7-6 Quick update

Well here it is Saturday evening and I just wanted to get a couple of things down before going to bed. Dave is not having fun with this. The main complaints today have been achy joints - knees, ankles, hands, back - sore mouth, that feeling of something caught in his throat again, and some nausea. He did have a slight fever this evening - 99.4, so I finally got him to take two regular strength Tylenol (he can't have aspirin or aspirin based products, so I can't give him anything else). I tried to get him to take either the Phengren or the Kytril for the nausea, but he isn't too keen on the idea.

The trip to the clinic (Lake Wright office) today was fairly uneventful. Dr. Atienza's nurse, Kathy, was there today, and is keeping an eye on us. She again stressed the importance of fluids - Gatorade, Jello, soup, stuff that will keep Dave hydrated and be easy on his throat. On the way home, we stopped and picked up some Gatorade, and he's consumed about 24 oz since 2pm. The hard part is getting him to eat or drink. He did have a couple of sausage, 2 over-easy eggs and a piece of toast for dinner tonight. Then proceeded to go to bed at 7pm - he is just tired of feeling horrible.

Both his PEG and PICC are looking fine, but this is about the time that he gets a small infection with his PEG - it starts oozing more - a white to yellow snot like substance. So far it is looking good, and his PICC is looking good as well. Speaking of PICC, had a slight problem with the home care folks, and their visit schedule. Dave's PICC dressing is supposed to be changed every 3-7 days - we are on the 7 day schedule to minimize the wear and tear on his arm with the adhesive. Three weeks ago when Dave was noticing his PICC wound was getting red and had a slight discharge, we had them come out a day early - Friday instead of Saturday. This in turn was to shift the dressing change to Fridays, last week - no problems, yesterday - when we didn't hear from the nurse by 10, I called them and was told his visit was on Saturday. A few phone calls later, things were straightened out, their supervising nurse came out and changed his dressing, and ensured us that he was scheduled for Fridays. Of course all of this compounded with Dave's current disposition, made it an enjoyable Friday in this Vigal's household.

Well - so much for a quick update...I'm still sticking with the mantra of one day at a time, and tomorrow will be better. Take care and stay safe as you finish out this year and bring in the next.

Day 7-6

Well here it is Saturday morning, and I figure I had better give everyone an update. Although this round started out easier then the previous two we are back to the low point again. Treatment started on Tuesday (7-2), and since he still had the ringing in his ears, no Cisplatin, so we were out of the clinic before lunch. Wednesday (7-3) Dave felt fairly good - as you have read - went to the mall with David, and ended up installing the four new light fixtures we got for Christmas. Thursday (7-4), Dave started the day out fairly well at 0500 since I had to go to work again. He and David took back the lamps that we decided not to use and then by the end of the day he started feeling a little run down. Yesterday (Friday and day 7-5), Dave spent the entire day on the couch, really just feeling achy, very grumpy, nothing was right and as the day progressed he really didn't feel any better. His mouth is getting sore, his joints hurt, and nothing seems to go right. Woke up this morning feeling pretty much the same, although the corners of his mouth are getting chapped. I am going to try to really push the fluids hard today. The good news is that we are heading to the clinic this afternoon to turn in the pump, then tomorrow the Neulasta shot, and we're back on the road to recovery.

The hardest part is keeping Dave's spirits up. Days like yesterday and today, just wear on his psyche. Feeling and thoughts like is it really worth it? Is the pain, the hassles, feeling really sick really worth it? Of course the answer is yes to all, but to keep him in a positive mindset is hard, when he really doesn't want to go through this.

This morning has been a slow morning - tried to get Dave to eat some breakfasts (I made some "Savory Breakfast Pudding" recipe by Emril - sounded good - bread pudding with meat and cheese) which didn't appease his appetite, so ended up making an Orange Julius and that seemed to go over fairly well. Sticking with the theme of any thing liquid today.

Overall, it is still one day at a time. I know that tomorrow will be a better day for Dave, just have to get him through this one. Well I've got a couple more chores to finish this morning before heading to the clinic. Thanks again for all your prayers and support, Dave will be back up writing in a day or so. Take care.

7-3 Day

Woke up last night just after midnight after a cough that was like a VIRP (Vomit/Burp). It was really weird, I just coughed real hard, got a vomit taste in the way back of my throat and thought I was going to throw up. Grabbed my Chemo bag, jumped out of bed and made it to the bathroom in less than two seconds. Held my head in the toilet and coughed numerous times but never got sick. Laid on the floor for about 15 mins and started feeling like it might want to come out the other end. Nothing! Made it back to bed, but my throat was burning with the vomit taste that I just couldn't get rid of. 2 hours later I experienced the exact same thing. Never got sick but just a burning taste in the back of my throat. Back to bed and slept with no more issues. Got up at 6:30, took a shower, brushed my teeth and gargled with some mouthwash and started feeling pretty good. Not really sure what caused this episode, but haven't had it start back up yet.

I'm actually feeling pretty good today except for the fact that where my feeding tube goes into my stomach, the muscles around it are extremely sore from all the coughing. I really think that that Cisplatin was/is the major cause of the ill side effects that I have been feeling in the past and by not getting it this time, it's causing me to feel much better this 3rd round.

Marjie went to work around 7:30 this morning, I sat on the couch drank coffee and watched the news till 9am when I woke up David so we could go to the mall and do little shopping. David and I spent the entire day shopping, getting some lunch, and hanging 4 new light fixtures around he outside and inside of the house. Ate a good chicken dinner and tasted it without any unpleasant tastes.

Time will tell, but after 36 or so hours since I got my 3rd round, I'm doing pretty darn good. My ears are pretty much good to go, very slight ringing in the ears. I'll discuss all this with Dr. Atienza next Wednesday and see what he says. Maybe it will be ok, or maybe he'll want to give me another dose of that Cisplatin. Just gonna have to wait and see.

That's it for now! More to follow!

7-2 Day

3rd round of Chemo started today. Marjie and I arrived at the Oncologist at 7:45 this morning. Nurse drew some blood and checked it for platelets which were apparently down the last time they took blood. Actually, the last time they checked blood it was only two days after my Nuelasta shot which was right after the 2nd round of chemo. Anyway, platelets looked good so they began preparing for the dose of chemo. I mentioned to the nurses that Dr. Atienza told me that if I still had ringing in the ears or other issues with my hearing that he was not going to give me the Cisplatin this time. Since I do have a slight ringing in the ears, I advised he nurses. They read the doctor's notes and said that they were not going to give me Cisplatin.
Started off with the Aloxi (anti-nausea), then to the Taxotere and finally to the Flourouracil (5FU). This procedure only took about 3 hours instead of the usual 7-8 hours that we had been used to. Not getting the Cisplatin this time meant not getting 3 other IV fluids which really cut down the time there.
One of the other pluses about not getting the Cisplatin is that there is a good chance I'll feel much better this week instead of so lousy like I have the other two times. We found out from the nurses that the Cisplatin really causes a lot of nausea and of course the ringing in the ears deal. So we'll see as the hours tick away on how I feel.
The downside about not taking the Cisplatin is that I'm not going to get all the Chemo that the doctor originally planned on. Dr. Atienza and the nurses said not worry....but I am!
Obviously, since this is getting updated, I'm home. I feel good, not nauseated, still have an appetite and taste buds are working good.
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We sure did. We spent Christmas Eve with our good friends the Reeves up in Stafford, VA. Brought back some great memories of holidays spent together with them in Guam. Christmas was enjoyed with Marjie's brother, George, and her sister and brother-in-law, Sarah and Aaron. We enjoyed a classical Vigal holiday dinner - prime rib roast. Marjie has got the roast down, and complimented it with garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls and a jello salad.
That's about it for now, we'll see how the 3rd round works.