This stuff blows my mind!

Watermelon carving

Nuf said!

Ramblings

I broke my own promise to myself Wednesday because I told myself that I would go see Dad every day, but I didn't go on Wednesday. There is no excuse except that I was just a waste of lazy skin on that day. Today we went to his favorite place to eat because he has a waitress there that he calls his girlfriend. In fact, he has girlfriends everywhere, but this one is really special to him. We always tip her well and I always throw an extra $5 on the table after everyone heads out the door because I am so grateful that she makes my dad happy. Usually, he eats their catfish really well, but tonight he could not eat. The Neulasta shot has his bones aching a lot and he just does not feel well today because of that. It's also causing him to not be able to sleep even though he is taking pain pills for it.

Update

Yesterday we went back to the oncologist and had labs done. Dad's labs were real good and the doc listened to his breathing and said it sounded pretty good. We are so pleased that Dad has not had any of the bad side effects so far. We have two weeks off with no treatments or doc appointments! WooHoo!

I have been down at his house this morning trying to rescue his berry plants from the weeds. We have just not been able to keep up with the work in the garden. My poor brother couldn't do it all. Dad bought all these berry plants and he was so worried that the grass was overtaking them. He was right, but I got them cleaned out today. Now maybe Dad can relax a bit; I, on the other hand, got tired and HOT very quickly. I still don't have my strength back, but I'm trying. Yoga last night helped some.

WooHoo!

This morning I went to my first Bible study class since April 7th and I was so happy to be back. Those people are just awesome. That hour of sitting on a hard chair was all I could take though, so I didn't go to the worship service.

Last night I had to go to a wedding. I thought I was finished going to weddings, but I guess not! If I had had to travel to get to it, I wouldn't have gone, but it was right here in my town and I broke out of there before the bride and groom even got there.

Slaying the dragon!

The fruit flies have invaded my home and I am determined to rid my home of these obnoxious pests. The drains are cleaned with clorox, no fruit is out, nothing sweet is on the counters or in the garbage. I will NOT lose this battle. I never had them before and I always have fruit out in the fruit basket. Today I started to open a SEALED package of sweet rolls with fruit in the centers. The damn bugs were INSIDE the NEVER BEEN OPENED package. I threw the whole thing away!!!

Another scare!

When I went to see Dad today, his jugular vein was really hard and it was bothering him. I took him to get a Sonic burger and he wanted to stop back by the doc's office, but it was closed for lunch. When Mom got home from the beauty shop, she took him to the doctor's office. Doc was gone, but his staff called the surgeon who put the port in. She told Dad to go to the hospital and get an x-ray of the area. They couldn't get me on the phone, but the doc's office manager left me a message telling me where my parents were and that I should go to the hospital and find them. My brother is hosting a rehearsal dinner at his lake house, so he was out of pocket. As soon as I got home and got the message, I rushed to the hospital and found Mom sitting in a wheel chair in the waiting room. They thought she needed a wheel chair worse than Dad. Turns out that his neck had been swollen since they put the port in last Friday and when the swelling went down the vein was very prominent and hard. We all learned something new! There was a plastic tube in that vein coming from his port!!! Crisis averted!!!

Thank goodness!

Finally, I got a break! The abscess that I thought was coming did not materialize after I started back on antibiotics. I went to the doc yesterday morning as he instructed, but he was not there. His wife is a pediatrician and between the two of them, they could not get the fever down of their youngest child. I saw his truck at his office later on during the day, so I'm sure everything is OK now.


My dad is sleeping a lot. I hope this is the only side effect that he gets from the chemo since he is getting 1/3 of the usual dosage due to his age. I make sure I see him every day.

I need a break!

Dad's chemo was short today. We were finished by 9:30. Mom went with us today so she could see where he gets his chemo and I took her to get new glasses while he got his drip. Tomorrow my brother will take him for another short day of chemo. So far, he has had no ill effects. I suspect that will change though. I went back this afternoon to see for myself if he was OK.

The staph infection has reared its ugly head again. I am feeling a bit of discomfort sitting, but I cannot yet see an abscess. I suspect one is forming deep down below the surface in the same general area. I called the doc and got more antibiotics. His office called and wants me in the office first thing Thursday morning. They are closed on Wednesday. I just finished my last antibiotic a couple of days ago. Will I have to be on them forever??????

I ordered a shingles vaccine because I have a fear of shingles and I know stress can cause an outbreak. The shot costs $219 and is not covered by insurance. I will suck it up and pay for it. That's how scared I am of shingles. Doc gave me a prescription for it and it takes 7 days to get it in to the drugstore. With my luck lately, I'll get shingles before it comes in!!!

Cancer SUCKS!

I left home at 7:00 this morning to pick up my dad and take him for his first chemo. Both of us were very nervous. After a preliminary visit with the doctor, we went downstairs for his chemo. He is getting two different kinds and lots of anti-nausea meds, but the greatest of all was the ativan (anti-anxiety). He went right to sleep after that started in his veins. I left to get a sandwich and when I got back he was all slumped down in his chair in a little ball asleep. For that, I am immensely grateful. Tomorrow will not be as long a day. I got home at 5:00 tonight...too late to make it to my yoga class, which I desperately needed today.

Happy Father's Day!

As usual on Father's Day, I went to be with my dad at his church and was shocked to find out that he wasn't there. He just did not feel well today. Mom said the area around his port was puffy, so I went and looked at it and took his temperature to make sure there was no infection. He didn't have a temp and his port looked fine to me. I'll be taking him for his first chemo tomorrow. Of course, he's worried about me having to wait that long for him. I'm worried about him because he is a very impatient man and doesn't just sit still very easily. He has macular degeneration, so he can't read. He will have a TV that he can watch, but even that gets old after a while. Things are just SUCKY right now. I'm trying to find the positive, but so far I have failed at that!

OMG!!!!

Edited to add: My brother just called me at 4:30 and said they were finally leaving the hospital!!! That's 8 hours my dad was in the hospital to get a port!!! GRRRR!

I had Dad at the hospital at 8:30 where he was scheduled to get a port put in. He is not a patient man and I don't seem to have much patience in hospitals. They are on different clocks from the rest of the world. At 12:00 they finally came to get him. During the time that he was waiting, he told me his arm was hurting where the IV was. I just kind of blew it off and figured it would be okay. Later he told me again it was hurting. I went to look at it and his arm was huge where the fluid was going everywhere except the vein. I got someone to come in and, of course, they had to start over with the IV. My dad really hates needles. At 1:15 my brother came to relieve me and let me go home because I had been sitting on hard chairs for about as long as my ass could stand. I called him at 3:00 to see if they got home. He was still in the waiting room and they had not told him anything about why Dad was not out of surgery/recovery yet. Finally, at 3:15 the doctor came out and told him that it took so long because she could not find a vein suitable for the port. She finally got it in. I'm afraid his veins are as thin as his skin is due to his advanced age. I feel so sorry for him having to go through all this CRAP! Of course, he could have no food or drink after midnight and was completely starving. Brother is taking him to a diner to get some breakfast at 4PM!!!!

Cancer Sucks!

I'm taking Dad to get a port put in tomorrow..several days earlier than scheduled. Every day is important in getting the chemo started due to the aggressivenes of the cancer. We got a surgeon here in Minden to put in the port to save us a trip to Shreveport. I am tired already and we have only just begun, but I also know that my days with my dad are numbered. That makes me sad!

Exhausting day...

My brother took my mom and dad for Dad's appointment to get his CT scan at 10:00 while I went to another appointment to see if I qualify for an investigative gout study. I met up with them at the hospital where incompetence was rampant. It's no secret how I feel about incompetence. They failed to tell him he had to drink some stuff the night before, so he drank it when he got there, but then the machine broke down and he had to go somewhere else to get scanned. The kicker is that he had to wait 2 hours after drinking the prep stuff before they could do the scan. The man could not eat after midnight last night, so he was starving. We were late to the oncologist, but we called ahead to let them know why.

The oncologist is awesome. The CT scan revealed no cancer outside the lungs, but it is in both lungs. The only treatment is chemo. It is STAGE IV. We are getting a port put in Tuesday and Chemo starts Wednesday for 3 days. Its potency will be adjusted so as not to be so toxic on a frail 86 year old. The doc will check after the first round to see if it is helping. He thinks it will help him to breathe better. We wait about 3 weeks for the second round. This is a very aggressive cancer that has probably only been there a short time.

More CRAPPY stuff!

The following is a directly quoted email from a friend of my brother's. She is an excellent oncologist.



"I'm sorry to hear the bad news. the chemo works well, but prolongs life to about 9 months---range 6-18 months. Without treatment--6 weeks is the average. Small cell carcinoma is incurable 97% of the time. 86 years old-----hmmmm.....if he's a real healthy one--give it a shot with chemo. If it puts him in the bed most of 24 hours--probably too toxic for him....Quality of life is the issue--it may make him feel better for awhile---trust your judgement and his. I've never met an 86 year old that didn't know what he could handle; I've learned to trust THEIR judgement.Keep me posted. Side effects of chemo are much better prevented in this day and age, by the way."

Crappy day!

My dad has small cell lung cancer. I totally tried to NOT look it up and read all about it, but I got out of bed and looked it up. I wish I hadn't!

Proud gardener...

In spite of the fact that I have been totally unable to work in my yard, my flowers have blossomed and made me proud.

Feeling good!

The home health nurse told me yesterday that this wound is very small. The incision is only 1 centimeter, whereas the other one was 7 centimeters. She told me that it will probably be closed in about a week if it heals like the other one.

My mom told me that my dad was very depressed for the last couple of days, so I just got in my car and went to see him. I picked a few cucumbers in the garden and he went out with me to look at the garden. I told the nurse that I went to see him and she told me the doctor's orders said "no driving". No one told me that. I am still going to drive the short distance to Mom and Dad's. My dad needs to see me.

I'm a mess!

I got home last night after being back in the hospital since Friday on IV drugs. Home Health will be putting me back in their daily rotations until the new abscess is closed.