marylloyd
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Tom is doing fine after his stent change yesterday. They did put one back in so we didn’t have to worry about problems over the holidays. They’ll probably take that out and leave him stentless in Jan. and will also do colonoscopy then so he will get completely checked out. The ca19 does elevate for colon cancer too so that had me a little worried and I guess the Docs thought it was a good idea too.
Betsy,
I really hope you can get your problems all taken care of as soon as possible. When do you go for your next procedure? I can’t wait to hear you saying you’re “tubeless in Cleveland”. Are you a Browns fan? We’re really excited about their turnaround! My family are all huge Steeler fans so it’s great to finally see the Browns doing something positive.!
Take care, MaryTom feels some what the same. He doesn’t feel blessed to have this or any cancer but is glad that it is him and not me or one of our children. He has always said he wanted to go first. I just want him to hang around another 20 years before he goes anywhere!! Mary
Hi Betsy,
Yes we are going Weds. I imagine they will take the 2 he has in,out and put one back in for a few months. He still show signs of blockage as far as his bloodwork goes so I’m actually hoping they do put one in. I really don’t want him to get sick over the holidays. His ca19 has come down to around 2200. That is still very high but at least it’s not 3500!! You’ve got to be grateful for anything positive, as you know!! I hope things go well for you soon too. Wouldn’t it be great to have all of these problems solved before the new year?!! I hope so! Take care, MaryBeth,
I’m so sorry for all the problems Dave is going through now. This cancer is particularly evil as far as all of the complications it causes. It really is unbelievable how things can be going along smoothly and something like this will come and knock you right off your feet. We have been doing this for 4 1/2 years and it seems like there is always something to deal with. I hate to sound down to all of the new members here but it’s just the nature of this beast. We all understand exactly what you are going through and hope and pray things improve dramatically for Dave. Take care of yourself too! At times like this it is hard to even think about your own needs, but you need to sleep and eat decent meals too! Every time Tom gets sick and ends up in the hospital we both lose weight! It’s a lousy diet plan but I know it’s really hard to eat and sleep when you are so worried and stressed. Keep us posted and know we are all thinking of all of you and hoping for continued good news. MaryKris,
You are very special to all of us and we all send our love and support. I hope you are able to build up some strength so you can tolerate chemo. I’m glad the drain is working better now. I really hope you can get home soon. That alone will make you feel better! Take care, MaryIsisman,
We don’t have any hospice facilities in our area either. That’s why I would plan on keeping Tom at home. It’s either that or a nursing home and that’s not going to happen. We do have workers that will come and help but I’m not sure how much they do. It is very difficult to say the least but you did the very best you could and I’m sure your husband appreciated all you did for him. Take care, MaryThanks all.
Patty,
I love the idea of your “new” 18 year old car. My daughter, who helps the economy greatly by buying new vehicles every few years commented about Tom and I not taking care of our vehicles very well. I said, Are you kidding? Every vehicle we own has almost 200,000 miles on it. We have to take care of them to keep them going that long. I can’t help it that they rust and the doors and windows quit working!! Ha! In fact our hold cargo van that I called “the tank”, that we used to haul plants to market etc., just died last summer with 227.000 miles on it. It was the best vehicle ever, never cost us a dime other than regular maintenance. That will probably never happen again.
Marion,
Yes ,we are done for a few months. We’re going away for a few days this weekend ( renting a car) and then he’ll have his ERCP and I guess a colonoscopy at the same time next week.That caused some joking with the Doc yesterday I guess. Which comes first …oh I won’t go there!
Betsy,
I am really glad you are feeling better. It’s amazing how your body recovers if it just has time to heal. It usually takes Tom 2-3 weeks to get back to normal after a procedure, ecspecially if there is some infection. Best wishes for a successful “glueing”. You are the first person I’ve ever read about having that done. I really hope it works and you’ll have to let us know how they actually do it. It sounds very interesting.
Happy election day all. I am SO happy this will be over. We have worn out our remote muting political ads on TV. I quit answering the phone yesterday, we got so many calls.
Take care, MaryLainey,
I can’t believe I forgot but Tom’s little brother also died here when he was just 9 years old from a seizure in his sleep. I know all this sounds morbid to some but I almost feel like this is Tom’s family’s hospice. When he was first diagnosed and I got home from the hospital after endless long days I just really felt the love of this old house and it’s spirits around me. I just asked all of them to help Tom be well. I will get him home come hell or high water if necessary down the road. I was a nurse many moons ago though so I can handle things better than some. I just hope I don’t have to handle anything for years! Take care, MaryTom is doing well. His MRI was good, the abcesses appear to be gone and bloodwork is good. We won’t know about the ca19 for a day or so. Next appointment in 6 months if all goes well with stent removal, etc. Thanks all, Mary
Lainey,
That is beautiful and exactly how I feel about things. If and when the time comes I know it will be the same for Tom and me. Our farm has been in his family for 4 generations. His great grandma and grandpa lived and died here and also a great aunt at the young age of 17. My brother-in-law used to claim the house was haunted because of all the people that had died here( the original owner lost his wife and daughters to influenza and used to hold seances in our attic) but I always said they were good spirits and they’ve always been kind to us!! Unless it isn’t possible for one reason or another I will make sure Tom passes here and I believe it will be just like you say, a peaceful, loving time. I guess it will be different for me. I don’t want my kids to have to take care of me and go through what so many do here. I would want to be in hospice if it was left up to them to care for me. I’m going for a quick exit though, heart or something easier than this cancer business. I’m not tough enough to deal with the things all of these wonderful patients here and Tom and my sister-in-laws have gone through. Peace be with you and Teddy, MaryBob,
Since Tom’s diagnosis I have lost 2 sister-in-laws to cancer, 53 and 60. We never imagined that Tom would still be the one around when he was first diagnosed. HE has a great attitude and is thankful for every day. Ecspecially when we’ve seen so many younger people fighting and some losing their battle every day. Both of us fuss about things sometimes, not enough money, we’re tired , too much work and not enough time( we have a 160 acre farm), on and on and then we stop and think about the fact that he’s still here and Glenda and Rosa are gone and how incredibly lucky we are. We’ve had and raised our kids, we have 3 grandchildren, my parents are still even alive and in their 80’s and doing well. Life is great and I am very grateful. I wish everybody was as lucky as we’ve been!! MaryTom is driving to Columbus( by himself) tomorrow for bloodwork and MRI. I guess this has been scheduled since his hospital stay in Sept but no one bothered to let us know until Fri. If I had known, we would not have gone to Pa but I was worried that they weren’t following up at OSU. This is the problem with big University hospitals. You have residents writing the discharge orders and they don’t always get things straight. I’ve always been pretty involved and called, e-mailed etc but have kind of backed off lately so I wasn’t being such a pest and now we are not getting communications straight. This shows that it is often necessary to be a pest in order to keep on top of things. Hopefully his bloodwork will have improved but I expect his ca19 to still be high. His liver is a mess right now along with swelling and inflammation in his duodenum. He even had stones that they had to sweep out of his ducts in Sept so I think we shouldn’t expect miracles. I honestly don’t even worry about it anymore. It’s just the way it’s going to be from now on. 4 1/2 years now of basically really good health with a few bumps here and there- we’ve been incredibly lucky regardless of the future. I just hope they don’t bum him out too much because they will probably tell him they think the cancer is back. Of course they have been saying that for over a year and still can’t see a thing.
Here’s hoping our old truck makes it to Columbus and back!! We’ve been car shopping but I can’t bring myself to make a car payment again! It’s been 10 years without one and it’s been great! Happy Sunday everyone!! MaryHi Betsy,
Yes, we went to UPMC LIver Disease Center. When we went over before we went to the Liver Cancer Center and those guys ( surgeons) were all gung-ho about doing a transplant, ecspecially while Tom was still doing well. This guy ( the director of the center) said he would have to be on his death bed , in ICU, on a respirator etc before he could get one. I think the difference is cadaver and live donor livers. Anyway the guy was really strange, the director of the center telling us he didn’t handle cases like this, kept contradicting himself, just really strange. I wouldn’t want him for my Dr. I think we will stay put right where we are. The Docs are so much better to work with at OSU and we are comfortable there. I really didn’t have a problem with them it’s just these abcesses are a worry and we thought they would have more insight dealing with disease. But I guess thats not their thing-not really sure what is!?
Yes, Lainey it was a great day for a drive and even though I am a big Browns fan driving into Steeler country I have to say Pittsburgh is one of the prettiest cities I’ve ever been in. The entrance through the Fort-Pitt tunnel is always spectacular, ecspecially on a sunny day! Hope you had a great time last night with the kids. Give Teddy a birthday hug from me and Tom. Take care and enjoy you’re honeymoon. These are very precious times. I’m glad things are staying peaceful for Teddy and hope he remains painfree. MaryWell, we wasted a beautiful day driving to Pittsburgh. I really don’t like it when a Dr. asks you why you are there after spending time and money sending a boatload of info ahead of the appointment. We weren’t really planning on switching Drs. anyway but really wanted some insight into these abscess issues and I don’t think that was even discussed. He’s just sure the cancer is back due to the rising ca19 and threw a lot of cold water on the whole transplant idea. Tom says he doesn’t have cancer in his liver anymore so I think I’ll choose to believe him. I honestly think he knows what’s going on just as well as anyone else. It is an interesting difference between surgeons vs. medical( internists). I prefer the surgeons approach personally. They seem like they run a tighter ship. Anyway, he will get his stents removed on Nov 10th and hopefully will not have any complications.I guess we will just keep putting out the fires as they pop up. As others have said before, “it is what it is!” Right now things are going well so we’ll enjoy these times and not worry. Mary
