This Pilgrim's Progress

Hanging in there!

I don't remember if I've mentioned it in previous posts, but for about two weeks now I have had some sciatica-like pain in my left hip and leg. It seems to originate around or near the hip socket and then goes along the outer side of my leg down the the foot. At first is was just a minor annoyance, but now the pain has increased and I have to take darvocet or vicodin to control it.  I thought it might be a symptom of the recurring lymphoma, but my oncologist at USCD doesn't think it is, so they will be scheduling an MRI to check it out. 

I'm also still dealing with persistent upper chest congestion and cough.  Otherwise I feel mostly pretty good. I've been trying to walk about 5 or 6 blocks each day, but it's hard to do with the congestion. It seems to help the hip pain though, and my legs feel better with the exercise. I've been doing a little maintenance pruning of the roses and it felt good to get out and do some productive activity. Although a bit on the hot side, the last few days have been very beautiful, and sometimes I just sit for a couple of hours on the back porch and watch the hummingbirds and other flying critters enjoying the roses.  My energy levels seem to be gradually coming back, so I'm able to do more around the house.

Debbie has taken up veggie-gardening this summer, and we've had a nice bumper crop of tomatoes and zuchinni.  She gets a big kick out of it and enjoys the fruits of her labor. Andrew helps out a lot, since Debbie is still dealing with (real) sciatica.

My daughter, Heidi, and her fiance, Zack, left this morning for an 8 day backpacking trip in the Sierra's. They have 9 people in their group this year. All of Zack's siblings are going this summer, along with Heidi's college friend Janae (beautiful voice!!) and her fiance, and Tim Paylor (an old friend of Zack's).  Our house looked like the staging area for an Everest expedition last night as they got all the food portioned out and stuffed into bear canisters, and odds and ends of equipment prepared.  Heidi and Zack met during a Sierra backpacking trip (with the Winslows), so these Sierra trips have a special significance to them.

My son, Andrew, has been getting ready to start college in a few weeks. He's really excited about it and looks forward to the new experience.  This week he's been focusing on his audition for the music ensembles and thats been both a fun and frustrating exercise for him, but mostly fun.

The Lord has certainly been gracious to our family!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Not-So-Great News

Debbie and I met with my UCSD oncologist, Dr. Ball, this morning at 11:30 a.m.  He told us the PET scan indicated the re-occurrence of the lymphoma in some tiny spots on the scan. As we talked about my history, especially the flu,  he came to the conclusion that the PET scan was not really definitive, because the spots were very small, and there is the possibility that they may be due to my body triggering the immune system and fighting the flu bug that I have.  So, we are going to wait another month, and then re-do the scans and blood tests, and then see what the results look like. 

We are still absorbing the impact of the news and I don't think the full-force of it has hit us yet. But it will, and we'll need God's grace to persevere and not let ourselves get overwhelmed by it all.

So, for now my job is to recover from the flu, get the warfarin regimen established, and get as healthy and strong as I can. The Lord has been very gracious, and gotten us through this so far, so I'm very hopeful for the future.

Heidi comes home late Sunday night from Oberlin, and we're looking forward to seeing her.  Andrew registered for classes at Cuyamaca today and he's excited about starting college in a few weeks. We'll have Heidi around for a few days, then she'll go on a backpacking trip, and afterwards will be with us for a week before heading to Heidelberg for her "study abroad" program during the Fall semester.

We are certainly Blessed as a Family and I praise the Lord for his provision for us!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Blood Clot

I'm still fighting off the flu.  I think I'm mostly over it, but still have some chest congestion and a cough.

Today went in for labs and scans. My metabolic and CBC panels came out great, no problems. This afternoon, found out that they detected from the CT scan a blood clot where my venous catheter used to be.  My doctor prescribed an anticoagulant and Debbie gets the pleasure again of giving me two shots a day. Later I can go to a pill form, but I have to take some sort of class (?) first.

They haven't finished analyzing the PET scan yet, but we'll get the results Wednesday. That scan will pretty much tell us if the cancer is gone or not.

I see my UCSD oncologist Friday and I guess we'll find out what's next in the on-going adventure!!

Soli Deo Gloria!!

Flu gone, catheter going

Well today I feel pretty good. I think the flu is pretty much gone, just a little residual congestion. I'm getting the catheter out Friday afternoon. I'm pretty excited about that!! I took a little walk yesterday around the neighborhood. It was slow going, but I did pretty good, although I was wiped out when I got home. I still have a ways to go to recover my strength. But I am very thankful for the progress my body has made.

Soli Deo Gloria!!

Good News

I went in for my routine blood panels (cbc and metabolic) today. The results were very good, all counts are up.  The nurse coordinator said that I could probably get my catheter removed this week (yea!!!), and she was going to schedule some scans for next week.  I have an appointment to see an epidemiologist Friday to check on my flu.  I think it's starting to go away, but it's a gradual thing.

So blood counts are going up, and I'm starting to kick the flu! Praise the Lord!!!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Day + 25, Flu still here

I still have the flu, but I think the medications are starting to work. My chest congestion and coughing is less and I'm able to get a pretty good night's sleep. I still get some coughing "jags" going every once in awhile, and it always sounds awful!! I wouldn't recommend trying to visit me while I have this flu, I'd hate to give it to anyone else.  Thanks to everyone for y0ur faithful prayers and support.   Heidi is at Oberlin for a chamber music camp for 3 weeks, so it's real quiet around here.  Andrew is working a lot for his uncle so he's often not around.  It's sometimes just me in the house holding down the furniture!!  I am getting a lot of reading done. I'll publish a list of the books I thought were the best.

Please continue to pray for my niece, Brittany Wnek and her family. She is still experiencing pain in her legs and tailbone after her operation to remove the tumor in her head.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Day +22, got flu

Went in for another lab test yesterday and afterwards saw my doctor at UCSD Moores Cancer Center.  Good news is I'm doing pretty good. My counts went down a little bit but looked pretty good. I mentioned the cold/cough that I had, and Dr. Ball checked my chart to see what they had done at the BMT ward.  One of the tests for flu came back as positive, but the result wasn't until 6/30, so I was already checked out. But no one had called me to let me know that I had the flu. Dr. Ball wasn't pleased,  but he got on it right away and they gave me a prescription for Tamilflu and Rimantadine.  Hopefully that will help me kick it.

Soli Deo Gloria!