Post Thanksgiving...

Scott made it through Thanksgiving day ok. He stayed for dinner at my friend's house but left before dessert. He really wasn't feeling well and to top it off, Nate was sick too. So, Hannah and I stayed later and when we got home around 830, both boys were sleeping in my bed!

He has had some nausea and just overall fatigue - par for the course really.

Chemo 5

Scott's chemo went fairly well. His bp seems to be ok for now and the dr said he is handling chemo very well. Usually they need to adjust the dose by now, but do not need to for him. He did lose a few lbs from 2 weeks ago.

His friends Hale and Ryan joined him for the day and they played Risk. I guess Hale whooped everyone.

Scott got home around 6ish and ate a bit and then went straight to bed. He seemed to be in good spirits this morning and took Hannah to school. He is having some nausea but if he takes the meds, it seems ok.

Small Successes

This weekend I was able to clean up the garage enough to get Scott's car in! Yay! I felt very accomplished. The kids have been sick on and off this weekend. Hannah is still recovering from Strep and Nate just seems off. Throwing tantrums, testing us about every thing constantly. It's been a real challenge to not yell at him every hour of every day.

Scott seemed to have a pretty good weekend. He was tired but didn't really have any stomach issues this weekend. He goes in tomorrow for his chemo and his friends Ryan, Div, Digi and Hale are all planning on hanging with him. I feel sorry for the nurse, Mercedes - that's quite a crew to handle.

I took the kids to the library for a bit today just to get them out of Scott's hair so he could rest. He seems to be addicted to some computer game - I have no idea which one. We did manage to go out for breakfast alone this morning while the kids were at Sunday school.

I think we are all looking forward to the long holiday weekend...

Weekend plans...

Scott's next chemo appt is actually next Monday. I was mistaken on the timing because of Thanksgiving.

His nausea seems to be somewhat under control with the addition of the new med - under control but still there. He is very fatigued and gets worn out easily. His sensitivity to cold is pretty bad now from his hands, mouth and feet. He basically doesnt go into the freezer at all now. It's like a broken record now - I guess its good that we know what to expect now.

The kids have all been fighting a bug of some sort. It seems to be a lingering thing where nothing specific is wrong, but they just don't seem right. Nate actually put himself in a nap on Sunday - I seriously think that is the first time that has happened EVER! Then he went to bed at like 7p. It was so odd.

I did get a babysitter to come over Sat afternoon and Scott and I went to see the new Bond movie. It was nice to get out without the kids a bit.

Chemo Round 4

Scott went to chemo today alone. I came down with a bug that kept me in bed most of today and took my voice. His appointment time for the doctor was 9a and was kept on time. Dr M said that they need to start watching is blood pressure because its high again - a side effect from the Avastin - and if it continues to be high, they need to put him on bp meds. He got a new anti-nausea medicine to try and they said he can expect to get more and more tired with each treatment.

He didn't get his chemo treatment until around noon today, so he didn't get home until around 530p. Long day. My friend - Smob - was able to stop by and bring him some lunch and hang out for a bit to keep him company. I really appreciated that and I am sure Scott did too.

When Scott came home, he already looked green and ate a small meal and went to bed. I just have a feeling this chemo session will not be so good to him. It's very hard to see him hurting.

I have been trying to plan some kid outings to just get them out of the house while he recovers. Tomorrow, Annette and I are going out for a bit for dinner. Scott tends to not have a lot of patience with the kids and heck, who can blame him. I am not going through chemo and I don't have a lot of patience with the kids either .

Scott said our next appointment is in 4 weeks because of Thanksgiving. I will keep everyone posted.

The weekend ends.

Scott's "feeling well" timeframe came a bit late. It actually came today - Sunday. So that's not really good news. My brother left early today and I arranged for Ellen to take the kids for a few hours so we could take advantage of him feeling good. As I mentioned before, we have to get his car in the garage before it gets really cold out. So we moved from furniture out from the garage upstairs and Scott was able to put it together. We are in the midst of "fall cleaning", much to kids' dismay since we are making them help.

We have chemo again on Tues. 9a we meet with Dr Marshall and then do the rounds.

Juggling...

Scott came home today not feeling well. He was having stomach issues. I have been so proud of him - he goes to work every non chemo day and plugs away. I know that him going home means he really wasn't doing so well. He did do some conference calls from home, so even though he was home he worked. The Dr said to continue juggling all of our balls, so that's what he's doing. I am sure some days its hard, but I also think if you have a goal and a purpose every day, it makes everything easier.

Same Old Routine

The chemo rounds are getting predictable now. He goes in on Tues, feels like crap through approximately Tues of the following week, has some stomach issues on the Tues, then starts to feel better on Weds and then back to normal come the weekend --then we start all over again.

His neuro issues are pretty prevalent throughout now. Hannah has learned to make her own frozen breakfasts and I heat up certain foods that come right out of the fridge. Scott has learned to drink sweet tea with no ice and is not able to eat ice cream or smoothies. Anything cold really. We are going to work this weekend on getting one side of the garage empty so he can start putting his car in there now that it's getting cold outside. I think that's going to become a bigger issue as winter descends upon us.

Scott met with someone recently that just got done with chemo. He had stage 4b Hodgkin's disease, married with young kids. A few of Scott's friends thought it would be helpful to get them together to talk about their experiences. I was very proud of Scott - kind of out of character for him to go and meet with a stranger to talk. I think it was really helpful to share their stories. Even though their cancer's were different, they both are or have been through the same things.

Me, you ask, how am I doing?!! ...Well this is like a rollercoaster. One day I feel hopeful and happy, the next, it hits me - Man, we are in this for the long haul. I am focusing a lot of my energy on my health. I have been working out hard with the bootcamp and the trainer -5x a week. It has been helping me de-stress. The kids always keep me busy. Hannah started brownies this week. Nate - well he's Nate and is in a constant state of movement. As Dr Marshall said, we are trying to juggle the balls we have as best as we can.