I had a pretty good week beginning with chemo on Monday and radiation each day. I have adjusted to the "new normal" and time is not dragging by. I actually look forward to the daily trips to Duke Raleigh Hospital and we often take the scenic route back home. As long as the A/C is working! It went out on my car on the way back and Keith added a can of Freon to get it back.
Gail gave Keith her Mom's car for his birthday and we have been working on it to get it ready for the road. We tried to charge its A/C, but I noticed a stream of refrigerant blowing out the front of the condenser. A through search online revealed no replacements at any of the local car part stores. We decided to try a patch with epoxy and stop leak. It actually worked and we charged the A/C and it's holding so far!
My neighbor Mike continues to mow the yard and I am totally grateful for him coming over each week. Linda is still keeping Keith fed each evening and of course, I still can't eat.
I do have days I can drink water and keep most of it, but not enough. They gave me fluids on Wednesday and Friday to keep me hydrated. The tumor has definitely shrunken and I can get some things past it to the stomach, but it just does not want to stay there. I have been able to take pills in the morning and keep them down.
All in all it was a great week. I did try to eat a little pork chop. Gotta keep trying!
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Friday, July 15, 2016
First Week Of Treatment Update
It has been a pretty good week, except for one major issue near and dear to me. Monday I had my first chemo and radiation treatment at Duke Raleigh Cancer Center. It went well although I slept through most of the chemo. That's OK though, since it is a long process just sitting there while bags of fluid drip slowly. They staff are very nice and make sure I get everything I need.
Tuesday - Friday I only have radiation which goes pretty fast and so far no issues. Yesterday (Thursday) after radiation, the Doctor's nurse went over things and he came in to check how things are going. So far, so good.
On the bad side, we fired up the trusty Snapper mower Tuesday and it ran great. After a few minutes, though, it made that loud clanking noise any mechanic knows all too well. Our neighbor Mike was outside stacking wood and he knew what happened. It broke the connecting rod, or what Dad always referred to as throwing a rod. He rebuilt that engine over 25 years ago and mounted it on a an 26" Snapper mower chassis to give me when I lived in Knightdale. It's been a very tough engine and was very good on gas. I only filled it up once each summer and once in the Winter when getting leaves up. I do have another engine to put on it, but still, I'll miss that little engine Dad fixed and gave so many years of service. Sure, I had to tweak the carburetor nearly every week, but it never let me down.
Mike came over and mowed the grass while I was at radiation, Wednesday, so at least the town won't complain, but I was sure looking forward to doing it myself.
Thursday I went to my regular Doctor and she adjusted the sliding scale for my insulin shots. Getting my sugar under control has helped a lot, and I've been able to drink fluids and take pills while losing less of it. I did chew on some prime rib Wednesday night, which was so good, just couldn't swallow it. The taste was out of this world!
Tuesday - Friday I only have radiation which goes pretty fast and so far no issues. Yesterday (Thursday) after radiation, the Doctor's nurse went over things and he came in to check how things are going. So far, so good.
On the bad side, we fired up the trusty Snapper mower Tuesday and it ran great. After a few minutes, though, it made that loud clanking noise any mechanic knows all too well. Our neighbor Mike was outside stacking wood and he knew what happened. It broke the connecting rod, or what Dad always referred to as throwing a rod. He rebuilt that engine over 25 years ago and mounted it on a an 26" Snapper mower chassis to give me when I lived in Knightdale. It's been a very tough engine and was very good on gas. I only filled it up once each summer and once in the Winter when getting leaves up. I do have another engine to put on it, but still, I'll miss that little engine Dad fixed and gave so many years of service. Sure, I had to tweak the carburetor nearly every week, but it never let me down.
Mike came over and mowed the grass while I was at radiation, Wednesday, so at least the town won't complain, but I was sure looking forward to doing it myself.
Thursday I went to my regular Doctor and she adjusted the sliding scale for my insulin shots. Getting my sugar under control has helped a lot, and I've been able to drink fluids and take pills while losing less of it. I did chew on some prime rib Wednesday night, which was so good, just couldn't swallow it. The taste was out of this world!
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
The Old Man On The Porch Is Still On The Porch!
Things are moving, albeit a bit slow, but any movement at this point is progress! On my last Doctors visit, he determined I was still dehydrated and scheduled me for fluids infusions on July 6, 7, and 8 to help build me up. It did make a huge difference. He also put me on insulin to control my blood sugar instead of changing the feeding tube formula. That has also made a huge difference. I never imagined learning how to give myself insulin shots, but it's not bad at all and I learned quickly how to do it. Normal blood sugars should read around 100, but mine was reading around 350, which made me weak and sleepy all the time.
Also, certain body functions do not work well, and with sugar that high, all the water I drank was being flushed right out and not doing me any good. That seems to have turned around, fortunately.
On Sunday, my family care team threw a party for my first chemo treatment on Monday as well as Keith's birthday. Lace & Cakes in Merry Hill made a spectacular multipurpose cake, half was happy birthday Keith, and the other half was well wishes for my treatments. We had neighbors over and had a grand time. I even got my own fan for the porch!
Monday July 11, 2016 went well. My appointment was at 8:00 AM and they drew blood, saw the Doctor and went for my first Chemo. It went well with no allergic reactions and then I went for my first radiation treatment. That too went well, except they draw a map on my chest and sides. At 60 years old I am still very ticklish on my sides! That was hard to lay still for!
Tuesday's radiation treatment went fine and much quicker since they didn't have to draw on me again. We have a special parking pass that lets us park at the back door and a short walk to check in. The parking deck has one elevator that's been out of order for a week now, and the other elevator is a bit of a walk to get to, but it was not working Monday, so yeah, I had to take the stairs down, but at least we were on the first level up, so it was just one flight of stairs.
I still can't eat anything, but I am able to take some pills and drink water. Hopefully I can eat something soon!
Also, certain body functions do not work well, and with sugar that high, all the water I drank was being flushed right out and not doing me any good. That seems to have turned around, fortunately.
On Sunday, my family care team threw a party for my first chemo treatment on Monday as well as Keith's birthday. Lace & Cakes in Merry Hill made a spectacular multipurpose cake, half was happy birthday Keith, and the other half was well wishes for my treatments. We had neighbors over and had a grand time. I even got my own fan for the porch!
Monday July 11, 2016 went well. My appointment was at 8:00 AM and they drew blood, saw the Doctor and went for my first Chemo. It went well with no allergic reactions and then I went for my first radiation treatment. That too went well, except they draw a map on my chest and sides. At 60 years old I am still very ticklish on my sides! That was hard to lay still for!
Tuesday's radiation treatment went fine and much quicker since they didn't have to draw on me again. We have a special parking pass that lets us park at the back door and a short walk to check in. The parking deck has one elevator that's been out of order for a week now, and the other elevator is a bit of a walk to get to, but it was not working Monday, so yeah, I had to take the stairs down, but at least we were on the first level up, so it was just one flight of stairs.
I still can't eat anything, but I am able to take some pills and drink water. Hopefully I can eat something soon!
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
I Have A Need, A Need For Normal!
I still can't eat or drink very much, but I can get some liquids to my stomach, which is good. It just doesn't want to stay there very long, but it is progress!
I have ventured out to the grocery store and Wal-Mart, which tires me out even with a short loop in and out, but at least it's a change of scenery. Early mornings on the porch are still very nice, but as the Sun gets over the trees, it is unbearable and I have to retreat inside near the air conditioner.
Cousin Gail invited us to Merry Hill on Sunday so we took a road trip to Bertie county. Naturally I slept the whole way down and back, but it was good to be back in Bertie. I got to dangle my feet in her pool and it never bothered me that it was cloudy. I was worn out when we got back to Wendell, but it was good to have a little road trip.
Monday was the Fourth of July, and again out of sever boredom, I asked my pit crew to look at the lawn mower. It's normal for me to have to tweak the carburetor each week, but last week that didn't help and we never got it running. Thankfully, Mike mowed my grass last week out of the kindness of his heart, but it nagged me that for the first time in over 20 years that I couldn't mow the yard.
I have told the story of how my Dad rebuilt his golf cart after he wrecked it, sitting in a wheel chair and telling Mom what to do, since his eyesight was nearly gone, and some things he did from feel. We called them Alf and Ralf Monroe when they worked together. Well, Monday, Keith and I were Alf and Ralf. I pulled the carb off and took it apart, then had Keith clean it and I reassembled it while sitting in a chair.
It took a bit to adjust it, but I did take it for a spin around the yard until it died again. This time the motor was locked and would not turn. I pulled the head off and it was not jammed.We then pulled the top cover off and pried the flywheel and freed it up. Once reassembled, I got it adjusted and was able to mow my grass with no problems!
Yes,it totally wore me out. Even though it's a rocking chair like I sit in on the porch, with a steering wheel, it did take a lot out of me to finish the yard, and I didn't dump the last bag of clippings.
Today I am pursuing the feeding tube folks. Basically, while I was in the hospital my blood sugar was normal, but after being on this feeding tube, my sugar levels are off the scale, making me tired. I can actually swallow pills and liquids now, but while my sugar is so high my stomach rejects it and I still lose even water. It is encouraging things make it to the stomach, but it pains me that I can't keep anything down. My regular Doctor is on vacation, so I am tracking down my surgeon that installed the tube and hopefully he can get me on the correct formula.
So in short, not so bad, just want a hot dog soooooo bad!
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