Wednesday, November 26
Greetings,
Monday, Michele had Methotrexate injected into her spine. The procedure went well, and the doctor performing the deed allowed her to leave after a mere 20 minute rest period. Some, if not most doctors require 2 hours of lying still, so we were pleasantly surprised. Another surprise, not so pleasant, was the discovery that she must have two more of these injections in her spine.
Tuesday she had her 5th RCHOP treatment. The drugs infused during the RCHOP protocol not only kill the Lymphoma, but they also boost her metabolism, so she ended the day feeling better than when she went in. We asked the doctor if he had anything for nerve pain, since Michele has been suffering a lot of stabbing pain in her left hand and arm since the last full-body Methotrexate treatment. He sent us home with a drug commonly used in the treatment of seizures. She took one before bed and it really helped! She slept better than she has in a long time and her hand and arm have been relatively pain free all day. We are hoping it's not a fluke, but will be repeatable. The doctor is fairly confident that the problem with Michele's ankle is a side effect of the chemo, and will hopefully disappear when treatments are complete.
Today we went back for her Nulasta shot, but unlike previous trips, she had enough energy to dress up for the occasion and eat at Bob Evans afterwards. We even stopped at Jo-Ann fabric and shopped a tiny bit. So this has been a good week, and much better than I had expected.
We got the schedule for her remaining treatments. She will be admitted to the hospital on December 8th for her final full-body Methotrexate treatment, typically a four day event. On December 15th she will receive the second shot of Methotrexate in her spine, then on the 16th she will receive her final RCHOP treatment. That leaves one more Methotrexate shot into the spine, which is scheduled for December 26th. We were hoping to have all the treatments wrapped up by Christmas, but missing it by one day isn't too bad.
Beyond that, the schedule is uncertain. At some point the Oncologist will order a battery of tests to determine if they got it all, but that probably won't happen until the end of January. We'll keep you posted.
Have a great Thanksgiving, and thank YOU for praying!
Gratefully with Love,
Tim and Michele
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Tuesday, November 18th, 9:30 AM
Good Morning,
The Oncologist's office called a few minutes ago. The results of the
MRI's Michele had yesterday showed nothing wrong! Thank you for praying. This
is good news, but still leaves the ankle problem unanswered. For now, we are on
schedule for Michele's treatment Monday the 24th. Please continue to pray
for:
- Restoration of motor control in her right ankle
- Peace for the upcoming procedure
- Return of strength in her left arm
- Strength for the RCHOP treatment on Tuesday the 25th
We will not be feasting on turkey this Thanksgiving, but we do
have lots to be thankful for. We hope you have a blessed and enjoyable
Thanksgiving!
With Love,
Tim and Michele
Monday, November 17, 2014
Monday, November 17, 7:15 PM
Hello,
Some time ago I speculated that, with regard to blog postings, no news would constitute good news. That turns out to be not entirely true. Sometimes no news posted simply means there are things going on that are unresolved. Other times it can mean there are personal struggles going on that we really don't want floating in the public realm. The past week has contained ample supplies of both those conditions.
Right after I posted last week's update, Michele began exhibiting symptoms of a mild virus. She had a runny nose, some dizziness, and a bout with diarrhea. We went from the constipation battle to the use of Immodium. The quest being to find the happy balance, without swinging the pendulum too far in either direction. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, and she seems to be recovered from that.
Last Wednesday night I was just about to doze off to sleep when Michele called me into her bedroom. Her right foot had gone numb and she could not bend her ankle upward, toward her. We moved her leg around and massaged things, but nothing really helped. We speculated that perhaps she had been sitting and lying too long. so she tried to move around more on Thursday, but it didn't help. Friday we called the Oncologist and reported the development. They responded with ordering an MRI of her brain, so we drove to Zanesville and had the procedure done. We waited for radiology to read it before leaving, and were relieved to hear that the scan showed nothing new in her brain. We got home a little before 9 PM. The Oncologist put her on a low dose steroid to see if that would help.
This morning, Monday, the Oncologist office called to see how she was doing. We had to report that the ankle was not really any better, and her left arm was still mostly useless since the last Methotrexate treatment. The Oncologist ordered an MRI of her entire spine: 3 views without contrasting dye, and 3 views with. So, back to Zanesville we went. Michele endure another 2-1/2 hours in the MRI machine. This time we didn't stick around for the radiology department to read them, we just came home, arriving a little after 5 PM.
So what does all this mean? I wish we knew. It seems unlikely that the cancer has spread, since the results of the PET scan were good, but everyone seems puzzled by the new symptoms. This is where you come in. Please ask the Lord to sort this all out for His glory. Obviously, we would love to have Michele wake up tomorrow completely healed of all her physical problems, but that is not our expectation. Wherever God is taking this, in His sovereignty, we just need enough grace to keep moving through the minutia of it all. I believe He will honor that request.
We will let you know what happens. Thanks for being there. It is a comfort!
Tim and Michele
Hello,
Some time ago I speculated that, with regard to blog postings, no news would constitute good news. That turns out to be not entirely true. Sometimes no news posted simply means there are things going on that are unresolved. Other times it can mean there are personal struggles going on that we really don't want floating in the public realm. The past week has contained ample supplies of both those conditions.
Right after I posted last week's update, Michele began exhibiting symptoms of a mild virus. She had a runny nose, some dizziness, and a bout with diarrhea. We went from the constipation battle to the use of Immodium. The quest being to find the happy balance, without swinging the pendulum too far in either direction. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, and she seems to be recovered from that.
Last Wednesday night I was just about to doze off to sleep when Michele called me into her bedroom. Her right foot had gone numb and she could not bend her ankle upward, toward her. We moved her leg around and massaged things, but nothing really helped. We speculated that perhaps she had been sitting and lying too long. so she tried to move around more on Thursday, but it didn't help. Friday we called the Oncologist and reported the development. They responded with ordering an MRI of her brain, so we drove to Zanesville and had the procedure done. We waited for radiology to read it before leaving, and were relieved to hear that the scan showed nothing new in her brain. We got home a little before 9 PM. The Oncologist put her on a low dose steroid to see if that would help.
This morning, Monday, the Oncologist office called to see how she was doing. We had to report that the ankle was not really any better, and her left arm was still mostly useless since the last Methotrexate treatment. The Oncologist ordered an MRI of her entire spine: 3 views without contrasting dye, and 3 views with. So, back to Zanesville we went. Michele endure another 2-1/2 hours in the MRI machine. This time we didn't stick around for the radiology department to read them, we just came home, arriving a little after 5 PM.
So what does all this mean? I wish we knew. It seems unlikely that the cancer has spread, since the results of the PET scan were good, but everyone seems puzzled by the new symptoms. This is where you come in. Please ask the Lord to sort this all out for His glory. Obviously, we would love to have Michele wake up tomorrow completely healed of all her physical problems, but that is not our expectation. Wherever God is taking this, in His sovereignty, we just need enough grace to keep moving through the minutia of it all. I believe He will honor that request.
We will let you know what happens. Thanks for being there. It is a comfort!
Tim and Michele
Monday, November 10, 2014
Monday, November 10
Hello,
Last week was busy but good. Michele felt good through the week, but her energy began to fade over the weekend. To be fair, the Prednisone that she takes for 5 days after an RCHOP treatment artificially boosts all her "systems", so that was probably the biggest factor for her feeling good. Over the weekend she had a hard time feeling warm, even though we have the house temperature turned up and she is dressed warmly. Today, she felt light headed, so we took her temperature and sure enough, she is running a slight fever. The oncologist has been consulted and feels that she has some viral infection that will run it's course. We gave her Tylenol around 3 o'clock and she broke into a sweat around 5 PM, so I think she is over the hump. She still feels light headed when she stands up, but I'm hoping that is gone tomorrow.
The last treatment really took a toll on the progress of her left arm. This is somewhat expected, but still discouraging for her. Just to refresh: The issue with the arm is that it never really had a chance to heal from the surgery before she started getting chemo. At the time, I asked the surgeon how chemo would effect her recovery, and he basically said that we needed to pick our battles, and the most important thing was to get rid of the cancer first. So progress with the arm is like a yo-yo. We just need to keep reminding ourselves that the arm will come back when the cancer is gone. Needless to say, pray for patience.
Thanks for traveling this road with us.
Tim and Michele
Hello,
Last week was busy but good. Michele felt good through the week, but her energy began to fade over the weekend. To be fair, the Prednisone that she takes for 5 days after an RCHOP treatment artificially boosts all her "systems", so that was probably the biggest factor for her feeling good. Over the weekend she had a hard time feeling warm, even though we have the house temperature turned up and she is dressed warmly. Today, she felt light headed, so we took her temperature and sure enough, she is running a slight fever. The oncologist has been consulted and feels that she has some viral infection that will run it's course. We gave her Tylenol around 3 o'clock and she broke into a sweat around 5 PM, so I think she is over the hump. She still feels light headed when she stands up, but I'm hoping that is gone tomorrow.
The last treatment really took a toll on the progress of her left arm. This is somewhat expected, but still discouraging for her. Just to refresh: The issue with the arm is that it never really had a chance to heal from the surgery before she started getting chemo. At the time, I asked the surgeon how chemo would effect her recovery, and he basically said that we needed to pick our battles, and the most important thing was to get rid of the cancer first. So progress with the arm is like a yo-yo. We just need to keep reminding ourselves that the arm will come back when the cancer is gone. Needless to say, pray for patience.
Thanks for traveling this road with us.
Tim and Michele
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