old man

I bought a walker the other day to help me get back and forth from the bed to bathroom, and also to help with any excursions out of the house. It helps a lot, and helps to prevent additional falls. It works quite well. Today we put some safety bars in the bathroom near the toilet and in the shower. I am officially an old man. As much as I don't like this, it's better to be safe than sorry. I had my second dose of radiation this morning. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to administer. The doctor was already asking if I felt any improvements. I guess he is expecting some quick results. Nothing yet. Take care. -Eric

More stuff

I started chemotherapy again this week. My oncologist had put the chemotherapy on hold for a while due to my hospital stay, and making sure the infection was cleared up first. I had forgotten the wonderful side effects of chemotherapy ( Nausea, Fatigue), this morning I was quickly reminded. We visited an orthopedic doctor today (Dr. Grossnickle) to see what more we could do about the back/leg pain, and leg weakness that I have been experiencing. He first took an x-ray and found nothing. A follow up MRI showed more detail. He found that a cancerous tumor in my spine was pushing through the bone from the L3 vertebra to the L4 vertebra and shutting down the function of the nerve that controls by right leg. I essentially have no use of my right leg, which as you can imagine makes it difficult to walk. We took this as good news, and bad news. Good news that we now understand what the real problem is and we can now focus on fixing it the right way. Bad news because this means that the cancer is spreading. There are two options. 1) Radiation treatments on the Tumor in my spine. 2) Surgery to remove the Tumor. This surgery would need to be performed by an orthopedic oncologist specialist in Denver. My oncologist does not like the surgery option due to the overall risk and risk of infection. So we are going with the radiation treatments. We were able to meet with the radiation oncologist today in Greeley . He first performed a CT scan, marked my body with three tattoo marks and set up the radiation simulation. I also received the first radiation treatment today. Tomorrow I will receive the second treatment. I will receive ten treatments total , one each day over the next ten days. The radiation oncologist is optimistic that he stop the growth and relieve the pressure on the nerve. But he cannot promise that the weakness in my leg will be fixed. It all depends on how the nerve heals after the pressure is removed. I will stay on the pain management treatments with the steroid epidurals. Busy day. -Eric

took a dive

I took a dive today. My legs are very week due to the hospital stay, muscle loss, and also due to the drugs they give me for the sciatica. I was heading up the stairs and both legs gave out. I tumbled to the floor 2-3 stairs, hit my head on the wall and I think sprained a couple of toes. I am doing fine, no harm done, except for little loss of pride. It was earlier in the morning when it happened and Monica jumped out of bed very quickly to see what happened. Between Monica and Josh they could not get me up off the floor, so I had to crawl to the couch and I have been here ever since. The doctor says I need to eat lots of protein to get my muscle mass and strength back. Monica made monster cookies. (oatmeal, peanut butter, peanut m&m’s), not only do they have lots of protein, but they taste great. I may be sleeping on the couch tonight If I can’t make it up stairs.

-eric

more stuff

On Monday we noticed some signs of potential infection. (cold sweats, fatigue). We called the doctor just to make sure, and he asked me to come into the office for some blood cultures rigtht away. Given my history, he decided it was prudent to put me on an IV antibiotic, rather that the current pill antibiotic that I was taking. Apparently the IV form is more effective. Problem is they had already removed my PORT last week due to infection so this required them to put in a PIC, which is a cathedar in my arm to allow easy acces for an IV, without reacessing my veins on a daily basis. The good news is that they are letting us administer the IV at home so that we dont have to travel the hospital every day. Monica is becoming quite the nurse. They sent a nurse to our home to train Monica and now we can do this on our own for the next few weeks. A nurse will come by in a week or so to check up, and change the dressing, otherwise we are on our own. They had to do another X-ray of my chest to confirm the installation of the PIC. I can't count how many X-rays, CT-scans and MRI's I have had over the past three years (well actually I can, I am keeping track of all this stuff) but the point is, if I didn't have cancer before, I most likely do now, due to all of the radiation I have been exposed to:) I also just found out that I have Sciatica. This is the most painful thing I have experienced in my life. Basically it's a pain in my lower back that runs along the sciatic nerve down my buttock and right leg. It's not a constant pain but when the pain occurs I am basically immobilized and have to sit it out until it goes away. Ice packs have been the best temporary solution thus far. I went to a pain management doctor yesterday and he gave me steroid epidural treatment in the back that should help. I will need to get 2-3 more of these treatments over the next couple of months to help manage the pain. Appareently they are pretty successful so I have high hopes that these will work. More fun stuff. Take care. -Eric

update

I have been home from the hospital for a week now. I had a checkup with both my surgeon, and my oncologist on Friday. New x-rays show that things are looking good. My lung is fully inflated, and the incisions are healing nicely. I am still taking a lot of medication for the pain as I continue to heal, I am still on antibiotics, and I am still fatigued and generally weak. Going up and down the stairs is tough. My doctor says it will be 4-6 weeks to a full recovery, I am hoping it will be faster. I am very impatient. I was able to work from home last week, but not full time. We ventured out of the house for a bit yesterday, and a little bit today for the first time. We took the kids to a movie yesterday, and we made it to part of church today. I will likely continue to work from home next week and continue gather my strength. I hope to get back to the office soon. Take care. -Eric

home sweet home

They sent me home from the hospital this afternoon. The doctors determined that the leakage from the lung has stopped. The surgery on Monday worked and the lung is healing itself. They verified the fix with a couple of x-rays. They removed the remaining tubes from my chest, and the IV from my neck. After three weeks in the hospital I am now at home! I have three fewer ribs, some extremely manly looking scars, and my lungs are still in place. There will be some at home recovery time until I can regain my strength and get rid of the pain. I will still be on antibiotics and pain medication for a while, and I am not allowed to drive for a while. I should be able to work from home during my recovery.

-Eric

update

All, I wanted to get out an update on current status. Monday and Tuesday were tough as I tried to recover from the surgery on Monday. A lot of pain and discomfort, and a lot of tubes and wires to deal with. I am not getting a lot of sleep. Wednesday and Thursday were better as my body started to recover and we got the pain under control. Thursday an x-ray showed that the surgery had some good success and space they wanted closed off had closed up and the doctors decided that the leaking from the lung had stopped so they removed two of the four tubes from my chest. This relieved some pressure and some pain. They were also able to remove the epidural, the folio, and one of the IV lines. So the number of wires and tubes that I am connected to are significantly less, which makes it easier to get around. Later in the day the two remaining tubes showed some continuing leakage, so we are not out of the woods just yet, more waiting to see if the lung can heal itself with the smaller leak to work with. So lung removal is still a possibility. The doctors determined my IV port had to be removed due to infection concerns, so back to the operating table this morning. This was a relatively easy procedure, but it meant more cutting and more pain. Now I am recovering from the IV port removal surgery and waiting more on the lung to heal itself. I am getting really tired of being in the hospital. -Eric