Another day

Hey everybody.  I know I’m a day late for this, but hey, better late than never.  Well, I am back from the hospital and couldn’t be happier.  I’m home, not hooked up to an IV (it is so nice not to have to pee every 15/30 mins), have my dogs to play with and my house to roam around.

The time in the hospital really wasn’t too bad.  If all my in-patient treatments go like last week, I will be beyond thrilled.  Wasn’t nauseated at all (at least not until the ride home.  Even after 7 pm, you need to drive like a maniac to go from the Dolphin to get onto 95 and then to the turnpike.  Talk about a nauseous ride home!!), had an appetite, decent room and decent food.

Got some great news too.  On the first day, my oncologist told me that they were looking over the results from the bone marrow biopsy and found some troubling news.  They found that the chromosomal count was abnormal (very similar to the site of the tumor), which could suggest that the cancer had spread through my pelvis.  Most likely I would have to repeat the bone marrow biopsy after a couple more treatments to see where we stand.  I wanted to cry right there about the biopsy (not because of the cancer).  That had to be one of the most painful things I have ever experienced.  The news about the cancer having possibly spread wasn’t good.  But here comes the good news.  On the second day (I think), my doctor came in and said it was a mistake.  My chromosome count from the biopsy site was completely normal.  Talk about having your spirits go from the gutter to flying high!!

Other than that, not much to tell.  Today is another day.  Pretty nauseous at the moment, but it’ll pass.  The pain in my leg is still there, but it’s manageable.  Looking forward to the weekend to getting back to normal.  Hope you are all well and thank you again for all the prayers and well wishes.

A quick post

Hey everyone.  Sorry I haven't posted in since I've been home.  Been enjoying being home very, very much.  Just a quick post tonight (I promise to post more tomorrow).  Just want to let everyone know I am doing fine and am so happy to be home.  Being home (even though I haven't really left the house) can really make all the difference.

Talk more soon.  Goodnight.

Going home soon!

Hi all - it's Amy just checking in to let you know that we're going home soon. We hope to be leaving around 7pm or so and Scott hopes to get home, play with the dogs, take a nice hot shower without being attached to an IV, and lay down and rest (I think in that order!).

He's going to do a blog post tonight (or most likely tomorrow) but for now, here's what a man happy to go home looks like!

P.S. - Isn't he cute in that beanie hat? I think so.... :)

First In-Patient Treatment – Day 4

Well, I am almost done.  In a little more than 24 hours, I’ll be able to get out of here and head home.  I cannot wait.  It’s really not that bad here.  The food is ok (I actually have an appetite), and I love the company and visitors I have, but I wanna go home.

This are going along pretty smoothly.  A little more tired today though.  Don’t have much more to say other than a shower can make you feel worlds better!!

Hope everyone else is doing well.  Love you all.

Inpatient #1, Day 2

Hi all! It's Amy blogging today. Scott is doing pretty well (considering) but he's sleepy because of the meds right now so I'm going to let you guys know how he's doing today.

Scott is getting two different chemo drugs this week from the ones he got during is outpatient treatment. The good news is these ones don't make him nauseous like last time. He is beyond relieved. He even has an appetite and is eating his meals. Believe it or not, the food is pretty good here at UM. He was happy they even are letting him pick his meals from a menu.

He is having lots of different meds this week. In addition to the 2 chemo drugs and the drug to protect and coat his bladder, he his getting steroids, meds to help him relax, anti-nausea meds, a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots, and blood pressure meds on standby because his BP is running a little high. He is getting lots and lots of IV hydration, too. He is especially happy his chemo drugs are on the IV drip this time, instead of having to be pushed in manually via the syringes. We are thinking this is what made the difference with his nausea, but it's really all just a guess.

(By the way - if any of you can spell nausea and nauseous without spell check, I'm impressed. I can never spell them right!)

The Ativan (anxiety meds) are making him sleepy right now and I have to tell you, it's pretty funny to see Scott all loopy! Scott rarely drinks or anything, so it's funny when the meds make him silly and extra talkative. After he gets silly, he gets sleepy, so that's where he's at now.

I just asked Scott if there's anything he wants me to tell his people (haha!) and he just told me to tell everyone hi and thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. And if anyone was wondering if Scott is really doing okay, I assure you, he is his normal self and still giving me grief whenever he can. :) I was just trying to debate something with him and he says he's right and to leave him alone because he has cancer and he can do whatever he wants. That argument doesn't work on me, but he still has to try. Normalcy is good.

Dad (Neil) is here for the night shift - we are taking turns so someone is here around the clock. My Dad (Greg) and Joan were awesome enough to come down from NJ for the week and stay at the house during the day while I'm here. It's great because we don't have to worry about the dogs being alone all day. Even if someone comes and lets them out, it's a long time to be alone and God only knows what kind of trouble Oliver would get into! I suspect Oliver is growing on my Dad. Everyone has been such a huge help and we are grateful.

Scott's about to start the 2nd chemo drug and will finally take a shower after that. The nurses here are so great - I have to say I'm VERY impressed with UM - they are taking very good care of Scott.

Thank you all from me, too, for all your well wishes. Much love to all!

Sleepy Scott at the time of this post. (He has it freezing in the room!)

Dad taking pictures.

A small portion of downtown Miami from his window.

Scott sitting in the comfy chair yesterday.

First In-Patient Treatment - Day One

Hey everyone.  Well, I’m now in the hospital for my first in-patient treatment.  Really sucks.  Got to the Cancer center around 7 this morning and then went to the lab for some bloodwork.  Once that was done, we went to the reception area and waited to see the doctor.

Hey said everything looked good and that I was ok to be admitted.  He mentioned something about possibly changing my chemo treatment to every 2 weeks, instead of every 3 weeks.  There are both advantages and disadvantages to this.  The biggest disadvantage being that my body may not be able to handle it.  I will know more as the week goes on.  The positive side of it that my treatments will be over that much sooner.

Actually haven’t started my treatment yet.  Only been through about 4 hours of hydration so far.  In fact, my IV is beeping saying that the hydration is complete.  Next, I’ll get some anti-nausea meds and other medications and then starts the chemo.  Yippee.  That will be followed by about 4 or 5 hours of hydration again.

Tomorrow, everything should start a bit earlier.

I do have my own room in UM Hospital.  It’s nice.  Couple of comfy chairs to sit in (Amy in one, Dad in the other) and of course the bed.  And there is enough room that if someone was staying here overnight and wanted, a bed could be brought in.  Not a bad view out the window.  Plenty of natural light.  And the big bonus…..the TV actually works.  And I have basic cable.  Got to watch American Choppers on Discovery and now watching Friends.

Nothing else to really report right now.  I’ll have more to say later after the chemo treatment, so I may post again later, if not, I will tomorrow.  Thank you everyone for all the support and warm wishes.  I need them and appreciate them more than you will ever know.

Less than a week to go....

Well, I have less than a week to go until it’s time for my next treatment.  This one’s pretty scary,  This is the first treatment where I am in the hospital for a full week.  I go in on Monday morning (March 21^st) at 7 in the morning for bloodwork.  Then, I’ll see the doctor who will admit me.  I’m not sure if I will be staying in the Sylvester Cancer Center or in the hospital, but will be admitted probably around 9 or 10 in the morning.

Not sure what’s gonna happen though.  I know that for 5 days, I will be have chemo treatments everyday followed by lots of IV Hydration.  All the while, they will be monitoring all my vital systems.  Next Friday cannot come soon enough!!  Really kind of scared only because I don’t know what to expect.  Similar to just prior to my last treatment when I didn’t know what to expect.  I’m sure I’ll be fine though.

I’ve been doing pretty well lately.  I’ve been nauseous off an on, but nothing major.  The main thing is the leg pain.  It comes and goes.  Sometimes, it’s serious enough that I need the Percocet, sometimes, I only need Vicodin.  And then there are times (normally throughout the day at work) I can get by just using Excederin Tension (no aspirin allowed).

The other side effect that I have been dreading has finally arrived too.  Last Sunday, I started to lose my hair.  One minute, I’m in the shower, and I’m fine, then about 2 hours later, I can pull it out with my fingers.  Well, that was it for me.  I just don’t think I could take waking up in the morning and finding all my hair still on the pillow.  So off to Supercuts I went.  People there were really nice.  They joked with me about why I was doing it.  Did I lose a bet or something.  Once they found out why though, they were very supportive.  So I got a buzz cut.  And for your enjoyment, I asked Dad to be there to record it with his camera.  He took pictures (before, during and after).

So, for your enjoyment, here are some pics of me get shaved.  I hope you enjoy.  Love you all!!