Round 3, already?

What a rough week! Dad did go in to work this week, and when his Albuquerque oncologist found out, she was not pleased at all. She told Dad that he is on THE WORST chemotherapy regimen out there, and that he needs to be soooo careful. She advised him to stay away from work for a while. Dad still has 3 rounds of treatment, and his body has already taken a beating. He is still weak, but he's much stronger than last week. When he went to the oncologist yesterday he was so dehydrated that they had to give him a saline treatment. His platelet count is extremely high. Normal range is 150-400. Dad's platelets were at 884 on Wednesday. The doctors are confounded. They're doing research and trying to figure out what this means. His platelets were in the 700's in Houston.

He will get his Rituxumab at Hematology-Oncology on Thursday, and he'll enter the hospital on Friday to start the 2nd round of schedule A, R-HyperCVAD (round 3 out of a total of 5 needed). I think that we know now how things roll, and Mom and Dad are prepared for more transfusions and major fatigue.

ROUGH RECOVERY

Mom and Dad got home from Houston on Wendesday morning. Dad's energy level has been extremely low, and he has spent most of the last few days on the couch. He definitely wasn't in any condition to go to work, and we're just hoping that he can get his energy level up enough to start his next round of chemotherapy over Labor Day weekend.

I forgot to note that the oncologist in Houston felt like the chemotherapy needed to be scaled back in intensity, so they are going to reduce his chemotherapy levels by 20%. Hopefully, that will prevent Dad from being so wiped out/knocked out after his treatments.

I think that Dad's battle is officially in "high gear." We're praying that Dad can stay strong for his next 3 treatments.

Houston

Mom and Dad spent their last day in Houston today after a series of tests and appointments. Mom said that it felt very, very strange to be sitting next to Dad, both of them wearing hospital bracelets. I'm sure it was quite the bonding moment!

Anyway, Mom's test came up clear; but she only had an MRI on her thyroid and some blood tests (I believe). Her thyroid has been enlarged for some time, but today it was looking much smaller and normal. Good news. She isn't scheduled for any major scans until her next follow-up appointment in a few months.

Dad received good news and bad news. The good news: The oncologist was very impressed with how well Dad has responded to his chemotherapy. His tumors are shrinking considerably, and things look good. Because Dad is responding so well, they're actually going to reduce his treatments to 5, instead of 6! Yeehaw! If all stays on schedule, Dad will finish his treatments in October, instead of November! The bad news: Dad's blood and platelet counts were so low (anything under 10,000 requires a transfusion, and Dad was at 7,000) that they immediately sent him to get a transfusion. He got 2 units of blood tonight and one round of platelets. He was wearing a mask during our conversation (hopefully I heard all of this correctly through his muffled voice). All of this means that Dad's energy and immunities are VERY, VERY, VERY low. He was glad to know why he has been so lethargic over the last few days. Hopefully, his transfusion helps. Yay for blood donors!!! He also had what appeared to be a small infection in his lungs, so he was put on antibiotics for an additional week.

Mom and Dad had originally planned to fly out of Houston tonight, but because of Dad's little snag, they'll stay the night in Houston, then fly home tomorrow (wearing a mask, of course!).

OUT!

Dad checked out around noon. Yay! He went straight to Hematology/Oncology Associates and got a neulasta shot (to boost his white blood cell count), then went into work. Yes, he went straight from the hospital to work. He had to conduct 2 interviews. Mom is staying in the parking lot at his office and forcing him to come home right after his interviews. With his white blood cell count low, we don't want him exposed to ANYTHING!

They're going to Houston on Monday. I think that Mom and Dad both have appointments this time. Isn't that romantic? :)

ENOUGH!

Dad is STILL IN THE HOSPITAL (and he's not happy about it)! As of 10:00 this morning he was still there, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that he'll be out by this afternoon. This treatment has been an ordeal, and Dad is so ready to be home! This was supposed to be a 3-day treatment, but it turned into 6. Not fun at all. Dad has responded well to his treatments, but the slowness of everything held his release date back. The time it has taken to transition from one treatment to the next has been lagging, and the time it has taken his blood test results to come back has lagged. The process has been agonizing, and Dad is frustrated. Being a process and procedures guy his whole life, Dad is in shock at the system in place at the hospital. He has talked about loop systems and checks and efficiency a lot over the last few days. He should be a consultant for hospitals, I tell you! :)

As far as his health is concerned - Dad has been queasy and lacked an appetite, but he's still doing well. One reason why they wouldn't let him go home yesterday was because the blood tests indicated an abnormally fast progression in some of the numbers that indicate when a patient can go home. Essentially, Dad was looking TOO good!

We're hopeful that he'll be discharged as soon as the lead doctor does his/her rounds this afternoon. If not, Dad just might walk out... :)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad is doing great so far. He is taking the chemo well, without any complications. He was supposed to check out on Sunday, but due to some "laid back" care and a few details that Mom and Dad were unaware of, he will most likely be in the hospital until Tuesday. Fun. Fun.

We were lucky to spend the day with Dad on his birthday. We made it a day free from hospital food! He got to eat a breakfast burrito from Twisters (some of the best burritos in Albuquerque), Chillz frozen custard, and Outback Steakhouse for dinner. It was his last meal before he loses his sense of taste and everything tastes like metal. He was already starting to feel his body and taste buds changing within an hour of finishing his dinner. Phew!

The kids were allowed in the room!

Thank Goodness for Mom

We're so grateful that Mom and Dad have each other. Mom caught a major error at the hospital that, if continued, would have really mixed up his treatment and outcome. Luckily, the only issue now is that Dad will need to spend an extra day in the hospital. Mom and Dad really learned how to be advocates for each other during Mom's cancer, and they now do a good job of monitoring their treatment. Dad is back on track, and we're pretty confident that the nursing staff will be more alert now.

Hospital Round 2

The time has come, once again, for Dad to get another round of chemotherapy. This time, he'll be at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque for 4 or 5 days. He checks in tomorrow morning for Hyper-CVAD course B. We have heard rumors that course B is more intense than course A, but we'll remain hopeful that Dad handles everything well.

Dad has definitely been weaker (in Mom's words), but he has managed to work full-time for the last 3 weeks as he recovered from his first hospital round of chemo. KC and I get to visit Albuquerque this weekend to celebrate Dad's 62nd birthday! Woohoo! There's nothing like a party in a hospital room! Unfortunately, kids aren't allowed to visit, but Isaac and Eliza will at least get to celebrate in the same town.

Overdue Update

Dad has been recovering from his last round of chemo and is doing well. He still manages to put in a full day of work every day. He did have another chemo treatment on Monday as part of the whole regimen, but he seems to be handling things like a champ. He has been cautioned to be extra careful with exposure to germs because his immune system is definitely going to be increasingly compromised as treatment continues, but so far, so good. He celebrates his birthday on Saturday. Happy pre-birthday, Dad! We love you!