first round!

Hi all!

Braden got through his first round of chemo today! It took about 6 hours, but now we're home, and so far, side-effect free! The day started out early and trafficy, but once we got to the hospital, everything was smooth sailing. The people at Mercy are amazing. All of the nurses we've interacted with have been incredibly kind and helpful.

Because this whole chemo thing is new to us, I wanted to describe how it went for all of you who, like us, have never experienced chemo close-up before. First off, the chemo room looks like the first-class section of an airplane -- all fancy recliners and personal TVs and funky equipment. We went to the back of the 7 chair room, because that's where all the cool kids sit. Our very kind nurse offered us breakfast, then we had an hour-or-so wait while they did a few tests, attached the port, and ordered up the chemo drugs. We were a little surprised at the wait, but were told that, for some inexplicable reason, these drugs are hideously expensive, they don't put together the doses until the patient is physically at the hospital and ready to begin. Praise the Lord for our insurance! I can't imagine being uninsured in our position. It really is criminal that so many people have to go without good medical care in our country (and...end rant here).

Once we were ready to go, they started out with an injection of anti-puking drugs, and a heavy dose of benadryl to prevent reactions. The benadryl got into Braden's system immediately, put him right to sleep, and made his legs all twitchy and dancy-like. This was the worst part of the day. We were both unprepared for his reaction to the benadryl, and it scared us both quite a bit! Now that we know what to expect, next time will be easier. After that, the rest of the truly toxic drugs held no problems at all. The only side-effect we are currently experiencing is that the A of the ABVD round turns urine bright red...which, if you think about it, is pretty awesome. How many of us secretly want multi-colored excretions? Maybe it's just me. Sorry.

Now Braden's zonked out on the couch, sleeping off the rest of the benadryl. We're as prepared as we know how to be for the next few days. We're both curious, and a little apprehensive, to see what side- effects come with time. We are prepared for all sorts of stomach yuckyness, but praying for the best!

Next post will include a picture of Braden with his shaved head! We thought it best to preemt any hair loss, so we cut his hair as short as we could last night using sewing scissors and a straight razor. Booya.

Thanks again for all of the amazing support and love we've received! We'll keep the updates coming!

~ Christy

Ready to rumble

I've just come back from my lung test which seemed positive and was a little bit fun. Tomorrow is the big day of starting chemotherapy and Christy has been given the day off to accompany me (on piano). We sent Laura and Dawn (wonderful in-laws) packing this morning back to New Hampshire and Connecticut respectively after a very fun visit in which I won the train game and the monk game an embarrassing amount of times. They did not let me win. I did it with skill and sneakery. They will be driving all day today. Please pray for their safe arrivals.

I think today, when Christy gets home, we will see if my head looks lumpy without hair. I've been curious on the matter for quite some time and now we'll know. I was excited last week about starting chemo, then I got a bit scared, and now I think I'm excited again ready to get active towards the cure. We've been praying against false hopes,  like statistics and just wishing, and instead have been praying for God's strength, His peace, and trusting Him. Thanks again for your prayers! I'll let you know how it goes.

Option 3

The doctor has chosen option 3 so we will have a relaxing weekend with family in town, await a new niece, and then go the hospital on wed, thurs, and fri for lung test, chemo, and booster respectively.

Braden

A little more news and a little more prayer

So I've just come from the hospital after a bone marrow biopsy, which I do not recommend, but I have a prayer request regarding scheduling. I need to get a lung test before I begin chemotherapy, but I am scheduled to begin chemotherapy this coming Monday, the 21st. Unfortunately there was not an opening until Wednesday at 8 AM for this test. This gives us three options, pray for a cancellation in the lung test schedule, forgo the lung test, or delay chemotherapy till next Thursday. We're praying for a cancellation or some other way of getting the test done before Monday at 9 AM.

Thanks again for all your support. I've been quite busy with the frequent visits to the hospital, but have been getting excellent care and good news and making friends. Today I was also able to eliminate a visit to the hospital on Sunday for blood work by doing it today and my favorite lab-worker did the procedure and I didn't feel a thing.

update-schmupdate

It’s amazing how suddenly a day becomes a week, and then ten days, and then we realize we haven’t posted anything on the blog yet!  We have lots of news to share, mostly good.

Braden’s tests have been going well, and he now has a portal in his neck that runs directly to his veins. This is supposedly the best way to receive IV medicines, and give blood samples, and will keep him from having his arms poked all the time.  We’re hoping in time to find other good uses for said port – like directly uploading coffee into his veins or something equally useful.

Last Friday, Braden met with a doctor who is something of a guru when it comes to Lymphoma. She was able to answer a lot of questions, as well as seconding the information we had from our primary oncologist.  She assigned us a couple more test to have done, mostly for peace of mind.  This week, we met with our regular oncologist, scheduled those tests, and got the order in for starting our chemo early next week.  Braden will be having a lung scan at some point soon, as well as a bone-marrow biopsy.  Nobody really thinks that there is any threat of cancer in those areas, but we all felt it is better to be sure now, then to have unwelcome surprises later. 

We have both been blown away by the amazing support of everyone around us – both far and near!  If we haven’t responded to phone calls or emails, it’s not because we don’t love you!  It’s mainly because Braden’s super busy calling doctors, and Christy is scared of her phone. 

Beyond cancer (because really, this whole cancer thing is just a little blip in the larger picture of our lives), Braden continues his search for engineering jobs around the country, as well as working on wood projects. He’s currently on a lathe kick, so if you’d like a turned bowl, now is the time to get that order in!  Christy is trying not to lose her mind, as she continues to teach 7^th grade to southside Chicago students, as well as coach two Science Olympiad teams.  Most of the time she succeeds, but not always.  We’re both enjoying the extra time together that this cancer stuff is giving us, and already planning our, “Take That, You Nasty Malignant Cells!” party. 

The next few weeks are looking to be exciting, as we finally start the cure, and enjoy a visit from Christy’s step-mom and sister. We’re really, really, really excited to be actually starting chemo, because that means that the end us close!  We’re praying for a short stint with chemo – three months or so -- and then a clear prognosis. 

More scans and visits to the nice Doctor

We have a large amount of snow and I like snow. Unfortunately, it pushed some of my appointments back, but seeing it makes me quite happy and I played in it some. It was also great to see the neighborhood unified all out digging out their cars and clearing alleys. We have great neighbors.

The latest news hasn't changed much, but I expect to get a call in the next couple of hours confirming my PET scan tomorrow (Saturday). I have my heart scan on Monday and I will have my port put in on Wednesday. For not having a car when Christy is away winning us bread the hard way it takes some clever planning and leaning on kind friends and family to get there 3 times a week, but I'm very thankful for the prompt scheduling. Also, last night I was afraid of another poor night's sleep due to some rib/back discomfort of recent, but 3 ibuprofen and some prayer later we slept very well and I feel wonderful today.

In our meeting with the oncologist we planned on working towards starting chemotherapy on the 15th of Feb. This is why we're doing all the scans. The specific chemo is called ABVD and is very common in the treatment of Hodgkins Lymphoma. As I currently understand it, we will have a PET scan then 3 months (6 doses) of Chemo, then another PET scan and work from there.

Thanks again for your prayers and kind words! More to follow...