Update

I spoke to Dad yesterday and he said he felt great. We were hoping to go see him, but they were gone all day. He sounded well and like himself.

We went out to visit today - made it just before the storms hit. We didn't see him much though. It wasn't a good day for him. He was in bed the entire time we were there, he said he was very sick to his stomach today. I don't know if it was because of this shot Friday or not. They met with the nurse on Friday and he got a shot to boost red blood cell production. Ruth was going over his latest blood results today to compare to previous ones and it sounded like his hemoglobin and platelet counts were lower. The nurse said there has been no order for a CT scan, so I am confused. The nurse said the Dr. usually does three "doses" of chemo (meaning three rounds of the two week treaments) before they do a CT scan. When we last met with the oncologist he said they would do one after the four weeks - so I am not sure what the appointment with the oncologist will be for on Friday. So, we wait more I guess. I am going to do some more research on his blooc counts and I will post what I find out. I need to get the exact things and #'s they have been testing. I have to say that Dad looked horrible. He is thin (by his standards) and looks frail. It is disturbing to me personally. I think it looks more drastic to me because I don't see him everyday.

That is all for now, I am just confused. I will post more when I know more.

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry

Ok, I dropped the ball again. It has been so busy I haven't posted in a while.

I spoke to Dad yesterday morning and he said he was feeling better than he was. No vomiting with the last chemo, just lots of tired and nausea. He is putzing around at home: rotated tires on the van one morning, cleaned out his truck yesterday. Simple stuff, but he says one thing usually "blows his wad" (I'm quoting) then he has to lay down for a while. He says he can't eat much, says fresh greens beans, peaches do well - no bread. He also says his poopin is regular (I told him TMI and I was going to post that)

So, not much to report. He has an appointment with the nurse tomorrow so I will call him to see what came of that and if there is a CT scan scheduled yet. I hope so. I would like to have results when we meet with Oncologist next Friday.

I am hoping to get out there this weekend to see him.

Thought of the blog:

If electricity comes from electrons - does morality come from morons?

As always keep up the good thoughts and prayers!

After chemo update

Just spoke to Dad. He said Chemo went fine. He had one chemo med, the bone hardener, Kytril and Ativan today. (Ativan helps prevent vomiting & nausea as well) He said is is feeling well today, much better than Monday. I guess Tuesday he was vomiting. He weighed in at 204 today, down from 211 on Monday - but a pound up from yesterday. Still a huge difference from the approx. 285 he weighed in March and the approx. 223 on the day of his first chemo. So he says "even if everything tastes like garbage at least its staying down" He went to the grocery store today after chemo, then crashed for a couple of hours. His hemoglobin was at 9.1 today, which is up from 8.9 last week - this is good, but still lower than it should be at 10. If it gets too low he would have to have a transfusion. His white blood cell count was also good, so no extra shot tomorrow.

All in all, he is doing well concidering what he is going through. So we are assuming a CT scan will be scheduled for next week so there will be results for the Oncologist appoinment on the 4th. I will update when I hear when that will be. He also has a meeting with the cancer nurse next Friday, I can't make that one but will update after I talk to him.

Have a good weekend and keep up the thoughts and prayers!

Thought for the blog:

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and before long the whole world will look like hockey players!

Question

What if the Hokey Pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Super Denise

Here is the rare picture of Super Denise from Halloween 1976 . . .

Dad said he was telling about this picture today at Haworth, which is funny because I had it posted for a day but took it down. Anyway, here it is for all of you to enjoy! I know he like visiting with "the guys" at haworth - maybe I will post the picture he sent me of the guys...maybe I should buy them a gas machine to stand in for Dad?

He said he is feeling better today than yesterday. The long chemo treatment seems to take more out of him. He said food tasted like garbage and he was really tired yeaterday. I am wondering how often he eats garbage to have that comparison...hmmmm

He will have just one chemo med this friday, so hopefully he will not be so worn down.

I have heard that people check this often, so I will try to at least post something everyday. It may only be some transient thought of mine or someone elses, but I will try to put something on here. I try not to call Dad every day because I know he is tired and I dont want to wake him (or bother him)

So keep up the thoughts and prayers!

Thought of the blog

One of my favorite excerpts from Gibran's "The Prophet" - he was a Lebanonese poet and prophet, his writing is beautiful. . .

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a passtime.

And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.

For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

There are those among you who seek that talkative through fear of being alone.

The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.

And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.

And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.

In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence. . .

:)

Chemo update

Dad had his third chemo yesterday. He had all three of the chemo meds this time. His white blood cell count was still good, so he didn't need the extra shot for that today. They increased his pain patch dosage from 50 mg to 75 mg - he actually will have two patches on for a while - a 25 and a 50 until they are gone, then they will give him one 75 mg patch. They did this because he was suplimenting with oral meds too often to compensate for the increasing pain. He has one more chemo next friday, then there is another appointment with the oncologist in two weeks. I would assume it will be to discuss if there has been any changes in the growth or if the chemo has held it back any. So I will have to assume as well that they will do another CT scan before that meeting so they have a comparison. I am planning on going to that meeting. It will be a pivotal meeting, I think, because we will know if the chemo has done any good and what we do next, if anything, if it hasn't. I have to be honest and say I am worried. He is having more and more pain.

He sounded well and upbeat, said he worked in the pole barn for a little while. They had the church picnic tonight so he was going to rest so he could go. I wanted to get out there for that, I really wanted to see what "wheelbarrow kickball" was and I would been excited to participate the "frying pan toss" - but alas I did not get done at the museum in time to make it out there. So I will have to get the story from him tomorrow. I hope Ruth took some pictures!

I think I will call and check on him tomorrow evening because last time he had all three chemo meds, he didn't get sick until Sunday. I hope the Kytril helps him this time like it has been. All I really want is for him to be comfortable.

And here is a new feature I'm adding - a thought for the post. Some will be from my Zen calendar, some from books I've read, some from t-shirts - I just never know where I will find something that strikes me....So here is one for today:

And once we have the condition of peace and joy in us, we can afford to be in any situation. -Thich Nhat Hanh

Please keep Dennis in your thoughts and prayers.

Forgive me again!

This picture makes me wonder if there was a flood warning that day...hmmm

I am so bad, I know he will find the humor in this.

Love you Dad!

And Speaking of DORKS...

I learned from the best!

nice hat dad!

Would ya look at that!

Well...who knew I can post pictures!

So this is almost the whole clan from last Christmas. (We have had two new babies since then and my brother and nephew aren't in the picture.) I'm the red-headed dork in the lower right holding the baby - just in case you wondered. Now you can see why we may need to eat in the pole barn if if we grow much more!

So now that I know how to post pictures, I will put some more up. ALSO I changed some other settings so anyone can comment now - you don't have to register! So I hope more of you will comment now!!

I guess it's now a weekly update

Sorry, I have been running around and working..I didn't realize it has been a week since I posted. If any of you talk to Dad or see him, please leave a comment if you want. I can only make the hour drive about every other week so I'd like to hear how he looks and such. (I do call him every couple of days.)

Anyway, we went out to his house on Sunday for my "Birthday" dinner - a little past the fact, but better late than never. Dad ate some lunch and sounded and looked better than he did last weekend. I think it is good he had a week off from chemo to build his strength. He was joking and playing with Emi. I took a picture of him and the kids and compared it to the one I took at Christmas - there is a pretty big difference between how he looked then and now. His face is thinner, he looks smaller. Still a big smile though. Someday I will figure out if I can post pictures on here...

He has a chemo treatment this friday and next friday, then a CT scan to see if there are any differences (whether new tumors/smaller tumors/etc.) I will post again Friday after chemo. If anything else comes up before then, I will post as well. I apologize for the boring posts, there just isn't much new to share about his condition. I'm sure I could type a ton about other things in the family or my personal feelings on things, but none of that is relevant so I will keep it as such.

All I can say is keep checking back and keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

:)

Over the weekend...

We went camping with dad from Saturday to Monday at Hungry Horse. He had a chemo treatment friday morning, it went ok. We waited on Sunday to see if he would get sick or not because that is when it hit him last time. He did not vomit from the chemo, so that was good. The new oral med seems to be helping.

Overall, it was a mixed time. It was fun to camp and hang out with him, but difficult to see how this is taking its toll. He is having more pain in his back and in his hips. He is also having to suppliment more with the oral pain medication than he was before. He is doing well on letting people help him, which I know is hard for him. He would sit in the chair for a couple of hours, then lay down for a while. I'm sad to say that if I didn't know him, I would have thought he was 20 years older than he is. He is not sure on his feet and I thought he was going to fall in my lap on Saturday night. He is very weak. All of that is hard to see as you all know Dad has always been big and strong.

On the good side, he still has not his humor! He theatened to "unzip the window" - I said something smart-ass to him through the screen when he was laying down, so he says "don't make me unzip this!" - it was funny. He made pancakes on Monday morning for us and he even made an "e" for Emi. She thought that was great!

So, I wish I had more to tell, but I don't. I have to call and check on him tonight, so I will update in the morning.