Sunday evening
Lynn seems to be doing better - the little device that Dr. Conaway got for her has helped out a lot. She got a good night's sleep last night, the first in several days. The cough is still there, but it is not nearly so scary. One side effect was that she has almost completely lost her voice now. She literally cannot talk on the phone. Our friend and neighbor, Cynthia Cassidy, had what must be the exact same illness a few days ago, and she was without her voice for quite a few days. Lynn has two or three under her belt, so we should start seeing some improvement soon.
Had yet another issue come up, but it is not nearly so serious. Lynn hurt her hand on Thanksgiving, playing, of all things, Twister! A tendon in her left wrist hurts to the touch. It doesn't hurt her when she moves it, but it hurts like crazy when someone touches it. Carlee brushed her hand against it today, and when Lynn yelped, she really freaked out. Lynn is pretty sure that it is a tendon. If it does not get better soon, we will have to have it looked at.
I got the Christmas lights up, so that cheered everyone up...at least until we get the electricity bill! Mac and I also made a couple of trips up to my Mom's house and started working on the yard. It is too bad that Lynn is ill - she would really like to jump in and get to work on that! Possibly in the spring
Kathy Allen will be coming to stay with us next Saturday night, before Lynn gets started on round 4. The one after that will be a real bear - it falls between Christmas and New Years. Things wrap up March 1st if all goes well...definitely looking forward to Spring this year!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday Evening
Lynn had a follow-up a few days ago with Dr. Jordan. He was quite pleased with the status of her heart. Her blood pressure was very low, but he said that it was exactly where he wanted it. At that point, Lynn was concerned that she was picking up a bit of a cold. His response was "I don't do colds!" I think he was kidding, but you can never tell. Anyway, a few days went by, and she started picking up a non-productive cough that got worse and worse. It got to the point that she was unable to lie down in bed and had to sleep on the recliner sofa. She said that she felt she had to cough, and that there was stuff down there that she wanted to get out, but that it would not work for her. She didn't have a fever or anything like that, but she definitely felt that something was not quite right.
Things came to a head last night - she simply could not stop coughing, and was up most of the night. I managed to convince her to call her personal doctor, Dr. Conaway, and ask him if he could come up with something to help her out. He called back, heard what she had to say, and was convinced that she has some sort of infection. He arranged to get an inhaler for her that would help get the congestion broken up, so she could get her lungs clear. I also went out and got her an old-fashioned vapo-rub steam machine, which we'll run all night long for her. Hopefully that will help as well.
Lynn had a follow-up a few days ago with Dr. Jordan. He was quite pleased with the status of her heart. Her blood pressure was very low, but he said that it was exactly where he wanted it. At that point, Lynn was concerned that she was picking up a bit of a cold. His response was "I don't do colds!" I think he was kidding, but you can never tell. Anyway, a few days went by, and she started picking up a non-productive cough that got worse and worse. It got to the point that she was unable to lie down in bed and had to sleep on the recliner sofa. She said that she felt she had to cough, and that there was stuff down there that she wanted to get out, but that it would not work for her. She didn't have a fever or anything like that, but she definitely felt that something was not quite right.
Things came to a head last night - she simply could not stop coughing, and was up most of the night. I managed to convince her to call her personal doctor, Dr. Conaway, and ask him if he could come up with something to help her out. He called back, heard what she had to say, and was convinced that she has some sort of infection. He arranged to get an inhaler for her that would help get the congestion broken up, so she could get her lungs clear. I also went out and got her an old-fashioned vapo-rub steam machine, which we'll run all night long for her. Hopefully that will help as well.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
November 19, 2009
Thursday Evening
November 19, 2009
Lynn has just wrapped up the third round of chemotherapy. Things went pretty well. She was able, once again, to avoid the confusion brought about by one of the chemo ingredients. And, she did not have any of the nausea sometimes common for people taking those chemicals. However, she has had some issues with her IVs. It is getting increasingly difficult to find good veins for her IV. This time, she had some problems with the first one that was put in. It got a clot in it, and the flow of her IV had to be slowed down. They took that one out, and put in a new one. Fortunately for her, she had higher blood pressure than she usually did, and it was much easier to get a good stick. Never-the-less, for the first time, there was talk about a shunt, a permanent inlet into her blood stream. It would be in place for the rest of her treatment. Maybe it would make things easier to get the drugs in her, but it sometimes has a habit of getting infected.
Lynn's heart seems to be doing pretty well, although she still has the persistent cough. Dr. Jordan still is tweaking the Lasic, as she gains and loses lots of weight, all fluid, during short periods of time. The cough, interestingly enough, goes away when she is in the hospital. Only when she leaves does it return. She thought at first that we had mold in the house or something, but it is probably due to a combination of her moving around more and of getting away from the relatively dry air found in medical facilities.
Barb and Bob came by with dinner tonight - It was great seeing the two of them - they go to our church and are in our small group. They brought pot roast: Lynn's favorite. She has lost some of her ability to taste, so having something really good was a big help. Over the week-end, we had lots of visitors, and have had all kinds of people drop by to see if they could help us out. It has really been terrific. The first week after the chemo is always the hardest, as Lynn is the weakest. We try to stay away from public places where she can pick up germs and bugs, so she cannot get out. Having visitors boosts her spirits.
The next round of chemo begins in December. After that, there will be one in between Christmas and New Years. We wrap things up in March...just about the time this whole saga got started. Hope I won't have anything to write about after that!
November 19, 2009
Lynn has just wrapped up the third round of chemotherapy. Things went pretty well. She was able, once again, to avoid the confusion brought about by one of the chemo ingredients. And, she did not have any of the nausea sometimes common for people taking those chemicals. However, she has had some issues with her IVs. It is getting increasingly difficult to find good veins for her IV. This time, she had some problems with the first one that was put in. It got a clot in it, and the flow of her IV had to be slowed down. They took that one out, and put in a new one. Fortunately for her, she had higher blood pressure than she usually did, and it was much easier to get a good stick. Never-the-less, for the first time, there was talk about a shunt, a permanent inlet into her blood stream. It would be in place for the rest of her treatment. Maybe it would make things easier to get the drugs in her, but it sometimes has a habit of getting infected.
Lynn's heart seems to be doing pretty well, although she still has the persistent cough. Dr. Jordan still is tweaking the Lasic, as she gains and loses lots of weight, all fluid, during short periods of time. The cough, interestingly enough, goes away when she is in the hospital. Only when she leaves does it return. She thought at first that we had mold in the house or something, but it is probably due to a combination of her moving around more and of getting away from the relatively dry air found in medical facilities.
Barb and Bob came by with dinner tonight - It was great seeing the two of them - they go to our church and are in our small group. They brought pot roast: Lynn's favorite. She has lost some of her ability to taste, so having something really good was a big help. Over the week-end, we had lots of visitors, and have had all kinds of people drop by to see if they could help us out. It has really been terrific. The first week after the chemo is always the hardest, as Lynn is the weakest. We try to stay away from public places where she can pick up germs and bugs, so she cannot get out. Having visitors boosts her spirits.
The next round of chemo begins in December. After that, there will be one in between Christmas and New Years. We wrap things up in March...just about the time this whole saga got started. Hope I won't have anything to write about after that!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
November 15, 2009
Sunday 11/15/09
Boy, does the title of this blog, "Lynn's Memorable Spring" seem inappropriate now! Here we are, speeding into Winter, and yet the saga lives on! If everything goes according to plan, it will indeed be Spring when we wrap things up...only, just a year later!
Good news, however. Lynn had a cat scan done...one of the things that you look at to see if the cancer is regressing when dealing with lymphoma is the size if the lymph nodes throughout that body. When the nodes are swollen, thus larger, it is a sign that the body is attempting to fight the cancer, and, basically, that it is losing the battle. Lynn's earlier catscan showed that her lymph nodes were much larger than usual, and that the cancer was really taking hold. Well, the last series of cat-scans showed that the lymph nodes have decreased in size dramatically. In other words, the chemo is working just like it should. The cancer cells are taking a major hit, and are retreating exactly like we would have hoped. More good news: her blood counts, including red blood cells and white blood cells, are actually better after this round of chemo than the one before. Chemo has the effect of damaging her blood cells, and so her doctors try to manage the chemo so that they do not do something that will hurt her ability to basically get oxygen to her body. Her blood counts are great right now - she is handling the chemo very well, and her basic "life functions" are not significantly impaired.
In addition, she is not loony! If you recall, one of the components of her chemo, Ifex, the "I" in RICE, was breaking down into a chemical that was causing her to have some severe confusion and disorientation. That was from the first round. Well, Dr. Blair, her oncologist, decided to start massive dosages of methylyene blue to be injected into her periodically throughout the chemo process. This chemical, usually used as a stain, per my Mom, has the effect of "soaking up" the by-products of the Ifex. Bottom line - it worked perfectly, Lynn had none of the confusion or other problems, and she was able to handle things perfectly. Really great to see that happen.
We start round 3 on Monday. She goes into the hospital that morning. Hopefully, things will progress along the same route as we have seen so far at that time.
One major issue, that has nothing to do with Lynn, but that affects me. My Mom passed away on November 5th. This was totally unexpected, but I guess that you have to be ready for something like this when a relative is 80 years old. She had all kinds of input to give me regarding Lynn's treatment, plus lots of positive encouragement...she was, after all, planning on going to Med school. I just wish that she had been able to stick around long enough to see Lynn make it through this latest series of medical problems.
Boy, does the title of this blog, "Lynn's Memorable Spring" seem inappropriate now! Here we are, speeding into Winter, and yet the saga lives on! If everything goes according to plan, it will indeed be Spring when we wrap things up...only, just a year later!
Good news, however. Lynn had a cat scan done...one of the things that you look at to see if the cancer is regressing when dealing with lymphoma is the size if the lymph nodes throughout that body. When the nodes are swollen, thus larger, it is a sign that the body is attempting to fight the cancer, and, basically, that it is losing the battle. Lynn's earlier catscan showed that her lymph nodes were much larger than usual, and that the cancer was really taking hold. Well, the last series of cat-scans showed that the lymph nodes have decreased in size dramatically. In other words, the chemo is working just like it should. The cancer cells are taking a major hit, and are retreating exactly like we would have hoped. More good news: her blood counts, including red blood cells and white blood cells, are actually better after this round of chemo than the one before. Chemo has the effect of damaging her blood cells, and so her doctors try to manage the chemo so that they do not do something that will hurt her ability to basically get oxygen to her body. Her blood counts are great right now - she is handling the chemo very well, and her basic "life functions" are not significantly impaired.
In addition, she is not loony! If you recall, one of the components of her chemo, Ifex, the "I" in RICE, was breaking down into a chemical that was causing her to have some severe confusion and disorientation. That was from the first round. Well, Dr. Blair, her oncologist, decided to start massive dosages of methylyene blue to be injected into her periodically throughout the chemo process. This chemical, usually used as a stain, per my Mom, has the effect of "soaking up" the by-products of the Ifex. Bottom line - it worked perfectly, Lynn had none of the confusion or other problems, and she was able to handle things perfectly. Really great to see that happen.
We start round 3 on Monday. She goes into the hospital that morning. Hopefully, things will progress along the same route as we have seen so far at that time.
One major issue, that has nothing to do with Lynn, but that affects me. My Mom passed away on November 5th. This was totally unexpected, but I guess that you have to be ready for something like this when a relative is 80 years old. She had all kinds of input to give me regarding Lynn's treatment, plus lots of positive encouragement...she was, after all, planning on going to Med school. I just wish that she had been able to stick around long enough to see Lynn make it through this latest series of medical problems.
Monday, November 2, 2009
November 2, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
You know, the name of this blog is "Lynn's Memorable Spring" - well, I'd guess that no one could imagine that we would be looking at the first part of November at this point. Quite a trip from early spring to late Autumn. The leaves that were just busting out on the trees when this thing started are now being raked up by my 8 year-old...and we're still not done.
Things are going pretty well, however, bearing in mind that we are talking stage four lymphoma. The confusion Lynn got from the first round was definitely not repeated in round 2...no doubt that the oncologist figured out what to do to handle that issue. Although that cuts way back on funny stories we can tell about her, the overall situation has definitely improved. And, Lynn is feeling quite good. Her recovery from the heart surgery had been pretty much on hold until a few months ago. Now, since the lymphoma cells are getting blasted by the chemotherapy and do not have the chance to mess with her, she is seeing some real recovery. No, not quite ready for three games of sand volley-ball, but definitely getting better...well, maybe ready for the BEERS involved in three games of volleyball, now that I think about it. Dr. Blair wants to check out how she is doing in a few weeks. He wants her to have a cat scan to see if the lymphoma is being reduced as much as it appears. I do not know for sure, but I suspect that, the better the cat scan turns out, the better chance she has of having fewer rounds of chemo. The original goal was to have 8 rounds. That puts her wrapping things up March 1st to March 4th. If they can cut it back to 6, we'll be done around January.
We have been getting all kinds of help from our friends and neighbors. Just about every other day, we get someone swinging by and dropping off a meal for us. From our experiences, we can tell two things: 1. we have a lot of really wonderful, caring friends, and 2. we have a lot of wonderful caring friends that REALLY know how to cook. The downside of this is the added expense that will now be incurred as I gorge myself on all the great food, and then have to start shopping at the "Big and Tall" Mens clothing store to get new pants. (Yes, maybe there is a stock tip there!) Seriously, it is really great to have this kind of help. There is a lot of inherent, underlying stress involved in the whole lymphoma situation. And, often times, not having to plan out and prepare something as simple as a meal really takes the pressure off, and makes things so much easier at the end of the day. Frankly, if it wasn't for all the great food we have been getting, I swear that I would have been feeding the kids a steady diet of Ramen Noodles and Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee by now. Now, that would probably not be an issue for THEM, but I would have felt terribly guilty.
You know, the name of this blog is "Lynn's Memorable Spring" - well, I'd guess that no one could imagine that we would be looking at the first part of November at this point. Quite a trip from early spring to late Autumn. The leaves that were just busting out on the trees when this thing started are now being raked up by my 8 year-old...and we're still not done.
Things are going pretty well, however, bearing in mind that we are talking stage four lymphoma. The confusion Lynn got from the first round was definitely not repeated in round 2...no doubt that the oncologist figured out what to do to handle that issue. Although that cuts way back on funny stories we can tell about her, the overall situation has definitely improved. And, Lynn is feeling quite good. Her recovery from the heart surgery had been pretty much on hold until a few months ago. Now, since the lymphoma cells are getting blasted by the chemotherapy and do not have the chance to mess with her, she is seeing some real recovery. No, not quite ready for three games of sand volley-ball, but definitely getting better...well, maybe ready for the BEERS involved in three games of volleyball, now that I think about it. Dr. Blair wants to check out how she is doing in a few weeks. He wants her to have a cat scan to see if the lymphoma is being reduced as much as it appears. I do not know for sure, but I suspect that, the better the cat scan turns out, the better chance she has of having fewer rounds of chemo. The original goal was to have 8 rounds. That puts her wrapping things up March 1st to March 4th. If they can cut it back to 6, we'll be done around January.
We have been getting all kinds of help from our friends and neighbors. Just about every other day, we get someone swinging by and dropping off a meal for us. From our experiences, we can tell two things: 1. we have a lot of really wonderful, caring friends, and 2. we have a lot of wonderful caring friends that REALLY know how to cook. The downside of this is the added expense that will now be incurred as I gorge myself on all the great food, and then have to start shopping at the "Big and Tall" Mens clothing store to get new pants. (Yes, maybe there is a stock tip there!) Seriously, it is really great to have this kind of help. There is a lot of inherent, underlying stress involved in the whole lymphoma situation. And, often times, not having to plan out and prepare something as simple as a meal really takes the pressure off, and makes things so much easier at the end of the day. Frankly, if it wasn't for all the great food we have been getting, I swear that I would have been feeding the kids a steady diet of Ramen Noodles and Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee by now. Now, that would probably not be an issue for THEM, but I would have felt terribly guilty.
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