It's Not a Sprint

Hi everyone

I wanted to get this entry out sooner, but unfortunately, this week we had a little expected something to add to the list that cancer has to continue to try to knock me out.  Thursday started really well.  I began this blog entry, was watching television without any problems, and actually felt pretty good.  Then, within the span of an hour, excruciating pain shot down my right leg (my good one!) on the outside.   My oncologist had mentioned that the tumor on my pelvic bone might give me trouble like this with the sciatic nerve.  She was correct.  The pain quickly went from bad to worse. And my foot was cold to the touch.  I contacted my doctor who wanted me to go to the emergency room as there could have possibly been a blood clot.  Jenn acted incredibly strongly and drove the boys to our friend’s house down the street, who ironically not just 30 minutes prior, had expressed to Jenn if anything happens they would be available for long term sitting.  How quickly we accepted their offer!  Jenn drove me to the hospital (obviously obeying all pertinent traffic laws) and unfolded me out of the car.  I was registered and the ER docs examined my foot and leg and determined it was not a clot, but graciously would admit me for the pain.  They doped me pretty good and the pain in my leg was quickly forgotten!  For those who know I haven’t ever drunk alcohol or done any crazy substances in life, this will be funny.  Due to all the painkillers I’ve been subjected to over the last 5-6 weeks, I have, quite proudly, built a tolerance.  I had to have several injections of the compound to get a response!  The administering nurse commented on my tolerance level and mentioned that the dose he had given me would have knocked him out cold.  I finally have a story to tell that starts with, “I was so wasted!”

The docs wanted to verify that the tumor was indeed causing the pain.  So they scheduled an MRI which is the best way to see this tumor and the nerve.  My pain had been managed fairly well by about 4 AM on Friday.  The MRI was scheduled for an accurate “sometime later!” basically forcing us just to wait it out until there was time to fit me in, which happened around 2 AM Saturday morning!  Sleep continues to elude me.  So they nurses loaded me onto a bed, and wheeled me down to the imaging room.  For those who haven’t had the pleasure, an MRI is one of those crappy tests that I would not wish on anyone.  I had two prior to my diagnosis and last night’s was my third.  They don’t get better with time.  MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging and uses some really cool physics with hydrogen, carbon and other atoms in the body to create oddly beautiful images of ironically ugly tumors.  To obtain these images a few unfortunate requirements are needed by the patient.  First are the tumors – grrrr!  Second, the patient must remain motionless inside a coffin like tube during the procedure which can take up to 2 hours and if interrupted by the patient moving, just adds more time. Third, the machine makes a hell of a lot of noise which is extremely distracting.  The patient is given earplugs which does block out some sound.  Since no metal is allowed, no books, headphones, or other time passers are allowed either.  I made it through my 1^st and 2^nd procedures with little issue, but last night’s was a little different.  I had not showered for a few days and my usually pleasant pheromones had become rather pungent and were also amplified by the coffin.  My lack of sleep stripped me of my ability to ignore the sound and contributed to the increased volume of the machine.  The coffin had also grown increasingly hot after the procedure began which did not help the pheromone problem.  All combined, I was not ready for my MRI.  I made it through about 45 minutes, but eventually just couldn’t continue to sit still.  My mom always said I had problems sitting still.  Once the machine’s noises paused, I sheepishly clicked the button that alerts the technician (okay, it’s the “I quit” button) and asked how much longer.  He said “ONLY 45 more minutes!”  I was discouraged.  I couldn’t do it.  The aroma was too much.  I asked to be removed.  He did, but luckily we finished the first portion of it and found out later in the day that the second portion was not needed yet.  Whew!  Upon returning to my room, I quickly showered.  It was one of the best…ever.

I had my actual chemo on Tuesday and all went well (see photo; chemo port shown.)  I’m taking Adriamycin (also known as doxorubicin). I will have another round in 3 weeks and following that 3 week treatment, my oncologist will assess my progress to determine if more is needed or if we need to change treatments.  I’ve been given some good anti-nausea meds to help prevent sickness.  They seem to be working pretty well so far.  I have an appetite and am able to keep pretty much everything down.  That is a relief.  Unfortunately, the anti-nausea meds have the side effect of drowsiness as does the Adriamycin.  My energy level seems to be okay, but it takes quite a bit to just have a conversation with anyone.

Jenn has been with me most of the time, and our friends who are watching the boys are just wonderful.  We were very worried that Ben or Jack would not want to spend the night somewhere without us.  Neither of them have ever slept over at someone else’s house.  After two days with our friends and their children, now neither of them want much to do with us.  The boys had a blast and our friends were extremely considerate and thoughtful.  They accepted the boys without hesitation and really cared for them during their stay keeping us updated on how much fun everyone was having!

So now we are waiting to be discharged – the SEC Championship game starts in an hour and I hope I’m not watching part of it in this hospital room!  I have a few more meds to take to hopefully prevent the leg pain from returning and the plan is to continue to wait and see how the chemo affects the tumors and if the pain returns, to manage it wisely.

Hunter