My doctor wants to do a CT Scan guided lung biopsy before my next chemo. Only problem is that the only open time is this Friday, when chemo is scheduled. My doctor decided to move the chemo to Monday morning and take the Friday CT appointment. I hope we will soon find out what is going on in my lungs. I will let you all know when I know.
I have a few hours of energy each morning on my good days. By 11:00 or noon I am so tired that I park myself in the family room in the recliner sofa watching TV and pretty much don’t move until bedtime. At least for the past 2 weeks I have been able to watch the Olympics. On Monday I get to go back to Judge Judy and Montel Williams for entertainment. What a load a crap on TV. At least I enjoy reading so I’ll be checking out whats available at the local library.
Yesterday I got a few more things posted on eBay. I can’t beleive some of the stuff I still have. Kids computer games from when the girls were 5 or 6 years old. Disney animated tapes (Lion King, Cinderella, etc) Lots of stuff to get rid of. It feels great when I sell some of this stuff. It brings a little bit of money into the family budget and lessens the clutter.
Katie is working on her learners permit for driving. She is taking an online school for the written part. We have an appointment for Tuesday at DMV. I hope everything goes well. Then she has to have so many hours behind the wheel at a private driving school. She can also get additional hours of training with her father or me as teacher. Then in May she can get her license. They still put a lot of restrictions on new drivers, but it will be a help to have another driver in the family.
Peach fuzz is the best way to describe the state of hair on my head. I think it will all come in grey, but I am looking forward to any amount of my own head. I would love to be able to sleep without a hat on.
I was definately in a bad way last week. I was so grateful for Stephanie coming to stay with me on Tuesday. I was so weak I couldn’t even get to the bathroom without help. I was scared to be alone. When the girls got home from school they took over. Then Craig got home from work and helped some more. He was up with me until almost 2 am with the pain, the weakness, the fever, the general misary. He said at one point I was not even coherant when I was talking to him. I do feel better since I got home. But I only have a few hours each day when I can do anything.
This morning I puttered on one of the kids computers. The point being that the 2 computers should be as close to the same as possible so they won’t fight over which one gets which computer. I think I did ok. Put in a new sound card, added a 4 port USB card, and installed an opticle mouse. The puttering puts a pupose to the day. It makes it easier to accept that the rest of the day is on the sofa or in bed resting.
I will also work on paperwork related stuff in the mornings when my brain is in higher functioning mode. If you’re tired so is your brain. But I have a lot of stuff to attend to so I am doing my best. Lots of things are far behind, but I try not stress about it.
Stephanie here:
Shauna was released from the hospital on Sunday and was home to greet her intrepid soccer playing daughter, whose team lost in the semifinals to DeAnza Force.
She’s doing better this week. The pain is manageable with Tylenol. She putters around the house in the mornings while she has energy and then rests in the afternoons.
Today she has been working on fixing some of the small problems with the computers so the girls can have a computer that does what they want it to do.
I believe that the light at the end of the tunnel is not the oncoming train, but a ray of sunshine leading her through to a healthy life again. Please continue to send out your prayers and positive vibes and don’t forget to sign up for meal duty
Stephanie here:
Shauna’s due to be released tomorrow (Sunday, 19 February). Her white cell count is back up to where it needs to be.
Tricia had a big soccer day at a tournament in Sacramento. Her team, Metro, beat MVLA in the quarterfinals and moves on to the semifinals tomorrow against Tricia’s former team, DeAnza Force.
Of course, Shauna was really happy about this news and will be home tomorrow when Tricia returns triumphant.
A Lot of Information to Digest
Stephanie here:
I’m feeling a bit under the weather so won’t be going to see Shauna today, don’t want to contribute my germs. I do encourage everyone that can to go see her. And don’t forget to sign up for your turn to take meals or groceries to keep the family fed.
I did talk to Shauna this morning. She sounds better. They have her on IV liquids and antibiotics, same as the last time. She has thrush as well, and must swish some foul tasting stuff around in her mouth in order to combat it so she can once again eat without pain.
Shauna’s been presented with a lot of information this morning. Overwhelming to say the least. First, and foremost, they are going to give her a less potent dose of chemo in 3 weeks, since the last 2 rounds have landed her in the hospital. This will be her last round of chemo!
Since the lumps in her breast and lymph nodes have responded so well to the chemo, they are considering doing radiation instead of a double mastectomy.
The spots on her lungs are still a concern, they’re not getting bigger but neither are they getting smaller which means they are not responding to the chemo. The docs want to do a biopsy. This runs the risk of collapsing the lung, putting Shauna in the hospital again while they re-inflate it and stabilize her.
It has been a long battle, but I think the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to appear.
Stephanie here:
Shauna’s been having a bad chemo week and was re-admitted to Santa Teresa today. Her white cell count is down again and she’s unable to fight off infections. Her doctor’s comment was, “Just too much chemo.” Please note that while alarming, this is not unusual for cancer patients.
Her direct phone number is 408-574-2829, Room 416 (she thinks). Everyone who visits must gown up and wear a mask. No flowers or fresh fruit please. Driving directions
I was finishing Round 7 of chemo when I got a call from Tricia’s school. She had borrowed a friends bicycle - but no helmet - was riding around the school grounds. She got a dizzing spell, a first for her, and fell off the bike. She hurt her head and elbow and an ambulance was there treating her. I told them to take her to Kaiser since I was already there.
They briefly saw her in the Emergency Dept, ruled out any neck or spinal injury and sent her to Urgent Care. The took xrays of her elbow - nothing broken, but were very concerned about what may have caused the dizzy spell that lead to the accident. Blood and other lab tests were done and a 12 lead EKG taken - twice! - but no real indication as to the cause of the dizzyness. Tricia thinks its from having no lunch and then drink a Red Lion , some kind of stimulant drink like Red Bull. Who knows. We got home around 7:30 pm which made for an awfully long day for me with the chemo and all. At least I had brought snacks and bottled water with me.
I had a little dinner before the taste buds disappear again and watched the Sharks beat Dallas from the comfort of my recliner sofa. I will be heading to bed as soon as I finish this.
Still more good news about the cancer in my breast and lymph nodes. My oncologist could hardly feel them at all!. Bad news is the the PET scan yesterday confirmed in a diferent way that the small tumors in my lungs are cancer and they are not responding at the same pace as the other cancer. They are growing but they aren’t shrinking either. My oncologist will take my case back before the tumor board for their opinions on why this is and what the best choice for treatment is. When I know something I will post it here.
I got very good care from the folks at Kaiser but I never got a good nights sleep. They wake you every 4 hours for vital signs check - blood pressure, pulse, resperations, O2 saturation and temperature. Normally when I am at home and asleep I don’t need to take any medication. But if the prescription says every 6 hours by god thats what its going to be. So between the vital signs and the meds I never got more that 2 hours sleep at a time for 4 days.
Now that I am home I can sleep through the night and wake refreshed. I think that has gone a long way towards recuperating from the sinus infection. Of course the antibiotics and decongestion meds help.
I beleive that I will still have round 7 on Friday. The only good thing about that is that means I am closer to being done with chemo. I am to have 8 rounds. Then surgery.
On Thursday I will have a PET scan on my lungs. The doctors want to know why the cancer in my lymph nodes and breast is shrinking but not the cancer in my lungs. Hopefully this test will tell them whats happening.
Stephanie here:
My turn to deliver dinner and the first episode of Survivor! Shauna sat ensconced on her couch in front of the tv while I corralled food and tried to help herd kids. I was more successful with the first, than with the 2nd. Shauna is too weak right now to do much of anything so she had to let me wait on her which I was all too happy to do. And then we watched Survivor and CSI: Las Vegas together. A lot of enjoyment was had, but I kept her up past her bed time! At least she will be in her own bed tonight, there will be no nurses waking her up every 2 hours to poke and prod or make her take her meds, so she can sleep through the night and wake up of her own accord.
