We spoke with Dr. Whizenant, today, before Chris had his pump removed.
He wanted to see how Chris was doing with the chemo. He asked Chris questions about the cold sensations – Chris said that it lasted last time about four days. Again we were told that if he couldn’t button his shirt, or hold a cup, that we are to call right away. Dr. Whizenant has a patient that finished this type of chemo nine months ago, and he still hasn’t recovered from the cold sensation (yikes). We only have 10 more to go. Wednesday Chris got a bad headache while he was doing his chemo, so the nurse gave him an ibuprofen and she wanted him to drink a little Coke (Coke is veerrry hard on Chris, he doesn’t drink it anymore). We couldn’t find any warm Coke, so we had to wrap it up in warm blankets so Chris could drink it. We didn’t get it as warm as we would have liked it though. Chris said it hurt going down. Poor guy. I went and saw a dietician today after Chris’ doctor appointment so that I could see what I can do to make sure he has the strength he needs. I learned a lllllooootttt. Talk about feeling overwhelmed! I have a lot of information to go through, but I’m excited to try all the things I learned on my family. Some things I will have to “sneak” into Chris’ food, but not into everyone else’s. My job is to maintain Chris’ weight, not increase the rest of the family’s weight.:) Hopefully he won’t be able to taste all of the extra powdered milk in his food. The dietician also suggested eating all day, not three large meals. So starting Sunday night I will pack Chris a bunch of sandwich baggies full of different items for example cucumber slices, carrots, peanuts, a banana and whatever else I come up with. He will stay strong whether he likes it or not. Love, Ricki
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I just wanted to let everyone know that Katie is better (she was only sick for about 3 days –thank goodness) and no one else has gotten sick. Yeah!!
Last Thursday, Chris and some other Boy Scout leaders (Chris is scoutmaster) took five boys to Zion National Park for two and a half days. Chris did well. It’s Ryan that we are worried about now. He and the other boys were playing in and around the pool. Rye decided to “slide” into the pool jaw first (he hit the right side of his face on the edge of the pool). The leaders that saw it ran to the side of the pool to see if he was going to come up. The leaders said it made them physically sick to watch it happen. Rye came up bloody and in alot of pain. Monday, I took him to the orthodontist and they did an x-ray on him. The orthodontist couldn't tell if his jaw was broken because it was so swollen. Rye can hardly open his mouth. The orthodontist had to leave a broken bracket in his mouth because Rye couldn’t get his mouth open wide enough for him to fix it. I will take him back on Thursday if he can open his mouth wider. I guess it was time for him to get hurt. Just about every six months he gets hurt. Stitches in his face in December, head trauma May of last year and an emergency surgery to remove his appendix in Feb- Ahhh he keeps our lives exciting!
Wednesday, Chris will have his second chemo therapy treatment.
Thanks for all your support and love. Love, Ricki
Last Thursday, Chris and some other Boy Scout leaders (Chris is scoutmaster) took five boys to Zion National Park for two and a half days. Chris did well. It’s Ryan that we are worried about now. He and the other boys were playing in and around the pool. Rye decided to “slide” into the pool jaw first (he hit the right side of his face on the edge of the pool). The leaders that saw it ran to the side of the pool to see if he was going to come up. The leaders said it made them physically sick to watch it happen. Rye came up bloody and in alot of pain. Monday, I took him to the orthodontist and they did an x-ray on him. The orthodontist couldn't tell if his jaw was broken because it was so swollen. Rye can hardly open his mouth. The orthodontist had to leave a broken bracket in his mouth because Rye couldn’t get his mouth open wide enough for him to fix it. I will take him back on Thursday if he can open his mouth wider. I guess it was time for him to get hurt. Just about every six months he gets hurt. Stitches in his face in December, head trauma May of last year and an emergency surgery to remove his appendix in Feb- Ahhh he keeps our lives exciting!
Wednesday, Chris will have his second chemo therapy treatment.
Thanks for all your support and love. Love, Ricki
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Yesterday we found out that Katie has swine flu. We are taking all the precautions that we can – masks, new towels, more hand washing, etc. etc. I’m not too worried about Katie but about Chris. The people that have died are the ones that have other complications like Chris who doesn’t have an immune system because of the chemotherapy. When Chris comes home from work he’s been confined to his bedroom. Hope no else gets it. Chris had his first chemo treatment we only have 11 more treatments to go. We went in last Wednesday at 2 pm. They hooked him up and gave him 2 medicines while we were there at the hospital and then they hooked him up to his pump. I couldn’t watch. About 2 hours after his chemo started he started feeling the cold sensation that they told him about. We didn’t realize it would set in so quickly. For the next two days Chris couldn’t shower – as long as the pump is attached they are worried about infection so no showering (poor guy, he took a sponge bath don’t worry). He has been very tired and nauseated. Friday we went back in and had the pump removed. He spent Saturday and Sunday recovering from the chemo and is doing better now. Thank you all again for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts. We will update you again soon.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
We are back from vacation to Disney World. We appreciate all the support given to our family to help us make memories, thank you!
It rained and rained and rained on us but we still had a great time, we will try and post some pictures later. Don't be surprised if you see we are all wearing rain ponchos in the pictures :)
Update on Chris:
June 2nd I had a port placed under my skin on the right breast. It is a small triangular shaped port that is connected directly to the jugular vein through a tube under the skin. The port allows the chemotherapy to be plugged in each week without having to find a vein in my hands or arms. They basically push the needle through the skin and into a plastic stopper in the skin and send in the juice or draw blood.
June 3rd we went for the first chemo treatment but found at that time I would be going in every other week and there were conflicts on each of the next 3 treatment days with scout camps and a small trip to Yellowstone we are taking with a family from down the street. So we are going to start Chemotherapy on the 10th, then the every other week thing works.
Some of the details of the Chemo:
There are 3 different drugs that will be used. Two will be given in a drip for 2 hours on the day and the third will be slowly administered via a pump for 48 hours. This means that I will have to return to the hospital on Fridays to have the pump removed and the port flushed. The hospital would not teach me how to do it on my own because they fear infection. The jugular vein connects directly to the superior vena cava that connects directly to the heart. Infection risks are very high with the port being so close to the heart, so they worry.
Some of the side affects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a cold sensation that makes it so I can't drink cold drinks or touch cold things for 3 to 7 days (really strange huh!). The plan is to go roughly 6 months of every other week, wish me luck.
Thank you all for checking in on me, my health is coming along...just hope the chemo does not set me back too far. I sure would like to get to a point where I can romp around a bit.
Chris & Family
It rained and rained and rained on us but we still had a great time, we will try and post some pictures later. Don't be surprised if you see we are all wearing rain ponchos in the pictures :)
Update on Chris:
June 2nd I had a port placed under my skin on the right breast. It is a small triangular shaped port that is connected directly to the jugular vein through a tube under the skin. The port allows the chemotherapy to be plugged in each week without having to find a vein in my hands or arms. They basically push the needle through the skin and into a plastic stopper in the skin and send in the juice or draw blood.
June 3rd we went for the first chemo treatment but found at that time I would be going in every other week and there were conflicts on each of the next 3 treatment days with scout camps and a small trip to Yellowstone we are taking with a family from down the street. So we are going to start Chemotherapy on the 10th, then the every other week thing works.
Some of the details of the Chemo:
There are 3 different drugs that will be used. Two will be given in a drip for 2 hours on the day and the third will be slowly administered via a pump for 48 hours. This means that I will have to return to the hospital on Fridays to have the pump removed and the port flushed. The hospital would not teach me how to do it on my own because they fear infection. The jugular vein connects directly to the superior vena cava that connects directly to the heart. Infection risks are very high with the port being so close to the heart, so they worry.
Some of the side affects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a cold sensation that makes it so I can't drink cold drinks or touch cold things for 3 to 7 days (really strange huh!). The plan is to go roughly 6 months of every other week, wish me luck.
Thank you all for checking in on me, my health is coming along...just hope the chemo does not set me back too far. I sure would like to get to a point where I can romp around a bit.
Chris & Family
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