Saturday, April 30, 2016

Saturday update

Hi everybody. Figured it was time to give you another update. It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon nice quiet day and I've been out walking the porch for exercise. My leg gets a little bit stronger every day. And all seems to be going the right direction. This coming Tuesday I get my staples out and then I don't see doctors until the ninth of May. I'll be out on medical leave until the 14th and then we'll see. This has been an interesting experience as I learn more patients and appreciation of everything we have been given by God daily. Love to you all Wendy. Please forgive the misspellings. 😂

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Home sweet home

So we got back home last night and it's just so great to be back in your house. I'm doing well have seen home healthcare and Michael is of course doing a great job taking care of me. The dogs are still amazed that I'm home I think they were very confused yesterday. So just settling into the new routine at the house and will keep you guys informed but so far so good. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and hope that this finds you all happy and healthy love Wendy.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Post sugery

The surgery went great on Friday. Dr Wehman was pleased. Subsequent scans look good so now just hanging out for another weekend. Amazing no real headache. It just reminds me of when I had long hair and my ponytail was pulled too tight. LOL! Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers they obviously help. I love you all and will keep you informed have a great Sunday Love Wendy

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Next step is surgery tomorrow

So keeping everyone in the loop, first and foremost I am still doing very well. There is a lesion in my brain that the doctors will be removing tomorrow, Friday. I have had a great team working out the plan and all is ready. There is just one discrete spot so surgery is definitely the best answer. The procedure will start at 11 am and take a few hours. If possible Michael will update the blog afterward, if not be patient and we will catch up as quickly as we can. I have great peace that the Lord is guiding this whole process so I hope that you can share that peace with me. I just wanted to let you all know where we stand. I am actually going into this very fit and the prognosis is excellent. Love to all of you, Wendy

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

One week later and things are different 🙂

So the situation changed on Thursday the 16th when I had spasms and numbness in my right leg that sent us to the hospital. Started some meds to treat and had additional scans. Then Saturday I had a more extensive series of spasms on my right side. This was then followed by another CT scan and it was determined that I have a neurological issue generated by my cancer so I moved from the cancer floor at ORMC over to Neurological Step Down and started new meds that will control the spasms better. That is definitely working as there have been none for two days now. The doctors have case discussions on Thursdays so my treatment plan will be determined after that and I will let you know. In the meantime I am doing physical therapy to strengthen my right leg and answering work email. I have a great team of doctors here and of course the Great Physician Jesus at my side. Great peace and no anxiety is where I rest. Just wanted to let you know the latest. Love to you all. Wendy

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

New treatment update

Hi gang! So I started the first cycle of my new treatment last Thursday the 7th.it was an infusion that day and immediately after I started the oral med Ibrutinib, which I take every day. Both of these drugs are what the doctor calls biological. I still need to understand that definition a little better. But because of that status my body can respond either with some mild rejection or with an allergic type reaction. So far it has been the second with some breathing difficulty. So I am on some allergy meds and a couple of different inhalers. Today I am feeling better although still coughing some. I stayed home from work the last two day but will be back in the saddle tomorrow. My next infusion and set of lab draws is scheduled for Wednesday the 20th. Okay enough about me, my Dad has also been in hospital for the last few days. Initially he had a very slight pneumonia that had to be cleared up, but that was a blessing as he also had a slow heart rate that needed to be corrected. He had a procedure today to install a pacemaker and so far everything looks very good. He hopefully maybe able to go home tomorrow. God is so great! That's all fo now folks. Love to you, Wendy

Saturday, April 2, 2016

April Fool's wasn't very funny for us!

Hi gang! Yesterday was a bit of a challenge, I was scheduled for a liver biopsy and then we also had a medical emergency with Ridley. Thank goodness for my sister Cindy who came to the hospital to hang out with me so Michael could take Ridley into the veterinarian. It turned out that he had swallowed a sewing needle (both Michael and I are baffled as to where he got it) and they had to do surgery to remove it from his stomach. Thankfully the needle didn't do nearly as much damage as it could have and he is recovering so well from his surgery that he can come home today! My procedure went well also and I feel pretty good, much better than the last time I had a liver biopsy, for which I am very grateful. This week I also had a CT scan on Monday and a series of labs and tests on Wednesday to prepare for the new immunological trial that I will be participating in. Everything went well and my first treatment is scheduled for next Thursday, April 7. Also a number of the tests this week showed improvement in my cancer status, my liver enzymes in the blood work continue to normalize, the cancer tumor markers dropped 47 points (about 25%) and the CT scan showed that the mets that were previously in lymph nodes in my chest have resolved. It almost makes it hard to stop the current treatment to go into the trial but on we go. If things don't go well in the trial we can certainly go back to the Gemzar and herceptin treatment. So that is the state of things in our house. Now if we can figure out how to prevent a 16 week old puppy from running and playing for the next two weeks while he heals from the surgery all will be well. That maybe quite a challenge as he was playing hard with Maggie yesterday before he went to the animal hospital! Love, Blessings and Peace to all of you. Wendy