard, we moved them down by the firepit, lit the fire ring and enjoyed the warmth! (It's not very warm out today with the breeze, but the sun is irresistible.) Tom left a bit ago after a great visit and Ed is dozing contently in the chair, so I thought I'd dash in and update the blog. By the way, we were enjoying some bird watching with the new binoculars our neighbors Peter and Lyndsay dropped by last week as a wedding gift. For those of you who've known Ed for any length of time.....did you ever think you'd see the day that he would use binoculars to actually watch "wildlife" ????......I mean the kind that doesn't involve a string bikini????? I know...... me either. Thanks, Peter and Lyndsay..... a very thoughtful gift. We appreciate it very much.
Our friends Leo and Georgette will be over later today and Ryan and Chantel as well...... so it will be a nice relaxing and social day. Tomorrow we may go for a drive to get out a little before we settle in for the week of chemo starting Monday, but we'll be around at least part of the day if you want to get a spot on Ed's "dance card".
The fevers are gone, thank goodness, but he'll continue on both antibiotics for another week or so just to make sure. He's been feeling really quite well the past 2 days. Every day this way is a great blessing.
We hope you are all having a splendid weekend with rest, recreation and rejuvenation on everyone's schedule!
Ed & Liz
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Noon - Thursday April 7, 2011
Well, it seems the superman cape I've been borrowing from Ed lately is getting a tad threadbare in a spot or two - mostly from overuse I guess. I slept in today and didn't go to the shop or get up and do anything! I can't rememnber that last time I was horizontal at 7:30 in the morning, but today was the day. It felt good and I'm hoping that we will both have more relaxing times ahead with a steady treatment course and fewer roller coaster rides for a while. Ed was pretty tired at the end of the day since he didn't nap yesterday at all, so he slept from about 6:30 PM and then unfortunately woke up around 3:30 and had a hard time going back to sleep. But he layed quietly for a long time and then insisted I not get up at 5:15 and go to the office like I usually do. It felt good!!! Ed's fever was very low grade this morning - only 99.3, so that's good progress - not even enough to take Tylenol. Seems that things are on the upswing and that feels really good.
We have not much on our schedule the next 3 days - Ed is home waiting for Lisa to come and draw blood and change the PICC line dressing today and then he'll probably have Tyler bring him to the shop for a little bit. I'm here at the office and will get my taxes done late this afternoon, just in the nick of time, and I'm looking forward to having that off my "to do" list.
Hopefully the weather will brighten up a tad for the weekend and we'll get some use out of the new patio furniture that Tyler and Ed picked up yesterday - it will feel wonderful to sit and visit with friends and family in our own backyard!
Hope you all have a smooth and productive day! Come see us if you're in the area, even if it's just for a few minutes - we'd love to see you.
We have not much on our schedule the next 3 days - Ed is home waiting for Lisa to come and draw blood and change the PICC line dressing today and then he'll probably have Tyler bring him to the shop for a little bit. I'm here at the office and will get my taxes done late this afternoon, just in the nick of time, and I'm looking forward to having that off my "to do" list.
Hopefully the weather will brighten up a tad for the weekend and we'll get some use out of the new patio furniture that Tyler and Ed picked up yesterday - it will feel wonderful to sit and visit with friends and family in our own backyard!
Hope you all have a smooth and productive day! Come see us if you're in the area, even if it's just for a few minutes - we'd love to see you.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
5:00 PM Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Good news! Dr. Menco saw the CT scan and it shows the lymph nodes are shrinking - the chemo is melting the cancer! Thank goodness for some good news after the couple of rough weeks Ed has been through. He also said he didn't see any obstructions in the intestines, so he's encouraging Ed to try to eat small amounts of soft food and see if his digestive system will begin to tolerate some food. We went home and Ed ate a few tablespoons of scrambled eggs and said it tasted good. That's a lot of progress for one day - thank goodness!
As in all of life, there is no free lunch......so along with the good news came the immediate scheduling of the next round of chemo - Monday and Tuesday this next week - Rituxan on Monday and the Maxi-Chop package on Tuesday. Both will be done outpatient in Dr. Menco's office if everything stays good over the weekend. We'll have blood cultures done on Friday and Ed is scheduled to have the drainage tubes taken out of his chest on Friday as well. He's still running some fevers, but hopefully the antibiotics will be effective at wiping out the bacteria that's the root of those issues.
Wanted to share the good news - your prayers and energy are finding their way to Ed for sure! Call him or call me if you want to come visit - the next few days will probably be a good time -- we expect that after the chemo there will be another period of low white counts and restricted visiting, so now's your chance. We don't have anything planned for the weekend, so let us know if you're in the area. We'll be home hopefully eating and cooking and eating and cooking and eating.......me doing the cooking and Ed doing the eating......as it should be! Come celebrate the good news ..... I'll have snacks!
As in all of life, there is no free lunch......so along with the good news came the immediate scheduling of the next round of chemo - Monday and Tuesday this next week - Rituxan on Monday and the Maxi-Chop package on Tuesday. Both will be done outpatient in Dr. Menco's office if everything stays good over the weekend. We'll have blood cultures done on Friday and Ed is scheduled to have the drainage tubes taken out of his chest on Friday as well. He's still running some fevers, but hopefully the antibiotics will be effective at wiping out the bacteria that's the root of those issues.
Wanted to share the good news - your prayers and energy are finding their way to Ed for sure! Call him or call me if you want to come visit - the next few days will probably be a good time -- we expect that after the chemo there will be another period of low white counts and restricted visiting, so now's your chance. We don't have anything planned for the weekend, so let us know if you're in the area. We'll be home hopefully eating and cooking and eating and cooking and eating.......me doing the cooking and Ed doing the eating......as it should be! Come celebrate the good news ..... I'll have snacks!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
1:00 PM Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Just a quick update for today. Ed had his CT scan today but we won't have any results until tomorrow when we see Dr. Menco late morning. We are really hoping and praying for good news about the efficacy of the chemo so far. There's also a possibility that the doctors might be able to see something about the small intestines as well to determine if they are beginning to heal and return to normal so that Ed can try eating again soon.
Those darned fevers were back most of the night - the highest was 101.9 - just under the 102 threshhold of comfort level for staying at home. The Tylenol continues to work to reduce the fevers, but we really have to get to the underlying source - hence our appointment in an hour with Dr. Mazur. Hopefully it will be something siomple to fix with maybe an additional or different antibiotic.
Thanks, Jeanne for the help with the blogging comments. I guess since the blog is set up thru Google, they want everyone to have a Google e-mail. Captive audience I guess.
I'll update later when we have some news. (We went to Do-It Center today and got a couple of super comfortable padded patio chairs for outside. Since Ed's so enjoying the sunshine, and we'll probably be home a lot more than we normally would be at this time of year....it seems like something that we'll enjoy a lot. Any of you who come to visit can try out the new chairs!......:)
Those darned fevers were back most of the night - the highest was 101.9 - just under the 102 threshhold of comfort level for staying at home. The Tylenol continues to work to reduce the fevers, but we really have to get to the underlying source - hence our appointment in an hour with Dr. Mazur. Hopefully it will be something siomple to fix with maybe an additional or different antibiotic.
Thanks, Jeanne for the help with the blogging comments. I guess since the blog is set up thru Google, they want everyone to have a Google e-mail. Captive audience I guess.
I'll update later when we have some news. (We went to Do-It Center today and got a couple of super comfortable padded patio chairs for outside. Since Ed's so enjoying the sunshine, and we'll probably be home a lot more than we normally would be at this time of year....it seems like something that we'll enjoy a lot. Any of you who come to visit can try out the new chairs!......:)
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