Wow – I did not realize that it’s been almost two weeks since I last updated this thing. Part of the problem is that Cindy really wants to do an update herself, so I hold off but then she is unable to rise to the occasion. So I finally decided just to do it myself, even if she gets upset with me.
Right after I wrote the last entry, Cindy began having problems. She had some labs drawn and her red blood count had dropped precipitously to the point where she needed a couple of pints of blood. The home IV infusions had also overloaded her with fluid so that she was 20 pounds heavier than previously and we had to get some of that off of her. She perked up quite a bit after the transfusions.
Last Wednesday, she started with her third round of chemo. Unfortunately, her bilirubin had gone back up, so she was still unable to get chemo drug #3. Wednesday was also her last decent day. The cisplatin, I think, knocked the daylights out of her this time. Starting on Thursday, she has barely been out of bed other than to use the toilet and has not eaten anything. She has had a little juice in addition to water and continues with the home IV fluids. On the positive, she is slowly looking a little better. However, she does not have the stamina to read or write, even talking is difficult for her, and her thought processes are often not clear. She has maintained a good sense of humor throughout it all, though.
As for the rest of us, we all seem to be doing pretty well. The meals, cards, support, and prayers have been awesome. Thank you so much. God is good!
Love, Bob
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Liz comes to visit, Beata stays home
When our little boy died years ago, it was an overwhelming tragedy for us and I felt very alone, but I soon learned that there are a lot of people out there who have experienced the death of a child. Here, too, in this current situation, I seem to constantly come into contact with people who have lost wives or husbands at a too-young age to cancer or some other wrong occurrence. That, coupled with the tragedy in Port-au-Prince (where we lived when I was 7 and 8 years old), reminds me that there are a lot of folks out there a lot worse off than we are. There is a day coming when death and suffering, pain and tears will all be wiped away. Come, Lord Jesus!
Enough philosophizing. I’d better be careful with what I say after Cindy’s rebuke to me in her column the other day. Cindy remains weak but there are encouraging signs every day. She continues with daily IV fluid infusion at home, and she is eating a little better. Today she was up in a chair for a couple of hours. She had a Clementine tangerine, some grapefruit, watermelon, and toast. Later she had some plain spaghetti and salad. This was a real good intake day. Her mentation has also been a bit better in general.
Her bilirubin has begun to drop but it is still not at the point where chemo drug #3 can be added to the regimen. She had another round of chemo this past week (Fri - Sun) and we look forward to it having some positive effect. We continue to ask God for what the chemo cannot do, namely, complete healing.
Beata decided last week to take the year off from med school so that she can be home and close to Mom. I initially told her she couldn’t do that, and she gently reminded me that I no longer make decisions for her. In any case, it will be a great blessing to have both her and Erica available for Cindy. Mandy also was home for another long weekend. We all had a tremendous uplift when BFF Liz Adams spent the long weekend with Cindy – thanks so much, Liz!
Thanks again, everyone, for all of your support. It is really appreciated. There continue to be a lot of ups and downs and lonely moments, and your thoughts and prayers are treasured. God is good!
Bob
Enough philosophizing. I’d better be careful with what I say after Cindy’s rebuke to me in her column the other day. Cindy remains weak but there are encouraging signs every day. She continues with daily IV fluid infusion at home, and she is eating a little better. Today she was up in a chair for a couple of hours. She had a Clementine tangerine, some grapefruit, watermelon, and toast. Later she had some plain spaghetti and salad. This was a real good intake day. Her mentation has also been a bit better in general.
Her bilirubin has begun to drop but it is still not at the point where chemo drug #3 can be added to the regimen. She had another round of chemo this past week (Fri - Sun) and we look forward to it having some positive effect. We continue to ask God for what the chemo cannot do, namely, complete healing.
Beata decided last week to take the year off from med school so that she can be home and close to Mom. I initially told her she couldn’t do that, and she gently reminded me that I no longer make decisions for her. In any case, it will be a great blessing to have both her and Erica available for Cindy. Mandy also was home for another long weekend. We all had a tremendous uplift when BFF Liz Adams spent the long weekend with Cindy – thanks so much, Liz!
Thanks again, everyone, for all of your support. It is really appreciated. There continue to be a lot of ups and downs and lonely moments, and your thoughts and prayers are treasured. God is good!
Bob
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Word From Cindy
In the pure interest of self preservation, I would like to respond to the previous blog post. Bob has been extraordinary in meeting my every need. But I find that his latest description of getting me downstairs was a bit modest. In truth, he's a prince with arm muscles that ripple in the wind. His legs have the appearance of extra thick crispy cut crinkle oven fries. I've only heard him grunt once, on the third step from the bottom.
Please be advised, folks, he is a man of great humility, who would rather say it took an army than take all the credit. The long and the short of it is, on any given day, it doesn't take three people to get me up and down the stairs!
(Noah, please let us know if you have any discount elevators.)
Some prayer requests!
-I'd love to be able to drink milk or eat ice cream
-I'd be ecstatic to have some semblance of normal digestion of the small amounts of food I DO manage to get down.
-I'd love to be able to eat real food without regretting it soon thereafter.
-Chemograce for the second round of treatment - starts tomorrow.
The doctor was very encouraged this week after looking at my bloodwork results. Though it's not there yet, my liver function has inched back in the direction of normal over the past week as I've had IV fluids at home. This makes me look less like a giraffe (yellow). We have had some good nurses and my appetite has increased to include small amounts of simple fruits and vegetables.
Dad by day we are depending on answered prayer and revelation of God's love for us. It's never hard to find a way to worship our marvelous king, God, and creator -- even if He struggles to come in line with my will.
Please be advised, folks, he is a man of great humility, who would rather say it took an army than take all the credit. The long and the short of it is, on any given day, it doesn't take three people to get me up and down the stairs!
(Noah, please let us know if you have any discount elevators.)
Some prayer requests!
-I'd love to be able to drink milk or eat ice cream
-I'd be ecstatic to have some semblance of normal digestion of the small amounts of food I DO manage to get down.
-I'd love to be able to eat real food without regretting it soon thereafter.
-Chemograce for the second round of treatment - starts tomorrow.
The doctor was very encouraged this week after looking at my bloodwork results. Though it's not there yet, my liver function has inched back in the direction of normal over the past week as I've had IV fluids at home. This makes me look less like a giraffe (yellow). We have had some good nurses and my appetite has increased to include small amounts of simple fruits and vegetables.
Dad by day we are depending on answered prayer and revelation of God's love for us. It's never hard to find a way to worship our marvelous king, God, and creator -- even if He struggles to come in line with my will.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A quiet, stable week
Thanks so much for the encouraging words, comments, and prayers that you have and continue to extend toward Cindy and our family. We are grateful for all of the cards, emails, prayers, and meals. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and an incredibly supportive church family! In fact, we have so much to be thankful for – God is good!
It’s hard to believe that a whole month has gone by since all this started, but this was a fairly uneventful week although still exhausting for all of us. Cindy went to the oncology office a couple of times for labwork and IV fluids and then we were able to arrange for home infusion of the IV fluids, which we’ve been doing daily.
Cindy remains very weak. It took three people to get her up, dressed, and out the door to the oncologist. Three days this week, she couldn’t even go down the stairs and just stayed in the bedroom. Just getting in and out of the bathtub is a chore that completely wears her out. Her mental acuity is sometimes OK, sometimes not. Eating without subsequent nausea and bloating continues to be a problem, so oral intake hasn’t been great. Being dependent on others has been pretty difficult for her as well. Those of us who live with and see her on a daily basis have somewhat adjusted to a new “normal” but people who haven’t seen her recently tend to be a bit taken aback.
She has another round of chemo this coming week (Weds – Fri) and we hope that it will begin having some positive effect so that she can have a little better quality of life. We pray that her bilirubin level will drop so that an additional important drug can be added to the regimen. We also continue to ask God for what the chemo cannot do, namely, complete healing.
A couple of Jonny’s RPI friends came over and installed a special Internet phone so that we can call Jonny and Lisa with crystal-clear reception for 1 cent/minute (better than Skype). Thanks, Jeremy and Dave!
This marks Beata’s final week at home before she flies back to Dublin and med school. What a help she has been! Cindy was also thrilled when Mandy spent the day at home on Friday with her. A very dear friend from Dartmouth spent last Sunday night with us, which perked Cindy up noticeably. Thanks, Meg!
Love, Bob
It’s hard to believe that a whole month has gone by since all this started, but this was a fairly uneventful week although still exhausting for all of us. Cindy went to the oncology office a couple of times for labwork and IV fluids and then we were able to arrange for home infusion of the IV fluids, which we’ve been doing daily.
Cindy remains very weak. It took three people to get her up, dressed, and out the door to the oncologist. Three days this week, she couldn’t even go down the stairs and just stayed in the bedroom. Just getting in and out of the bathtub is a chore that completely wears her out. Her mental acuity is sometimes OK, sometimes not. Eating without subsequent nausea and bloating continues to be a problem, so oral intake hasn’t been great. Being dependent on others has been pretty difficult for her as well. Those of us who live with and see her on a daily basis have somewhat adjusted to a new “normal” but people who haven’t seen her recently tend to be a bit taken aback.
She has another round of chemo this coming week (Weds – Fri) and we hope that it will begin having some positive effect so that she can have a little better quality of life. We pray that her bilirubin level will drop so that an additional important drug can be added to the regimen. We also continue to ask God for what the chemo cannot do, namely, complete healing.
A couple of Jonny’s RPI friends came over and installed a special Internet phone so that we can call Jonny and Lisa with crystal-clear reception for 1 cent/minute (better than Skype). Thanks, Jeremy and Dave!
This marks Beata’s final week at home before she flies back to Dublin and med school. What a help she has been! Cindy was also thrilled when Mandy spent the day at home on Friday with her. A very dear friend from Dartmouth spent last Sunday night with us, which perked Cindy up noticeably. Thanks, Meg!
Love, Bob
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Last week in review
We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and concern that many of you have shown since we made Cindy’s cancer public. Thank you so much for your prayers, and please please continue to lift her up to God for her complete healing. I am convinced that we need her more here than God does in heaven.
We had a up and down week. It was wonderful having all the kids here. Mandy’s employer, when he found out about Cindy, told her to take the rest of the week off and go home. What a blessing!
At Cindy’s request, our longtime marriage counselor came to the house and did a session with the entire family to help everyone talk issues through, and we will probably continue these sessions periodically.
Cindy had her first round of chemo on December 31 with cisplatin and 5-FU. Her labwork prior to the chemo showed liver dysfunction severe enough that one drug (docetaxil) was withheld for fear of severe side effects. Hopefully, the other two will have enough impact to improve her liver to the point where she can get the third as well.
A photographer friend from church, Alyse French, came by on New Year’s Day with her fiancé to take some family pictures. Thanks, Alyse!
Jonny and Lisa flew home to Czech yesterday, a bittersweet parting for us. We are so proud of the work they are doing there. It was so wonderful to have them with us for two weeks. Mandy went back to Boston tonight, although she will be able to visit on weekends. And Beata still has two weeks with us before she flies back to Dublin.
Cindy’s mom came out from Laconia, NH to visit for most of this week. Cindy’s brother Bill did the driving and was accompanied by his wife Joanne and Cindy’s sister Sue. Cindy was thrilled to see them all. Today Cindy’s other brother Rick dropped his son Ian off with us and took Cindy’s mom home. Ian lives with us during the school year and attends Albany Academy with Peter.
On the down side, Cindy’s stamina is still generally very poor and her mind is not always clear. She cannot function independently at this point.
We covet your prayers.
Love, Bob
We had a up and down week. It was wonderful having all the kids here. Mandy’s employer, when he found out about Cindy, told her to take the rest of the week off and go home. What a blessing!
At Cindy’s request, our longtime marriage counselor came to the house and did a session with the entire family to help everyone talk issues through, and we will probably continue these sessions periodically.
Cindy had her first round of chemo on December 31 with cisplatin and 5-FU. Her labwork prior to the chemo showed liver dysfunction severe enough that one drug (docetaxil) was withheld for fear of severe side effects. Hopefully, the other two will have enough impact to improve her liver to the point where she can get the third as well.
A photographer friend from church, Alyse French, came by on New Year’s Day with her fiancé to take some family pictures. Thanks, Alyse!
Jonny and Lisa flew home to Czech yesterday, a bittersweet parting for us. We are so proud of the work they are doing there. It was so wonderful to have them with us for two weeks. Mandy went back to Boston tonight, although she will be able to visit on weekends. And Beata still has two weeks with us before she flies back to Dublin.
Cindy’s mom came out from Laconia, NH to visit for most of this week. Cindy’s brother Bill did the driving and was accompanied by his wife Joanne and Cindy’s sister Sue. Cindy was thrilled to see them all. Today Cindy’s other brother Rick dropped his son Ian off with us and took Cindy’s mom home. Ian lives with us during the school year and attends Albany Academy with Peter.
On the down side, Cindy’s stamina is still generally very poor and her mind is not always clear. She cannot function independently at this point.
We covet your prayers.
Love, Bob
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