He's Back

We are back home from University of Illinois at Chicago. In spite or despite my driving.  Bill is giving me a complex about my driving because of his comment on facebook.  I spent all day with him.  Making sure he was well taken care of and this is the thanks he gave me. What a guy.


Today, went well for Bill.  Of course, it is rare for Bill to go anywhere without causing laughs and making a scene or two or even three. Today he didn't fail himself. He began by putting the hospital gown on wrong.  It was already tied in the back and he was told to slip the ties around his neck.  This is proof Bill doesn't listen.  He didn't slip the ties around his neck and instead the tie that is suppose to be in the back was around the front part of his neck. It looked like he was being choked. He didn't realize anything was wrong until I started laughing at him.  After that was fixed, he was carted off to the holding room.  I followed to give him moral support, hold his hand, and to wipe the tears and sweat away from his face.  The nurses explained the procedure to him once again to make sure he understood what was going to happen. He cringed every time someone would remind him the procedure was going to be performed through his groin. After, they were done talking to him he said to me in a serious tone, "If you hear a bunch of laughter coming from the room you know they started on me". The nurses heard and started to laugh. The more the nurse talked about it, the redder his face got.  He managed to embarrass himself this time.  During the procedure he wouldn't fall asleep. When more medication was administer to sedate him, his blood pressure dropped.  I think he was seriously afraid he would be laughed at when they looked at this groin so he fought to stay awake. 

After it was all over, he had to spend the next 6 hours laying flat.  He still managed his clownish ways and made the nurses laugh.  He asked one if she was married because she put sugar in his tea for him.  Made it sound like I do nothing for him.  Even, though he kept sending me down stairs to buy him food.  I just realized something.  Maybe he wasn't hungry, he just sent me away so he could flirt more. 


Like I said earlier, he is doing well.  He has a little discomfort which is normal. He can't drive until Sunday and is not able to lift anything that is more than 5 pounds.  No pushing or pulling either.  Let's see if he will listen.  I am willing to make a wager that he will not.  We were told that they were able to map out the veins that lead directly to the tumors.The doctor feels confident that the SIRT will work.  He is scheduled to have it done on March 24, unless they are not able to get the radiation spheres by then. 

Hopefully, Bill will be able to write a post over the weekend.  I am sure he will have a thing or two to say about this post.  However, I am only saying the truth and it's not fair to his blog followers to omit information even if it does make Bill look like a goof.He is what he is and he is loved for that.

Sally

Angiogram in the Morning

Bill is slaving over the fish tank as I am sitting here writing this post.  


Yesterday, he went to UIC to speak to a doctor about the next steps into treating the cancer in the liver.  For the most part, we understood what was going to happen because of the visit we had in November. The doctor wanted to act quickly so Bill can resume the chemo treatments as soon as possible.  We appreciate his concern.  Yesterday, all the paper work was faxed to the insurance company and today (in the later part of the afternoon) his nurse called me.  The insurance company had approved everything and Bill will be at the UIC 6:30 in the morning tomorrow.  He will be having an angiogram.  This is done to map the veins to his liver.  The procedure it self isn't very long but he will have to lie flat and still for 6 hours following it. 


Next week he will go back to have the SIRT procedure done.  This is where radiation beads are injected directly into the tumors.  This too should be an outpatient procedure.


Bill has this weekend off from work and should be able to go back to work on Tuesday.  He will be on light duty for 2 weeks since he will not be able to lift anything that is over 5 pounds.  This is why he is cleaning out the aquarium now.  Two turtles can become smelly after awhile.


I know everyone has been praying for us and we really appreciate it. Bill is doing amazingly well.  It's hard on him having all the medical stuff dictate his life.  Hopefully, next week we will get the results back for the KRAS mutation and after that life will go back to a new normal state whatever that will be.  

A huge blow

Bill had a routine CT scan done on Monday. This time we were not nervous about the results. As long as he is on chemo, we knew everything was going to be OK. At the very worse, the tumors were not shrinking as quickly as we would like. It was a change from the last time. The last time, I received a phone call 3 days prior to his chemo treatment saying the doctor needed to talk to us about the CT results. Of course, they wouldn’t say about what. So for three days we worried. I tried not telling Bill about the call but I couldn't stop crying and I was worrying him. Not knowing and worrying about the results is dreadful. Especially, when you know the results are bad and you are in the doctor’s office waiting for a long time for the doctor to walk through the door. The anticipation is unbearable and the worst case of scenario goes running through your mind. Hearing the “bad” news has been easier to handle then the waiting for the results.

This morning I woke up thinking positive thoughts. Bill was scheduled for chemo and had an appointment to see the oncologist. Bill was at work and I was just about to get ready and the phone ring. It was the nurse asking where Bill had his surgeries at. Of course she said she didn’t know anything but I knew it wasn’t a good sign. I tried to act like nothing was wrong when I saw Bill. He went to have the infusion first. The nurse started the IV and the doctor walked into the room and said he needed to talk to us and told the nurse to stop treatment. My stomach fell and I could tell Bill was very concerned. Chewing on his nails is always a given sign when he is upset or worried.

We were moved to an office and didn’t have to wait long for Doctor Mboama. As soon as he walked through the door and by the look of his face we knew it was bad. We just didn’t realize at that point how bad it was. He said that the 2 tumors in the liver had grown. Then the nurse came in the room and told the doctor he had a phone call. He stepped out and left us hanging. Which I could tell he was relented to do but I knew the phone call must have been important. When he came back he told us the tumors have doubled in size and that there are 1 or 2 more additional tumors in the liver. The cancerous lymph node has grown as well and there are 2 more cancerous lymph nodes now.

Usually, the doctor will give us a couple of options to choose from. This time he did not. He said he knows that we have young children and he is going to act aggressive and as quickly as possible. First step is to have the tumor that was removed from the colon tested to see if the cells are genetically mutated or non-mutated. If it’s non-mutated there is a new chemotherapy drug that will be used. If it’s mutated the chances of him beating this is not as high. It takes about 2 weeks to get the results.

The second step will be going back to UIC and have the SIRT procedure to the liver. http://www.umgcc.org/sir-spheres/about_sirt.htm He will have this as soon as possible, since he has to be off chemo for a month. With the 2 weeks wait for the other test result, doctor thought this would be the best time to have it done.

The third step is to wait for the test results so a new chemotherapy regiment can begin. Obviously the chemo pills, Xeloda, did not work. So Bill will have to go back to 5-fu which means he will be wearing the portable pump again. Which of course Bill is not happy about. He didn’t complain about it and the doctor said it’s his only chance for survival. He was also told he will have more side effects. Basically, he was told he is going to be feeling like crap.

Right now, we are trying to absorb everything. It’s terrifying news but the doctor still remains optimistic and so are we. We will be praying for non-mutated cells and just try to live life the same way we did yesterday. Bill is amazing. I know he is scared and worried but he is trying so hard not show it. He and Kaity are at Omni while I am writing this. Which means he hasn’t given up and still determined more than ever to beat this.