Nate came home Tuesday morning. His counts have improved and he is in the last stages of the flu. Unfortunately, I have the flu now and some of our kids are sick. Please pray for our family's health. Nate's PET scan was rescheduled for Friday and chemo should be on schedule for next Tuesday.
These past few days have been very difficult. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.
Family
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Setback
Nate experienced his first setback. He spiked a fever Friday night and the chemo rule is, call the doctor when you have a fever. So the doctor told him to go to the ER. A friend came over to stay with the kids and off we went. Nate tested positive for influenza and his blood counts are way too low. The technical term is he is neutropenic. So Nate was admitted to the hospital. He will stay until his blood counts are improved and the fever is gone.
We knew there would be setbacks on this journey, but it is very frustrating for Nate. And the kids feel a little scared that Nate is in the hospital and they can not visit because of his compromised immune system right now. Please pray for a quick recovery.
We knew there would be setbacks on this journey, but it is very frustrating for Nate. And the kids feel a little scared that Nate is in the hospital and they can not visit because of his compromised immune system right now. Please pray for a quick recovery.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Northwestern
We had our first appointment at Northwestern today. I knew we were feeling frustrated about this appointment so I was praying that God would surprise us, make this appointment beneficial. And that prayer was answered. We were impressed and pleased with our experience today. The PA and doctor were both friendly, helpful and spent a lot of time with us. The doctor explained the transplant process and the pros and cons of an auto (self) vs allo (donor) stem cell transplant. The doctor was very thorough and answered our questions. And he was hopeful and positive during the whole conversation. He was still honest in that we are essentially dealing in "risk management." Hopefully this treatment will get Nate many years cancer free, but chemotherapy can have long term side effects. As he reminded us though, the hope is to reach that place where maybe we will have to deal with long term side effects, but Nate will not have cancer.
Next week Nate will have a PET scan and a bone marrow biopsy. We will meet with Northwestern on February 9 to discuss the test results and decide on an auto or allo transplant. The decision hinges on whether the scan and biopsy show no evidence of disease or not. We are now experiencing "scan-xiety."
We do appreciate that no matter what the test results show, the doctor seems confident that there will be options. For the next couple of weeks, please pray for no evidence of disease!
-Stacy
Next week Nate will have a PET scan and a bone marrow biopsy. We will meet with Northwestern on February 9 to discuss the test results and decide on an auto or allo transplant. The decision hinges on whether the scan and biopsy show no evidence of disease or not. We are now experiencing "scan-xiety."
We do appreciate that no matter what the test results show, the doctor seems confident that there will be options. For the next couple of weeks, please pray for no evidence of disease!
-Stacy
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Round 4
Nate had his fourth round of chemo this week at the hospital. We arrived earlier on Tuesday in hopes that the quicker he was hooked up, the quicker he could go home. Well, that did not work out so much. We arrived at 9:30 am and chemo began at 3:30. It is frustrating to sit and wait for 6 hours. After we arrive, Nate has to be admitted. Then we have to wait for the blood draw and the lab results to determine if he is healthy enough to have the chemo. Then we have to wait for the doctor to send the chemo orders to the hospital doctor. Then we have to wait for the pharmacy to send the drugs up. So much waiting. Our question is, why can't the doctor send the chemo orders the day before we arrive? So confusing.
Anyway, the chemo went smoothly and no complications. And the hospital staff were great at keeping the chemo on schedule so Nate left the hospital earlier than the last time.
This first week after chemo is a little rough, so pray for minimal side effects.
Nate will have a PET scan in the next couple weeks. The doctor wants to see if the tumors are shrinking- basically determine if this treatment is working. The chemo has gotten rid of Nate's symptoms so we think the treatment is working, but it will be helpful to verify that.
We also learned that there is no way the stem cell transplant will be done in Grand Rapids. Nate spoke with his company and the insurance company, but no can do. So the transplant will be done at Northwestern in Chicago. We have our first appointment on January 25. As Nate says, cancer is mostly a huge hassle. Nate has to meet with a cancer doctor at Northwestern first, who will look over his file and say, "yes, you need a transplant. Let me refer you to our transplant team." And of course, the doctor can't just read Nate's file and talk with him over the phone to make that decision. So we will spend about 6 hours in the car for a 30 minute appointment to tell us something we already know. Fantastic. Now that March is just around the corner, it will be helpful to start learning about the transplant process and what to expect.
This latest news about not being able to have the transplant in Grand Rapids was hard. I knew it was a long shot, but there was still a little hope. The reality is having the transplant in Chicago is going to be hard on our family. Nate will be farther away from friends who can visit. It will be harder for the kids to visit Nate. I will be constantly torn between wanting to be with Nate and wanting to be with the kids. Family and friends will help us thru this time. But it still sucks. And I want people to know, it's ok to sit with us in that anger/sadness/frustration. We know we will get to a place of peace about this and that our family will get through this. But, you don't have to automatically try to "fix it" for us by saying, "well, it must be happening for a reason" or "this path must be better for you." Just listen, share our frustration, pray for us, help us and walk with us. That's all. Well, that actually is a lot! And we are so grateful for all the ways you all have shown us love and support. We know people are always praying for us and that is truly humbling and encouraging. We could not walk this journey without all of you.
-Stacy
Anyway, the chemo went smoothly and no complications. And the hospital staff were great at keeping the chemo on schedule so Nate left the hospital earlier than the last time.
This first week after chemo is a little rough, so pray for minimal side effects.
Nate will have a PET scan in the next couple weeks. The doctor wants to see if the tumors are shrinking- basically determine if this treatment is working. The chemo has gotten rid of Nate's symptoms so we think the treatment is working, but it will be helpful to verify that.
We also learned that there is no way the stem cell transplant will be done in Grand Rapids. Nate spoke with his company and the insurance company, but no can do. So the transplant will be done at Northwestern in Chicago. We have our first appointment on January 25. As Nate says, cancer is mostly a huge hassle. Nate has to meet with a cancer doctor at Northwestern first, who will look over his file and say, "yes, you need a transplant. Let me refer you to our transplant team." And of course, the doctor can't just read Nate's file and talk with him over the phone to make that decision. So we will spend about 6 hours in the car for a 30 minute appointment to tell us something we already know. Fantastic. Now that March is just around the corner, it will be helpful to start learning about the transplant process and what to expect.
This latest news about not being able to have the transplant in Grand Rapids was hard. I knew it was a long shot, but there was still a little hope. The reality is having the transplant in Chicago is going to be hard on our family. Nate will be farther away from friends who can visit. It will be harder for the kids to visit Nate. I will be constantly torn between wanting to be with Nate and wanting to be with the kids. Family and friends will help us thru this time. But it still sucks. And I want people to know, it's ok to sit with us in that anger/sadness/frustration. We know we will get to a place of peace about this and that our family will get through this. But, you don't have to automatically try to "fix it" for us by saying, "well, it must be happening for a reason" or "this path must be better for you." Just listen, share our frustration, pray for us, help us and walk with us. That's all. Well, that actually is a lot! And we are so grateful for all the ways you all have shown us love and support. We know people are always praying for us and that is truly humbling and encouraging. We could not walk this journey without all of you.
-Stacy
Monday, January 9, 2017
Cancer Musings
It appears that the chemo rounds may have a rhythm. As I said in the last post, the latest chemo gave Nate more side effects and he felt off for about a week. Now, he is back to feeling good again. Just in time for the inpatient round on Jan 17-19. We are thankful that only a couple of our kids had a cold over Christmas and that Nate has been spared so far.
Cancer itself has some unexpected side effects. It rocks your idea of future plans. We all 'know' that the future isn't certain, but we still have general ideas of how we think our future will play out. Nate and I have conversations about when he gets a remission. Are we going to continue living as we always have? Are we going to take the family trips sooner that we always said we would do 'someday?' Just many questions along those lines.
I also have realized that cancer is not a magic pill. Since we are in the midst of so much turmoil, I thought Nate and I would suddenly get along all the time. I mean, we should get that at least right?! We would always have the big picture in mind and our issues would seem insignificant. But, no. The issues that have always been there are, guess what? Still there. Buh. I am sure though that our relationship is growing and changing. That just takes time, like everything else in life.
And we had planned on attending Gilda's club last week but, plans changed. Gilda's club let us know that in the kids group they would be honoring a father who recently died from cancer. I am thankful Gilda's club gave us a heads up. We decided to not attend. We do not know this family and we did not want our kids first group experience to be about death from cancer. Right now we need to help them understand life with Dad having cancer. And for various scheduling reasons we will not be able to attend Gilda's club til later in the month.
Nate is working all the angles to see if his transplant can be done in Grand Rapids. It is not looking promising, but he is trying. It would be a HUGE relief to have the transplant done in Grand Rapids. Please pray!
-Stacy
Cancer itself has some unexpected side effects. It rocks your idea of future plans. We all 'know' that the future isn't certain, but we still have general ideas of how we think our future will play out. Nate and I have conversations about when he gets a remission. Are we going to continue living as we always have? Are we going to take the family trips sooner that we always said we would do 'someday?' Just many questions along those lines.
I also have realized that cancer is not a magic pill. Since we are in the midst of so much turmoil, I thought Nate and I would suddenly get along all the time. I mean, we should get that at least right?! We would always have the big picture in mind and our issues would seem insignificant. But, no. The issues that have always been there are, guess what? Still there. Buh. I am sure though that our relationship is growing and changing. That just takes time, like everything else in life.
And we had planned on attending Gilda's club last week but, plans changed. Gilda's club let us know that in the kids group they would be honoring a father who recently died from cancer. I am thankful Gilda's club gave us a heads up. We decided to not attend. We do not know this family and we did not want our kids first group experience to be about death from cancer. Right now we need to help them understand life with Dad having cancer. And for various scheduling reasons we will not be able to attend Gilda's club til later in the month.
Nate is working all the angles to see if his transplant can be done in Grand Rapids. It is not looking promising, but he is trying. It would be a HUGE relief to have the transplant done in Grand Rapids. Please pray!
-Stacy
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