H-town Bound

Houston Bound today Folks, Chris admits in the morning for his fourth round of BioChemotherapy. He will take a chest xray before hand so we will be able to find out the progress of his tumor in his chest. We will have to wait until next time to find out any information about his sinus tumor.  I am not looking forward to the trip but am happy that we are getting it out of the way and that he is will now be more than 1/2 way through. We are driving with my Aunt Lorna this time around so that will make the drive fun and we are spending the night with my cousin today and then Aunt Lorna will drop us off at the hospital in the morning. The nice thing about this whole arrangement is I will get off paying less in gas this go around since we will be in her car and not our big truck and I won't have to worry about parking plus Aunt Lorna gets to see her kids so its a win/win situation. I am so lucky I have mother watching over my home and animals, I wouldn't know what I would do if she wasn't here! So that's whats going on. I love you all and please say a BIG prayer that everything goes smoothly at the hospital and we have a safe trip.

xo

k

Picnic and Aching Bones

Dang has it really been 5 days since I last blogged? Time sure does seem to fly by! Well MD Anderson finally called me a couple days ago and told me all of Chris's blood work looks fine! I am so relieved. He has been up and around just fine and his appetite is still awesome.  The only thing that hurts him right now is his bones especially his thighs and knees. I think its a side effect of the Interferon.  I am starting to dread for him to go back to Houston next week. I hate it so much for him. :(

Well we had a nice week and even went on a picnic Wednesday. It was nice to get out of the house together and do something. We went to this place not too far away called Clouds Crossing its a cute little bayou.

The dogs came along and enjoyed riding in the back of the truck

We had sandwiches and chips and enjoyed every bit of it, then again picnic sandwiches always taste better then "sittin on the sofa watching TV sandwiches"  :)

I even spotted a lizard that I don't think I have ever seen before, could some identify this little guy for me? Sorry not the best picture!

All in all it was very nice day and I hope we have many many mannny more nice days to come.

Well that's whats been going on. I love you all thank you so much for your prayers and support.

xoxo
k

Drawing Blood

Well oh well lets see.. Today Chris went and gave more blood. I am surprised he has any left to be honest with you as much he gets drained of it!  They  did actually have a hard time getting some this time around she said that his creatine levels might be low I failed to ask what that actually meant so I suppose that I should google that real fast.. OK back.  ha and  I apparently STILL don't know why creatine levels would effect the ability to draw blood.. I read that creatine when low only tells us that his kidneys are efficiently working...  Hopefully MD Anderson can find it out of the kindness of their hearts to actually give me a call this go around so I know whats going on!  Anyways I am happy that we still have over a week to relax at home and Guess what? Its raining! Glorious Glorious Wonderful Rain. I stood out in it for a full 30 minutes until it started thundering. I feel as renewed as my plants, trees, and grass do. :D  Thank God for it, I didn't think I could take one more day of this dry sweltering heat. Anyways that's the news!

xo

k

Saturday Blues

Sorry I haven't written in a few days, it seems I have had a case of the blues recently. Even though Chris is doing better than I have ever seen him after treatment I have still been feeling down in the dumps. Blahhh I just hate this disease so much and wish it would go away! I haven't been as productive with my time as I probably should be this week I have been doing a lot of sleeping and stressing and I just need to get out of this funk. AND I am not thrilled with MD Anderson at the moment, Chris took his blood tests a couple of days ago and no one has bothered to call us with the results. I have called several times and left messages, they promise to get back with you within 24 hours.. but nothing.. So I hope that means everything is OK!?  Normally they call and let me know either way. He has to take labs again Monday so maybe they will let me know something after this test. I am just nervous that he will have to get a transfusion while we are here and I would like to know where his hemoglobin count stands. 

In happier news Chris has had a really nice appetite the last couple of days. It seemed like last time he came back from treatment everything savory tasted really bad to him so he ended up with alot sweet stuff like fruit, sherbert, Popsicle's.. but this time he can't stomach sweets and has been eating what I would call real food.. meat, hearty soups, bread... you get the picture. I am assuming his body was craving protein and some complex carbs. I am so happy that we don't have to back until the 31st of this month. Last time we got cheated out of 3 days because of numerous  tests but this time around he will only have a blood test and a chest xray and its scheduled the same day he will be admitted.

Well my lovelies that's the news, we love you all and thank you so much for all the prayers, they are working! (Not that I ever thought they wouldn't!!)

xo

k

Enjoying being at the house!

Well we are now home!  Chris is still feeling well and has been eating a little so that's good!   I went grocery shopping today and tried to buy everything I could with high levels of iron as there is a good chance that while we are home Chris is going to have to get a blood transfusion his hemoglobin count was 8.8 and normally at 8 they do a transfusion. The doctors said it was normal at the stage of the game to start receiving transfusions. I found Wheaties and dark organic chocolate have tons! The chocolate had 40% and the cereal was 90% daily recommended allowance. I also bought stuff like Broccoli, Spinach,  Greens, soy nuts, hummus, dried apricots.. just wanna try and keep it up as much as possible. Anyways he is still really tired but not as bad as the last 2 treatments. Oh and I know this is kinda gross but he has been blowing his nose and black stuff is coming out.. Its Tumor!!! Gross but wonderful! :)

Oh and I decided No to Florida I just can't leave my love.

Well that's whats going on!

Love you all

xo

k

What to do, what to do?

I am so happy this is our last night in the hospital for the next couple of weeks. This is the best I have ever seen Chris at the end of a treatment. Besides being tired which is just a side effect of the chemo and nurses and staff coming in at all times of the day and the night the only other ill side effects he is suffering from his pain in his femur bones and a non existent appetite. The dietitian said a good way to whip his taste buds into shape when we get home is to have him eat pickle slices 30 minutes before trying to get him to eat. So I thought that was interesting and I think we will try it and see what happens. Well I found out  today my mom hadn't cancelled the Florida trip just yet just in case I changed my mind the last minute. I am very conflicted to be quite honest with you. If I go it will be the last couple of days before he goes to treatment, when he is at his strongest and up and around and his sister has generously told me she would bring him to his next round on the 31st .. I would be back on the 3rd so I could join him at the hospital for the last 3 days of his treatment.... BUT I feel guilty and I don't know if I should do it or not. I really would love a little break but in the back of my mind I am scared I am being selfish. I dunno. I would love a little input from you guys. I think I will see how it goes the next few days and how well I think Chris is recovering. Anyways love you all and please continue to pray. Chris is now halfway thru with him Biochemotherapy! May the last 3 rounds continue to diminish his tumors and be enough to heal him completely!!

xo

k

Hopefully headed home soon

So this weekend seemed to fly by I actually did alot of sleeping and so did Chris. Although I did make it to Bingo at the observation deck here at MD Anderson I hit Bingo twice and now am the proud owner of 10 dollars worth of credit at the gift shop. What shall I buy? hmmm I will use it tomorrow as the gift certificate expires tomorrow. My friend Connie from home came by and visited me today so that was a nice visit. It gets lonely here at the hospital after a while when I don't have visitors and Chris is sleeping off the medications but the Internet helps as I always say " All my friends live in my computer" which is a little sad in a way but its better than having all my friends live in my head! ha! Anyways Chris is doing really well compared to the last two treatments, minimal swelling and pain. He is still really red and tired and I don't believe he has had a bite to eat since last Tuesday but I have seen him alot worse. Although He does have a bad stomach ache  and it doesn't seem to be going away even with medication. Poor thing :(

I can't believe the summer is almost over!  I am especially sad my mom has had to cancel our vacation in Florida for the end of the month. I had been dreaming of white beaches and clear water all year. Oh well guess I will have to wait until next year when Chris is allllllll better!!! ;)

Morning Scare

So today was a little nerve wracking Chris's blood pressure which normally starts running low at the end of treatment starting running pretty low this morning 78/48 and he was running a temp. So they took cultures from his PIC line and took a urine sample to make sure it wasn't suffering from any kind of infection. Which could be possible seeing that his PIC line was clogged all week and I wasn't able to flush it and when he is fell a couple of weeks ago there was a possibility for an infection BUT he has been on antibiotics so hopefully its nothing to worry about. His blood pressure did go up and his fever broke so he seems to be OK for now. I just don't want anything to hinder him from finishing his treatments. He will have 3 more to go after this cycle. Then we hope that the tumors will be gone and we will have a walking miracle! :)   I know I have probably mentioned this before but only 15% of people actually respond to the BioChemotherapy and I just think its so Awesome he finally had a lucky break for once! Anyways that's the news for today. Love you guys and thank you as always for all the love and prayers

xoxoxoxoxo

k



Ack! Look at whats all going in my Babies Veins let alone all the medicine in pill form and his shots of Interferon!



CT Scan Images

Ok well these images aren't as pretty as the MRI and Xray photos but they get the point across!

Sinus Tumor, If you notice in the before picture you do not see any white area but in the after you do that is the bone you are now seeing and not tumor!

Before CT scan of sinus

After CT Scan of Sinus

Before CT scan of Lung

After CT Scan of Lung

When  Dr. Hwu came in this morning she expressed her excitement and the other Doctors excitement at their morning meeting that Chris is responding the BioChemotherapy so well. I am so happy everyone I just  know it will continue to shrink and he will continue to heal!

xo

k

p.s. I am working on a Melanoma website to get a little more awareness out there, please check it out, its still under construction but if you would like to add a link or your blog or have a suvivor story please contact me there at the website http://www.curemelanoma.info/

The BioChemotherapy is Working!!!

We got great news today and well I just wanna shout it from the roof top.. ALL OF CHRIS'S TUMORS ARE SHRINKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What a BLESSING!!!  Well we knew his lung tumor had shrunk from being able to see his chest x-rays the last treatment but we were told today it had shrunk an incredible 50% more!  The best news though is that his sinus tumor is shrinking but we are not sure how much yet it did not say on the report but I think they want to do an MRI  before telling us anymore because it will give a better view of what is going on. Also all the tumors that were in his subcutaneous skin layer are all gone!  Anyways I am so excited and happy!  Thank you all so much for the prayers.  I will keep everyone updated while we are here as usual just pray for Chris while he undergoes his BioChemotherapy because its so rough on him.

Love you all so much

xo

k

Short Day, Short Blog

Well today we got to the hospital around 6am and we were out by 8am !  They rescheduled the appointment for his chest scan at 11:20 to around 7  this morning so that was fantastic. Chris even drove to MD Anderson this Morning, so that absolutely made my day!  We don't have to go to the hospital until 2:30 pm tomorrow so that will give us plenty of time to catch up on our sleep because you can't get too many zzz's  at the hospital. I am so anxious to know his test results. Pray your hardest tonight folks because we shall soon find out  how well this BioChemotherapy is working , better yet lets just pray for it to be completely gone!! :D

xo

k

I am hopeful for Chris!

Tests and Getting Ready for Round 3 ding ding ding!

So our weekend was nice, lots of visits and nice energy. Chris's sister officially shaved his head and my mom removed Chris's stitches from his chin. Chris regained most of his strength and his appetite. I even got a day to myself , I went to the movies with my mom and sister to watch The Rise of the Planet of the Apes ! Oh and then the best thing happened!!! I was applauded and highfived by a group of children at the movie theater arcade when I managed to wrangle 2 Stuffed animals at once while I attempted the claw game! Ha! Needless to say I was giddy, I needed some applause!

My mom removing Chris's stitches

Ouchie

New Haircut

Well.. today started WAY too early at about 2:30 am we woke up to get ready for the dreaded drive to Houston. We hit the road at around 3am and were at MD Anderson by 8:00. Driving at night isn't my favorite activity but it was nice missing all the traffic.. well at least until we hit the city but that's a given. Chris had an appointment for  a CT Scan for his Chest/Abdomen/Pelvis  and he also had to have his PIC line unclogged as I had not been able to flush out one of his lines this past week.  We got out of there at around 2:00. My dear cousin Laurette has taken us in until Wednesday, then she is kicking us to the curb lol not really, Wednesday is when he should be admitted .Tomorrow we have a super early appointment at 6:00 am CT of his sinus and then at 11:20 he has Xrays of his Chest. So seeing it is almost midnight I think I shall part ways with this Blog for now and get ready for a full day of sitting in a waiting room!

Hugs not drugs.. unless it's Chemo :D

Keep the prayers coming and Thank you for reading.

xo

k

Ready for Spaghetti

So the last few days Chris has been recovering from his fall, he is feeling a lot better not only his chin but overall. Yesterday he requested  spaghetti for lunch! I think this is the first time he has had any meat in over a month, I happily obliged and whipped some up for him. Today we went out for Chinese, I was nervous bringing him somewhere covered in strangers germs but he wanted to go out to eat, we shared a plate of sweet and sour chicken and it felt so nice doing something that felt normal and didn't involve going to the hospital or taking labs. Speaking of labs we go again tomorrow but this is the last time until we hit MD Anderson so that's a relief !   Oh guess what? The Cancer League of Louisiana called me a couple of days ago and they are sending us a gas card for our next trip to Houston next week, how Awesome is that? Another piece of Awesome news is my friend Mandi's dad is president of a motorcycle club called the Nakatosh Priesthood. They want to do a benefit fundraiser ride for Chris . That is so cool!  I just can't believe the generosity and kindness we have been shown by everyone. It just really an amazing feeling to know how many people care about us, I just feel blessed beyond belief.  Thank you everyone for showing me your all here with me each and every day and  with me every step on this path.

xo

k



I didn't even have to force him to take a picture with me today! ha!