We had so much fun at Carter's party. He got lots of boy toys - transformers, hot wheels, robots, and power rangers. He got tons of clothes, which he really needed. He's growing like a weed! The main attraction was a scooter from Mamaw and Papaw Knicely and a bike from Mom and Dad. He's getting to be a big boy and needs big boy toys. The days of babyhood are behind us.
Last night I was looking at Kurt's face; his skin is getting redder and feels really smooth in places. I noticed a really dark hair in his goatee and jokingly pulled on it. It fell out! The skin never pulled or anything. He grabbed a bunch of it and pulled and it came out too! When he woke up this morning, he had two bald patches around the corners of his mouth. Needless to say, he shaved his mustache and goatee off this morning. Nothing else is falling out. The radiation dr. said that he would lose his hair where they were radiating at. It was just those two patches. Anyway, now he has a bald face!
Happy Birthday to Carter Man!!
Kurt has went to radiation all week long. His radiation dr. said that they can see where things are starting to happen. His mouth is really red and getting dry. He told me today he is getting sores. Not good. His chemo dr. however had some good news. They changed his first anti-nausea medicine from Zofran to Kytril. Now the dr. said he shouldn't get as sick, because she is also ordering Kurt to have a Kytril drip every time he has hydration. She said she heard how bad last time was and it shouldn't be like that. I hope he doesn't get sick and that the drip helps.
Bella officially graduated from kindergarten today. She's a big kid now and already talking about first grade. She doesn't really get how long summer break is and that she won't go back for 3 months. The melatonin seems to be helping. She's not grumpy and lethargic in the evenings and has actually been sleeping in. To us, that's a miracle.
Carter turns 3 tomorrow. Time has flown by. Seems like just yesterday he was a baby. He thinks he is a big boy too. He is having a Mickey Mouse birthday party. I'm glad we decided to have it and Kurt is feeling well enough to be there. From the beginning, Kurt said he wanted things to be as normal as possible for them. I will post some pictures of Carter's big day when I can.
Thanks to everyone who helped with Kurt's Cookout. Many, many thanks to Randy & Tina Endsley (Heritage Vineyards Winery), Michelle Walsh, Tina Schlupp, Bud Lupher, Lynda Daniel, Sally Hickman, Tabby Saylor, & Kathy Phillips. Many, many thanks to Bob & Mary Knicely, Jeff & Lori Nichols, Susan Klein (Susans' Footwear & Fashions), Terry Thompson (Terry's Craft Barn), The Sunsational Tans employees (especially Jana!), and everyone who made baked goods for the cookout. Many thanks to our Grill Master, JT, and also to Tim Helbling for helping grill too. We feel so blessed to have seen so many wonderful friends and family who came out to support our family. You all really mean the world to us. Thanks for making it such a special day!
Lincoln Elementary had a talent show today at the high school. Bella and all of the kindergarten classes performed to "Party in the U.S.A." They were so cute. It was nice that we were able to see her and that Kurt felt well enough to go. He is planning on being at the cookout the whole time tomorrow. We will see how it goes. He does get tired easily, so I'm hoping he doesn't where himself out!
Kurt's ears have been ringing which is a side effect of the cisplatin (chemo drug). When he went in for radiation today, he also popped in to chemo dr to ask about it. They are going to give him a hearing test tomorrow. Plus he has to collect urine for 24 hrs, because they think if drug is affecting his hearing it might be affecting his kidneys. If everything comes back fine, they will leave his dosage the way it is. If urinalysis comes back bad, they will either lower his dosage or give him a different chemo drug next time.
Also, many people have told me they are checking the blog and have tried to leave comments. I have changed the settings and now you do not have to sign in or have a google account to leave a comment. Just click comments under the post, type your comment and sign it (so I know who it is from), and under your comment it will have a "post as" option. Just change that to anonymous and now it should let you leave a comment. Hope to hear from everyone!
Kurt got his tattoos today. They are two little "freckles" on both sides of his neck. We were trying to figure out exactly where they were when he got home, but I couldn't see them. He has so many moles and marks already. I said I feel bad for the next person looking for them. He is not having an easy day as far as eating goes. His stomach is still really upset. The heartburn is hard on him. Trying to keep a positive attitude and looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend!
Kurt had radiation and I.V. fluids today. He has lost 7 pounds. He's still not eating normally, but slowly getting there. He has heartburn really bad. His next chemo treatment is June 7th (sorry Paula!). They want him to start on a Monday so they can watch his levels throughout the week since he got so sick this time. This also means that we will back up a week because his last chemo treatment will now be June 28th, if everything stays on track. Only radiation for the rest of the week.
Kurt feeling a bit more human today. He did his trek to Coshocton Hospital for fluids, then came home and had cheerios (no milk). Yay! His first meal since Thursday at 1:00pm. He also ate some dinner, so we are making progress. He visited with Keri and his friend, Rusty & his family. I think we are over the worst and we will now know what to expect next time and which meds work the best. One week down, six to go!
Kurt feeling a bit better today. He got up and Bob took him to Coshocton Hospital for I.V. fluids. It took about 3 hours. He came home and rested on couch and visited with Michelle (Walsh) while Bella, Lori, and I went to walk at Relay for Life today. He napped for a bit and has managed some crackers. He is not as sick today, but he is still really queasy. He is making progress and hopefully will feel up to a small meal tomorrow.
Kurt woke up this morning feeling awful. He started throwing up and just felt horrendous. I dropped him at dr.'s office for I.V. fluids and while he was there he started urinating blood. Not good. By the time he left, it was a peach color. He didn't have radiation either. He was just too sick and they didn't want to weaken him anymore than he already was. On our way back, the dr.'s office called and they had us go to hospital to get blood work to check all his levels. Everything came back good and the blood in urine has stopped. He spent the whole afternoon in bed. He was up from 6- 8:30pm and that wore him out. Trying to keep ahead of nausea with a new pill they wanted him to try. He has I.V. fluids tomorrow at Coshocton Hospital, so at least we don't have to drive to Zanesville. It has been a lousy day, but they told him each day he would start feeling a little better.
Kurt went down to Zanesville for his first round of chemotherapy. He got hooked up for his first two bags of I.V. fluids then we went across the hall where I got to see them bolt him down for radiation. Talk about scary! I was completely freaked out. That mask is so tight you can see the crease between his lips. It's unreal. His tech explained to me everything that was going on and why things were happening. It really is a very technical process. On Wednesday, they couldn't get him lined up quite right and it ended up taking 50 minutes of him being bolted down. Today went smoother and he was on there for about 15 minutes.
We went back to the "chemo room." It's just a room with hospital chairs for patients and regular chairs for the caregivers. Everyone sits around with I.V.'s. Most people were talking, reading, eating, etc. It was as normal as that situation could be. I went on some errands and brought Kurt back lunch. It's amazing to watch these people eating while they are getting chemo. We were there from 9am to 3:30pm. Very long day.
The ride home really did Kurt in. He got nauseous and spent most of the evening laying down. He has several anti-nausea medications, but he is not a good car rider either. It's about 9pm and he just came down and had 4 bites of applesauce. At least it's something. Tomorrow we go back for another round of radiation and I.V. fluids. The nice thing is that they will hook him up and he can be getting fluids while he is getting radiation. I hope a good nights sleep and lots of liquids help keep him from getting really really sick.
Well Kurt drove himself to radiation again. He feels fine so far. He had been given a prescription to help stimulate his salivary glands because this whole process can really damage his mouth. He also got a new prescription today for a mouth rinse. There is another young guy who is farther along in the radiation process and he said this rinse is making a world of difference for him, so they want Kurt to try it too. I have bought gels, sprays, rinses, special toothpastes, all things dealing in extreme dry mouth. I hope this rinse will help him too.
In some lighter news, Bella has learned to ride her bike without training wheels. This whole process started last summer but she just wasn't comfortable doing it. Since the weather has been nicer, she has come home and rode her bike in a straight line to the the end of the driveway, turned herself around, then rode back. That was it. She didn't want to do anything else. A couple nights ago she got on her bike and rode all around the driveway. She even rode down our street to a flat spot and rode all around. You would think she has been doing it forever. She is so comical. She can't be rushed through anything. She has just decided she is ready. Now she wants to ride her bike to school. This whole "I'm six and I'm a big kid" thing is going to be a major pain!
Kurt had his first radiation treatment today. This is a picture he took of his radiation room. He drove himself down and back from Zanesville. He feels fine so far. He said the machine really makes a noise when it's giving the radiation. He says it's a sound he will never forget. He also talked about how the door to the room is really really thick. It is definitely an experience he will remember. He came home and said "One down, 34 to go." He is such a trooper!!
Carter's bandage finally came off. He has a tiny little line. He still screams, "No, don't touch my boo-boo" but it doesn't hurt him. A little Mederma on his scar line and it should fade away.
First off, Happy Mother's Day to everyone!
Secondly, Kurt's treatment schedule has changed. When they called this week for the final times, they did not have a spot open for him to start chemo on Monday. So he is only going to have radiation on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. He will have chemo and radiation on Thursday, so that will be our big day. Then he will have radiation and hydration treatments (I.V. fluids) on Friday. He may have to go down Saturday or see if our hospital here does hydration treatments. I'm sure we will find out more as the week goes on.
It is finally beginning. We are nervous and probably a bit scared, if we would admit it. We are travelling into the unknown. So many questions that can't be answered. I want to thank everyone who will be going through this journey with us. From the friends and family who are making meals for us over the next seven weeks to friends and co-workers putting on this cookout for Kurt. Everyone has been so wonderful - giving of time, love, generosity! We can't express how much you all mean to us and how wonderful you have been. Thank you for caring about our family so much. We love you all!!!
Kurt went to see his oncologist, Dr. Ozer on Monday. He said Kurt's lingual tonsil removal and biopsy sites look really good. He was pleased with how well Kurt looked and has cleared him to start his treatment. We are still waiting on definite word from radiation oncologist that we start Monday the 10th. He goes to Coshocton Hospital on Thursday to have his port put in at 8am. Hopefully this will make getting his chemo and drawing blood easier on him. He's bored out of his mind and ready to get started, as much as you can be ready!
Carter came through surgery like a champ. He hasn't had any complications. He has been running around here and playing like a wild thing. His new favorite thing in the world is playing baseball! He loves to hit the ball and is actually a good thrower. I can see him being our sports nut.
Bella had a rough night. Her bed was completely torn up and we could barely get her out of bed at 7:45. She's usually up like clockwork at 7am. When she got up she already had really dark circles under her eyes and was complaining of a headache. She asked the teacher to take a break during school because the noise was getting to her. When she came home she looked like she had broken blood vessels under her eyes, because she has little red dots under them. I'm hoping she gets better rest tonight, because she needs it. May 20th seems forever away, but hopefully we will get on track to helping her.
I am looking forward to a peaceful rest of the week. I'm going as a parent volunteer with Bella's kindergarten class to Rolling Ridge Ranch this Friday. Hopefully we all have a peaceful trip and fun while we are there. Looking forward to some family time on Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to everyone!!!!
