If you’ve been keeping up with the happenings of Brad, you’ll know that Friday’s haven’t been polite to me lately. Two weeks ago, I fell backwards over a ramp of a large U-Haul truck..right on my back. Last week was the infamous attic ladder incident which started a chain reaction of events. I finally went to the doctor to get the tetanus shot. While there, I advised the doctor that my oncologist’s office asked that I start an antibiotic. The dr. needed to see me to write that RX. During the examination, the possibility of a blood clot in my left leg came up. I was sent to the hospital the next morning (Friday) for a test. I haven’t heard anything back yet but the pain is all but gone so I’m guessing things are all good.
So, Friday came and went without any injuries. I did install an over the range microwave which was a pain and put in a kitty door…installed a hole in an exterior wall for a dryer vent….yep, lots of saws, drills and not a single cut. Shocking, I know.
So now we wait and watch for Gustav. The projected track shows it to hit east of Houston and head up our direction. Hopefully it won’t disrupt things too much. Tami and I are scheduled to head to Houston Wednesday at lunch and return Thursday. This is the restaging visit where I do the CT scans, Xrays, and such to see if the cancer is gone or not. If it is, then I’ll be allowed to push the stem cell transplant back to Feb or March. If it isn’t, then we’ll be doing the transplant this fall.
Well, time to get busy. Tami and I are about to sand and paint the trim and front porch on the house. Come back in a couple of days to see if/how I was able to draw blood with a sander.
Brad
August 31st, 2008 at 10:49am
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Although I’m sure people that know me well will be shocked to hear me say this, but I’m loving my new assignment with the 2nd graders. I caught myself reading to the little munchkins today with a voice that must have been coming from someone else. If you’ve ever taught or read to your own little kiddos, you know what I’m talking about.
One of the books I was reading today was about a kid named Edwin who didn’t want to go to bed when it was time. In the story, he kept dreaming he was hungry and a bakery suddenly appeared downstairs, then he was hot and a winter wonderland appeared downstairs, then he was thirsty and a water park showed up in their den….anyway, you get the idea.
Imagination is a wonderful thing…but sometimes reality can’t be ignored any longer. Today I finally went to get my over due tetanus shot. ( if you don’t know why this was needed and need a really good laugh, see When it Rains, It Pours Part 2 ) While there, I just happened to see the dr and he wanted to visit. After talking for a few minutes and him checking out my leg, he mentioned that I might ….just might have a blood clot in my left leg. Tomorrow morning I head back to the hospital to have a test done to make sure there isn’t one of those nasty little buggers in there. I’m sure the chances are small, but you simply can’t mess around with this stuff and safe is better than sorry.
What does that have to do with the book? I’m slowly beginning to figure out that my perception of what my body can do and what it really can continue to do are not as close as I thought they were. We moved into this house by ourselves (when I fell backwards over the ramp to the U-haul truck) then I fell through the attic stairs and cut my legs up (hence the tetanus shot) and then decided to mow our 6/10 acre lot with a walk behind mower with the grass way too high in parts and nothing but dust blowing in my face in other parts (shocking I’m coughing constantly now, huh?) . You know, when I was 20, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Well, that would have been more than 25 years ago….and I was around 200 pounds, not 330…oh, and my body hadn’t been beat up by cancer and chemo…but other than that there hasn’t been much change…yeh, stupid, huh?
I have typed this and erased this posting several times now. I know I need to say it and have it out there….but then again I know that next time I do something that I think I should be able to do but probably really shouldn’t be doing, someone from school…or someone from MD Anderson…or another cancer patient…or..well, someone who keeps up with this for their own reasons will remind me that I really do know the difference between perception and reality….and that’s scary. I don’t want to be reminded. I feel I should be able to do everything I always could do.
I still refuse to completely change my life for this terrible disease. If I do, it wins and I don’t care much for being on the team that won’t stand up for itself. I and many other cancer patients feel that if we can show the population at large that cancer isn’t the end all that it is made out to be, maybe just maybe someone else will choose to fight instead of simply giving in. By winning, you probably feel I’m talking about surviving. I’m not. That is the goal. But winning, to me, is doing everything I can do to live a life that is exciting, fulfilling, and rewarding no matter how long the time frame is. That is what I want.
Wow, if you have read the previous post and then this one, you probably went from one extreme emotion to another. Sorry about that. I simply write what I’m thinking and hope someone gets something out of it.
We got some more news about finances this week and for now, I’ll just say it has thrown us back a bit. We really thought we were heading in the right direction and then you get hit with a sucker punch you didn’t see coming. Tami gets angry and I am usually telling her it will be ok. This week she sensed I was getting worried and she reminded me of all of the times I told her getting angry wouldn’t solve anything. Apparently, the same goes for worry. I’m glad I’m married to her. I’ll admit I usually tell her she’s wrong (only of course because she usually is…at least in my mind (world)) but this time she’s right and is there to bring me back to where I need to be. Hebrews 13:5b says in part that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us. I’ve often quoted that as my favorite scripture. If it really is, worry shouldn’t be an issue, should it?
I promise to be a little more toward the lighter mood swings for the next posting. This plum tired me out and I’m sure it did some of you too.
Goodnight. Brad
August 28th, 2008 at 10:23pm
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If we can’t laugh at ourselves, others will…right? So, I did it again. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. I’m starting to think I should have a camera following me around to preserve the absolutely stupid situations I get myself in. “The Truman Show” had nothing on our real lives.
Dateline Friday, August 22nd 4:30 pm. I come home from school while Tami stays there to get things ready for the first day of school on Monday. The cable/internet guy is coming to hook us up and I certainly don’t want to be late for that. After he arrives, he tells me that he is going to run a black cable across the front of our house and front porch to take it from one side of the house to the other. I nicely inquire about why he can’t take it through the attic since it is huge in there. He ask me how big it is and I tell him what I believe to be true. However, since I haven’t been in it, I feel it my duty to check the accuracy of my information. As he is on the outside of the house working, I begin my climb up the attic stairs. Now remember, I outweigh the recommended maximum weight by about 105 pounds. With each step toward the attic, I’m careful to only step on the extreme outside of each step for added support. In the back of my mind, however, is what might happen if the step gives way. I make it past the first, second and third step. As I put my weight on the fourth step, I feel this pain go down my left leg and back. I realize that I’m now standing on the garage floor, my rather large body still inside the attic stairs. The 4th step has given under my weight (it was the only step that didn’t have the reinforcement bar which I know now I should have checked to begin with) and I’ve gone through the stairs to the ground. The two nails on each side that were the only thing holding the step, have slid all the way down the side of my legs (yes, wearing shorts) and I’m standing there thankful that I don’t seem seriously hurt.
Then it comes to me. I’m STUCK! I’ve got three steps behind me and I’m slightly bent backwards just to fit inside the ladder. (It’s ok..go ahead and laugh) Now, what do you do? Of course the first thing is you look around to make sure no one saw you. No problem there, the garage door is shut. Ok, now how do I get out? Can’t go backwards without something to grab on to. I thought about yelling for the installer but I kept seeing the look on his face and the stories he would be able to tell back at the shop. As the nails are pointed down into the side of my legs, I couldn’t go back up anyway as they would really tear me up. I was just about to do the ole’ incredible hulk move and just rip the stairs apart when I realize that even my rather large frame is already fitting inside the stair frame (although rather snugly I admit) so why not just lift the frame up as if I’m closing it back into the attic and I just might fit through the new opening I’ve created. Sure enough, it worked.
As I took count of the cuts and amout of blood that was heading toward the floor, all I could think about were words I heard last year while on chemo….”now just be sure and don’t cut yourself on anything”. So much for that advice. I put as much alcohol on it as I could and got the bleeding stopped. It really isn’t that bad but it just bled more than I expected. It did stop quickly though. Now I just look like the neighborhood devil cat did a tap dance on my legs.
I’m serious, you can’t make this stuff up.
On the cancer front, I talked to my BCBS person yesterday that is taking over my care as of Sept 1st. It appears that they will take the approval from Cigna so we can move forward. I think all will be well if I can just avoid killing myself doing something else.
As Tami and I were just in the front yard talking about what we would like to do to the house one day, I just mentioned that there is a satellite dish on the roof from someone long gone. I made a passing comment about getting the ladder and taking it down. I’ve just been informed I’m grounded.
Brad
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:58am
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and it did, litteraly.
If you want the short version, my blood work is good and I keep doing the chemo. If you want the interesting version, keep reading.
I left DFW at 1:30 and as we were preparing to take off, the pilot said that it was partly cloudy and 84 in Houston. There were some storms in the area but it looked ok. About 30 minutes into a 45 minute flight, I noticed a rather large turn to the right. He came on and said that he was sorry but that Houston Hobby was closed due to thunderstorms. We would have to go to Austin, College Station or back to DFW. Now I HAVE to keep my chemo schedule so this wasn’t good. A few minutes later he came back and said Hobby was reopened and we were going in “as long as we have enough fuel”. Not comforting words from your pilot. We made it to Houston almost an hour late and I ran to catch a taxi. I jumped in and said “MD Anderson, please” to which the driver said, “Do you have an address?” What, a taxi driver in Houston that doesn’t know where MD Anderson is? As I looked at him I was reminded of the gymnasitics team from China. Yeh, he looked about 12. So after I gave him directions we finally got there. I did my blood work, saw Dr. Romaguera and hopped back in a Taxi to get back to the Airport. Oh, the taxi driver that brought me to MD Anderson (the 12 year old) said it hadn’t rained at Hobby since 10 am. I didn’t land until 3:15 but yet the airport had just been closed. Go figure.
I did my blood work, saw the dr and got back in a Taxi to head back to the airport. I began to dump rain and the lightning show was something else. By the time I got back to the airport about 6pm for my 7:45 flight, it had stopped. I was able to enjoy a nice meal (for airport food) and then headed to the gate. When my flight finally posted, it said “on time”. I sat around and watched that wonderful airport CNN and then a football game until I noticed it was 7:42. Our flight monitor still said “on time”. Now I’m not always the brightest one in the bunch but even I know that it is highly unlikely that we can board and take off in three minutes, especially when the plane isn’t even at the gate yet. They announced that our plane was coming through DFW from Florida and was delayed by the hurricane. It was just then taking off from DFW to come to Houston. Not sure why they still showed it “on time” until three minutes before it was to depart but the screen went from “on time” to the flight being taken completely off of the board. Communication wasn’t their strong point.
I arrived at DFW around 9:45pm and felt like the excitement was finally over. I should have known better. I started up my wonderul 89 chevy pickup but only my parking lights would come on. Yep, no headlights at 10pm. I made my way out of the airport following other cars so that no oncoming cop could see that I didn’t have any headlights. The vehicles in front of my would keep hitting their brakes in an attempt to let me know the obvious, “turn your lights on idiot” I”m sure was the message. I called Tami and had her meet me at a McDonalds parking lot where we left the truck until this morning.
My Cigna case nurse just called while I was writing this to tell me my transplant was approved. That was the good news. The bad news was that since our school is switching insurance companies as of Sept 1st, the approval is only good for the next 10 days. Since we know that isn’t going to happen, it would appear we get to go through the approval process again with BCBS.
Life wouldn’t be near as much fun if everything was easy.
Brad
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:23am
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I just rec’d the call from MD Anderson that we were hoping for. My sister, Cheryl, is a perfect match. I thought it only went to 10 makers but they said that she was a perfect 14 out of 14 match. That should make recovery much easier on us not to mention almost half the cost.
YEPPIE
August 20th, 2008 at 10:02am
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I called MD Anderson yesterday for the stem cell coordinator and she was out again (seems like a pattern on Mondays or Fridays) and so I called again this morning. Still waiting for a call back as to if my sister is a complete match or not. I’ll post as soon as I know. I head back down to Houston on Thursday for my mid round two checkup and then Tami and I go down the first week of Sept for my next round of testing to see if the cancer is in remission. Keep praying.
Brad
August 19th, 2008 at 02:38pm
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I just got off the phone with the stem cell coordinator at MD Anderson. They said they found Cheryl’s sample and that she is at least a partial match. The way it was explained to me is that they do a low resolution test on the sample first. If it comes back positive, then they put it through to a high resolution test. Cheryl’s sample is already in the high resolution testing so we know it is at least a partial match. We won’t have results until probably Friday but they said it looks promising.
Keep the fingers crossed and prayers coming.
Brad
August 12th, 2008 at 10:27am
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My blood work this morning came back good enough for me to continue so we move forward with the chemo treatment. I’m still waiting to hear back from the stem cell department at MD Anderson to see if Cheryl is a match or not. Someone from there called me last Thursday morning and said Vickie was not a match but they hadn’t seen Cheryl’s results. Since Cheryl sent her’s in several days earlier, they felt it was sitting in the lab and didn’t have my information on it. They would look and call me right back. It is now Monday morning and still no call back. I called the coordinator and sure enough, she is out today. Our first dealing with trying to reach them by phone a few weeks ago was that we would be promised a return call and then would have to call them back for the next two days to get someone to call us back. The lymphoma dept is much more effecient than the stem cell dept.
Our insurance is changing Sept 1st and the new insurance may not pay for the $12,000 fee to search the bone marrow registry so we need to get this going. Hopefully I’ll get some news tomorrow so we can run the search quickly if needed.
Brad
August 11th, 2008 at 09:32am
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This may not be exactly the way it happened…but it is the way I remember it. Back in the early 80’s when I went off to Baylor, I marched in to the president’s office and said “OK, I’m here to have fun. What GPA do I HAVE to have to graduate this place?” To which he replied, “2.0″. Ok, I said. I proceeded to join a social fraternity, a service fraternity and do anything else I could think of because all I had to do was a 2.0 . I squeaked by…… but just barely. I was the king of the “C”.
Yesterday Tami and I went to Houston for my next round of chemo. All we were suppose to do was be there at 1:30 for blood work and then see the doc at 3pm to get my next month’s supply of chemo pills. I simply had to have a 1.00 reading on my absolute nuetrophil count in order to receive the drugs or they would send my back home for a few days to start it all over again. Mind you I already have my next non refundable airline ticket bought for August 21st so we can’t change things up now. When I was called back into the doctors office around 4:15 for my 3pm visit, I was informed that my nuetrophil count was 1.02 . Ah, shades of Baylor come rushing back through my mind. Just slid in their again! However, now I have to have my blood work done here in Dallas on Monday and if it down, we have to stop the treatment for a few days and receive white cell booster shots for three days and then maybe start over again on a new schedule. These trips are really starting to wear on us both. We left here at 8am yesterday and got back at 10:30 last night. Long day.
I also received a call I wasn’t wanting. One sister down and one to go. Vickie is not a match for bone marrow. We are still waiting on Cheryl’s results. She sent hers in several days earlier but they can’t find it. Geeze. Hopefully she will be a match.
Brad
August 8th, 2008 at 07:25am
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We have to stop by the hospital one more time this morning for me to get a shot to boost my white cells. My neutrophils that were 2.5 two weeks ago and 1.5 last week were 0.68 this week. They really need to stay above 1.0 to provide protection.
I have to say I’m glad these Rituxin visits are over. Sitting in a very small room with and IV in one arm and a blood pressure cuff on the other arm is no fun for someone as ADHD as me. The next week should be fun since I’m off of all chemo for the next seven days before I begin the next round after returning here to Houston again next week.
I’ve asked about information for those of you that have asked about how to get registered on the bone marrow registry. The only information I’ve been given involves paying for a kit but I know there are plenty of free bone marrow drives around so as soon I as I find that information, I’ll post it.
Tami had to celebrate her birthday here on Wednesday. She celebrated last year’s birthday while I was here in the hospital last year and if the schedule works this year, she’ll be here helping me recover from my transplant for her next birthday. Hopefully in 2010, we’ll be able to celebrate somewhere like a beach in the Caribbean.
Brad
August 1st, 2008 at 09:27am
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