One Last Time!

We're back at Methodist Hospital for the last time! I was counting this morning and this is Troy's seventh stay here this year. What a year it's been. It's impossible to explain how happy we are that this is the last one. It's a great place to be if you're sick, of course that's why we hope to leave tomorrow and never return.

We're getting settled in and waiting for the epirubicin (chemo) to show up from the hospital pharmacy. The sooner they start the sooner we can get out of here! We are expecting to be released tomorrow afternoon.

Troy will also have an X-ray done today or tomorrow because Dr. Jac wants to see if there is still fluid in his lung, we suspect that there is because Troy has been having some pretty bad coughing episodes lately. If the fluid is still there they will drain it by inserting a needle into his lung. The doctor says that it's "no big deal" but Troy believes that's because they aren't sticking the needle in his lung!

I promise to post an update tomorrow.

Methodist Hospital - Here We Are Again

Troy's hair has been really coming out lately and even though it isn't coming out in batches, it was getting really thin so we decided to get a jump on the chemo and cut it all off! I think he's quite handsome, but he keeps laughing every time he sees himself in the mirror. It does take some time getting used to seeing him with no hair!

Troy's blood work was good enough to get him back on chemo, so we are back in the hospital again for another round. The plan is to spend the night here and get another round of epirubicin and cisplatin (those are the "bad" chemos). Then they will send him home with the 4FU infusion pump again (that's the "good" chemo). There really is no "good" chemo, I only use "good" and "bad" to describe the ones that have the worst side effects and make him sickest. He will probably feel pretty lousy for at least the next week.

Unfortunately, he started noticing some pain in his left leg yesterday and it was worse this morning. A doppler ultrasound confirmed this afternoon that he has another blood clot in his leg. He will be going back on the Lovenox (daily shots in the stomach) until they can get him on Coumadin, an oral blood thinner. He will probably be on that long term, we are guessing six months, but we are never right when we try to second guess these things.

We are still hoping to make our cruise to Double Bayou this weekend. We are planning to sail over with our friends Ed and Marion Herndon on their boat s/v Remedy. Their boat is wonderful and has a generator which means we can keep Troy cool and comfortable. We are hoping that he feels up to making the trip. Only time will tell.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Back in the Hospital

Since we knew that it would take several hours for anything to get started I dropped Troy off at the hospital this morning and went work for a few hours. When I got back at 3:00 pm they were finally sending him down to get his PICC line in place, that took about 20 minutes and we were sent back to his room.

This is our fourth time in this hospital and the first time we didn't get a private room. We are in an older part of the hospital and I was surprised at how much equipment and beds and stuff were jamming the halls. It was shift change and Troy was on a stretcher so it was quite a feat getting him down the hall to his room.

The other patient in his room was a 99 year old man who wears diapers and knows how to use them!! The second we walked through the door a horrible odor hit us. Troy had the "b" bed, farthest from the door so we had to make our way past the other patient, his wife and his daughter. I think they were mistaken, this was a private room and they just shoved two beds into it. There wasn't room to turn around. It was just crazy, I wanted to cry. It smelled horrible, our neighbor was not only incontinent, he was hard of hearing. His wife was telling him all kinds of stories about friends and neighbors and cats and such, all in the loudest voice possible. Troy and I were just huddled together on his bed with the curtain drawn, wondering how we were gonna make it through the night.

As soon as our new nurse walked in she looked at me and whispered "it smells really bad in here". Needless to say, I agreed. She asked if we wanted to change rooms. I told her yes, we did. Troy didn't even know what had taken place - he missed the whole thing. Of course, he was happy to move into the private room next door.

We are finally settled in for the night and the chemo has started. This one is a pretty reddish orange. Interesting, it goes in that color and comes out that color too!

In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back. ~Charlie Brown

Here we go again

Troy had an appointment with his oncologist this morning and there was good news and there was bad news.

First the good news - his blood work was good and they also did a CT Scan. Everything looks great. There is no evidence of any cancer anywhere in his body!

Now the bad news - he starts 9 weeks of chemo tomorrow morning. We were both shocked to find out that this was the tumor boards recommendation. This cancer carries a "significant risk of recurrence" according to Dr. Jac. The chemo will help ensure that if there is any minute cancer cells left in his body then hopefully they will be killed / annihilated / murdered / gone for good.

This chemo will be a little different than the last time. He will stay in the hospital for 24 hours and receive two kinds of chemo (epirubicin and cisplatin) then he will be started on flourouracil or 5FU which will go through a PICC line (in a vein in his arm) continuously for the next 9 weeks. He will be hospitalized every 3 weeks for additional epirubicin and cisplatin.

While we were prepared (sort of) for another week of chemo, this news came out of left field, but apparently it is standard treatment for esophageal and stomach cancers. We are both pretty bummed by this new development, but we agree that if it can help prevent a recurrence of the cancer then it will be well worth the temporary discomfort. Troy is not looking forward to having another device attached to him, I know he has been looking forward to feeling better and getting back to a normal life. Keep praying everyone!

There is time for everything. ~Thomas A. Edison

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Methodist Hospital

This is our 4th day here and tomorrow is the last day for Troy to receive chemo. I'm not sure if it's good luck or bad luck to end your chemo on Friday the 13th but, since we aren't superstituous, I guess it doesn't matter. Just a coincidence.

Troy is feeling tired and nauseous today and he just looks like he doesn’t feel good. Still, all in all, we are pleased that this round of chemo hasn’t been harder on him. Hopefully next week he will be able to rest and recuperate.

Our friends from our Small Group came to visit and pray with us tonight. We are so fortunate to have friends like Greg and Jean and Hollis and Dara. I can never express with words how much their prayers and support have meant to us. During this experience we have really come to realize just how blessed we are to have the support of so many wonderful friends and family.

We are also blessed with this wonderful hospital. As I mentioned earlier, we are in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy Bone Marrow Transplantation. This section of the hospital is really specialized since bone marrow transplant patients are treated here. There are special air filters and everyone who visits this wing must enter double doors and wash their hands before entering the wing. Food trays must be passed in and out through a double door system into the room. No live plants or flowers are allowed either. Haven’t figured that one out, but there must be a reason.

The staff is wonderful and Troy has received the best care. The nurses and the PCAs all remember us from our last visit and they have been so nice to us. Troy is even planning to do some carpentry work for one of the PCAs. The lady who cleans the room made this cute little towel holder for our bathroom sink:

Halfway Through!

We are halfway through Troy's last round of treatment. Just two more days of chemo and three more days of radiation. Then more testing and we will be praying that all of these weeks of treatment have shrunk the tumor down to nothing!

Troy is feeling a little more nauseous this evening, but the nurse was just in to give him some medication for that. She also just started another bag of chemo. He is getting the chemo through his IV 24 hours a day until about 8:00 PM on Friday. I would post another picture of him, but it wouldn't look too different from the ones the other day, except the sad look is for real now. I can tell that he is starting to feel the effects of the chemo by the look on his face.

This afternoon we took a walk around the hospital. It made me realize once again that The Methodist Hospital in the Houston Medical Center is an amazing place. So much going on - so much wonderful, cutting edge medical treatment. We feel priviliged to be able to have Troy's treatment done here. People come from all over the world to be treated for cancer here. We saw the beautiful chapel here. They have prayer meetings every morning.

Here we go again

Deana here -

Well, we're back again at Methodist Hospital for Troy's last round of Chemo. Just playing the hospital waiting game. We are finally settled into our room and the dreaded IV has been started after the second try. They haven't started the chemo yet, but we know from experience that it takes several hours for the first round of Cisplatin and then he will have to have 4 rounds of 5-FU and each one of those takes 24 hours. That means that the sooner they start, the better our chances to get out of here at a decent hour on Friday. We are nervous about this time because the radiologist said that this round of chemo would be more difficult. I just hope Troy doesn't get too sick and feel too bad.

We are happy to be back on the Cell and Gene Therapy and Bone Marrow Transplant Floor. The rooms are all private and the staff is great. We were hoping to have a room here again. It sure makes it easier for me to stay here with Troy and be able to go to work, etc.

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Well - here we are hours later and they finally started the Cisplatin at 5:00 PM. We are still playing the hospital waiting game. He's not really as sad as he looks, I think he's just tired of me taking his picture! He just finished eating a whole BLT with chips. I'm glad he has an appetite right now and that he is able to eat! Dr. Jac (his oncologist) was just here and he was pleasantly surprised that Troy was eating so well. We were definitely encouraged by that.