January 31, 2011...the day the last Christmas tree came down

Yes ladies and gentlemen.  Today Joe broke down while I was at work and removed the ornaments from the Christmas tree in the family room. Our goal was to have it down before February and we just made it under the wire. Tonight after dinner, up in the attic I went and re-shifted the boxes that were put in from the first tree and now the house is finally Christmas decoration free.  Joe is sad, but it had to be done.  I think he will get over it.

On a different note, last night we were honored to attend the engagement party for one of our favorite people, a person who has become incredibly dear to both of us and who we wish all the happiness in the world.  Our dear friend Dianne Stabler and her new groom to be, Lennie Rosenbluth, were the honorees at a delightful party in Chapel Hill.  We so look forward to their June wedding and having the opportunity to share in their special day.  We love you Dianne.

Camera's were in full force and since my Joe looked so incredibly handsome, I just had to share these 2 photos. 

The entire evening was filled with laughter, friends, champagne and food.  Can't ask for more than that.

Out of the Pews Sunday at PGUMC

Whether it was packing up DVD's or cutting coupons today at PGUMC, Joe and I had a great time and enjoyed the conversation with everyone who

was around us.  We also learned that cutting coupons is easier with adult sized scissors!

Joe has now seen all 10 films nominated for "Best Picture"

As most of you are aware, Joe loves movies.  If you have a conversation with him about his "All-Time Favorite Film", you'll hear a long list.  Just like with his all-time favorite songs and books.  We are always laughing about how he can have so many all-time favorites.  But I digress, today we went to see the last of the 10 Best Picture nominated films.  However, I can't seem to pin him down as to which is his favorite this year.  When I asked, he responded, "they are all different".  Well, duh!  If they were the same there wouldn't need to be 10 nominated films would there??   I think he has been able to narrow it down to 2 though, either "The King's Speech" or "Social Network".  In my mind, I think "The King's Speech" has the edge, but we shall see.  The one we saw today, "True Grit", is also a very good film and the acting is superb.  Only complaint, the girl who plays Maddie, Hailee Steinfeld is in every scene in the film and she is nominated for best supporting actress. Really? Supporting?  She is the movie.
Joe is having a great weekend.  Feels great, has gotten out and about and done everything he has wanted to do. Tomorrow we are looking forward to "Out of the Pews" Sunday at PGUMC and then an engagement party for a dear friend tomorrow evening.  He has been very conscientious about checking his blood sugar at the appointed times.  Although his counts are up and down like a roller coaster, we are keeping accurate records so the doctors on Feb. 14th can have a clear picture and possibly adjust his meds.

Our sincere thanks to everyone who has inquired about his health and well-being this week and as always thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support.

Mid-week Update

Joe is having a good week thus far.  He has started taking pills to assist with his high blood-sugar and has to check his glucose level 4 times a day.  Learning to work the little machine was the most stressful thing that has happened this week.  I gave up in frustration after Joe's statement that "he didn't know he was going to have to bleed-out"  in order to get enough blood on the little strip for an accurate reading.  Finally after sulking for about 30 minutes, he broke down and read the instruction book...imagine that!

Tonight he had a great surprise when one of his all-time favorite people returned to choir practice.  Welcome back Marilyn!!!!!

I just couldn't help but snap a photo. It was so good to see her.

Joe is enjoying not having to get up and be at Duke at 7:30am each morning, but he is still nice and get's up and comes downstairs after I get ready for work.  Today he even had coffee ready for me when I got downstairs.  I think I'll keep him!  His color is improving every day and other than being tired in the evenings, seems to be feeling very good.  Tomorrow night, the 50+ group of people that he arranged to go to DPAC, mostly from Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church, will see "Lion King".   As he keeps telling everyone, it will be his 4th time seeing it.  As always, thanks to everyone for all the prayers & good wishes.

Last Duke Visit until Valentine's Day!

Early this morning Jeff & I went to Duke for my 7:30 a.m. oncologist appointment. It seemed very early in the morning as we pulled out of the garage at 6:55 a.m. Blood work was done first and then we waited a while to see Leigh Howard, the nurse practitioner. When she came in she asked us to guess what my bilirubin count was. Jeff guessed 1.8 and she said it was close so I then guessed 1.9 which was right on the money! Last week it was 6. So the stint replacement worked! My blood sugar is still high (being messed up by the pancreas!) so she has put me on a couple of pills a day to help control it and I will need to check my blood sugar level 4 times a day, before meals and before I go to bed. She said that more than likely this will continue even after my surgery so I'll just have to get used to this.

I have been remiss in my duty

It was pointed out to me at church this morning that I have been remiss in my duty of reporting how Joe has been feeling following the stint replacement procedure on Thursday.  Other than feeling crappy on Thursday after the procedure and very tired on Friday he has done so remarkably well that we have had a full weekend and I have not attended to the blog.  Please forgive me.   He was doing so well that we took in a movie late Saturday afternoon and made a side trip to the grocery store afterwards (a much needed trip).

We saw "The King's Speech", a wonderful film where Colin Firth puts forth an almost assured Oscar nomination performance.  Of course, the Academy Awards are just around the corner, so Joe is insistent on seeing as many films as possible over the new couple of weeks - nothing new there! He wants to go see another this afternoon.

We go to Duke to see the oncologist tomorrow morning at 7:30am for blood work so they can be assured that his bilirubin level has once again started a downward trend.  I will be completely shocked if it has not...his jaundice appearance from last week seems to me to have almost completely gone.

A huge thank you to everyone at PGUMC, friends & family who have inquired about Joe, prayed for him and kept us both in their thoughts and lifted our spirits daily.

Not only is the basketball team at Duke quick but..

..the staff and doctors are too!  We arrived at the GI Special Procedure Clinic at Duke at 8:15am and Joe was called to the back at 8:20am this morning.  As you can tell, there wasn't  a huge crowd in the clinic this morning.

By 8:35am they called me to come back to sit with him while they asked him the myriad of questions that they always do.  It still amazes me that we have to go through the litany of questions about his medications, etc. every time we are here.  Even though it is obvious that their computer screen has the information.  Seems it would be easier to just ask if he is still on all the same stuff....but whatever.  The nurse that was in asking the questions was very nice, heavy accent, hard for Joe to understand and apparently very nervous.  So much so that when she was looking for a vein to start his IV, she commented that she was nervous and would only try it once and if she didn't succeed, she would get someone else.  It didn't exactly instill confidence. So, when another nurse poked her head in to see if she could be any help, I quickly stated that the first nurse was nervous about doing the IV, so the new nurse stepped in, quickly located a vein and with one jab, had the IV in and running.  I love nurses, especially the ones who are confident!

Soon thereafter, they informed us that Joe's minister, Jay Minnick, was in the lobby and wanted to see him.  I went out to the lobby and got Jay and he came back with us.  Unfortunately, here is where the speed at Duke comes in.  By the time Jay had gotten in the room, they came to take Joe back to start the procedure. Jay returned to the lobby and I accompanied Joe to the operating room and helped answer the myriad of more questions from the nurses and doctor there.  A wonderful, confidence inspiring group.  Even photogenic.

In the operating room

9:23am: I returned to the lobby and sat with Jay until he had to leave.  Having not had my morning coffee, I took the opportunity to go down to the food court to Seattle's Best for a Large Coffee --- Ahhhhh...tastes so good.
10:05am:  After just settling down, reading the story on Duke's wonderful win over State in the Duke Chronicle newspaper, I opened the pc to start writing this.  Of course, this was the exact moment that the nurse came out to the waiting room and called my name to come back to recovery with him.   Now you know what I was implying with the speed of Duke. I got back to recovery within minutes and here I sit.  He is somewhat groggy though talking.  His memory isn't working so well....he's asked me the same questions a couple of times, but that is from the anesthesia.   He will have to be back here for at least an hour.   They have him on antibiotics and fluids, just like last time.  He's looking very handsome just lying here resting.

Normally the wait time in recovery is about an hour.  However, this time there were a couple of problems with his antibiotic IV so we ended up being in there for more like 1 1/2 hours.  Then we had to wait a little while for the wheelchair and attendant to come to take us to the car, but like all good things, it was worth waiting for and eventually we got him to the car and home.  Now for a quick lunch and something for him to drink so he can stretch out on the couch and nap this afternoon.

Above are 2 posters of the digestive system, including pancreas.  You can see how the pancreas is crammed in there next to the stomach and intestine. The one on the right shows the approximate position of where the stint is that they inserted.

1:15pm: Joe is home now and just finished his lunch (Thanks Lucinda!!!!).  At the moment he is getting settled on the couch in the family room and hopefully will be napping much of the afternoon.  He was able to get all of his normal medications taken once we got home so all should hopefully be back on track.  

We are so very grateful for everyone who has wished Joe well and included us in their prayers.  We are hopeful that after his oncology appointment on Monday, his bilirubin count will be trending downward and we can have 3 weeks off from doctors before the long day at Duke on Feb. 14th when we see the radiologist, oncologist and surgeon throughout the day.

PS:  all photos can be enlarged by clicking on them....especially the digestive system graph which is hard to read otherwise.

Once is NOT enough

Went to get blood work done again today to check on my bilirubins. It turns out that the bili count has doubled since last Thursday.  The conclusion is that it was not the chemo pills but that my stint may have collapsed or become blocked so............. Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m., I'm to report to the clinic at Duke to have a procedure to take out the old stint and put a new one in. This is an out-patient procedure.

Jeff and I still appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.

Oops....Joe forgot to mention something yesterday

Joe was so pre-occupied with having to get the IV of fluids yesterday and leaving his cell phone in the car that he forgot to post the most important news from his trip to Duke on Friday.  The resident in radiation and Dr. Zafar's nurse, Minoka, both confirmed that the ultrasound from Thursday showed no problems with the stint so it is believed that the rise in his bilirubin count was most probably a reaction to the chemo.  Now that his chemo & radiation treatments are over, hopefully the count will start to come back down.  However, this morning (Saturday) has not started off well.  He has already had some severe nausea and vomiting issues, again.  We are getting ready for the funeral of a dear friend, so Joe is a little anxious.  Hopefully that is all it is.  On a lighter note, during his shower this morning, since his radiation is over he was able to scrub the areas on his torso where the radiologists had drawn marks for his treatments for the first time since the first week of December.  He is extremely clean today.

Never Leave Your Cell Phone in the Car

LAST RADIATION TREATMENT TODAY!!!!!! :)

Went in for my last radiation treatment today. My cell phone was in the visor & I decided to just leave it there since I would just run in and out in about 10 minutes. Well........Celia (the nurse who is also a former JHS chorus parent and whose mission has always been to "take special care" of me) wanted to check me out since it was going to be a long weekend; however, Joan came to get me because Celia wasn't in yet. So Joan, checked my blood pressure lying down, sitting up & then standing up. All of the readings were supposed to be the same, but when I stood that reading was lower which meant that I was: DEHYDRATED! Guess I hadn't drunk the water that I should have over the past couple of days. So I had to stay while they intravenously gave me fluids. How was I to know that it was going to take over 2 hours!

Now here it the part about the cell phone:

Whenever I leave radiation, I always call Jeff to let him know that I had finished. At 7:50 a.m. he had not gotten that call. Joan did let me use the phone at the nurse's station to call him, but, of course, he was calling me at the same time so all I could do was to leave him a voice mail message saying they were going to give me fluids. At that time I didn't know it would take over 2 1/2 hours and neither did he. Needless, to say, I had about 4 calls from him on my cell and 1 at home. Finally, got out of there at 11:30 (about 3 hours & 45 minutes later) and gave him a call at work.

Besides, if I had my cell phone I could have been talking to others throughout the morning while I was bored. I did read cover to cover every last word in O Magazine from December 2008 and took a morning nap and listened to all of the sounds on the floor.

So.........always have your cell phone with you.

Lesson learned.

A Slight Wrinkle

Went to my next to the last radiation treatment this morning at 7:30 a.m. Jeff drove me since we also had an appointment with the oncologist. Blood work was before the appointment & this was a fasting blood work (or whatever it's called) since my glucose was a bit high last Thursday. When we saw Leigh Howard, the nurse practitioner who works with Dr. Zafar we discovered that my bilirubins had doubled. This was quite disappointing to me since they had been going down and last week was 1.5 which was getting close to normal. This could be due to the chemo pills or the stint collapsing. So, the chemo pills were stopped today and I was sent for an ultrasound to see if the bile ducts in the liver had changed any (or something like that - Jeff can probably remember & write it better!). I go back Tuesday morning to have more blood drawn to check the bilirubin count. We knew that the stint might collapse and that it might need to be replaced. So right now this is what we will be dealing with. Hopefully, it was just the chemo pills (which we were told could run the bilirubins up). If it's the stint, well.......look for an update to see when that will be replaced (outpatient service).

I was all excited that my treatment was ending tomorrow, so this was like that unexpected bump in the road, but once bumped around I'll just settle back into my seat.

**Note from Jeff** The ultrasound was to see if the stint had possibly moved/dislodged or become blocked. Another possibility was that the glands next to the bile duct were blocked...all things that could happen.  As Joe says, best case scenario is that the increase in his bilirubin (and slight jaundice appearance, again) is a reaction from the chemo.  Worse case is that they have to go in and move/replace/unblock the stint, an outpatient procedure just like he had to begin with.  However, even the worse case scenario would not be all that bad, just makes him feel crappy for 24-48 hours. (Easy for me to say, huh?)  Joe is very disappointed however and it's obvious to me how much this "bump" is bothering him.  Guess I'll have to put on my best happy face for him
  J

T-Minus 2 days until the end of Chemo/Radiation

Tomorrow will be the next to last day of chemo & radiation for Joe.  After his 7:30am radiation treatment we go up 2 floors to the Oncology clinic for blood work and then an appointment with the Oncologist.  Joe has to fast tomorrow morning before they draw blood so they can get a more accurate reading of his glucose level.  Needless to say, the sweets over the holidays have pushed his blood sugar level up a little too high so they want to make sure there isn't anything else going on and thus the fasting.  I guess that means that breakfast will be in the Oncology clinic ASAP after his blood is taken.  It's all a ripple down effect....can't take his chemo until after he eats and he has to take his chemo 12 hours apart.....he can't eat too late at night because it gives him acid reflux when he goes to bed....therefore, he needs to eat breakfast before 8:30 am if at all possible so he can eat and get his evening pills in before 8:30pm.  It's all about schedules these days!  The last couple of days have not been the best for Joe.  He has had severe bouts of nausea and an unsettled stomach along with chills and a slight fever off and on.  Hopefully after the chemo & radiation are over, he will get back to feeling a little more normal on a regular basis.

Neither Sleet, Snow Nor Icy Streets....

...Shall keep us from Joe's radiation treatment.  Joe learned yesterday that his trip to radiology would be at 10:15am today rather than his usual 7:30am appointment due to impending bad weather.  We left the house around 9:20am this morning and finally got to Duke around 9:55am (it's normally only a 15 minute drive).  Listen to the experts and tv news anchors: Stay home unless you absolutely have to venture out.  We slipped and slid all the way here...well maybe not all the way, but leaving the neighborhood, down Woodcroft Pkwy, Hwy 55 and the Durham Freeway.  The roads around Duke were ok so at least it wasn't nasty the entire way.
They called Joe to go back for his treatment promptly at 10:15am and so I am alone in the waiting area right now.  There is something to be said for coming for his treatment at a different time than normal.  There are different people in the waiting area for a change.  Coffee is hot, but no cookies!!!!   We will be here for awhile today since Joe will have his appointment with the doctor after his treatment and that usually means a little wait. Since we are here later than normal, I am assuming that the wait may be a little longer than usual.   The two televisions in the waiting area are non-stop weather coverage.  Thank goodness for the laptop..and facebook.
11:15am - called to the back exam room where first Celia, then the resident and then Dr. Czito came in to examine and talk with Joe.  Everything appears good.  We did have a couple of questions about some red areas that have appeared on his torso and a dark area that has appeared on his lower lip.  The doctor said the red areas on his torso are very common with the radiation and the dark spot on his lip may be due to the chemo.  He advised us to monitor the lip and if any more spots appear to let them or Dr. Zafar know immediately.  Dr. Czito wants Joe to also start taking Nexium to help with the irritation that can be caused to the stomach by the radiation & chemo.  So we get to add another medication to the regiment.  Isn't that thrilling..... We were out of there very quickly and came on back home, slowly, to warm up and spend the day relaxing.  First up: clear out as much as possible on the DVR.

We Need Help From Someone

We need help from someone who knows flowers and can identify the flowers in the photo below.  Joe received these in an arrangement from PGUMC on December 14th while he was in the hospital.  They had been part of a larger arrangement at the church for the December 12th services.

We are now going on 4 weeks since they have been with us and they look as fresh today as the day he got them at Duke.  We would love to know what kind of flowers they are so we can possibly get them on a semi-regular basis since they seem to last so long and are so pretty.  If anyone has any ideas, please let us know.   

Joe has only 5 more days to go of treatment!!!!!!!!

Just 6 More Days...Not that we are counting :)

Not much to report this evening even though Joe had an appointment with his oncologist this morning following his radiation treatment. Everything continues to look good with him, except apparently he has been over indulging in sweets during the holidays.  His glucose/sugar level is somewhat elevated, so at next weeks regular appointment, he will have to hold off eating until after he has his blood drawn.  They just want to make sure nothing else is going on.  As for the appointment itself, it was pretty much uneventful other than our wait was a little longer than usual.  Joe's only real issue this morning was that he was disappointed that there wasn't snow falling on the drive to Duke. Since I (Jeff) was the one driving, I wasn't quite as disappointed as he was.  He took a short nap earlier today and so he feels pretty good now.  As a matter of fact, he is finishing up his 3rd piano lesson this afternoon as I type this.  Tonight we are having a couple of close friends over for dinner and so it should be a very relaxing evening. Thank you to Hal, Deanna and the PGUMC choir for last night.  We both had a great time and the food & conversation was wonderful!

As always, thank you to everyone for all the well wishes and prayers. It is hard to express how grateful we are to everyone.

Our Math was Pretty Good!

Our math was apparently pretty good in that we were correct on when Joe would be finishing up his radiation and chemo treatments - Friday, Jan. 14th.  That is the last day of his radiation as well as chemo.  He will then have approximately 4 weeks off before we have our "Day At Duke" on February 14th when he will have appointments with his radiologist (Dr. Czito), his oncologist (Dr. Zafar) and his surgeon (Dr. Tyler).  That day there will also be assorted tests and scans and hopefully we will learn that he is a good candidate for the surgery and get that part of the process in the works.

The increase in his chemo treatments does seem to have had some effect on his system.  His nausea or queasiness as he calls it, appears to have set in on a consistent basis.  He is really getting his moneys worth out of his nausea medications.  Cadillacs & Fords , Cadillacs & Fords.  His energy level has been depleted somewhat and naps/downtime are becoming more and more a part of his day.

His favorite past-time as of late is either playing "Wheel of Fortune", "Bejeweled" or "Zuma Blitz" on Facebook.  If you see him on Facebook and want to chat, please do.....just don't be surprised if his responses are slow as he will only chat in between games...unless you ask him about "Black Swan".

Joe asked me to say that he misses the "iced Christmas cookies".  He just misses Christmas period.  Of course we still have ALL our Christmas decorations up.  2 more days until Old Christmas!  We hope that our dear friend Doris has a speedy recovery from her knee replacement surgery today.  Sending lots of Get Well Wishes your way Doris.

The Countdown Is On!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful New Year's weekend and have only made resolutions that they can keep.  By our caluculations, Joe should have 10 more days of chemo and radiation.  Not too shabby!  We'll confirm this Thursday when he has his oncology appointment.  As we said in last week's post, Dr. Zafar uppped his chemo treatments last week from 4 pills a day to 6 a day (3 pills 2x a day) ,which is a good thing.  We will have to wait and see what side effects, if any, this increase in chemo has on his system.  He had a good weekend, filled with movies and food.  Very relaxing and the perfect way to start the year.  Tomorrow radiation resumes at 7:30am at the Duke Radiation Oncology Clinic.  We would like to thank everyone for all their support and prayers.  The outpouring of love has been incredible and it is much appreciated.