Thank you for keeping up with Tony's status as he was battling cancer.

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Friday, April 30, 2010

His blood tests show his clotting to be at 25% of what is considered low normal. We are cutting back on the blood thinner medicines, and modifying his diet to get things back in balance. His white count is off too which means he needs to avoid being anywhere around sick people until things get back in balance.
The doctor hasn't let us know the blood test results from yesterday yet...time zones get in the way. They did give us a different spot to use for injections, and it seems to work better. The old spot was pretty used-up.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

For the last few days, he has had longer-than-normal bleeding at the injection site after his daily blood-thinner injection. The doctors have ordered a blood test to see what is going on...we should have the results today.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tony is feeling fine again. We don't know what caused his pain last night, but our operating theory is that he got a gas bubble from taking his pills with a carbonated beverage. The CAT scan didn't show any bleeding or anything else wrong, and the anti-heartburn medicine had no effect indicating that there were no excess acid problems.
He is home and sleeping. The hospital gave him some medicine that should have cleared up heartburn, but it didn't. Then they did a CAT scan and a gave him a bunch of benadryl, and he got better. We don't really know what it is or was, but he is sleeping now and seems to be okay. We will see how he feels when he wakes up.

Monday, April 26, 2010

He is going to the ER tonight with increasingly painful abdominal pain; maybe heartburn.
The instructions say that new or increased heartburn requires doctor's attention.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

He woke up last night with his arm feeling wrong. He said it felt like it was shaking constantly, but it wasn't. He took his medicine for when his arm acts up, and went back to sleep. Today, his arm and leg aren't quite as good as they were the day before, but still much better than when he left Houston.

He has played Xbox most of the day online with his friends.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The medicines are starting to wear on him a bit. It doesn't knock him down, but you can see the reduced energy level.

He reported today that the feeling in his right arm is about 95% now (up from 50-80%)! The coordination is still way off, but at least he doesn't feel like he has a ghost arm now.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

He is much weaker on his right side than on his left, but he says he feels like he is gaining function in his right arm since he has been home. Let's hope this trend continues. The next MRI and checkup are May 10-11.

The medications still haven't made him feel sick. He has begun ramping down off the steroids.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

He seems to feel really good. He went to both worship services today, and visited with friends both times until we were almost the last to leave.

The three chemo medicines he is on don't appear to bother him a whole lot. One dries out his skin, and they all make him a bit tired, but he doesn't feel sick. As long as he gets plenty of sleep and fluids, he feels okay.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

He says he feels better overall now that he is at home.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

He's back home, and had a good flight.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

His second round of this chemo regimen starts today at 4:00 CST. The doctors are going to ramp him down off of steroids. They have helped with his comfort level, so he isn't thrilled with this change, but he can't stay on them long-term either.
He has been cleared to fly home, and is booked to arrive about 11:30 AST Wednesday night.
He has a doctor appointment today 1:30 CST. He hopes to be turned loose to go home to Alaska until the next Houston appointment.

His arm isn't better, and may have worsened a tiny bit. He says it is hard to tell. The changes are gradual and hard to keep track of. The doctors have led us to believe we won't see any marked change for at least another four weeks.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

His arm feels about the same. He did take the medicine for his arm late last night, but it is back to its 80% 'normal'.

Friday, April 9, 2010

He has had a great couple of days. This week he is off all the chemo medicine, and he is feeling really good as the medicines wear off. His arm is around 80% with spells of 60%, but most of the time is is around 80%.

He has an appointment Tuesday with the doctor to start the next three weeks of medicine.

If all goes as we hope, he can fly back to Alaska Wednesday or Thursday.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

He has been enjoying an Xbox that some very good friends sent to him from Alaska. He has played it most of the last two days. He visited with his Grandparents who were here today.

He seems to be about the same with the arm working at about 70-80%. The medication side-effects are starting to pile up a bit with dry skin issues, but he seems to feel okay otherwise.

Monday, April 5, 2010

No changes over the weekend. Same old same old.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

He had a good couple of days with his friends in Tulsa. Last night his arm lost some feeling. He took the medicine for it, and the feeling is back to what is was before the episode. The doctor said these temporary episodes will happen, and it isn't something to worry about.

The steroids have improved the feeling in his arm; Tony says by more than 25%. Hopefully it will get better still.