Saturday, January 30, 2010

Not so romantic getaway

Greetings everyone - this is Hal filling in for Ann on this post.

On Thursday, Ann returned to what seems to be our retreat destination - KU Hospital. She had a sudden fluid build up in her right lung. After a long night of wonderful care they were able to insert a tube into her chest cavity in order to drain the fluid. Ann endured the most pain that I've seen her go through ever but thank God it is getting better and she rested comfortably in the ICU last night. Next step will be to rehab her lung via breathing exercises and get the chest tube out when the fluid subsides - plus manage her "normal" side effects from the chemo she received on Wednesday.

On the up side of treatment, Ann's oncologist, Dr Fabin, indicated that Ann would probably get a reprieve from chemo after 5 more weeks! We are praying for the blessing of some time off.

Speaking of blessings, I would like to take time to thank you for your prayers and help. Always, always remember that good can come of every situation if we cooperate with God's will. So "when bad things happen" consider it an opportunity to enter into that situation to become His gift to our sister or brother in need. I love you all for all you do.

Thank you God for this "getaway" with Ann and for your mercy.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Back To The Grind

It was back to the my full time job of fighting cancer yesterday. The girls got a snow day but evidently cancer doesn't so Hal stayed home while I tretched through the snow plowed streets. Actually it didn't really get bad till today. Blowing snow and about a foot on the ground leaves us home bound another day today.
Like i said it was back to chemo yesterday. it started with an ultrasound on my neck and left arm as i left out in my last blog that they found a clot in my neck most likely caused by the estrogen I was on. So off the estrogen I go and on to blood thinners. It was unchanged which was to be expected. should take another week or so to clear up. My lungs still show something funky so I got to take part in some really fun pulmonary function tests and see how my good friend Dr. Tim Dwyer spends his days. Diane, I was very impressed and found his bed side manner nothing but laid back yet professional and calming! Good man, good doctor, good friend. Anyhow, no big news there so then i got to see the Infectious disease crew. Lots of fun questions like did I live on a farm, was I around pigs much ( well not the one's they were referring to)? Just looking for some funky disease that could be lurking in my lungs but thankfully found nothing. So, we still don't know why it hurts for me to breathe and a bit short of breath. Any ideas? Chemo yesterday was business as usual. I am feeling puny today with a headache and nausea. Nothing the meds can't help with. Many of you ask how much longer on the chemo. I would say that this is indefinite. At least till summer maybe longer. Just depends on how long it takes to totally get rid of all the cancer. Going off the estrogen concerns me as this could have been one of the factors keeping the cancer from coming back in the first place. Time will tell.
Prayer warriors please add Lisa Gress to your list. She is a friend that was diagnosed with breast cancer on New Years Day. Yeah. Happy new year. Also pray for my friend Wendy who just finished up her radiation of mets to the brain and for Diane Compton who is readying herself for a stem cell transplant. Pray for strength and healing for these beautiful and too young ladies!
That's it for now. Stay warm, spread the love, and be good to one another!
Ann