It's Marjie again and early Friday morning. Thanks again for all the comments, emails, and thoughts, I've been reading them to Dave since he hasn't had the energy or desire to sit down to the computer or play on the laptop. Dave had another rotten day, yesterday. I can't say that it will be our worse, because I am not looking forward to January, but pretty much, he is miserable, and thus grumpy. Still has the nausea, fatigue, aches and is constantly wondering is this really worth it. Of course the answer is yes - but it is hard when you are going through it. I think that I am going to have to do a little more research on ways to combat his symptoms for the next round...spending 4 days on the couch feeling miserable is not the way to do it. On a good note, it is Friday and we get to turn in the pump this afternoon, he gets the Neulasta shot tomorrow, and then we are clear until after Christmas. It's my chance to get him back whole and strong again - physically and mentally. I wish he had an indoor hobby that would distract him for dwelling on his symptoms. We'll find it - other than complaining, although I should know that if he is complaining then things should be alright. Thank the Lord, that this is only temporary situation.
Overall David and I are still pressing on with other things. David finished all his college applications last night, so all we have to do is wait for their response, and file our financial aid application right after the new year. I am about done painting the shower portion of the master bath - was working on the trim yesterday, when I had to stop to wash Coho. Since Dave changed the shower head in the shower, washing the dog is not that difficult, just still a little messy - dog hair and water almost everywhere. So had to do a little cleaning, and I'll finish it up this morning. Well the sun and David are about up, so another day begins in the Vigal home. Take care, and God bless.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Dec 7 - Update by Marjie
Well here it is early Thursday morn of our 2nd round of chemotherapy and Dave has not had the energy or the stomach to update the post. He has been feeling miserable these past few days, taking this round of chemo harder than the first, but actually it is to be expected. Nauseous, no energy, achy, just an overall sick feeling and as it continues he gets crankier and more critical of everything - the clutter, the dirt, the smell of the dog, which blanket he is using - so we are having fun. On the positive side, he is eating. Yesterday's consisted of cinnamon toast and orange juice for breakfast, toast and ham for lunch, and chicken, mac & cheese, and garlic bread for dinner (he left the veggies on his plate), had a couple of Popsicles and a chocolate milkshake for snacks. Not the most nutritious, but as long as he continues to eat we are doing well.
The NASHVILLE returned to Norfolk yesterday, so I had to reluctantly leave Dave by himself for a couple of hours until David got home from school. I checked back in off leave, talked with the CO and XO, and met and talked with the new CO (Change of Command is next Wednesday). Over all consensus is that I should probably put in for a HUMS (temporary duty for humanitarian resons), and looking over my duties, there is going to be too much conflict between work and taking care of Dave, especially on weeks like this one. And I don't need to split my loyalties, when the Navy has programs like HUMS to help, and actually the HUMS is written for just our type of situation - short term (less than 6 months) that can not be fixed with just emergency leave. I have to go back to work on Monday to start the process on the ship. We have already submitted the paperwork for Dave to be in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) and now I just have to submit my letter of request, and call my detailer again. Overall it is best for all parties - I get the time to focus on Dave and the ship will get another Operations Officer. Once Dave is through the treatment and on the mend, I'll get assigned to another ship as a Dept Head for 12 or so months. I will end up with three short (9-15 month) DH tours vice the traditional two 18-month or one 3yr, and since I am ahead of my year group, by over a year, there is no negative career implications to this 6-month hiatus.
Back to Dave - Even though he is pretty much down for the count for right now, his brain definitely isn't and David and I get to take care of all the other little things that he would like to do or thinks that needs to be done. He keeps us hopping.
Speaking of David, he has been the perfect son, extremely helpful, up beat, and doesn't complain a bit. David and I are finished up the Christmas decorating last night, primarily finished decorating the tree and rearranged the Christmas stuff to minimize the clutter. New house, higher ceilings, different nooks and crannies, definitely a challenge to get things right, or at least acceptable to Scrooge. First challenge was the Christmas tree height - an 8 ft tree in a room with 10-15ft ceilings looks a little small. So with a little improvising, a couple of boxes, and a white sheet, made a nice hill for the tree to stand on, now the tree stands at 10 ft, a much better fit to the room. So last night we finished with putting the ornaments on it, and I think we are done in the living room for Christmas - on to the dining room.
Well, the sun and David are now up, I need to close this to eat breakfast with my baby, and get a couple of things (floors, laundry) to take care of before Dave gets up. Hopefully he will feel like updating this with his own thoughts, mine are just observations. As always, thanks for the thoughts and prayers, we are taking this one day at a time. Smiles :)
The NASHVILLE returned to Norfolk yesterday, so I had to reluctantly leave Dave by himself for a couple of hours until David got home from school. I checked back in off leave, talked with the CO and XO, and met and talked with the new CO (Change of Command is next Wednesday). Over all consensus is that I should probably put in for a HUMS (temporary duty for humanitarian resons), and looking over my duties, there is going to be too much conflict between work and taking care of Dave, especially on weeks like this one. And I don't need to split my loyalties, when the Navy has programs like HUMS to help, and actually the HUMS is written for just our type of situation - short term (less than 6 months) that can not be fixed with just emergency leave. I have to go back to work on Monday to start the process on the ship. We have already submitted the paperwork for Dave to be in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) and now I just have to submit my letter of request, and call my detailer again. Overall it is best for all parties - I get the time to focus on Dave and the ship will get another Operations Officer. Once Dave is through the treatment and on the mend, I'll get assigned to another ship as a Dept Head for 12 or so months. I will end up with three short (9-15 month) DH tours vice the traditional two 18-month or one 3yr, and since I am ahead of my year group, by over a year, there is no negative career implications to this 6-month hiatus.
Back to Dave - Even though he is pretty much down for the count for right now, his brain definitely isn't and David and I get to take care of all the other little things that he would like to do or thinks that needs to be done. He keeps us hopping.
Speaking of David, he has been the perfect son, extremely helpful, up beat, and doesn't complain a bit. David and I are finished up the Christmas decorating last night, primarily finished decorating the tree and rearranged the Christmas stuff to minimize the clutter. New house, higher ceilings, different nooks and crannies, definitely a challenge to get things right, or at least acceptable to Scrooge. First challenge was the Christmas tree height - an 8 ft tree in a room with 10-15ft ceilings looks a little small. So with a little improvising, a couple of boxes, and a white sheet, made a nice hill for the tree to stand on, now the tree stands at 10 ft, a much better fit to the room. So last night we finished with putting the ornaments on it, and I think we are done in the living room for Christmas - on to the dining room.
Well, the sun and David are now up, I need to close this to eat breakfast with my baby, and get a couple of things (floors, laundry) to take care of before Dave gets up. Hopefully he will feel like updating this with his own thoughts, mine are just observations. As always, thanks for the thoughts and prayers, we are taking this one day at a time. Smiles :)
Monday, December 4, 2006
04 December 2006, 2nd Round of Chemotherapy
4-1 day. Just got back from getting the second round of Chemo this afternoon, so I'm going to keep this one short as I'm feeling a little nauseated at the moment. The chemo went good I guess. Arrived at the Oncologist at 0915 this morning and and after having my blood drawn and checked for white blood cells, which were back in the high range, I started my 2nd round of chemotherapy. 6 bags of IV fluids in a 6 hour period. Started with Aloxi which is the anti-nausea medicine, then a bag Saline for hydration, then a bag magnesium, then the chemo medicine Cisplatin, followed by the other chemo medicine Taxotere. Finished all that around 4pm, then the nurse hooked me up to the pump which will dispense a bag of Fluorouracil 5FU over the next 5 days.
All in all, I guess I'm doing okay. Like I mentioned above, I'm feeling a little nauseated right now, but have a couple pills I need to take later this evening and more to take over the next couple days to help deal with that.
Time will tell on how I'll be feeling.
The office where I get the chemo is pretty nice. They have a bunch of Lazy Boy leather recliners to sit in and a nice view of the woods to look at while your hooked up to the machines. I spent the day reading magazines and listening to music. Marjie was able to be there the whole time which is really nice. Ate McDonald's for lunch...figured I'd better since food is tasting good right now
I purchased a set of Bose quiet comfort2 headphones a week ago to listen to my MP3 player with because the ear buds I had been using were really hurting my ears after a while. What a difference those Bose headphones make. If anyone out there is in the market to replace their headphones, I definitely recommend the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. They cost a pretty penny, but after listening to them for 4 hours today, I'd say they are worth every penny. Now all I need is a 30gb video iPOD, but will have to see what Santa says about that.
That's all for now.....More to follow.
All in all, I guess I'm doing okay. Like I mentioned above, I'm feeling a little nauseated right now, but have a couple pills I need to take later this evening and more to take over the next couple days to help deal with that.
Time will tell on how I'll be feeling.
The office where I get the chemo is pretty nice. They have a bunch of Lazy Boy leather recliners to sit in and a nice view of the woods to look at while your hooked up to the machines. I spent the day reading magazines and listening to music. Marjie was able to be there the whole time which is really nice. Ate McDonald's for lunch...figured I'd better since food is tasting good right now
I purchased a set of Bose quiet comfort2 headphones a week ago to listen to my MP3 player with because the ear buds I had been using were really hurting my ears after a while. What a difference those Bose headphones make. If anyone out there is in the market to replace their headphones, I definitely recommend the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. They cost a pretty penny, but after listening to them for 4 hours today, I'd say they are worth every penny. Now all I need is a 30gb video iPOD, but will have to see what Santa says about that.
That's all for now.....More to follow.
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