marylloyd

Great news, Bob! Tom had a “thickening” in his duodenum last fall that they thought might be cancer and it just went away. During last stent change Doc said it looked fine , no inflammation or swelling, so maybe yours will too. I think it was probably due to all of the infection going on, maybe yours is too. You are an inspiration to all of us!! Keep up the fight and enjoy the holidays with your family and new grand baby!! Mary

Margaret,
I truly understand what you are going through. We do farming that requires a lot of phsical activity during our busy times and Tom was sick during most of those busy times last year! It really takes a toll on you physically and emotionally to be so tired and stressed. The great part about Tom is he gets well again and is able to take over right about the time I give out! I have to admit that we had a spat last night at 2am because I couldn’t sleep in bed due to my cold. I came down to sleep in the living room on our recliner and he was down here watching TV so I chased him out to bed! He is very possessive of the TV remote and mumbled something about me just wanting it and not acknowledging that I felt terrible and couldn’t sleep. I just told him to grow up and go to bed. I’ve been kind of upset since because like you I take on a lot when he is sick, besides just taking care of his needs and he’s a lousy caregiver when I’m sick.I need knee surgery and my biggest fear is that I won’t be able to depend on him helping me. Having a cold is one thing but being physically incapacitated scares the heck out of me. Anyway just hang in there and start delegating some of those chores out to all those people you have hanging around. Every time I have an able bodied young man around I grab him to do a chore for us, lifting something, whatever. You’ll be amazed at how many fewer visitors you have if you put them to work every time they show up! Ha! Take care and happy Thanksgiving! Mary

Heck, I’m irritable, crabby and grouchy today and I just have a bad cold! I can’t imagine how I’d be if I was going through what your Tom, my Tom ,Kathy and others do!! Four weekends in a row may be too much for the grandkids but I can’t think of anything that makes my Tom happier than to have all the kids around. That was the one thing that upset him the most at diagnosis was that he wouldn’t see his grandkids grow up. So I actually wish ours were around more. Try to relax Margaret and just enjoy the time you have together. Everytime I get frustrated with Tom or angry about something I just stop and think, now wait a minute, it’s really not a big deal and try to just bite my tongue. None of us are always happy and cheerful (except maybe Lainey!) but you really don’t want to fight !! I would think you will regret that down the road. I know I would. Take care, Mary

Kris,
I’m glad things are going well in some respects, it sounds like you are getting lots of attention anyway! I don’t understand why they are goofy about hydrating you? I know Tom and I drink tons of water and whenever he is in the hospital they don’t push fluids either, actually he is npo much of the time for testing etc and he gets that dehydrated feeling. You need fluids to flush out all the bad stuff in your system and it might actually help lower your bilirubin. I know that it’s not a priority to healthcare people and it really should be! It’s good that you are able to rest comfortably with your kitties around you. Is your mother or sister there now? Take care Kris and know that we are all sendind our love your way! Mary

The only time I am concerned about anything other than liver enzymes is when Tom is sick with an infection. In Feb he became septic after an ERCP and his platelets dropped to 28. He had to have a transfusion. Since then I always take a look at those numbers whenever he gets an infection, which has been way too often this year! They do seem to drop drastically when he is having problems. An elevated ca19 and alkaline phosphatase can be due to bile duct obstruction. Tom has a biliary stricture from radiation so this has always been an issue. I know you are just beginning this journey and all of these irregularities cause you to panic. I was the same way, but we’ve been dealing with this for almost 4 1/2 years now and I hate to say it but it has almost become routine. For us and many others here cc is a chronic condition that is just part of our lives. We’re the lucky ones and hopefully your Dad will be too. I am a great believer in diet and supplements vs. chemo. A healthy immune system will help fight cancer and infections.
Keep in touch and let us know what his liver enzymes are. If his bilirubin and enzymes are elevated there may be a little obstruction. It would probably just be scar tissue from the surgery. That’s very common.
Take care and try not to worry too much! Mary

I second every thing above! Being home just makes everything better! Take care and enjoy all the love and attention from Hans , the kitties and everyone else! Sweden sounds like a great place to live!!! Mary

Betsy,
Yes we are done for now. We do alternative farming-we rent our land, all but 10 acres to “real” farmers. We used to be real farmers then started growing flowers(for drying) now produce and pumpkins and we have greenhouses for plants. I start getting busy again in Feb. I love the time off but miss the income! I’m really glad you’re feeling well. That is what is really important. Tom always said he could take a lot as long as he wasn’t feeling sick or in pain. Let us know how things go on the 19th. I hope things go great for you too. Mary