“Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”

Those are the words that keep playing over and over in my head. Tom has had a good week. Beginning last Wednesday, he started to feel better and stronger. On Friday, we took a drive over to Mt. Pleasant to the casino so that Tom could play some of his free weekly download and he won enough to buy us lunch at Applebee’s. We commented how nice it was to drive somewhere other than the hospital for a change. On Saturday Don, Oren and Jack dropped over to talk baseball, football and just plain ol’ BS and he asked them to bring up the exercise bike from the basement so that he could ride on it a couple of minutes each day to help build his leg strength. Sunday, Jan and Tom L. dropped off some yummy chili and veggie lasagna which Tom and I really enjoyed. Tom has his appetite back, but he can only eat small meals at a time because of the abdominal fluid build up. Tuesday morning, Tom walked (I emphasize this because he did not ride in a wheelchair and it’s a long walk) to and from his “tummy tap” appointment. They only found two liters to remove this time-- a good thing compared to the average of 6 liters. Tuesday afternoon he drove himself to acupuncture, another good thing. Later he walked into his doctor’s appointment. Dr. Danzo was pleased that the amount of fluid in Tom’s abdomen had gone down. He said, “That means the chemo is beginning to work already.” Yesterday, he drove and walked to his chemo appointment #2. He got a big hug from the nurses because he looked so much better and healthier than the last time they saw him. He received his treatment over a period of about four hours, got hooked up to the portable pump (it looks like he has a fanny pack on) with more chemo for the next 46 hours. I went to work and had my cell phone with me in case I was needed, but I wasn’t. He had a good night last night and went out to breakfast this morning. We’ll see what the weekend brings.

I know that your prayers are helping so that Tom feels better and that we both can have a breather, a little less stress and be able to smile and laugh a little. Please pray that Tom’s body will continue to respond to the chemo and that the side effects will be minimal with no health complications.

We definitely feel blessed to have such a wonderful family and such wonderful friends.

~ Peggy

Dance Steps

Today is a so-so day. Tom is quite tired while waiting one more day to get his tummy tapped. This is an eight day time frame between taps, probably one day too many, but they couldn’t fit him in today. So tonight he will probably sleep in the recliner where it is a little bit easier on his back. I’m sure many of you ladies can remember the strain on your back when you were about 9 months pregnant. They will drain about 6.5 liters of abdominal fluid from Tom tomorrow morning or between 13 and 14 pounds. That’s like delivering twins!

He completed his first chemo treatment last Friday and after they unhooked his pump, they did another blood draw to see if his potassium level was back to normal.

It appeared to be back into a normal range, his sodium level was a little low though. It’s kind of like playing a game of Jenga; when you pull one piece out everything is temporarily unbalanced. We’re learning as we go with a few more challenges this time around.

Tom had a great day on Saturday—felt good, lots of energy, and he even won a family cribbage tournament. His energy fizzled in the late afternoon on Sunday, we think as a result of the chemo. We’re not sure what his energy pattern will be this time; we need to experience a few more chemos before we’ll know.

A saying that I found this fall seems to “fit” our life at the moment. “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s learning to dance in the rain.”

We’re in the process of learning to dance.

Your prayers are helping.

~Peggy

Back in the saddle again

Tom is back at it again. He started a whole new round of chemo on Wednesday, January 6. It was a long and scary day at the hospital, nearly 7 hours! At one point the doctor stopped the treatment and was ready to admit Tom to the hospital after reading his blood report and finding that his potassium level was too high. Even though they had indicated this on the Mayo report, we had no idea that a too high potassium count could cause major heart problems. We only knew that Tom was extremely tired and very uncomfortable with a very bloated abdomen. After conferring with another doctor and checking Tom for physical warning signs, they decided that Tom could continue with chemo and sent him home with Lasix and potent laxatives. Over the next couple of days the goal is to get rid of the excess potassium in his system. After the first use of these prescriptions, Tom is already feeling better and has some of his strength back which is a good thing since he’s wearing a path in the carpet as he hurriedly travels to the “reading room”. Fortunately, angels were looking over him so that he was able to get treatment before a major catastrophe occurred.

Our schedule is filled with weekly abdominal taps, weekly blood draws and dressing changes, chemo every other week, and acupuncture appointments before and after every chemo treatment. We should see a reduction in the number of abdominal taps as the chemo begins to work. His chemo schedule is the same as last time; chemo every other Wednesday for approximately 3 hours and wearing the pump for continued chemo for 46 hours until it is removed on Friday. He has a permanent port in his chest again which creates challenges showering because the dressing should not get wet due to risk of infection. We had thrown the superman shower cape away and were ready to get a new one, but a friend as well as a nurse at the hospital suggested using the Glad Press n Seal to cover the port for showers; that sounds much easier than messing with the cape.

Tom has a positive attitude, as always, but there are days that can be dark and overwhelming for both of us. Your continued calls and notes of encouragement and acts of kindness have definitely lifted our spirits. Thank you. And thank you so much for your continued prayers.

~Peggy

A belated update, but Happy New Years!

Sorry for the delay in updating this blog. Our time since we got back from Mayo has been spent waiting (due to the holidays) to get Tom scheduled for his chemo and going to the hospital for abdominal taps. We finally got in on New Years Eve for his chemo port to be inserted. It took them three trys this time to get it in a vein, but at least it is in. We also have next Wednesday January 6th , set up for his first round of chemo. We hope that once he gets started that he will respond well to this chemo and gain some of his energy back. Due to the swelling in his abdomen, it is difficult for him to take deep breaths so walking anywhere is a chore. However, he has taken a short walk down the driveway each day and drives to get his newspaper every morning. He is taking 6 small meals each day including liquid protein drinks as a supplement.

Tom finally got a second opinion appointment at Mayo for December 21st. Tom and Peg (along with Peg’s sister, Connie) flew out from Tri-City airport to Mayo on December 20th. They were met at the airport in Minneapolis by Peg’s step-sister Mary and brother-in-law Mike who drove them down to Rochester and the Kahler Grand Hotel which is connected by the underground system to the Mayo Clinic. The hotel provided them with a wheel chair to move Tom around since his energy level had become very depleted. Long story short; the doctors at Mayo agreed with the doctors in Midland as far as treatment is concerned. They confirmed that his cancer is back and agreed with the chemo recommendations. They found that his electrolytes were out of whack, probably from the abdominal taps that he requires every 6 days to drain approximately 6.5 liters (about 14 lbs.) of fluid off. This occurs because of where the cancer is located and should lessen once he starts chemo.

Prayers are appreciated big time.

Love and thanks,
Peg

“Patients” is a virtue?

It’s hard to wait. Hard to wait for test results. Hard to wait for Mayo to call with a day and time that they can fit Tom in for that second opinion. Waiting and wondering what’s happening inside Tom’s body…. while we wait.
The request to Mayo was sent in on the afternoon of Wednesday the 9th and we’ve been waiting since then, hoping that every time the phone rang, it would be THE call. Tom called Dr. Danso’s office on the morning of Friday the 11th and told them he hadn’t heard anything yet. Shannon, the gal at the doctor’s office who submitted the request, after telling Tom that it would take some time to hear back but it should be soon, told Tom the following, “Tom, do you know what the Mayo doctors call people like you that they treat there?” Tom falling for the bait, “No, what?” Shannon replied, tongue in cheek, “Patient.”
Tom got the message, so we waited some more. Finally we got THE call on Monday the 14th about noon . They could see Tom on Monday the 21st. More waiting; we were ready to leave that day if they could get us in any sooner.
It’s the season of miracles, maybe heading to Mayo will lead us to one. Please pray that Mayo will be a positive experience for us.

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."

Dear Friends, Loved Ones and Colleagues,
As many of you know, it’s been quite a year for our family. We were able to gratefully announce in October that Tom had a “clean” CAT scan after completion of 12 rounds of chemo for advanced stage 3 colon cancer. We thought we were home-free for awhile, but that was not to be. We just found out this week that the cancer is back. Cancer cells were found in the mesentery (the lining surrounding his abdomen). His doctor here, who is very well versed in current treatments, told us that this is treatable, but he wants us to go for a second opinion to be sure that other doctor’s concur. For several reasons, we have chosen to go to Mayo for the second opinion. We are just waiting to hear back from them. If they concur, Tom will start another round of chemo with stronger drugs that can be administered here in Midland . He will also go for acupuncture treatment as before to help minimize the side effects. Tom’s next scheduled check-up appointment was not going to happen for almost two more months. So as unfortunate as this news is at this time, especially around the holidays, we feel thankful to find this out now so that Tom can start further treatments as soon as possible.

We will continue to try to keep you updated as before through this blog. Even though we are still somewhat in shock and still absorbing the news, Tom has a very upbeat, positive attitude and we are dealing with it. Life goes on, fortunately.

For those of you who have asked “how can I help?” here are some suggestions:

• Please continue your prayers for Tom and our family. They mean so much. Feel free to put his name on your church’s prayer chain.
• Continue to call with words of encouragement. Tom is NOT on his deathbed and you will not be disturbing us. If Tom is not feeling well or is tired, we’ll let you know.
• Come over to visit. Ask us to do things with you. Do not assume that we wouldn’t feel like it. If you promise not to be party poopers, then so will we.
• Please avoid visits if you are sick or not feeling 100%. Tom’s immune system will be compromised again during treatment.
• Support us in our decisions for his treatment. Please do not second guess our choices or make suggestions for weird and wacky treatments. If you hear about a promising or new treatment at a recognized facility then feel free to share it, but we are not ready for clinical trials at this point.
• At some point, we might ask you to do some medical research on the internet for us.
• Depending on how well Tom responds to treatment this time, we may be accepting your offers of help to transport Tom to the hospital for his chemo appointments.
• Help with snow removal from the driveway this winter.
• If you have read a good book (sports stories, mystery and action) , pass it on to Tom. He'll have lots of reading time during chemo treatments.
• Stop by and challenge Tom to a cribbage match. He needs to keep his mind sharp and loves playing the game. Euchre and pinochle are also favorites.
• Sometimes a pot of soup, a loaf of bread or a plate of cookies would be a nice surprise and much appreciated.
• Share funny jokes and stories. Laughter is still the best medicine.
• Offer a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear, when we just need to talk.
• Help us live life as normal as possible.

Obviously Tom’s cancer reoccurrence is a major setback, but we see it as one more challenge on the road of life to overcome.

Thank you for your continued support,
Tom and Peg

The Great Thanksgiving

We have much to be thankful for this year.

Tom had a clean CAT scan—no sign of cancer. Dr. Danzo said that Tom’s blood work looked good and he confirmed the results of the CAT scan.
What a relief!
He will have his next CAT scan and a complete blood work up in February and prior to that he will have another colonoscopy. If all looks good then, it will be another 6months before more tests and if those are good then it will be a whole year before another round of tests and blood work.
He is getting his strength back little by little.
He still has some neuropathy in his feet and fingertips, but we’re hoping over time that will completely go away.

We are thankful for our friends, family and neighbors for helping us and supporting us during such a challenging time.
We are thankful to such wonderful, caring doctors and nurses.
We are grateful that Tom’s acupuncture treatment was successful in minimizing his chemo side-effects.
We are thankful to God for listening to our prayers and your prayers for Tom, too.