Thursday, October 11, 2012
Finally, Platelets up, chemo tomorrow
My Platelets were 117 today, finally over 100 so I can have my chemo treatment tomorrow. It is 12:20am and I just got home from work. I worked a 4 1/2 hr. shift tonight. I am watching the rest of the Tiger Game, they are winning 3-1!!! I will try to do a longer post while I am in the recliner tomorrow. Good Night All.........
Monday, October 8, 2012
Short Blast from the Recent Past
Stan Here Again:
A little new news and a reason to update. Deb had her platelet count done again Sunday night and she scored 96. They require 100 for her to receive her last Chemo. I think last night she hoped that it was close enough to go in and have chemo today. So at 8 this morning she called to see if she could talk her way in. However, they are pretty firm with this number and have found that if the administer the treatment below 100 the recovery time can be longer. They had to draw a line somewhere. So they suggested waiting till Thursday and checking it again the day before. The good news is that just a few days ago these counts were hanging in the mid 50's At least things are moving in the right direction. Again, the timeline of this thing is that once this treatment is given there is a time period before she can receive the reversal surgery for her ileostomy. In my humble judgement I would say that for obvious reasons this surgery is at the very top of the list. While it is true that we have often heard of people who endure these things, it is also true that this has been a source of great pain for Deb. Knowing that she is not a wimp, I would say for certain that when she says this thing hurts I know she means it.
We had a fine trip to Cleveland for a wedding of one of our neighbors sons. It was held on the campus of Case Western Reserve. Somehow when you are there you can feel the presence of many smart people all around. Plus the buildings on that campus are kind of cool. A real interesting
place. They put on a nice wedding and it was really fun to visit with a number of their relatives who are from Ireland. Somehow the Irish people have kind of neat spirit. They just are nice. They have kind of a cool way of expression and humor that somehow grabs you. Plus some of the neighbors that we have known for years were there. All in all a good time.
We did visit Great Lakes Brewing on our way out. This is the firm that that employs Alden. They are real popular in the Cleveland and the whole state of Ohio. Alden's job is to market their products here in Michigan. So over these past few years I have seen their products in more and more places. At one time I would have said a beer is a beer. But now that I know a little more (and Alden has bought over a few samples) I might say that they all taste like water with alcohol in them except for the stuff he sells. I go in to every restaurant and when it come time to order I ask if they carry Great Lakes. Not sure that this has made a difference but we do take care of our own don't we all. I must warn this stuff is a little higher octane than the average, so be careful.
On the way home we stopped at Cabella's. I said to Deb at one point that we might have been the only ones there who where not wearing camo gear. This place was packed. It had fish swimming around in streams and about everything you can think of to set you up for spending time outdoors. I felt a little sorry for animals. If you were an animal, this place sold quite a bit of stuff that might be dangerous to you.
On the way home we listened to the Tigers win. 2 zip in the series. While I was driving Deb was going nuts cheering in the car. Some things never change. All in all a fine trip. Now we must get a few breaks on these blood counts. I think the idea here is to shag the bag. Anybody want to bet against that? The good money is on her quest to make this happen. Oh, by the way after the game was over we listened to Garrison Keiller.
That is the new from here. All the women are good looking, all the children are obedient, all the trees have nice color, and winter is still a couple of months away.
So long from Stan the Man.
A little new news and a reason to update. Deb had her platelet count done again Sunday night and she scored 96. They require 100 for her to receive her last Chemo. I think last night she hoped that it was close enough to go in and have chemo today. So at 8 this morning she called to see if she could talk her way in. However, they are pretty firm with this number and have found that if the administer the treatment below 100 the recovery time can be longer. They had to draw a line somewhere. So they suggested waiting till Thursday and checking it again the day before. The good news is that just a few days ago these counts were hanging in the mid 50's At least things are moving in the right direction. Again, the timeline of this thing is that once this treatment is given there is a time period before she can receive the reversal surgery for her ileostomy. In my humble judgement I would say that for obvious reasons this surgery is at the very top of the list. While it is true that we have often heard of people who endure these things, it is also true that this has been a source of great pain for Deb. Knowing that she is not a wimp, I would say for certain that when she says this thing hurts I know she means it.
We had a fine trip to Cleveland for a wedding of one of our neighbors sons. It was held on the campus of Case Western Reserve. Somehow when you are there you can feel the presence of many smart people all around. Plus the buildings on that campus are kind of cool. A real interesting
place. They put on a nice wedding and it was really fun to visit with a number of their relatives who are from Ireland. Somehow the Irish people have kind of neat spirit. They just are nice. They have kind of a cool way of expression and humor that somehow grabs you. Plus some of the neighbors that we have known for years were there. All in all a good time.
We did visit Great Lakes Brewing on our way out. This is the firm that that employs Alden. They are real popular in the Cleveland and the whole state of Ohio. Alden's job is to market their products here in Michigan. So over these past few years I have seen their products in more and more places. At one time I would have said a beer is a beer. But now that I know a little more (and Alden has bought over a few samples) I might say that they all taste like water with alcohol in them except for the stuff he sells. I go in to every restaurant and when it come time to order I ask if they carry Great Lakes. Not sure that this has made a difference but we do take care of our own don't we all. I must warn this stuff is a little higher octane than the average, so be careful.
On the way home we stopped at Cabella's. I said to Deb at one point that we might have been the only ones there who where not wearing camo gear. This place was packed. It had fish swimming around in streams and about everything you can think of to set you up for spending time outdoors. I felt a little sorry for animals. If you were an animal, this place sold quite a bit of stuff that might be dangerous to you.
On the way home we listened to the Tigers win. 2 zip in the series. While I was driving Deb was going nuts cheering in the car. Some things never change. All in all a fine trip. Now we must get a few breaks on these blood counts. I think the idea here is to shag the bag. Anybody want to bet against that? The good money is on her quest to make this happen. Oh, by the way after the game was over we listened to Garrison Keiller.
That is the new from here. All the women are good looking, all the children are obedient, all the trees have nice color, and winter is still a couple of months away.
So long from Stan the Man.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Big Bird
Stan Here:
Big Bird seems to be coming up a lot lately, not sure why but I think it might have something to do with running for president. All I can say is that only in the USA could a character like this creep in to the picture. I was kind of glad Romney knew who Big Bird is. I was kind of sad that he wanted to fire him, I thought for a few moments Obama looked a little like Big Bird during the debate and I am still trying to figure that out. Anyway, I find this an interesting season. Lots going on. The Tigers pulled it out in the last couple of weeks, Cabrerra won the triple crown, I went to a Bible thing at church the other night for a study about heaven, Deb seems in a decent mood, we are packing it up to go to a wedding in Cleveland this weekend, the trees are turning pretty colors, the debates are interesting, and for the most part life seems good right now.
I mention the triple crown only because last year when Deb was first diagnosed she wrote a letter to the Tigers and told her story. They invited us down to a game and we got to be on the field to watch batting practice and meet a few of the players. While she was over flirting with Justin Verlander I watched from up close Cabrerra take batting practice. It still kind of amazes me recalling the power and agility of a man of his size. Standing on the field it looks like a long ways to hit it over that fence and he does it with such ease. More importantly it was at that time that all of us thought in terms of a "bucket list". But now one year later there is not much left on that list and here we are, our thoughts are more optimistic. One of the things that is true in this is that even though she faces a very undesired disease, that the learning and the love for life has not diminished. She is sitting here in the TV room and the thought I have is that she falls in the triple crown of cancer survival. Works a little, does not complain all that much, and still manages to do most of the normal things that she has always enjoyed. The triple crown of cancer survival.
On that same topic there are a few challenges. Blood platelets are still too low to have that last chemo treatment. Another test this weekend to get them checked again. We are told that this is quite normal after a person has had Chemo for this long. So not that big of concern but some anxiety on getting this over with. She had a nice day at Art Prize in GR today with Mieke, Jackie and Deb's parents. Mieke had the surprise of driving into her school parking lot and seeing no cars. Turns out that her elementary school was cancelled for the day because almost 200 kids were out sick with the flu. Her principal came running out and said, oh no, you were not on our "call list". She hopes she is now added to that list. We are attending our last of 12 (2012) weddings this weekend. We pack up at 7 in the morning and feed the toll machines down I-80 till we get to Cleveland. If Big Bird would ever run for president I might ask him why all the other states get toll and you drive in Michigan for free.
I suppose this mystery might not be solved till I get to heaven so I was glad to learn a little about heaven the other night as well. Turns out it seems there a quite a few opinions on heaven and the guy who wrote the book that we study seemed to know more about it than I did. Kind of hope he is right about some of the stuff he writes. I suspect though that he does not know much more than I (or anybody) does about it. Might have to ask Big Bird about it. Lately he is looking like a pretty smart option.
That's the news from Holland, where all the women are good looking, all the children are smart, and the couple who resides at 1133 Silverstone appreciate your prayers and concerns. They seem to be working!!!
Stan the Man
Big Bird seems to be coming up a lot lately, not sure why but I think it might have something to do with running for president. All I can say is that only in the USA could a character like this creep in to the picture. I was kind of glad Romney knew who Big Bird is. I was kind of sad that he wanted to fire him, I thought for a few moments Obama looked a little like Big Bird during the debate and I am still trying to figure that out. Anyway, I find this an interesting season. Lots going on. The Tigers pulled it out in the last couple of weeks, Cabrerra won the triple crown, I went to a Bible thing at church the other night for a study about heaven, Deb seems in a decent mood, we are packing it up to go to a wedding in Cleveland this weekend, the trees are turning pretty colors, the debates are interesting, and for the most part life seems good right now.
I mention the triple crown only because last year when Deb was first diagnosed she wrote a letter to the Tigers and told her story. They invited us down to a game and we got to be on the field to watch batting practice and meet a few of the players. While she was over flirting with Justin Verlander I watched from up close Cabrerra take batting practice. It still kind of amazes me recalling the power and agility of a man of his size. Standing on the field it looks like a long ways to hit it over that fence and he does it with such ease. More importantly it was at that time that all of us thought in terms of a "bucket list". But now one year later there is not much left on that list and here we are, our thoughts are more optimistic. One of the things that is true in this is that even though she faces a very undesired disease, that the learning and the love for life has not diminished. She is sitting here in the TV room and the thought I have is that she falls in the triple crown of cancer survival. Works a little, does not complain all that much, and still manages to do most of the normal things that she has always enjoyed. The triple crown of cancer survival.
On that same topic there are a few challenges. Blood platelets are still too low to have that last chemo treatment. Another test this weekend to get them checked again. We are told that this is quite normal after a person has had Chemo for this long. So not that big of concern but some anxiety on getting this over with. She had a nice day at Art Prize in GR today with Mieke, Jackie and Deb's parents. Mieke had the surprise of driving into her school parking lot and seeing no cars. Turns out that her elementary school was cancelled for the day because almost 200 kids were out sick with the flu. Her principal came running out and said, oh no, you were not on our "call list". She hopes she is now added to that list. We are attending our last of 12 (2012) weddings this weekend. We pack up at 7 in the morning and feed the toll machines down I-80 till we get to Cleveland. If Big Bird would ever run for president I might ask him why all the other states get toll and you drive in Michigan for free.
I suppose this mystery might not be solved till I get to heaven so I was glad to learn a little about heaven the other night as well. Turns out it seems there a quite a few opinions on heaven and the guy who wrote the book that we study seemed to know more about it than I did. Kind of hope he is right about some of the stuff he writes. I suspect though that he does not know much more than I (or anybody) does about it. Might have to ask Big Bird about it. Lately he is looking like a pretty smart option.
That's the news from Holland, where all the women are good looking, all the children are smart, and the couple who resides at 1133 Silverstone appreciate your prayers and concerns. They seem to be working!!!
Stan the Man
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Still too low...
Had my platelets drawn after church today, and they are 60, still going in the wrong direction. So, no chemo for me tomorrow. I am having a hard time having patience with this, because I feel so good. I am so anxious to get this one done, and have my CA-125 sent in, because if it is normal, it could be the last one for a while. I will talk to the office tomorrow and see if they want me to have the CT scan this week or not. I didn't have to work on Sat., it was slow and they said I could stay home "on call". My parents are up north and they said the colors are just gorgeous!! I so wish I was up there. I have not been up there is a month, so I am now thinking I may try and go up tomorrow for a couple of days.
Next weekend we have our last wedding in Cleveland, so we will not be able to go up then.
This afternoon Stan and I are going to a get together with some PEO couples. Mieke and Aaron are going too. She is anxious to introduce her new hubby to her new PEO friends. It is kind of hard to get these men away from the TV with the Ryder Cup, Tigers, Lions and Packers all on this afternoon.
Thanks for all your prayers for patience for me and for higher platelets. As someone wrote in a comment, this is totally out of my control. I need to " Let Go and Let God". I am trying...
Next weekend we have our last wedding in Cleveland, so we will not be able to go up then.
This afternoon Stan and I are going to a get together with some PEO couples. Mieke and Aaron are going too. She is anxious to introduce her new hubby to her new PEO friends. It is kind of hard to get these men away from the TV with the Ryder Cup, Tigers, Lions and Packers all on this afternoon.
Thanks for all your prayers for patience for me and for higher platelets. As someone wrote in a comment, this is totally out of my control. I need to " Let Go and Let God". I am trying...
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Boo Hoo, Platelets going the wrong direction
Just found out my lab results. The Platelets are now down to 61. They were 71 on Monday, so they are getting worse instead of better. Guess this is fairly common when you are on chemo for a while, it is hard on the bone marrow which is where the platelets are produced. Time is the only thing that can help. So they want me to have lab work done on Sun. to maybe have chemo on Monday.
I changed the blog picture to one of me on my new "tree seat" up at the Homestead. I had mentioned to Stan and my Dad that I saw this neat tree that was down on the property and I thought it would be fun to lean against the garage door. So a few weeks ago, I was floating in the pond and I heard the big John Deere tractor coming down the road. Sure enough, here it was my Dad with the big tree attached to the front. I was so happy that they brought my tree. The bear broke the bottom of our garage door a couple years ago, and because we don't really need to open that side of the garage, and we didn't want to replace both doors at this time, we put up a decorative "stick" fence in front of that part of the garage. I will post a picture of that.
People are so sweet and still remembering and encouraging me with notes and cards. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. They are all so special, and it helps so much when I get discouraged or sick of this disease I am fighting. This one particular card came from a new friend of mine. On the front of the card is says this: Tough Cookie (tuhr kook-e) - noun.
1. Someone with just the right mix of sweetness and strength.
2. One who doesn't crumble under pressure.
3. A fighter who's too busy kicking butt to sit down and cry, but knows it's okay to do both.
4. A person who doesn't always ask for support, but has lots of friends who would do anything to help
Inside is says, Hang in there Tough Cookie
I guess I am a tough cookie. I told my Dr. that and he said, there are Tough ones and then there are broken ones. He sees both.
I need to go to church now and help Mieke with a kids choir she is starting,. I will finish this later.
I changed the blog picture to one of me on my new "tree seat" up at the Homestead. I had mentioned to Stan and my Dad that I saw this neat tree that was down on the property and I thought it would be fun to lean against the garage door. So a few weeks ago, I was floating in the pond and I heard the big John Deere tractor coming down the road. Sure enough, here it was my Dad with the big tree attached to the front. I was so happy that they brought my tree. The bear broke the bottom of our garage door a couple years ago, and because we don't really need to open that side of the garage, and we didn't want to replace both doors at this time, we put up a decorative "stick" fence in front of that part of the garage. I will post a picture of that.
People are so sweet and still remembering and encouraging me with notes and cards. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. They are all so special, and it helps so much when I get discouraged or sick of this disease I am fighting. This one particular card came from a new friend of mine. On the front of the card is says this: Tough Cookie (tuhr kook-e) - noun.
1. Someone with just the right mix of sweetness and strength.
2. One who doesn't crumble under pressure.
3. A fighter who's too busy kicking butt to sit down and cry, but knows it's okay to do both.
4. A person who doesn't always ask for support, but has lots of friends who would do anything to help
Inside is says, Hang in there Tough Cookie
I guess I am a tough cookie. I told my Dr. that and he said, there are Tough ones and then there are broken ones. He sees both.
I need to go to church now and help Mieke with a kids choir she is starting,. I will finish this later.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Bummer, No Chemo Again
My platelets were too low today, so no chemo again. They want me to keep taking my premeds, have my blood rechecked in Holland on Wed. at noon, and if it is OK I could have my chemo on Thursday. So please pray that it all works out. I saw Dr. Downey today and he said, if my CA-125 was normal this week, then maybe I would be done with treatments for now. That would be two treatments past normal. Then he tells me that we could do the reversal surgery in 6 wks. instead of waiting 8 wks. I can't quite figure it out?, and I hearing them wrong the first time, or are they changing their minds?? Anyways, I might be having the surgery sooner than I thought. This is fine with me, but I do have to get rid of some work commitments that I signed up for in November.
This weekend we had a surprise visit from a friend David and his dog Benson. He had made some meatloaf for us hot out of the oven. It was delicious! We also got to see Benson's tricks. He picks up things you drop on the floor and he shuts the door. Amazing! David's daughter Emily is a quadriplegic and she taught him to do those tasks.
Also, a big thanks to my neighbor Kay. She lives in Chicago and comes to her house across the street from us occasionally like her cottage. She brought me a couple of bottles of Chardonnay from Trader Joes. So sweet of her.
I have lots of pictures to post from Labor Day, the wedding reception in Detroit and others, but I have to figure out how to do it. I am going with Mieke tonight to a make up party in Fennville.
Tomorrow, Ross and Rumy are coming to Holland. Ross has to play at a funeral and we are going to go to Artprize. We saw some of the pieces on Sat. night before the symphony. So fun to see so many people roaming around GR.
This weekend we had a surprise visit from a friend David and his dog Benson. He had made some meatloaf for us hot out of the oven. It was delicious! We also got to see Benson's tricks. He picks up things you drop on the floor and he shuts the door. Amazing! David's daughter Emily is a quadriplegic and she taught him to do those tasks.
Also, a big thanks to my neighbor Kay. She lives in Chicago and comes to her house across the street from us occasionally like her cottage. She brought me a couple of bottles of Chardonnay from Trader Joes. So sweet of her.
I have lots of pictures to post from Labor Day, the wedding reception in Detroit and others, but I have to figure out how to do it. I am going with Mieke tonight to a make up party in Fennville.
Tomorrow, Ross and Rumy are coming to Holland. Ross has to play at a funeral and we are going to go to Artprize. We saw some of the pieces on Sat. night before the symphony. So fun to see so many people roaming around GR.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Been a while
Stan here:
A few people who follow this have asked for the update. Well, the update is that there have been a few computer problems of late and it has been hard to keep everything up to date. That is getting fixed. So back in action in a day or so. Even if this thing was working good there is not all that much new to report. Deb's chemo date is the 24th and I am sure she will update at that time. As time has gone by it seems she is feeling better and things are going in the right direction. She was warned that she would lose her hair again and slowly but surely she became annoyed that whenever she wore anything fall like or dark it would be littered with reasonably short grey hair at the end of the day. So she took the measure of taking that down to the short and she now has a reddish (auburn) new wig that she looks rather different in. I have always thought that she deserves some red tint in the deal. Somehow, knowing her like I do, it seems like red is a color that fits her quite well. I have always heard stories about redheads. Something like they are opinionated and can be kind of resilient. So now she has a color that fits her quite well.
On the resilient side she has been working a little more lately. Last night she got called in on the 7-11 shift and this morning she had to teach a birthing class to expectant parents. So she rolled in at 12 last night and the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning to get up and teach this class. The only reason I tell this is to let people know that things are more normal than they have been in a long time. There are times when the energy level is in question and she becomes disappointed that the get up and go has got up and went. As long as the ability stays to put one foot in front of the other she seems to have the ability to do it, no matter how she is feeling. We are planning to attend the GR symphony opening this evening to see our son Ross and hear the concert. So to give you some feel for things a normal person would want to rest after teaching a full day class. But her parting words this morning to me were to have the car warmed up because if we got going at 4.00 we could take in art prize before the concert. I am not sure why I am boring you with this story other than to welcome you to my life. Also, to tell you that things are seeming to be a little more like old times around here. I am quite certain that at 4 I will load a redhead in the car and shortly thereafter we will be walking the streets of GR looking at some form of art that some person thought would meet the eye of a 60 year old guy that is on his first date with a redhead.
So what we have is a date with chemo on the 24th. Another one in three weeks. And then the potential of a reversal surgery. Of all the things that have been a problem this has been the thing that Deb has at the top of her list. If all goes well this would take place at or near the Christmas holiday season. You know the song " All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." I am not sure sure I could write that good of a song about our issue but I think you get the idea.
Otherwise life is OK. Romney is tanking, the Tigers are going to still win this thing, I am going on a a date with a redhead tonight, a bunch of people are going to learn how to have and take care of a baby today, and the potential for the life that Deb deserves is seeming like a higher probability.
So long:
Stan the Man
A few people who follow this have asked for the update. Well, the update is that there have been a few computer problems of late and it has been hard to keep everything up to date. That is getting fixed. So back in action in a day or so. Even if this thing was working good there is not all that much new to report. Deb's chemo date is the 24th and I am sure she will update at that time. As time has gone by it seems she is feeling better and things are going in the right direction. She was warned that she would lose her hair again and slowly but surely she became annoyed that whenever she wore anything fall like or dark it would be littered with reasonably short grey hair at the end of the day. So she took the measure of taking that down to the short and she now has a reddish (auburn) new wig that she looks rather different in. I have always thought that she deserves some red tint in the deal. Somehow, knowing her like I do, it seems like red is a color that fits her quite well. I have always heard stories about redheads. Something like they are opinionated and can be kind of resilient. So now she has a color that fits her quite well.
On the resilient side she has been working a little more lately. Last night she got called in on the 7-11 shift and this morning she had to teach a birthing class to expectant parents. So she rolled in at 12 last night and the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning to get up and teach this class. The only reason I tell this is to let people know that things are more normal than they have been in a long time. There are times when the energy level is in question and she becomes disappointed that the get up and go has got up and went. As long as the ability stays to put one foot in front of the other she seems to have the ability to do it, no matter how she is feeling. We are planning to attend the GR symphony opening this evening to see our son Ross and hear the concert. So to give you some feel for things a normal person would want to rest after teaching a full day class. But her parting words this morning to me were to have the car warmed up because if we got going at 4.00 we could take in art prize before the concert. I am not sure why I am boring you with this story other than to welcome you to my life. Also, to tell you that things are seeming to be a little more like old times around here. I am quite certain that at 4 I will load a redhead in the car and shortly thereafter we will be walking the streets of GR looking at some form of art that some person thought would meet the eye of a 60 year old guy that is on his first date with a redhead.
So what we have is a date with chemo on the 24th. Another one in three weeks. And then the potential of a reversal surgery. Of all the things that have been a problem this has been the thing that Deb has at the top of her list. If all goes well this would take place at or near the Christmas holiday season. You know the song " All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." I am not sure sure I could write that good of a song about our issue but I think you get the idea.
Otherwise life is OK. Romney is tanking, the Tigers are going to still win this thing, I am going on a a date with a redhead tonight, a bunch of people are going to learn how to have and take care of a baby today, and the potential for the life that Deb deserves is seeming like a higher probability.
So long:
Stan the Man
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