CHEMO #3

Well three weeks went by pretty quickly and I had my 3rd session today. I got started about 8:20 this morning and the nurse said I was on the fast track, which means that because I tolerated the first two session very well they speed up the injection of the medicines at a much quicker rate (1st one 8 hours this one 4 hours). They put in the same amount of medicine but at the quicker rate.  Everything went well and to my surprise the nurse came to me around 10:30 and said I would be all done by 11.  I felt quite tired in the afternoon and a little achy but after having supper I did recoup. Janet made me go out and shovel the driveway saying “that would make me feel better”  It was actually my idea (don’t want to get on the wrong side of the one who takes very good care of me).  We both took care of the driveway.

We had a great Christmas at BJAMS.  The food was great and of course our Family is just the best in world, topped off of course by our granddaughters Annika and Selena.

Hope everyone had as great a Christmas as we did and here’s wishing everyone a “Very Happy New Year”

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011

Brian and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas 2011!  Enjoy your time with family and friends over the Christmas season!  We also would like to take this time to say thank-you to all for your good thoughts and prayers over the last few months for Brian.  He is still doing amazingly well and we are very thankful for that.  Our Christmas starts this afternoon at BJAMS with David and Jenn and Breanne, James and grandkids – it will be an exciting day for Selena and Annika.  Hopefully we tire them out so they sleep well tonight so that Santa will come.  We are then back to BJAMS tomorrow for a '”quiet?” Christmas day with just BJAMS and us.  We are looking forward to it all!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Annika’s Christmas Dance Recital

We were all invited to watch Annika’s Christmas Dance Recital today and although at first she was quite timid and got a little teary eyed; she soon got over it and quite enjoyed her dance as did we!!  When I was taking the video, I didn’t realize that little Selena kept wandering into the picture, doing her own dance! Enjoy!

Sunday, December 10, 2011

Well, chemo #2 round went just as well as Chemo #1 round. I cannot believe how well Brian is tolerating this chemotherapy.  Other than a bit of nausea on Thursday afternoon for which I gave Brian the p.r.n. medication the doctor gave us for nausea; he has been feeling extremely well.  Brian is just as active as he normally is, doing all the things he would normally do in any given day.  I am the one telling him to slow down and just take it easy even just for a couple of hours but then the day I told him to do that and he listened to me; that was Thursday when after relaxing on the couch, he started to feel nauseated – so maybe staying very active is the thing to do and not lay around feeling bored and sorry for yourself! 

The last couple of weeks, we have been working a couple of hours a day trying to get the house in order to put up for sale and we accomplished a lot this weekend; laying carpet in the vestibule at the bottom of the stairs, cleaning out my “doll room” and packing most of my dolls, and then decluttering and cleaning the kitchen while Brian worked on the bathrooms and vacuuming and dusting.  We have a real estate agent coming over Monday morning to discuss our options and find our their opinion on what the house can sell for and when we should list it.  We actually would love to get it sold quickly, so then we can concentrate on more decluttering and slowly start our packing.  It actually feels good to finally get through all our years of accumulated junk although im some ways a little bittersweet when you come upon things you haven’t seen for years (like pictures) and then all the memories of all the happy times come flooding back and you realize how quickly time has passed by.  The memories of David and Breanne when they were young just mean so much to us now and it makes you realize how precious life really is and how much you actually miss the “old times”.  God is good though, that is why he gives us grandchildren, so we can start again and really really appreciate their innocence and enjoy every moment.  I came across one of my old picture albums of when David and Breanne were Annika and Selena’s age and I was so struck with how much Selena is so much like Breanne in looks, actions, expressions on her face, it is priceless!  I have to bring that album out the next time Breanne is over so she can see the resemblance. 

We also congratulate David on finally owning his first home!  He signed his mortgage this past week and now has the privilege of being a '”home owner” and all that goes with that!  David and Jenn are now only 7 months away from their wedding, so lots of plans still to put into place in the new year.  We finally went to church with David and Jenn last Saturday (they like to go to mass on Saturdays at 5:15) and it is the first time I have set foot in the Church of Our Lady and what a beautiful church it is.  It reminded me of all the churches we saw in Europe.  It was so moving to walk into the church with the organ playing, a lot of people sitting in the pews and when I saw the middle aisle, I could just imagine Jenn walking down in her beautiful wedding dress.   There certainly is something to be said for old churches and their magnificence and to be able to attend a mass.  We are not Catholic ourselves but I certainly did enjoy it and Brian and I plan to attend more often with David and Jenn. 

Well enough said for now; I will blog again at least once more before Christmas.  I can’t believe it is only 2 weeks today before Christmas!  I”m happy to say though that most of my shopping is done!  Have a great week!

Dec 6 – Chemo round #2

Yesterday, we had an appointment at GRCC to have blood work done and then to see Dr. McCarron a couple of hours later.  Dr. McCarron likes to have the blood work done so that she has the results before she sees you; so we took advantage of the time difference to do a bit of Christmas shopping at the Conestoga Mall and actually did get some shopping done!  We saw Dr. McCarron and she told us how pleased she was with Brian’s response to treatment. His white count yesterday was right in the normal range at 5.9 and the electrolytes,  liver function and kidney function tests were completely within normal range and she is making no changes to the treatment since Brian is responding so well.  We were very pleased with the news of course!

Today, we arrive at the chemo suite shortly after 8:00 this morning and the nurse told us that the second round will be infused slowly at the start and as long as Brian doesn’t have any reaction, they will speed the timing of the Rituximab so that meant he would probably be there for at least 6 hours.  Brian was feeling bad that I would have to sit around for so long so after some discussion back and forth, we decided that I would come home and he would call when he got his last bag of Saline that they use to flush through him and I would head over to pick him up at the front door, hence save on parking!  We both get frustrated with the amount you have to pay for parking each time we go; so now we have decided that I just drop him off each time and then come back and get him when he is done!

Brian called me about 1:30 to say he was almost done and he is feeling great; in fact, he came home once again full of energy and is now getting all the garbage together for garbage day tomorrow. I told him to stop but he said “yeh, like you really want to do it”; not that I do really but everyone close to us knows that Brian is the “garbage nazi” as David and Breanne would call him as it has to be done right or he is not happy.  In Guelph we have to sort our garbage into three different colored bags and Brian has it down to a science where the rest of us don’t and we tend to put the wrong things in the wrong bag and if the garbage-man sees you have something wrong in the bag, he doesn’t take it and leaves it on the curb!  So, I’m not giving Brian too much argument about getting it done although I will offer to put it at the curb in the morning but if I haven’t done that by at least 6:30 a.m., I KNOW that Brian will be up getting it out there and giving me a hard time about it. 

One thing I did forget to mention was that the nurse told Brian today that he is what they like to refer to as the “classic patient” meaning that he is reacting to the drug exactly as it is intended to and having such an excellent response to it.  I still say that Brian being so healthy otherwise and having such a good mental attitude about this whole cancer diagnosis; is going a very long way in getting him into hopefully a LONG remission!  I also know that everyone praying for Brian and sending him good wishes is also playing a role in his recovery. 

This time we only have to go for blood work next Thursday and then Brian will be “normal” again until December 28th when we once again go for blood work and to see Dr. McCarron and chemo round #3 starting on December 29th.  This has all worked out beautifully so that Brian can be completely well through Christmas! 

I will update our blog on the weekend to let you know how Brian has reacted to this round of chemo and we are hoping it will be no different than the last one!