Home sweet home

We're planning to have Tom back home by the end of this week. Hurrah! We're busy making the arrangements for the equipment that we will need at home for a while including a nice comfy lounge chair for the deck so that he can enjoy some sunshine and bird viewing. You don't get to see much from a hospital window except roof tops.
The Oncologist said that there another chemo treatment that he thinks should work. He is going to confer with the doctors out at Mayo that we saw in December and make sure that this is the recommended treatment for Tom at this point. He's going to give Tom a week to rest before he tries the new chemo regimen.

Your prayers continue to help us in so many ways. Thank you.

~Peggy and family

Tough News

We found out from the docs recently that the cancer has spread. The docs are working together to come up with a plan of action. We have a goal to get Tom home from the hospital as soon as we can, they're thinking maybe by the end of this week. Tom is in good spirits and has his ever positive attitude. Prayers, as always, are deeply appreciated.

~Peggy and family

Quick Tuesday evening update

Tom is in good spirits. He's feeling better. He walked the halls several times on Tuesday. He has had several positive and encouraging signs and moments over the past few days. We still don't know the cause of the blockage so he is still eating ice chips and getting nutrition from a bag through an IV. It's a puzzle. Tom has undergone many tests and is undergoing more. Both his doctor's are back on board and they indicated that they will have some type of plan for Tom by the end of the week. We're looking forward to some plan of action that will eventually get him out of the hospital.
Please keep praying for Tom and the doctors that they will make wise decisions regarding his care and steps to his recovery.
~Peggy and family

Doing the Two-step

Tom has spent his time in the hospital doing the two-step. You know, two steps forward, one step back and then two steps back and one step forward. We don’t see a release date from the hospital anytime soon. He went from a diet of “eating” cream of tomato soup and vanilla ice cream back to ice chips and water. They took out his nose tube and then had to put it back to drain liquid from his bowel. He went from walking the halls giving everyone a “view” from the back of the hospital gown to being back in bed again. I guess you could say he hit a speed bump…a big one. We’re hopeful that he’ll be up and at ‘em again soon. We’re pleased that his surgeon Dr. Zania is back from vacation and his oncologist will be back on Monday the 22nd so that we can develop a new plan of action. Sh-h-h-, don’t tell the cancer cells, we want to keep it a secret. Tom is in good spirits. He has made friends with all the nurses, orderlies, aides, room cleaners and every other employee at the hospital that he meets. On Friday, as the nurse was cleaning him up, I heard lots of laughter coming from his room. As she was washing his feet, it tickled and he would start laughing and she started laughing too. She shared that she had never cleaned a patient with such ticklish feet before. It’s true laughter is good for the soul and the sole.

Your prayers continue to help us in so many ways. Thank you.

~Peggy and family

63 years young

Tom turned 63 on Saturday. Even though the venue for his party was not what we had hoped, we were still glad to have the opportunity to wish him a Happy Birthday. After a diet of broth and jello on Friday night, he had to resort back to small amounts of ice chips on Saturday because of a negative reaction to the new foods in his body. The darn blockage/infection is still there. They finally put him on a nutrition pack that he is getting through his pic line because he's not getting much nutrition from ice chips. He has seen a physical therapist a few times and has walked down the hall a couple of times each day. We see small amounts of improvement daily. In fact, they have started him again on clear liquids (broth and jello) and he was able to tolerate those Sunday night so he'll try some more on Monday.
He enjoys reading your cards as well as the newspapers each day. He says that he's learned that there's not much worthwhile watching on TV, but he does watch some of the sporting events and he gets phone calls from the boys to keep him updated on current high school playoff game results.
Your support, calls, visits, cards and prayers have kept us going through this past week and have helped lift our spirits during some dark, scary times. Hopefully we'll see a turn around this week and hear the news that Tom will be able to come home.
~Peggy and family

Thursday evening update

Tom got his catheter removed. Hurrah for that, it allows him to be more mobile. His white blood count moved to the "normal range" at 5.2. He walked several times on Thursday and worked with a physical therapist. He still is only allowed a few ice chips here and there ( they thought differently when the day started.. maybe some broth at some point soon) because they are trying to get the blockage to dissipate. He looks good and sounds stronger. We're hoping for more progress each day. Your prayers for Tom's healing and strength mean so much.
~Peggy

Wednesday evening update

There was improvement in all areas on Wednesday so they moved him out of Progressive Care to a regular room on the cancer care floor. Tom looks better and feels better. They removed his heart monitor on Wednesday. His white blood cell count went up to 3.2 and the docs can hear movement in four chambers of his bowel; not just three. He is still on antibiotics for infection and he is still hooked up to IV's and a few other lines. His diet still consists of ice chips with a variation of melted ice chips. He is expected to be in the hospital for at least a few more days.
We'll continue to do our best to keep you updated through this blog.
Thank you for all your positive, uplifting and caring messages that you have passed along to us. Your prayers mean so much.
~Peggy

Brief Wednesday morning update

Tom slept well for the second consecutive night, and his white blood count continued to rise this morning. Tom also had a visit from his surgeon's PA this morning, which was helpful. I don't know what was shared/learned in that conversation, but hope to pass it along in the near future.
A lot of positive things right now!

- Chris

Tuesday evening update

Tuesday was a better day. Tom looks better and feels better. His white blood count number rose to 2.7. There's still plenty of room for improvement but at least it's going up and his ability to fight off the infection has improved. They even took off his "must wear a face mask when entering this room" sign that was on his door. He's getting some movement in his bowel so we're hoping that means things are happening with the obstruction. They took Tom for x-rays of that area so we hope they show a change in the blockage. His diet still consists of ice chips which still taste pretty good to him. We didn't see either doctor on Tuesday so nothing to share from them. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.
~Peggy

Tuesday morning update

Your prayers are working. Tom is holding is own. His vitals are good. Temperature is back to normal. Blood work yesterday morning showed his white blood cell count at 1.9--not good. It makes his whole body vulnerable to dangerous spread of his current infection or susceptible to new infection. The doctor hoped his count was "bottoming out" because of his recent chemo treatment and would start to go back up. We won't know until hopefully this morning when they do more blood work. He's hooked up to all kinds of tubes and lines: some draining fluid and some putting fluid in, some checking his heart, something else keeping track of his oxygen and pressure cuffs on his legs. Nothing to eat or drink as they are trying to get rid of the bowel obstruction without surgery. He finally got ice chips about 4:00 yesterday afternoon. He said they tasted like steak. We didn't see the oncologist yesterday, but hope to see him today. Both his regular oncologist and surgeon are on vacation for two weeks. That's a little disconcerting. Pray for the doctors who are covering for them that they are making wise choices for Tom's care.
Thank you for your responses to my prayer requests, it means so much.
~ Peggy

Ambush

Tom finished his fifth chemo treatment on Friday the fifth and even though all of his "numbers" appeared to be great, things have not been going well since. Since the treatment ended we thought he was just having some fairly normal problems which were most likely side effects of the chemo treatments, even though he had never had any serious side effects previously. Finally on Sunday the seventh around 3:00 in the afternoon, it was decided that Tom should go the emergency room to be checked out. After testing which included a cat scan, it was learned that Tom has a serious infection/bowel obstruction. Tom has been admitted into the hospital for further testing. A lot still has yet to be learned today, and we will share more information as it is learned.

Please continue to keep Tom in your prayers as he most certainly will need them.

- Chris

Short and Sweet!

Tom is doing well. He “rattled the bats” and we’re sure it messed with the evil minds of those cancer cells. The rest of his body was a little challenged and befuddled with the change of chemo schedule; we didn’t have the “normal” response on the “normal” days and we had a few unexpected bumps in the road, but he’s had many more good days than “not-so-good” days. He hasn’t had to have a tummy tap in over a month! He’s ready to start treatment #5 this Wednesday the 3rd. We hope that his tired days will take place over the weekend so that he’ll be in good form to celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary on Monday the 8th and his 63rd birthday on the 13th.

It’s been nearly a year since he was first diagnosed with cancer and even though much of it has been a blur, it’s been a memorable year in many ways-- including many good ways.

Thank you for your continued prayers, positive thoughts and words of encouragement.

~Peggy