Two months later

Time for my two month visit to Northwestern. My blood work came back looking great. Met with Dr. Ma and she gave me a thumbs up. Physical exam was unremarkable. Pleased with blood work. The CT scan done last time looked great. Keep doing what we're doing.

On Amtrak and will meet with Claire for a late dinner.

Everyone's happy!

Chicago Trip

On Tuesday, Caroline, Claire, and I went to Chicago for my routine treatment at Northwestern.  We then went further north and spent a couple of nights at Bob and Holly's.  I was able to get some work done at Big Hollow and golf while the girls were able to fit in some shopping.

I got a lot done at Northwestern with great results:

• My blood work came back with almost everything in the normal range.  My platelets were a little high probably due to my body recovering from surgery
• My physical exam was good
• I took my CT scan done at Eureka Hospital with me.  Therefore they only had to scan my neck and chest.  The results were great.  The scan showed all of my lymph nodes at normal size.
• A Doppler of my leg showed no new clots so I've been given the OK to stop taking the blood thinners

A Cooler Uncle Sam

The weather was great for this year's 4th of July parade.  The walk to the parade was much easier than last year, too.

Father's Day plans changed

Saturday we made a Menard's run. Picked  up deck wash, stain, and tools. I was going to mow the lawn Sunday evening,  move deck furniture to lawn. Wash the deck Monday, stain on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Well, plans changed Sunday around 3:00. Caroline drove me to Eureka ER with severe abdominal pain. A blood test and CT scan later, I was diagnosed with an appendicitis. I got an ambulance ride from Eureka to Peoria St. Fran. Sunday evening. I had to wait until my daily blood thinners wore off. I had surgery today about 1:30. Appendectomy accomplished. Hopefully home tomorrow.

Invitation

Mary Lou & Mike, Craig & Karen, Bob & Cindy, Ed & Julie, Dan & Gail, Barb & Dan, Jim & Jan, Ty & Sharon, Tim & Susan,  Aaron, Lena, Moses, Ezra, & Hadassah, Rich, Dana, & Addison, Mike & Gretchen, Deb & Jim, Julie & Scott, Carol & Jeff, Lisa & Ben, Bob & Holly, John & Linda, Pat & Glade, Inge & John, Don & Cindy, Javan, Elizabeth & Neal, Emily, Brianna, Joe:

What a difference a year makes.  Melissa graduated from the University of Illinois and is now at Eastern Illinois University attending graduate school.  Claire graduated from high school and will be attending Illinois State University in the fall.  We sold our home of over 25 years and moved into our newly remodeled home on Gloria Drive.  And oh, yeah; then there was that cancer, chemo, and remission thing.

These many, many positive things could not have happened without the love, help, and support of so many.  With that in mind, we’d like to invite you to our new home to help us celebrate with food and fellowship and to thank you for all you have done.

Where: 511 W Gloria Drive

When: Friday, July 1st

Time: 5:00 until ?

NHL Day

August 23 is D-day for Melissa.  That is the day she found out she had diabetes.  With that in mind, June 1 is NHL day for me.  It wasn't the day I found out I had Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but it was the day the wheels started to fall off.

Northwestern Trip

I made my journey to Chicago yesterday for my immuno-therapy and Dr's visit.  All of my bloodwork came back looking good.  I met with Dr. Ma.  She did a quick physical exam.  She was pleased with everything she saw, read, and heard.  Andrea's replacement has been chosen but she has not started yet, so I didn't get a chance to meet her.

Amtrak was on time both ways.  The weather cleared up enough by the afternoon that I walked back to Union Station.

Nothing until July 5.

Ace!

Last year on May 3rd I eagled #6 at Eureka.  Being the pessimist that I was, I remember thinking, "if something this great has happened, then something bad is right around the corner".

Today I got a hole-in-one on #7 at Eureka.  But I'm taking a much different approach.  This is one of many great things that has happened and is about to happen.

Busch Stadium

Claire invited me to go with her on her senior trip to St Louis.  We went to a cool place called the City Museum which was anything but your typical museum.

We also went to Busch Stadium for a Cubs/Cardinals game.  The brooms weren't out but the umbrellas were.

We got there early enough to visit with Ben.  He was kind enough to spend time with his Eureka fans.  And, yes, he signed my jersey.

dePORTed

Port in:



Port out:

T-cells

The results of my T-cell panel are back and it's good news.  Everything is in the normal range.  That means I've recovered completely from my chemo treatments.  I'll also be taking two less medications.

Another trip to Chicago

I made an Amtrak trip to Chicago yesterday.  I wasn't outside much.  Just enough to realize I wouldn't want to live there in the winter months.  The meteorological calendar said it was spring, but it was cold and windy and snowy...

• Port is out!
• Blood work came back looking good.  I won't need blood work done until my next Chicago visit in two months.
• Did not met with Dr. Ma, but with Andrea
• She gave me some horrible news (for me).  She is leaving to work for a pharmaceutical company.  She will be researching treatments specifically for Lymphoma.  I will miss her but know she will do well.  If anyone can improve treatment, she can.
• Physical exam was good.
• She ordered a T-cell panel.  I will know the results in a couple of days.  If the levels come back normal, then I will officially be recovered from my chemo treatment.  I would be able to stop taking two drugs.  If the T-cells are low, then continue with the two drugs and test again the next visit.
• Informed that one of the meds I'm taking will need to continue forever.  It's to help prevent shingles.  Apparently I'm very susceptible to shingles and a more advanced case.  I can't take the shingles vaccine since it's a live vaccine and would almost guarantee getting shingles.  So it's acyclovir for life.
• Supper at Harry Caray's Seventh Inning Stretch.

My next trip will be in May.  Hopefully warmer!

Lab Work Results

The bloodwork I had done on Monday came back all in the normal range.  Nothing until next month when I go back to Northwestern for another treatment.

Who dun it

It's been just over a week since Dad's funeral.  At last count, there are 4 of us that are sick with cold/flu/infection.  Needless to say, there's a lot of finger pointing going on.

With all of the "anti" medication I'm on, the finger can't be pointed at me and hopefully I don't become a statistic.  Keep your germed  fingers to yourselves!

Update:
5 and counting.

Milestone

For the first time since May 29 I golfed 9 holes at Eureka.  It was just me and the geese.  There were no animals harmed during this endeavor.

Normal

All of my blood work came back normal today.

Date Night

Caroline went with me for my first maintenance treatment.  We took Amtrak, had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory , and supper at Giordano's.  We also did the Northwestern thing.

I had blood work done.  Everything looks good except I'm neutropenic, again.  I was given a Neulasta shot which will increase the the production of white blood cells.

We met with Dr. Ma and she brought pictures!  We looked at the images from my July PET scan and compared them to December's.  It really hit home the world of hurt I was in back in July and the progress made since then.  For the PET scan I'm injected with some radioactive glucose.  Then the scan.  The images gathered show where the "uptake" of the radioactive glucose is taking place.  The brain, heart, kidneys, and bladder glow naturally from the uptake.  Anything else that glows would be from the uptake of the cancer cells.  Needless to say there was a lot of glowing from my July images.  My upper sternum, left scapula, three left ribs, and parts of my pelvis were lit up.  Then there was my left kidney.  It was more than twice its size because of the tumor surrounding it.  The scan also showed the left lung at half its capacity/size because of the pleural effusion.  The December images were much, much different.  There was a dull glow from a very small area on my pelvis.  That was it!  Both kidneys were visible and equal in size.  Both lungs were the same size.  These results were the results that were hoped for from day one.

We also met with Andrea a couple of different times.  She reassured us that the December scan was the Christmas present we prayed for.  We also discussed a plan to have my port removed in a couple of months.

I had the first of my Rituxan treatment.  I will have this done every two months for two years.  This is suppose to keep me in remission longer.  I could have this done locally, but will likely continue to go to Northwestern.  They act like they know what they're doing.

I also had a dopplar done on both legs.  There were no clots in the right leg.  There were three in the left leg.  One above the knee, one behind it, and one below it.  All three were old and are consistent with the dopplar I had done in January.  It is likely these were a result of the tumor compressing a vein in my abdomen that was slowing down the venous return on my lower, left side.  I will continue to take Xeralto and repeat the dopplar in a couple of months.

Thank God for the answered prayers and ask for a long, healthy remission.