He is preparing

I went home early on Wednesday because I was exhausted from our recent and on going situation.  Damon did have an appointment at Snell to fit his loaner prosthetic.  It was amazing!! It was the first time I saw my fantastic husband walk on 2 legs since August 11, 2014!!! I wouldn't have missed it for the world!! He is such an inspiration to me. He makes me want to work harder on the things I need to work on, to be a better person and to not take one single day for granted.  Thanks you Damon, for loving me and inspiring me. You mean the world to me and I will always be by your side to help you, cry with you, hug you, hold your hand and provide you with the kind of life you have always provided for me. I love you. Keep up the fantastic work! YOU ROCK!!

No need for thanks.

NO NEED FOR THANKS!!Although I know that you feel like you should say something.  You have always taken such phenomenal care of me. I love you more than words can say and I look forward to being you for many many MANY years to come. I love you, my husband.

Status update

The last 5 days were rough.  I lost 11 pounds since Wednesday!  Quick math tells me I burned 6,600 calories more per day than consumed.  This is easy to believe because I have barely eaten and my body is on overdrive.
Yhey removed the chemo pump on Friday and tonight is my first normal sized meal with the assistance of some SaddleBock libations.
Thank you, Terah and Patrick, for watching Loki.  Thank you, Dad, for taking me to WalMart.  Thank you, April, for everything else.

Starting my new chemo therapy

The sage Don Henley sang "Kick 'em when they're up, Kick 'em when they're down, Kick 'em when they're up, Kick 'em when they're down, Kick 'em when they're up, Kick 'em when they're down, Kick 'em when they're up, Kick 'em all around"

Last Saturday was a beautiful day.  Dad and I added decking to the platform which holds our hot tub.  Now I can safely maneuver myself as I get in and out.  I also filled the tub and turned it on, since I emptied it before my surgeries.  It was warm by mid Sunday and I climbed in Sunday night.  I can not describe the relief the hot tub gives me.  A hot bath has been one of the few consistent pain and stress relievers at my disposal.  Thank you, everyone, who made this possible.

Sunday was an inside day for me.  I spent Sunday on the couch or in my chair, except for the short time in the tub which was just before bed. Monday was a good. I worked and ate lunch with my friends. Tuesday was was nice, but I did get 'pick' line installed. The 'pick' line is a fancy semi-permanent IV which is inserted in to my upper arm. It enters the main vein there and then travels to within about 2 inches of my heart. This is for my chemo, which I am doing as I type this. This bring me to today.

I am sitting in a recliner at Highland Oncology and receiving my latest cocktail of chemo therapy drugs. These are supposed to be better than the last round, which was before my surgeries. This cocktail is based on the pathology from the tumor they removed from my leg. Hopefully this chemo treatment and the next will eradicate any stray cancer cells lurking in my body. Dr Travis referred to it as a 'leap of faith.' I am leaping.

My overall state is tired. I slept an extra hour on Tuesday and still barely gathered the energy to go to work. I am glad I did because my friends energize and inspire me. They are great people. Today (Wednesday) I woke up tired and went back to bed. I woke up again and could not get moving so I emailed work and then stayed home. It was too hard to do anything. I suspect my mood and energy level are affected by the Gabapenton, which is the medicine I take for the pain in my phantom leg. It mostly helps that but has side affects which can ruin my day. It may be tiredness or irrational emotions or fatigue or all of these. darn.

About the Gabapenton. We ask the nurse and she spoke to the doctor about it's side affects. They offered to switch me to Lyrica. I call CVS and they said it's basically $1 per pill, which is a lot more than the Gabapenton. If the side affects disappear then it's worth it. I must slowly come off the Gabapenton before I can start the Lyrica, which makes first dose Sunday or Monday. We'll see what happens.

That's all for now. I continue to appreciate everyone's support. I am surrounded my very special people. I cannot describe how much everyone means to me. My current team. My previous team. My teams from years ago. I can feel your thoughts and prayers lifting me every day.

Chemotherapy round 2

Well, here we are again at Highlands Oncology.  They found out that the tumor was not muscle related, but bone related.  Meaning that Damon has a bone cancer. They do consider him cancer free right now and they are hoping that the new regiment drugs will kill any cancer cells that he may have. He has a great nurse that is doing a fantastic job taking care of him.  

He ended up being very emotional again this morning.  Last night he could not rest so when got up he just decided to lie down on the couch and then stayed there until it was time to get ready for chemo.  While he was get ready for the shower, our dogs started to fight. Tunney, the Corgi, and Frodo, the Jack Russel, ganged up on Loki, the half Pom half Chihuahua.  It took me a few minutes to break it and then I kicked the big ones of the room.  I was checking on Loki to make sure they had not done damage, when Damon came out of the bathroom and was crying, wanted to make sure that Loki was ok.  Loki is just fine. His fur was a little wet but no injuries.  Thank God!!! I am not sure how Damon would have taken not. He said he is purposely not going in the living room, where the other dogs are, because he did not want to hurt a dog.  

I have to say that I have no idea how to handle his emotional times.  I have been with him since I was 13 and he was 14. We have been through a lot together and are still as much in love as we have ever been.  But when he has a break down, To be honest, I am scared.  Imagine the one person in your life who has always been the rock of the family, the one that got things done, could handle anything and always did it well is suddenly the now who needs your help the most. I love this man more than words can say. He has been the "constant" in my life.  I worry that I will not to be able to take care of him as well as he has taken care of me and his family.  To fail in being there for him or not be able to make him feel better or get the things that he needs, etc., would be the worst thing. I have no words for it.  

To everyone who has been there for him and us, I thank you more than could ever know!!!! Damon will be posting an addition to his blog soon as well.

Life is a roller coaster

I have had a roller coaster 3 days. It started when Dr Montgomery raised the dosage of my medication.  I took the first larger dosage on Tuesday afternoon and then again on Tuesday night. I woke up Wednesday morning, went to work and everything went well but I was tired.  I took another dose at lunch and became extremely tired. By the time I left work I had a hard time thinking.  During the drive home I saw a car accident (I was not involved) and I became a little emotional about it but not too bad. When I got home and began talking to April I became very emotional.  Just as I did last week when the medication took control. I sobbed for several hours and April comforted me.  I have a love/hate relationship with that medicine.  I need it so my phantom leg is tolerable, but I am sensitive to dosage changes.  April spoke to the doctor on-call and we devised a new dose.  As of Thursday morning I am me again...again.
Thursday was a very good day.  Wednesday and Thursday were spent in a class at the corporate campus.  While there I visited with some dear friends.  I even learned a few things in the class.   My good Thursday started when Dale, another person in the class, said he had extra tickets to the Jake Owens concert which is Thursday night!  I snatched them from Dale and I told April the good news.  Now that I have plans I must get forearm crutches.  The wheelchair will be too difficult to maneuver in the AMP arena.
My adventure to find crutches start at Snell's, the prosthetics place.  They do not have crutches.  I call Colliers by the hospital and they do not.  I call Colliers on Dickson.  They have one pair, so off I go.  I find their crutches and go to the counter.  The young lady tells me they can nit process crutches on a prescription, which I have.  They cost almost $70 each so I skip them.  The young lady suggests a medical supply place on Market St.  I call them and they do have crutches so I'm off again.  I'm almost there when they call me and say 'sorry, they're actually out.'  Darn.  While we're still on the phone a person in the background finds their last pair.  I finish my journey and get the crutches.  Whoopee!
The concert included The Cadillac 3, The Eli Young Band, and then Jake Owens.  Music started at 7, Jake started a little after 9, and it lasted until after 11.  April and I left about 10:30 so I could get out more easily.  We had a great time and we saw other people I knew.  The opposite of the night before.
Forearm crutches are more difficult then I thought they would be.  It requires shoulder and back muscles which I have not used in a while.  I'll get used to it, but it may take a while.
Friday I use the wheelchair at work because I am too tired after the late Thursday night.  Work goes well and I leave about 2:30 because my phantom leg becomes very twitchy.  Imagine if your leg began cramping in random muscles from your toes to your thigh.  it like that but there is no leg and you can't do anything about it.  It's extremely uncomfortable to say the least.
Now I am home with April.  She does not feel well, so I'll be caring for her a bit.  This will be a challenge on one leg, but I'll my best.  She's been caring for me.

Good news at the doctor's

It was all good news from Dr Montgomery and Dr Steliga.  All my incisions are healing well, my x-rays are clear, and I can get in the hot tub.  I thought I was getting a CT scan today, but it was a chest x-Ray for Dr Steliga.  I have another follow up with them in January.  Otherwise, no more Little Rock for a while.  I still have chemo in Fayetteville, but no long drives.