Cancer Update

Back home finally. Blood work shows some improvement so no transfusion today. Meds remain unchanged.

Current plan is to go back Tuesday for blood work and doc visit. If her numbers are good enough she will get chemo Tuesday and Wednesday.

In the meantime she is to take it very easy the next few days.

A Sandi Update

Sorry for posting this so late, but I had to feed folks when we finally got home.

Sandi's blood work was very bad today with some of her worst numbers ever since she was first diagnosed on Thanksgiving Dad 2011. This was especially in terms of her red blood cells. Since Thursday her levels have gone off a cliff and she is in free fall for no reason. She was so low she was at life threatening levels. Meds were changed with a couple dropped, a couple added and then we were sent over to main hospital for a blood transfusion.

While they got her admitted in record time---less than ten minutes---it took another three hours before she actually started getting any blood. She finally got two units of blood. As the sun was setting on the Dallas skyline we were finally sent home this evening.

Chemo for Thursday and Friday has been canceled. We see the doc for the usual visit and blood work. If she does not show any improvement they will --at the very least--transfuse her with two more units again.

Sandi Update

Back home and her blood work was okay. She got her shot and nothing more as everything was still fairly stable. Next appointment is Thursday.

Chemo--Round 4:Part 2 Done

Second day of chemo is in the books and Sandi had a very hard time with it. This was, without a doubt, her worst one ever since all this began in 2011. She is home, in bed, and sleeping.

Chemo--Round 4: Part One-- Done

Sandi's blood work was really good today so she was able to start this round of chemo. She will have the rest tomorrow.

Next Monday we go back for the blood work, doc visit, and shot routine.

Chemo Round 2: Part 2--Done

We are finally home. Both of us are wiped out, but Sandi did better than expected today. Last couple of hours were very tough on her.

Next up is blood word, doctor visit, and a shot Friday morning. We absolutely have to get there so we really need the forecast of snow/ice not to happen.

Sandi Update

So far things are going okay as she finishes the first day of chemo. They are putting a chemotherapy deal into her, then a steroid bad, then a chemotherapy deal. While that stuff flows in they also are running saline into her. Her leg looked slightly better this morning than what I have seen before but everyone else assured me it was way better than last night when all heck blew up.

At this point we don't know what the treatment regimen schedule will be. There are several treatment options to be discussed going forward long term. Right now the focus is on the leg and trying to relieve the ongoing swelling and pain.

Sunday Night Sandi Update

The good news is her team, The Patriots, won the game tonight.

The bad news, as some on Facebook already know, is that the cocktail of three antibiotics is not working. Her leg is simply not getting better. It looks like they will be adding a wound care specialist as well as a physical therapy person to her medical team. There may be more tests as well. At this point tonight, plans for her coming home by midweek have been scrapped.

Needless to say none of us are happy campers about that.

Sandi Update

She is a very unhappy patient for a variety of reasons. While I was there with Scott, her doctor came in to look at her leg. He says her leg looks better and that should mean the IV antibiotic is doing something. Quite honestly, he is apparently seeing an improvement that Sandi and I are not seeing.

The plan is for her to have the round the clock IV antibiotic for the next two weeks minimum. Sometime next week, if it becomes clear the antibiotic is working, they will start setting something up for her to have the IV antibiotic at home. How that will work we have no idea. 

In the meantime she is going nowhere and hating every minute of it. I know for sure I am going back down to the hospital tomorrow. I may stay home for the weekend as heavy rain is in the forecast and my cane does not do well on wet pavement. Neither do I for that matter. I have done way too much the last couple of days out of necessity and am paying the price.

As to reviews, for FFB tomorrow,  Barry's review of  the short story anthology Wicked Women will run. I have several reviews to write and post thanks to a lot of reading at the hospital, but have no idea when I will get to them.

Home from the Cardiologist

We are back home from the Cardiologist. Sandi's visit went as well as it could have considering the situation. Knowing her situation they are billing insurance and then will work with us on what is left on the bill. Things are very bad and their decision is a huge help. Her next appointment is scheduled for July.

We go back to the cancer doctor tomorrow and her leg has not improved at all. Hopefully they will have an idea or two.

Both of us are wiped out and not looking forward to tomorrow.

Doctor Day Friday

Tomorrow is another doctor and blood work deal for Sandi. The blood work last week still indicated some issues so we are hoping things will come back a little bit better this week. If they don't and the trend has continued, we probably are looking at yet more specialists and yet more medications to address various problems.

So, if you would and you do please keep a good thought, a prayer, or whatever for Sandi right now. She needs them and we would all be very grateful.

Thank you.

Back Home---Sandi Update

We are back home and she is now sleeping. Everything seems relatively stable medication wise though they are going back to the original inhaler she was on that insurance denied. That one worked way better than their recommended choice. Her lungs seem about the same though it does seem like she is breathing harder here at home. By leaving her steroid dosage where it is and bringing back the original inhaler the hope is that she will breathe more comfortably. We are too keep a very close eye on the swelling in her lower legs and feet as it seems to be trying to come back.

The plan at this point is to have her see the cancer doctor in three weeks and then assuming everything is okay they will do another IVIG infusion the same day.

Had a very difficult discussion with the financial aid counselor as the amount we owe continues to escalate because of the new deductible this year. They need our monthly payment to go up by at least 35 percent and that is nearly impossible right now. Sandi having her unpaid medical leave terminated and her job along with it at Wal-Mart may or may not allow her to qualify for some things. New paperwork has been filled out and we await another phone call from the MASH program people. The expectation by all is that we don't qualify, but we don't know yet.

Embarrassing as heck not to be able to just take care of your own stuff.

Infusion Friday

Tomorrow is another infusion Friday down at Texas Oncology at Medical City Dallas for Sandi. On the agenda tomorrow are pre-meds and then one thing of IVIG. This stuff is supposed to help stabilize her slumping immune system and costs 6900 bucks a thing.

The new year is kicking our tail with the medical bills. Fortunately, most are working with us---for now--but all are making noises about needing bigger payments and faster ones. We would if we could.

Home

Back home a few minutes ago and Sandi is already asleep. She is doing "okay." Because of the swelling in her lower legs and feet her meds are being changed again and a couple of other adjustments are being made. Hopefully this all will tilt things the right way and not stir up an issue.

Her birthday is Sunday and late next week is the one year anniversary we were told she was terminal and most likely would not see six months let alone a year. She is still here and for that we are all very thankful.

Back Home

Everything on Sandi remains the same. Meds adjusted. Do it again next week.

Sandi Update

Everything is pretty much the same. At least it appears that way to us. We go back to Texas Oncology down at Medical City Dallas tomorrow morning for blood work and a doctor visit. Always dread going down because I am always afraid that there will be another unpleasant surprise. Had way too many of those.

Please keep a good thought, prayer, wish for her .....

Sandi

I was just reminded by e-mail I had not said how Sandi is doing these days. I'm not doing any better and had completely forgotten to say how things were after we got home yesterday. I am sorry about that.

Yesterday was another blood work day and the anemia and dehydration issues were a bit better. Other things were not. So, it was pretty much a wash on the blood work. She is still fully oxygen dependent and that has not gotten any better at all. We knew it would be months, if ever, before this got better, but she is discouraged about still having to be tied down to the equipment.

The steroid tapering continues and one hopes this won't trigger a worsening of the issue with her lungs. The lowering of the dosage has already had a major impact as she is back taking daily multi hour naps in the afternoon.

We do it all again on Friday.

Her blog on crafts, gardening, and a few other things is at   http://lady-sandra.blogspot.com/

Sandi's Store is at http://www.ioffer.com/users/sanditipple  Lots of good handmade stuff there including items for the upcoming holiday season.


Please keep her as well as the rest of us in your thoughts and prayers. Things are very tough around here these days and we are doing our best to hang in despite everything.

We Are Finally Home

Everything on Sandi is the same. Put her back on the Bactruim as the antibiotic. They will see her Friday. Because she remains oxygen dependent and therefore can not travel to Mayo in Florida or be onboard an airplane, they are going to fight with the insurance company and see if they can't get the 100 day PET Scan done here.

Doctor Day--Completed

Finally back home and the overall news was good. Everything that is happening with Sandi is perfectly normal at this stage post stem cell transplant. Blood work looks good and they are very pleased.  Long term prognosis and treatment was not discussed as they were really focused on what we need to do the next couple of weeks. The long term stuff has to be coordinated with Mayo staff who uses a different treatment protocol than what her people here do for a stem cell transplant procedure.

The firm belief here is that she still has the blood clot in her neck though it probably shrunk just enough that the neck swelling went down. They believe strongly that, despite what she was told, Sandi was put on a plane and sent home with the clot in there. Needless to say, I am not pleased about that.This also backs up what Sandi has been saying all along regarding the fact that her neck still does not feel right and she has occasional pain in there. For now they are leaving it alone and will not ultrasound the area.

Basically, leave everything alone and just watch her is the mantra for anything and everything right now.

At this point Sandi moves to a once a week blood work deal. Her next time for blood work and a doctor visit is next Wednesday morning.  In between she is supposed to keep eating right, being careful not to overdo things, try to walk a little bit around the complex each day, get plenty of rest, take her 18 daily drugs, and to just be careful "not to rock the boat."

All in all, things seem to be on track in the right way and now we just have to wait and see...

Doctor Day Tomorrow

Sandi's first appointment since she returned from her stem cell transplant is early tomorrow afternoon. It has been awhile since we made our way down to the offices of the cancer doctor at Medical City Dallas for blood work and an office visit, but, that is the plan for tomorrow afternoon. With her car dead in the parking lot, hopefully nothing will go wrong with my car and we can safely get there and back. We also hope the blood work news is good and she won't need any transfusions or infusions.

She continues to tire easily and have the chills and hard shakes after every meal. But, she has started getting a little color back and does not look anywhere as pale as she did when she came home a week ago  Monday. She looks a lot better than she did.

One of the things the folks at Mayo really wanted her to do was walk a little bit each day. Not only does it do something to help strengthen her immune system, walking a little each day will hopefully start to strength her endurance. That should eventually help with future medical treatments assuming she can get back some strength and endurance. Weakness is a huge issue for her and probably plays a role in the post meal chills and shakes.

Today was the first day she felt strong enough to walk a little bit. With Scott at her side she went out for a little while this afternoon for a short walk within  the complex. They were gone a little over a half an hour and kept it close and slow. It wore her down quite a bit, but she said it felt good and that she was glad she had tried to walk.

Her appointment is in the early afternoon tomorrow so with travel time and all that, I have no idea what time late tomorrow afternoon or evening we will be back. I will update sometime late tomorrow when I can.