Checked In

We are in Bryan's hospital room, but Bryan's chemo isn't ready yet. When he is an inpatient it takes FOR-EV-ER (picture Ham from the Sandlot movie saying it), OK maybe not forever, just several hours for them to prepare the chemo.

Bryan is already nauseous (from yesterday's chemo & the pyschological association of being here) so they gave him some IV medication and he is now sleeping.

I packed the extended versions of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. When Bryan wakes up, we can start the movie marathon. We might even finish by tomorrow morning! (I've found that action packed movies are helpful for distracting Bryan while he's hospitalized. A hospital volunteer brought us the X-Men series on our first visit. We'd never seen those before and it was a fabulous distraction.) I also brought a few baseball documentaries by Ken Burns, not action packed, but very interesting.

While we patiently wait, I'll post a few random pictures.

~The Infamous Wig, a gift from our daughter's friend~

(picture posted with her mom's permission)

~Just before he fell asleep~
(Do you like him with or without the wig?)

~The view from Bryan's hospital room~
(This is the back of the hospital--we're right on the mountain.)

The beginning of the end...

"Someday, somehow, we will end this cursed disease. We have to. We must." -Jon Huntsman (The founder and principal benefactor of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He just donated $725 million worth of his corporate public stock to his charitable foundation, whose purpose is to fight human suffering.)

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Today is the FIRST day of the LAST chemo treatment for Bryan. They JUST started his first infusion--we expect it to take about 3 hours. (He will check in to the hospital tomorrow morning and most likely be released on Sunday.)

Earlier we met with Bryan's doctors and discussed the next steps in his treatment. He will have a PET/CT scan in approximately 4 weeks. The scan will determine the success of the chemotherapy treatments. (We're hoping it shows no sign of cancerous cells.) After the scan, he will meet with the radiation oncologists (the radiation will most likely begin about 5 weeks from now).

For the record, nursing is not my career of choice, but I think my family is bent on training me in the profession. Our daughter sprained her ankle at soccer practice on Monday and is on crutches for at least one more week. They can't rule out a fracture of her growth plate so we're meeting with an orthopedic surgeon on Monday. I think it is just a sprain and they are being extra cautious (although my training is lacking in this area and the swelling has not subsided and she is still in a lot of pain so maybe I'm wrong).

One more.....

I feel pretty good today. More importantly, I can taste salt...kind of. I still have that terrible chemo taste in my mouth but I can handle that over nausea.
Well... one more chemo treatment and I am home free... after radiation. I hope to have a CAT scan done in a few weeks to tell me the good news about the tumor. All indications are that it is still reducing in size.

I am grateful for your constant thoughts and prayers. I also want to let everyone know how grateful I am for JoLayna. She has been a real trooper through all this. She takes care of me while maintaining our household and caring for our kids. I cannot do this without her and she deserves the wife/mom of the year award!

Bryan

Sore

That would be me, not Bryan. I am still recovering from the "Power Pump" class I took on Tuesday morning. When I have to use two arms to change the gear shift in my car (not to mention the yelps of pain with each stair climb), I know I overdid it! I was just so happy to be back at the gym after a long summer absence. It's been difficult for me to exercise since Bryan's health crisis, but autumn brings all sorts of routines back into focus for me (as I mentioned in the prior post)!

Back to Bryan, I guess he is the reason you're all reading this...
He is tired, but feeling pretty well. I know he is turning a corner after chemotherapy when he says, "I'm hungry." That happened Tuesday evening. He even wanted to "go somewhere" to eat. That's a big sign of progress!

Bryan had blood drawn today. His levels are all low, but he didn't need a transfusion (for low platelets). They scheduled his last chemo for September 27th-29th. As I mentioned before, I'm pretty excited about that. Bryan says he can't even think about it or he gets sick to his stomach (the mere mention of it ruins a great conversation/moment).

Update

Bryan has been struggling to feel well. He has major headaches along with the previously mentioned symptoms, but he did leave the house a few times yesterday (but was exhausted when he returned). He is pale and looks like a cancer patient (although a few people who saw him yesterday said he looked better than they expected).

Last week I attempted to answer the question so many of you ask, "How are you?" I read a scripture yesterday which I felt answered the question:

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair." (2 Corinthians 4:8)

I loved that! It perfectly described how I feel. We have a challenging situation to deal with and we feel challenged for sure, but we also feel equipped for the challenge. We are OK, and most of the time, we are better than that. With school back in session, our family routine is coming back and we feel more normal. (I'm always amazed how comforting routines are!)

6 DOWN, 1 TO GO!!!

We are ecstatic that Bryan has only ONE CHEMO TREATMENT LEFT!!!!

The report for this round of chemo is fatigue, nausea, lack of appetite and general misery; but Bryan feels slightly better than the last time he received this treatment.

By the way, Bryan is now home and I am feeling 100% better. Bryan's mom was a great nurse--we are both grateful for her care!

Bryan's Team...What a Boost!

We received a surprise package from E/One (Bryan's employer) on Friday. Inside was a DVD and a newspaper article about a unique event they sponsored last week...

Each month E/One has a "Blue Jean Day." My understanding is that in order to wear blue jeans to work, each employee donates $2 (some donate much more) to the month's chosen charity/organization. This month E/One chose Huntsman Cancer Institute where Bryan is receiving his treatment.

They also designated the day "Buzz for Bryan" and a "White Out for Support & Hope." Amazingly 23 of Bryan's co-workers buzzed off their hair (even one woman cut her shoulder length hair to less than one inch long) as a show of support. Many more employees wore white shirts, the yellow Bryan wristbands, and posed for a picture with a big sign reading "Bryan's Team."

We were OVERWHELMED and emotional as we watched the DVD and read the article documenting the events!

Bryan has been "down" lately, physically & mentally. The physical discomfort he feels has taken an emotional/mental toll (as you probably noticed from his last post). He is not usually a bystander; he is an involved dad, husband, son, and brother. He's also an active member of our neighborhood, our church, his company, etc. He loves sports and hard work--both require physical endurance--something he is lacking right now. It is difficult for him to sit around and have everyone do so much for him. (I guess this is the mental part of cancer several people warned us could be just as difficult as the physical.)

The support from E/One has brought Bryan tremendous comfort since his cancer diagnosis. Knowing they value his contribution and are willing to stand by him during his darkest hour is relieving to him (and now having 23 employees willing to "walk in his shoes" is an immeasurable boost). I can't thank the FABULOUS people in New York enough!!