The best weekend ever!!!!!!

That's right, we had the best weekend ever, which could only mean one thing......we finally were able to go home!!!!

I'll recap the last week since I have been too busy to post the updates as I should.....

Brian had the PET scan last Tuesday and we were scheduled to go in to the dr on Wednesday for the results and to be admitted for chemo again. Since nothing is easy for Brian, and for some reason he likes to be difficult, he came down with an ear infection Tuesday night. He was in a lot of pain and when we told the dr the next day, he gave Brian some antibiotics and sent us back home again. He can't start on chemo with any kind of infection so we had to delay treatment until he gets better. We were able to get the results from the PET scan and the dr says the cancer is 99% gone!!! Praise God!!! They don't see any spots in his stomach anymore (that is where most of the tumors were) and there is only one small spot under his left arm. That spot has been there all along and hasn't been responding to the chemo. The dr decided it would be best to continue with the chemo treatments through the 8th round and if it still hasn't responded after the 6th round we would look into more options of what we can do. Worst case scenario would be a stem cell transplant, so we are desperately praying that Brian won't have to do that. It is a major ordeal and something you can only go through once in your life with your own cells (after that you would have to have a donor and it would be a major major ordeal). The good news though is that we aren't even sure if the spot is cancer. Brian tried to have a needle aspiration of the spot yesterday, but after they poked around under his arm 10 different times they weren't able to hit the spot. They tried as many times as they could, and probably as many times as Brian could tolerate, but apparently since it is in a fatty area it kept moving around on them. We were hoping that test would be able to tell us if it was cancer or not, but unfortunately we still won't know and will have to continue treatment as usual. He is getting a CT scan now and he is scheduled to be admitted into the hospital tomorrow to start on his 5th round of chemo again.

Now on to the happy stuff....our trip home!!! We really weren't even thinking or anticipating going home last week, which probably made it even better. When the dr postponed chemo because of the ear infection he said he would schedule the needle aspiration for later that week and we would have another appt with him Fri or Mon. Then on Thursday morning when we checked the online schedule we didn't have anything scheduled until Monday morning!!! We both lit up with smiles and decided that we should celebrate with a trip home. We threw everything in our car and left within an hour. Brian said he felt like he was escaping from Alcatraz. We were just waiting for the dr to hunt us down and drag us back. Then, 2 hours into the trip the home, the hospital called confirming his appointment for FRIDAY!!! We frantically called our dr assistant and she said the dr had requested everything be moved up and they had moved the Monday appt to Friday. But when she looked into it further, it was just a consultation for the needle aspiration so she called in some favors to see if they could do that appt by phone. In the meantime we pulled over at a gas station and cried and did a lot of praying. She called us back and was able to get the consultation done over the phone. We were so excited and made sure to take her cookies on Monday. Needless to say we would have been upset to have to turn around for a 15 minute consultation and that be the reason we didn't get to go home.

The weekend at home was exactly what we needed to relax and destress. Since we hadn't planned on coming home we didn't tell anyone until we got there and even then could only let a few people know since we were so limited on time. We were able to see our dog, Allie, and were glad to know that she hadn't forgotten about us and still remembered most of the things we had taught her. She's almost out of her puppy stage now and is twice as big as she was when we left. We were also able to spend some time with family and visit a few friends. Brian felt the best he has felt yet when we were there and we were able to forget for a few minutes about the cancer and just enjoy a bit of normalcy. Being at home really cheered him up and I'm sure he felt better because of it.

We often wonder if it would have been easier to stay in Dallas and get treatment there since we would have been surrounded by so many friends and family, but we know we are in Houston for a reason. Since Brian's cancer is so aggressive and his chemo so tough, MD Anderson is one of the only hospitals in the country that would even give him this treatment. Any other hospital would treat it with weaker chemos and we weren't willing to take chances since Brian's cancer was so far along when he was diagnosed. Please continue to pray for Brian as he goes through treatment and for the one remaining spot under his arm. God answered one of our prayers by letting us go home for a few days and now that we are back we are ready to endure another 4 months of treatment.

One more test before chemo

Brian's blood levels are back to "normal" again, so that means it's time for another round of chemo to knock them down again. We packed our bags and headed back to the hospital yesterday fully anticipating to be admitted and start chemo last night. During our dr appt he proceeded to ask us about the tests that Brian was supposed to have after his last round of chemo. We hadn't had any of the tests yet and they weren't even scheduled until next week, so that put a delay in being admitted. They like to see how he is progressing after every 2 rounds, but the problem is that our insurance will only cover the tests once every 50 days. I guess that's why they hadn't scheduled them for until next week when the 50 days would be up. 1 week doesn't sound like a long time to wait, but of course when you are dealing with an aggressive cancer, every day of a delay is a big deal. Luckily, the dr thought there was a way around the insurance to where they would cover it under certain circumstances. They sent us home with our suitcases still packed and told us they would contact the insurance company for us and make sure it would be covered before we went through with the testing. Also, instead of having the full day of several different tests, the dr said he could just have the PET scan (still a 4 hour test) and then be admitted the same day once he got the results.

We went home and still weren't scheduled with a time for the PET scan, the dr said he would call us once they got an answer from the insurance company. Then at 8:30 this morning the dr called and told us to get to the hospital as quickly as we could, insurance had approved the test and they were going to try to fit us into the schedule for the PET scan. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a morning person, but we hopped out of bed, threw on whatever clothes we had left in our closet, and caught the next bus to the hospital. Luckily our suitcase was still packed, so at least we were somewhat ready. With another strike of luck and a phone call from our dr, the imaging clinic was able to get Brian in for the test within 30 minutes of us getting here. Today seems to be off to a great start, so hopefully it will continue.

As soon as Brian is finished with the test we are supposed to head over to the other hospital building to see the dr again. Hopefully it won't take that long to get the scan results and he will be able to admit him today. Brian will be on the 5th round this time, cycle A, so we should be in the hospital for 5-7 days again.

I'll post another update soon with test results.....

Another long day

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! We are enjoying a restful relaxing day at the apartment after another long day yesterday. We were still really optimistic going into the dr yesterday thinking that there was still a good possibility that we could go home yesterday...but we were wrong. Brian had been feeling a lot better after getting the 2 units of blood on Monday and we even went in to appointment early yesterday hoping that they could get us in early and we would be able to make it back to Dallas last night. He was able to get his blood drawn at 10 am, but because it takes so long to get the results back it was still 2:30 before we saw the dr. When we got the results they were almost the same as Monday. His blood level went up a little, but he was still critical and his platelet count had also gone down to the very critical level. His white blood cells hadn't increased very much either, so he is still having to wear a mask. Our hopes were dashed again as we had to accept the fact that we would have to spend what was supposed to be our "easy" week in Houston without getting to go home.

They set Brian up for 2 more units of blood and a large platlet transfusion for later that afternoon. We had to wait several hours for them to prepare everything and by 6 pm they finally had a bed in the transfusion unit for us. They went through the process with the pre meds, then they transfused the platelets, but after the platelets were done, he started having a reaction and breaking out in hives. That delayed the next transfusion while they gave him more Benadryl to try to make the hives go away. Luckily it worked and that was the only complication he had. Of course since he had twice the dosage of Benadryl, he was passed out the entire night while I was monitoring him and reading magazine after magazine. He finally got through the blood units and we were the last ones to close down the transfusion unit for the second time this week. It was 1:30 am before we were able to leave the hospital and even though I was exhausted, Brian wasn't tired at all since he had slept during the entire process. So of course we celebrated an early Valentines Day by starting on our taxes at 2 this morning. We are such exciting people...

Brian has his next blood work tomorrow to see how his levels are reacting. If they haven't increased by then they discussed having to do more in depth tests to determine why his body isn't reacting. It is necessary to get his levels almost back to normal before he starts on his next round of chemo that is scheduled for Monday. If his levels aren't normal, they would have to delay the chemo again while his body becomes strong enough to fight through the chemo.

Happy Valentines Day!!! We really wish we were back home this week to visit, but we are still thinking about everyone and miss you all.

No good news today

Well, we aren't going to get to come home afterall. We came to the hospital optimistic this morning about his blood work to make sure Brian's levels were ok to travel. We thought everything had been going well and was pointing us towards going home today, but when we got his results back all of his levels had dropped dramatically. He was critically low on blood so they had to set him up for a blood transfussion this afternoon. It has been a long day since it takes several hours to get the blood prepared and each unit takes 2 hours to transfuse (Brian needed 2-3 units). His immune system is also close to non-existant at a 0.3, so he is wearing a mask constantly now to try to avoid germs. Of course the dr said we couldn't travel after we got the results so we are stuck here until at least Wednesday when he has another appointment. It is very unlikely that he will improve that quickly to the point we feel safe to travel, so it doesn't look like we will make it home at all this week. Maybe, if a miracle happens and his body responds very well we would try to go home for the weekend, but we aren't getting our hopes up. We were really optimistic about this week to the point where we had already packed some this morning, and were so excited about getting to be home, but God had other plans. It's really frusterating and hard to understand when our plans don't match up to His, but we try not to get mad. It's better for us to be in Houston near the hospital if something were to happen than in Dallas where they aren't familiar with his treatment regimin. With the chemo getting harder and harder on his body the dr said his levels would probably get like this after every round, so that didn't help our spirits either. A week at home would have been a great way to mark the halfway point, but we are strong and will fight it out in Houston till the end even if we don't get to come home for a few more months.

Keep praying!!

Homeward bound...hopefully

Things are looking good for us to be able to go home next week!!! We are so excited that neither one of us can sleep in anticipation. It's pretty pathetic when you are that excited about just getting to be in your own house. Brian has had blood work done twice in the last 3 days and the results, while not great, are good enough for us to travel. He is already on some shots to help increase his white blood cells and therefore boost his immunity and they gave him another shot today to try to do the same for his red blood cells. He was borderline on needing another blood transfusion today, but the dr opted for the shot instead since he wasn't below a certain level. We have asked all the drs if it would be ok for us to travel next week and they are ok with it, so we are so excited. We have our last appt Monday morning and as long as nothing has dropped too dramatically and his levels are good we are hoping to come home Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. Of course we are still praying like crazy because there are still a lot of things that have to go right in order for us to make it. We may have to go to the dr a few times while we are in Dallas for blood work, but that should be it. He hasn't gone that long before without blood work done, so we are nervous about going a week and not knowing his levels. Hopefully this will be a great "vacation" before he starts on the 5th round the following Monday.

Brian had his 8th lumbar puncture on Wednesday and his side effects seem to be getting better (only 8 more to go!). He puts an ice pack on his back immediately after the procedure and wears what they call a binder around his stomach for the few days following and it seems to help force the blood into his spine so he can heal quicker. I think we may have finally figured out something that works and gives him less complications. They were also able to change his migraine medicine to something stronger than Imitrex so that when he needs it hopefully it will work better.

These past few days have been great. The thought of going home has lifted our spirits and we already have a long list of things we need to do once we are there. Brian's best friend, Jeff, was in town again last night and Brian felt well enough for us to go out to dinner at a local restaraunt and we all really had a great time. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'll hopefully update the blog with some great news Monday.

Happy 31st anniversary Mom and Dad!!!!

The hardest part is behind us

Brian has finished the 4th round of chemo and was released from the hospital last night. He is now officially half-way done with the chemo (hopefully, as long as they don't add more rounds). We can now optimistically say the hardest part is behind us and it is all downhill from here. He did really well with this 4th round and it went a lot more smoothly than the rest. He didn't have any allergic reactions and has only had a few bouts with nausea. This was by far our shortest hospital stay at only 4 days!! Since they released us so early we still have to go back everyday this week for outpatient tests and another lumbar puncture, but we definately rather do that then have to stay in the hospital longer. He is still in some pain and isn't feeling "normal" yet (whatever that is), but since the weather is so nice here we hope to be able to get out and go for a few short walks during the next few days. It's hard to stay couped up inside all the time especially when we are outdoor people.

Also, we have been working hard to get our dr schedule rearranged to where we will be able to come home for a few days next week. We are remaining optimistic that Brian's blood levels will be good and he will feel well enough to travel. It would be great just to be able to be in our house and sleep in our own bed for a change. I think a few days at home around friends could do wonders to recharge us for the 2nd half of treatment. No promises yet, but we are trying our best.

I think that is it, short and sweet. No huge news, but at least this gives everyone an update on how we are doing. God is continuing to watch over us and we have been incredibly blessed by how things have gone so far.

Finally.....

Finally another post, I know... The past few weeks have been misrable with Brian and I both having pneumonia. I got sick first and even with me quarantining myself in the bedroom for over a week and Brian staying in the living room the entire time, he still managed to get sick. We were as careful as we could be and even the dr laughed at us when we told him all the precautions we took. My parents came down for a week to help take care of us and make sure we were eating well (all parents must think their children starve without them). They helped out a lot and let Brian and I catch up on our sleep and try to get better. Brian was supposed to go back into the hospital last week while they were here for his 4th round of chemo, but since he was sick, the dr put him on some meds and wanted to wait until he got better. My dad even helped take him to the ER at 3 am when he had a 102 temp. After a few weeks, Brian and I are finally starting to feel somewhat better again and the dr put him back in the hospital yesterday.

Admissions days are always long days. We got to the hospital at 10:30 am and didn't get admitted into a room until 9:30 pm. Apparently the hospital was at 100% capacity, so we had to sit around and wait on someone to leave. My proudest accomplishment was working an entire 550 piece puzzle all by myself while waiting all afternoon for the blood results and to see the dr. I know, I'm pathetic, but when you have to sit hours in uncomfortable chairs anything to keep your mind off the boredom starts to look good. Brian has the 4 day chemo this time, but it is typically a lot harder on his body and he has harsher side effects. He is still having the really bad migraines everyday, but at least while he is in the hospital they can give him iv meds that usually work a little better than the pill meds he can take at home. He had yet another lumbar punture today and is currently recuperating from that. This whole process is really starting to wear on both of us. The stress and pressure from everything that is going on makes it more and more difficult to try to stay upbeat and positive on a daily basis. He is only halfway done and the shear boredom of everything starts to get to you after a while. We are continually trying to come up with new things to do to keep our minds active and take advantage of the free time we have.

Hopefully we will get out of the hospital on Monday. We aren't very excited about having to watch the Super Bowl in the hospital (go Cowboys, wait, go Packers, who's playing again??). This is the first year that I have actually cared more about the commercials than the game. And this will be the only time I will ever actually want the Patriots to win anything. We really really hope that we will be able to go home to Dallas after this round. We say that everytime, but so far Brian hasn't been up for a 5 hour ride in the car with how he is feeling. We miss our house, dog, friends, etc and can't believe we have been down here over 2 and a half months already. After this round he will be halfway done with the chemo and will only have 4 more rounds to go. We are looking forward to him being cured by May so he can be back just in time to have a depressing over the hill 30th birthday (just kidding).

We hope everyone had a great month and I'm sorry for taking so long to update the blog. I know several of you were getting frusterated with me for not providing more updates and I promise to update the blog more often now even if it is just a few lines to say we are doing ok.