After Christmas updates

I am having to have an unscheduled procedure. Seems all the water has come back into my stomach again. It really was full again since Christmas day and I have just been living with it. But I cant live with it anymore. I had to page my Doctor and actually ask for this to be done again. He knows it is needed and did not even question me, because I would NEVER volunteer to have anything done to me at the hospital. He knows I try to stay off of the table at any cost. So I was begging to get it scheduled for Monday which was the next business day and they could not fit me in at the radiology department. They don't run on Tuesday because of the holiday, so I have to suffer until Wednesday.
It is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:00 am. which is not a second too soon. I really have been in terrible back pain and everything because of the pressure the water exerts on my midsection. I cannot bend down to pick anything up. I cant twist side to side at all. All I can really do it sit on the couch and try not to move. I am like those people in big cities that impersonate statues on the sidewalks for money.
Last time I had this done it really took my blood pressure down and I had to be in bed for 3 full days afterwards. I am hoping my body will have become accustomed to it now a little bit and not have such a hard time with recovery.
Anyway that is what is going on, just wanted to bring you up to date. I still have it planned to start Chemo on the 7th for another round. Sounds like a happy new year for me right? Out of the stomach sucking thing and right into a chemo round that they will try to poison me to death with. Fun, fun, fun.
Hope all of you have a great day and happy new year.
Love,
Greg

Small Procedure

Has been a busy few weeks medically.

I had a brain scan earlier this month, but did not want to worry anybody prematurely about it. So I did not tell anybody I was having it done.

There have been some weird sensations in head and after talking with the Dr. we decided a CT scan of the brain was needed. Anyway it came back clear, no brain tumors or anything like that. So we think the issue is chemical in nature and just some kind of hormone that the cancer cells are giving off as they mature.

Next we decided to do a small procedure on Monday (today) to take the excess fluid out of my stomach and give me some pressure relief. I was looking like a pregnant woman and was having bad pains sitting up or changing positions. Some days it was so bad I was bed ridden.

I did not know that this was even an option, but what we did was do 3 shots in my stomach to numb the area, and then went in with a thick needle through the stomach lining wall and into the fluid layer. From there they just sucked out all the excess fluid they could.

You would not believe how much came out. I was thinking they would get a pint or maybe two pints of fluid. Oh no, try 4.5 Liters.

That's right, this is not a typo 4.5 liters. Imagine 2, two liter bottles of Pepsi and then a quarter of another 2 liter bottle. It was so much I had to take a picture of it because no body would believe me. Here is the proof.

Unbelievable huh?

They did it in the ultrasound department and in real time they were monitoring where the needle was and how much fluid was left to drain. It was cool to watch it on the screen as they did it.

From there I was supposed to go over to the cancer center and get a transfusion of blood. They were supposed to put in 2 pints of new oxygenated blood.

Well, we tried to get the IV in and after 3 horrible sticks in the right arm and 2 blown veins, we moved to the left arm. My right arm is completely destroyed, bruised beyond belief as they tried to maneuver the needle into the vein after piercing the skin by coming in from the side. I was kicking my legs and barley holding back the most voracious series of sware words ever heard by human ears. We had to beg them to stop and take the needle out.

Moving on to the right arm and another nurse. The same exact thing happened. I absolutely was at my wits end. Keep in mind I had already been given 3 shots in the ultrasound dept to numb the area, and then the big puncture with the extraction needle that pierced the stomach wall, that one was the worst pain of the day despite all the numbing medication they pumped in.

So after those 4 pricks, and 3 in the right arm and now 1 in the left arm, I was up to 8 stabs of my skin in one day.

That was it, I pulled the plug and said to hell with the transfusion I am going home. Oh, give us one more chance, screw you, I am out of here. Never have I refused treatment before, and I have sat through some horrific experiences, but the transfusion was elective and supposed to make me feel better. Well, this did not feel better. I got up and left.

So I am enjoying my birth of about 10 pounds of water and having much less pressure in my stomach. It really does feel better. But I missed out on the transfusion. Maybe another day.

That was my fun for today, I do not have anything else set up until we start the next Chemo round on Jan. 7th.

That is it for today.

Merry Christmas if I don't post again until after then.

Love,

Greg

Mid December Update

Almost a month since my last post. Sorry.
Have had a rough month, so I will use that as an excuse.
Took a long time to get over the last Chemo round and then never quite got back to having any good days. I had 1 on a Friday a week or so ago while my sister Tammy was visiting, the rest have been pretty crappy.
Man, I need 1 good day every now and then to keep the morale up. Getting the shit kicked out of you every morning for 5 weeks is no fun. I really need a break, lord, are you listening?

Latest CT scan results are in, and guess what, "no change" is the official result. I could have told them that 2 months ago when they scheduled this scan, they did the scans too close together, 9 weeks or so does not give you enough of a chance to see change. So now we are going to do another one in a month, which is what we should have done in the first place, but what do they care. I am the one with the co-pays, all they have invested is the time and ink it takes to write “CT-Scan” on a piece of paper.
We are taking a break from Chemo right now; we would have started on Dec. 3rd. But he was hesitant to do it given that we have some other problems to deal with that came up in my blood work and discussion about symptoms last week. I would have asked not to do it anyway, just because I have been feeling so bad lately. There is no way I could tolerate another round right now. So we have to get these other little weird things taken care of so we can get back to the real fun of poisoning me with Chemo. It is like a lottery, you never know what is going to happen when you go in for blood work or an appointment, but all the prizes are crappy.

Enough bitching, I am happy with the no change results even though it is really just smoke and mirrors. If we maintain the crappy level I am at and do not get worse that is a victory. Measuring in daily victories or losses is how I have been able to keep my sanity and social functionality going trough all this. If I step back and look at the big picture it really bums me out and I get all emotionally funky. It is not a good picture to look at, so I fight the daily battles instead, at least there I can get a win every once in a while, even though I might lose the war.

Had a birthday on Dec. 1st, turned 36 and am grateful for every year and day of that 36. Do I feel old people ask, hell yeah, I feel 104. I could only dream of feeling 36. Folks do not appreciate what they have.
Got some cool presents: bought myself a new watch that looks very similar to the Gold Band, Black Faced, Rolex Submariner, that is my all time favorite watch (never had one, this Timex version is the closest I will ever get I am sure). Also bought myself a Grandfather clock. I have wanted one my entire life and think they are the coolest piece of furniture in any house I go to. So this year I said to hell with it and went for what would make me happy.

Got the coolest present of all from my in-laws Larry and Ellen. It is a jacket that has heating elements in it. Since winter is here and I am in full arctic exploration mode as far as apparel goes, this is the perfect addition to my closet. It has a rechargeable battery pack that lasts for several hours and a controller in the pocket that lets you set the temperature, and select various zones to heat. The heating elements are located over each tit, and one in the back between the shoulder blades. (I say tit, because I have no pecs left since all the muscle mass went bye bye and I am as weak as Shirley Temple during the good ship lollipop days) It gets so hot that I have to turn it off about halfway to work each day. I LOVE IT. http://www.herringtoncatalog.com/ls714.html for more info.
It has 1 drawback, if you can call it that. It is black fleece, which is a total dog hair magnet. My 3 furry four legged kids love to rub on me and the jacket would be just covered in hair if I let them near it. We have this problem with all our clothes really. Since we are equal opportunity parents we have a Black, White and Brown dog so we can screw up any piece of clothing you have. I don’t so much pick out an outfit in the mornings, I just decide what dog to show off to the world that day. If you are wearing white, you will be displaying Ricky’s shiny and lustrous black coat. Wearing black? Well that is when Amber’s long and kinky white hairs dominate the ensemble, and so on. So I have limited myself to wearing it only outside of the house to keep it as pristine as possible.

Got some bad news this past week. My step-grandmother I guess you would call her, finally lost her battle with cancer. This would be Alyce’s mother Gini. She had been having a real hard time lately and fought for a long time like a champion. This is a welcome transition for her I would think given the circumstances. She was the sweetest thing you could ever imagine, the world needs more people like her. Cancer is a real son of a bitch. I would choke it blue with my bare hands if I could. It is infuriating to be so helpless and see a loved one go through something like that. So lets all remember Gini in our prayers and rejoice in the fact she will be with our father in heaven soon, and live peacefully in paradise for eternity, with no more pain and she can give the finger to cancer every day. I know I am looking forward to my finger flipping days.

Sorry for the long post, but had a lot of stuff to catch you up on.
Probably will not be posting again before Christmas, so let me say Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.
As always remember to help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered. Why breed when there are between 10 and 12 million loving dogs put to death each year without homes? It just does not make sense. Adoption rules, and dogs rule!
Love to all,
Greg