Round One in Houston

Wow, I have been wanting to write for a few days now but they don't leave me alone long enough to get anything done. I will write more about Thursday another day. There is just too much to cover at this point. I will say that the put the catheter line in my left bicep. They poke a big hole and then take a flexible piece of wire and thread it through the veins. It has to go over the shoulder, past the heart and to the right lung area. The first two attempts weren't good. Let me tell you when they poke the vein with the wire, from inside the vein, it ain't fun. Then a surgeon looked at a place underneath my right arm that we thought was fluid build up from my last surgery in Tulsa. The idea was to drain it to give me some pain relief. Again, poked with a big needle but nothing drained. Which means it is now a hematoma. Which means another surgery at some point to fix it but not now. And yes it was wicked painful. I about jumped off the table.

After all of the tests and scans and pokes and sticks, we met with the Doctor around 2 pm. First, I passed the physical to proceed with the treaments. They did find a small defect in my heart that I don't understand but all of them seem to not be concerned with it. Then, and yes here it comes, they found more cancer in my lungs, both of them. Until yesterday they could only find the cancer in my right lung. And apprenetly one of the spots is of good size. Then, and by this point I had my suspicions, the brain scan showed a small spot. The good news is the radiologist wouldn't call it metastatic. He said it could be a vein or something else. But they are concerned because the spot is visible from every angle in every scan, and it wasn't there in any of the previous scans. So they are changing one of my drugs, to a drug that will penetrate the blood brain barrier and hopefully kill whatever it is. We were the given the "orders" and had to report to the hospital. We were assigned a room and told to come back whenever. So Mom and Dad and Rebecca and I went to eat dinner. We finally reported to the hospital around 8 pm and checked into our room. They started the IV around midnight giving me fluids only. Then around 2 am the chemo. started. Even though it's called chemo and it is, it's also not. I am being given a combination of drugs that are chemo, while some aren't typical chemo. One of them, a drug called interferon, gave me the most horrible chills I have ever had yesterday. I started shaking so hard that I was shaking the bed to the point you could hear it rattling, that went on for an hour. They gave me some medicine to help and the first round helped but didn't stop it. Finally they gave me some more and I was able to sleep for a while and stopped shaking but woke up with a 102 degree temp. Guess you got to give to get! So far there hasn't been much nausea, mostly fatigue and some dizziness. Sleep comes in small spurts due to being checked on or stuck every couple of hours. Today should tell us a lot. They said yesterday that for most day two and three are when the symptoms set in for most people. We are praying they will be minimal for me. The list of possible side effects is just too long to list here, so if I get them I will just discuss them as they come. The nurses and doctors are the best. Each day for me is a new adventure and I am doing my best to laugh and joke with the staff. Some like it, some don't know what to think of me! I love it.

Well I told my family when we left the doctors office yesterday that there has always been some doubt in my mind as to whether or not coming here was the right decision. The cost, logistics, separating us from the kids, and so many other doubts have gone through my mind. And as much as I didn't want to hear that the cancer has spread even more, it was reassurance to me that this is the place we have to be to get the help I need. So I am here, 100%. It is going to be horribly expensive, I am going to be away from home a lot, it is going to be hard on the kids and my family and friends. It is going to be super hard on me physically. But this is where I have to be. Period. I have seen so much already that has changed me in some ways. I met a 4 year old girl with melanoma. It started as a spot on her arm, then moved into they nodes under her arm, hum, sound familiar? My wife and mother met a man with melanoma in his lungs and brains. It's good to know that in that since, I am not alone. I have heard stories from patient's that are absolutely inspiring to me. I see this place now as a place of hope and promise. Along with that, and all of the support from our families and great friends back home, we are going to beat this no matter what it takes. God brought us here for a reason, no doubt about it. Well as I was sitting here typing this the nurses have been changing out the drugs and today begins round two. One of the drugs makes you sleepy and kind of out of it so I will stop for now. Please don't be worried about calling us or emailing or texting us. It is great to hear from everyone. Hopefully we will be back in the middle of next week to see everyone. Thank you again to all of you for you support, prayers, messages and calls. And to those of you who have and are working so hard on fundraisers for us. Just incredible.

Remember everyday to put one foot in front of the other, drink a lot of water, and don't forget to pray.................