Drew came home from the hospital on Monday night. Aubrey and I are very excited to have him home. Drew has to lay on an incline in order to avoid back pain so we got him a hospital bed and Aubrey decorated it with Christmas decorations. She was so excited to show him when he got home and you could tell she really missed him. Drew started chemo on Monday and has also had radiation each day. The radiation is working and the spot on his back continues to shrink, which is fantastic news. The chemo is no fun and Drew hasn't been feeling well at all. He is on oral chemo right now so he takes 2 pills twice a day and within minutes of taking the pill he starts to have nausea and flu like symptoms. He has a break this weekend, no chemo or radiation, and then back on both for one more week. Hopefully he can get some relief this weekend and enjoy himself a bit. He will start on a different chemo regimen probably the first week of December and we are hopefully that he will only have side effects a few days out of a 2 week period as opposed to feeling bad like he is now for almost 2 weeks straight. Right now it seems like he has a few bad hours, a few good hours, few bad ones, and then a few good ones each day. He is very up and down but the pain seems to be under control and that was the main concern before.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and the new baby who will be here in about 3 weeks. We always get a Christmas tree and hang up our Christmas decorations the weekend of Thanksgiving so that should be fun as well. Aubrey is already super excited for Christmas. We are hoping to get through this rough patch and that the new chemo regimen will bring Drew some relief. As always, we are hoping for the best and trying to stay as positive as possible.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Being in the hospital is no fun!
So Drew has been in the hospital for about a week now and we are all getting anxious for him to come home. It is frustrating because the only reason he is here is due to pain management. He feels ok most of the time but he has unbearable pain that comes and goes keeping him in the hospital. The initial plan was that he was going to come home on Tuesday but he was in so much pain from his procedure he stayed the night. We then thought he would come home on Wednesday but he woke up in excruciating pain around 4:00 am which kept him here longer. Unfortunately the pain came back on Thursday around 1:00 pm, we thought it was under control and that he would be home on Saturday, but the pain came back Saturday around 4:00 am. The doctors believe the pain is some sort of muscle spasm because it increasingly gets worse for about an hour and then it gets completely unbearable until he takes pain meds causing it to go away. He is on a ton of pain killers but when the horrible pain comes a combination of dilaudid and tourdal does the trick, however you can only have tourdal 4 times in 5 days which causes a lot of anxiety for Drew. (He has already had it the 4 times). Yesterday the pain doctor prescribed Valium to replace the tourdal since it is also a muscle relaxer and so far it seems to have worked. Drew felt the pain coming on around 4:30 pm yesterday so he took the Valium and dilaudid, he did not get the pain. He also took the drug combination two times last night and he has avoided the pain as well. Today he is doing good, pretty much pain free and he hasn't taken the Valium. We are hopefully this combination will continue to work and he can get home tomorrow.
On a good note, Drew has had radiation three times now and the spot on his back has gotten significantly smaller, shockingly smaller. Also, the radiation doesn't seem to be causing any side affects which is a big plus. Drew's oncologist has been out of town since Thursday so we are hoping he sees Drew first thing tomorrow morning and that he can start Drew on chemo as well as discharge him. Drew hasn't gotten to see Aubrey since Monday so she came with me this morning to see him and had a great time. She wanted to wear her Christmas dress and princess shoes so she looked adorable. She brought some of her toys and had a lot of fun playing horses with Daddy. They were both very excited to see each other.
On a good note, Drew has had radiation three times now and the spot on his back has gotten significantly smaller, shockingly smaller. Also, the radiation doesn't seem to be causing any side affects which is a big plus. Drew's oncologist has been out of town since Thursday so we are hoping he sees Drew first thing tomorrow morning and that he can start Drew on chemo as well as discharge him. Drew hasn't gotten to see Aubrey since Monday so she came with me this morning to see him and had a great time. She wanted to wear her Christmas dress and princess shoes so she looked adorable. She brought some of her toys and had a lot of fun playing horses with Daddy. They were both very excited to see each other.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Past Two Weeks
The past two weeks have been a bit of a battle for us and Drew has had some rough patches. Drew's drains stopped working the week before Halloween and the doc was able to squeeze him in to switch out his tubes. Luckily they did this without any problems and Drew was able to come home late that night. We were able to spend Halloween together and Aubrey had a wonderful time trick or treating.
It seemed like Drew was feeling a little better, but then his pain got increasingly worse so he went in the following week for a biopsy on his back in order for some chemo testing to be done and for the docs to look at his tubes again. Both procedures went well and he came home that afternoon. We were hoping he would get some relief from these procedures but that wasn't the case. This past weekend he was very up and down. Drew would have some good hours followed by a great deal of pain. We came to see his oncologist on Monday as a precaution for blood work and for dehydration. Drew's nerves are damaged by his bladder from his surgery last March so whenever he has anthesia followed by increased pain meds he has urinary problems which causes him not to drink and dehydration. His bloodwork looked good on Monday and the plan was to get him hydrated and then he would start chemo that day. Unfortunately things didn't go according to plan and Drew was admitted to the hospital Monday late afternoon. On Tuesday Drew had a procedure done to check out his bladder. It went well but was very painful. When I left last night around 6:00 he seemed ok, however he had a rough night. At about 4:00 am he woke up in horrible pain and they could not get it under control for a few hours. They increased his pain meds tenfold and he has had a much better day. His doc is concerned about his increased pain level bc it came out of nowhere and was extremely severe. Drew had a CT scan this morning to see if anything else is going on and he also had his 1st radiation treatment for his back.
As of right now his pain is under control, hopefully it will stay that way but he is on some hard core drugs. Tomorrow he will have radiation again, he will have 15 treatments total, and may start chemo on Monday. I am not sure when he will be coming home. He has to have his pain under control before he can be discharged so I am hoping Friday he can come home but I am not sure bc he is on drugs that they can't write prescriptions for. Hopefully the radiation will really help and he will get some relief in the next few days. The pain is mostly in his back where he has a rather large tumor. We are taking it one day at a time.
On a happy note, my friends gave me a wonderful baby shower this past weekend. It was a much needed distraction and we got some wonderful things for the baby. I can't believe she will be here in about a month.
It seemed like Drew was feeling a little better, but then his pain got increasingly worse so he went in the following week for a biopsy on his back in order for some chemo testing to be done and for the docs to look at his tubes again. Both procedures went well and he came home that afternoon. We were hoping he would get some relief from these procedures but that wasn't the case. This past weekend he was very up and down. Drew would have some good hours followed by a great deal of pain. We came to see his oncologist on Monday as a precaution for blood work and for dehydration. Drew's nerves are damaged by his bladder from his surgery last March so whenever he has anthesia followed by increased pain meds he has urinary problems which causes him not to drink and dehydration. His bloodwork looked good on Monday and the plan was to get him hydrated and then he would start chemo that day. Unfortunately things didn't go according to plan and Drew was admitted to the hospital Monday late afternoon. On Tuesday Drew had a procedure done to check out his bladder. It went well but was very painful. When I left last night around 6:00 he seemed ok, however he had a rough night. At about 4:00 am he woke up in horrible pain and they could not get it under control for a few hours. They increased his pain meds tenfold and he has had a much better day. His doc is concerned about his increased pain level bc it came out of nowhere and was extremely severe. Drew had a CT scan this morning to see if anything else is going on and he also had his 1st radiation treatment for his back.
As of right now his pain is under control, hopefully it will stay that way but he is on some hard core drugs. Tomorrow he will have radiation again, he will have 15 treatments total, and may start chemo on Monday. I am not sure when he will be coming home. He has to have his pain under control before he can be discharged so I am hoping Friday he can come home but I am not sure bc he is on drugs that they can't write prescriptions for. Hopefully the radiation will really help and he will get some relief in the next few days. The pain is mostly in his back where he has a rather large tumor. We are taking it one day at a time.
On a happy note, my friends gave me a wonderful baby shower this past weekend. It was a much needed distraction and we got some wonderful things for the baby. I can't believe she will be here in about a month.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Medical Update
Well we met with Drew's oncologist on Friday to go over the results of his CT scan from the prior Monday. We were both terrified to go to the appointment. We knew going into this that things weren't great but we didn't know how bad they were and didn't really want to be told how bad they were. Luckily the appointment was a positive one and we left feeling good about the next steps of treatment. Unfortunately, the cancer is lurking its ugly head in a few places. Drew has a few spots on his spleen, liver, and lungs. He also has a rather large tumor on his back near the end of one of his ribs that is causing him some pain. The good news is the doc wants to have the surgeon take out a piece of the tumor and have it sent to a special lab for testing. This testing will determine what type of chemo won't work for Drew and will help to determine the best options for chemo. The next step is chemo and since Drew has been on the 2 types of chemo for colon cancer it is a guessing game as to which one to start next. This test will give us the best shot. Drew also needs to have his catheters in his abdomen switched out as they are causing some issues and not draining properly. The oncologist is going to call us early this week with a plan of attack. We are thinking Drew will have these procedures done early next week. He will be in the hospital a few days and we should have the results of the tests in about 10 days. Drew will also have radiation done on the tumor on his back. We talked about the possibility of RFA and cyberknife for the spots on the lung and liver, that is to be determined. I think Drew will start the chemo and radiation first and then we can look into the other options.
While none of this is really good news, we were both terrified that we would walk into the appointment and be told there was nothing left to be done and the cancer was everywhere. While the cancer has spread, it could be a lot worse and we were happy that the doctor already had a plan in place and it seems like they are doing everything they can for Drew and our family.
If the tumor was not located on his back near the surface this test would not be possible, I guess in a way we are somewhat thankful the tumor is where it is so this test is an option.
The hardest part of all of this is watching Drew in pain. He has good days and bad days, he had good hours and bad hours, it is no fun. I wish he could just enjoy each day to the fullest and do whatever he wants to do, but he can't and it is hard to deal with. He is uncomfortable or in pain pretty much all day and I am worried that it is getting worse but it is so hard to tell bc he can do the same thing on different days and have a great day the one day and a horrible one the next. We just have to take each day as it comes.
On another note, we are looking forward to Halloween this weekend. Aubrey has a Halloween party at school on Wednesday and parents get to go, so I am super excited for that. I have never seen her interact with her friends at school so I am interested to see that dynamic. Her teacher has told me that she has a BFF named Sammy and they do everything together, but Aubrey doesn't talk about her much so we shall see. Aubrey also has our annual playgroup Halloween party on Friday. We have known this fabulous group of about 8 women and kids for 3 years now and they all mean so much to me. We see them every Friday and it is awesome knowing that Aubrey has friends from when she was 10 weeks old, hopefully they can all continue to grow up together. Finally, we have our neighborhood block party and trick or treating. It should be a great weekend! Below is a picture of Aubrey and her two best friends Ava and Sophia at the pumpkin patch. They had a ball.
While none of this is really good news, we were both terrified that we would walk into the appointment and be told there was nothing left to be done and the cancer was everywhere. While the cancer has spread, it could be a lot worse and we were happy that the doctor already had a plan in place and it seems like they are doing everything they can for Drew and our family.
If the tumor was not located on his back near the surface this test would not be possible, I guess in a way we are somewhat thankful the tumor is where it is so this test is an option.
The hardest part of all of this is watching Drew in pain. He has good days and bad days, he had good hours and bad hours, it is no fun. I wish he could just enjoy each day to the fullest and do whatever he wants to do, but he can't and it is hard to deal with. He is uncomfortable or in pain pretty much all day and I am worried that it is getting worse but it is so hard to tell bc he can do the same thing on different days and have a great day the one day and a horrible one the next. We just have to take each day as it comes.
On another note, we are looking forward to Halloween this weekend. Aubrey has a Halloween party at school on Wednesday and parents get to go, so I am super excited for that. I have never seen her interact with her friends at school so I am interested to see that dynamic. Her teacher has told me that she has a BFF named Sammy and they do everything together, but Aubrey doesn't talk about her much so we shall see. Aubrey also has our annual playgroup Halloween party on Friday. We have known this fabulous group of about 8 women and kids for 3 years now and they all mean so much to me. We see them every Friday and it is awesome knowing that Aubrey has friends from when she was 10 weeks old, hopefully they can all continue to grow up together. Finally, we have our neighborhood block party and trick or treating. It should be a great weekend! Below is a picture of Aubrey and her two best friends Ava and Sophia at the pumpkin patch. They had a ball.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Orlando Fun!
We headed up to Orlando a couple of weeks ago for our friend's wedding and had a wonderful time. We also extended the stay a few extra days to go to Disney with Aubrey and to enjoy some family time. We were a little worried that the trip wasn't going to happen, on Wednesday morning Drew woke up with a low grade fever which is never a good sign. He had been having some trouble with his drains and we were worried the combination of the two was an infection. Luckily we have some antibiotics on hand in case Drew runs a fever so he took some of those and stayed in bed for the day. Due to a small miracle, the fever was gone by early morning and he felt better. My original plan was for Drew to take it easy Thursday morning while Aubrey and I got mani and pedi's for the wedding then we would head up to Orlando around noon so Drew could have some downtime in the hotel before Mickey's Halloween party. Well that didn't happen! Drew felt good so he went to work all morning, we left about an hour later than we wanted, and only had about 1-2 hours in the hotel before we left for Disney. Drew's drains started giving him some trouble again so he spent the downtime working on his drains and not relaxing. I knew he wasn't feeling good, but he wanted to go so we did. Overall we had a good time, but it was packed with people and Drew was really struggling and not doing well which makes everything a lot more stressful. We left around 10:30, got on the monorail, and realized that Drew lost the car keys. We headed back to magic kingdom to look for them. Lost and found didn't have them so Drew retraced his steps in the park, no luck. I was about to breakdown in tears and after an hour of looking we decided to check lost and found once more before we called a cab and due to another small miracle someone had just turned in the keys. Thank god!
On Friday Drew took it easy at the hotel while Aubrey and I hit the pool, then it was time for the wedding rehearsal. Aubrey was the flower girl and Drew was a groomsman so I was very excited to watch the two of them. Aubrey was so excited to walk down the aisle, she told a few of the bridesmaids that she has been practicing for a year. My parents went to the wedding as well, so they took Aubrey out to dinner so Drew and I could go to the rehearsal dinner by ourselves. We had a great time catching up with Kris and Amy's families and their friends. It was also nice to be back in Orlando again, we really loved living there.
Saturday was the big day for the wedding. Aubrey got her hair done with the girls and did a great job sitting patiently, Drew rested for the morning and then we were off. Aubrey did a fantastic job walking down the aisle and was very good in church during the mass. I was very worried that I would have a flower girl that was out of control during the mass, but when you promise them a princess cupcake toy little girls tend to cooperate. Drew did a great job as well and looked very handsome in his tux. Amy looked beautiful and Father Kevin did a great job with the service, it was a very nice ceremony.
Aubrey had so much fun at the reception, as soon as we arrived she found some little kids to play with and had a ball. During cocktail hour she ran around so much that she had a huge rip in her dress, by the end of the night her whole dress was ripped apart. The room looked beautiful and it was a great party. Aubrey danced the night away and we had a great time watching her. Drew had to leave that morning around 11:00 am and it was a very long day for him so unfortunately he was not feeling well by the end of the day and had to leave the reception around 8:30. With everything that has been going on, we were just thankful he could attend and enjoy himself for part of the time.
Sunday we went to Seaworld for the afternoon and switched hotels in order to stay at the Grand Floridian. Seaworld was fun, but packed as well. Aubrey really liked watching the dolphins and seals. We were very excited to splurge and stay at the Grand Floridian, it was so worth it. We checked into the hotel around 4:00 that day and took it easy for the night. The next day we woke up bright and early to go to the magic kingdom. We went to breakfast with Winnie the Pooh in the park at 8:00Am, it was great. It was so nice to be in the park before it opened, something that I would love to do again, and Aubrey loved seeing all the characters. When I can be with Drew all day I put him on a strict pain management schedule, so I was all over him and had his pills ready every 4 hours which really seemed to help. He had a great day with us at the park and it was so nice spending time with just the 3 of us. Aubrey feel asleep in her stroller around 12:30 so we ate lunch and then Aubrey was still sleeping around 2:30 so Drew decided to head back to the hotel to nap while I waited for Aub to wake up and watch the parade. She woke up right around 3:00 before the parade and loved the parade. We then spent the rest of the day eating ice-cream, seeing the princesses, and we went on a couple of rides. We met Drew back at the hotel around 6:00 and went to dinner at the hotel. It was a great day!
We left the next morning after hitting up downtown disney. It is hard to imagine that this whole time I was 30 weeks pregnant as well because we did so much walking and running around, but luckily if I am in "go" mode I am fine and feel great, when I sit down to relax is when I feel it. All weekend I felt great, and then when we walked around downtown disney I started to really feel it and walked a lot slower than usual. It was a busy weekend and we were ready to go home. We had a wonderful weekend with wonderful memories. Things have been rough lately, but we really try to enjoy each day and live in each day. We don't think too far into the future and enjoy the time together that we have. Drew's quality of life has not been good the past few months and I was so thankful that he could go on this trip and enjoy at least some of it. The best day he had was the last day when we went to disney, which was the most important one for me because it meant so much to Aubrey and she was so excited to be at disney. Her face lights up whenever she sees any characters and she loved riding the rides, Aubrey is truly a blessing to us and I don't know what we would do without her.
I posted our pictures from the weekend on facebook, but can't figure out how to get the link on here. If you would like a link to our photo album, please let me know and we would be happy to share them with you.
On Friday Drew took it easy at the hotel while Aubrey and I hit the pool, then it was time for the wedding rehearsal. Aubrey was the flower girl and Drew was a groomsman so I was very excited to watch the two of them. Aubrey was so excited to walk down the aisle, she told a few of the bridesmaids that she has been practicing for a year. My parents went to the wedding as well, so they took Aubrey out to dinner so Drew and I could go to the rehearsal dinner by ourselves. We had a great time catching up with Kris and Amy's families and their friends. It was also nice to be back in Orlando again, we really loved living there.
Saturday was the big day for the wedding. Aubrey got her hair done with the girls and did a great job sitting patiently, Drew rested for the morning and then we were off. Aubrey did a fantastic job walking down the aisle and was very good in church during the mass. I was very worried that I would have a flower girl that was out of control during the mass, but when you promise them a princess cupcake toy little girls tend to cooperate. Drew did a great job as well and looked very handsome in his tux. Amy looked beautiful and Father Kevin did a great job with the service, it was a very nice ceremony.
Aubrey had so much fun at the reception, as soon as we arrived she found some little kids to play with and had a ball. During cocktail hour she ran around so much that she had a huge rip in her dress, by the end of the night her whole dress was ripped apart. The room looked beautiful and it was a great party. Aubrey danced the night away and we had a great time watching her. Drew had to leave that morning around 11:00 am and it was a very long day for him so unfortunately he was not feeling well by the end of the day and had to leave the reception around 8:30. With everything that has been going on, we were just thankful he could attend and enjoy himself for part of the time.
Sunday we went to Seaworld for the afternoon and switched hotels in order to stay at the Grand Floridian. Seaworld was fun, but packed as well. Aubrey really liked watching the dolphins and seals. We were very excited to splurge and stay at the Grand Floridian, it was so worth it. We checked into the hotel around 4:00 that day and took it easy for the night. The next day we woke up bright and early to go to the magic kingdom. We went to breakfast with Winnie the Pooh in the park at 8:00Am, it was great. It was so nice to be in the park before it opened, something that I would love to do again, and Aubrey loved seeing all the characters. When I can be with Drew all day I put him on a strict pain management schedule, so I was all over him and had his pills ready every 4 hours which really seemed to help. He had a great day with us at the park and it was so nice spending time with just the 3 of us. Aubrey feel asleep in her stroller around 12:30 so we ate lunch and then Aubrey was still sleeping around 2:30 so Drew decided to head back to the hotel to nap while I waited for Aub to wake up and watch the parade. She woke up right around 3:00 before the parade and loved the parade. We then spent the rest of the day eating ice-cream, seeing the princesses, and we went on a couple of rides. We met Drew back at the hotel around 6:00 and went to dinner at the hotel. It was a great day!
We left the next morning after hitting up downtown disney. It is hard to imagine that this whole time I was 30 weeks pregnant as well because we did so much walking and running around, but luckily if I am in "go" mode I am fine and feel great, when I sit down to relax is when I feel it. All weekend I felt great, and then when we walked around downtown disney I started to really feel it and walked a lot slower than usual. It was a busy weekend and we were ready to go home. We had a wonderful weekend with wonderful memories. Things have been rough lately, but we really try to enjoy each day and live in each day. We don't think too far into the future and enjoy the time together that we have. Drew's quality of life has not been good the past few months and I was so thankful that he could go on this trip and enjoy at least some of it. The best day he had was the last day when we went to disney, which was the most important one for me because it meant so much to Aubrey and she was so excited to be at disney. Her face lights up whenever she sees any characters and she loved riding the rides, Aubrey is truly a blessing to us and I don't know what we would do without her.
I posted our pictures from the weekend on facebook, but can't figure out how to get the link on here. If you would like a link to our photo album, please let me know and we would be happy to share them with you.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Update
I haven't posted anything in awhile so I thought I would give everyone a quick update. Drew has been doing much better over the past month. He has been working a ton and enjoying himself as much as he can. He had a doc appt. last week and the current plan is to have a scan done next month and to reassess the situation. From there we will decide if chemo is an option and what treatment plan he will be on. Right now the doc is concerned that Drew's quality of life will detoriate if he starts chemo right now. We are taking things day to day.
Drew just bought a small salt water fish tank and has been enjoying working on it. Aubrey loves helping him feed the fish, clean the tank, and going to fish stores so it has been a good project for them to work on together. Drew went to Orlando this weekend for a bachelor party. I was extremely worried about him going but he promised he would take it easy and take care of himself so hopefully he won't overdo it. Drew just doesn't have the physical strength anymore so he really needs to rest part of each day and can't stay out too late so we will see how it goes this weekend. Our friends are getting married in 2 weeks so we are really looking forward to heading up to Orlando for the big day. Drew is a groomsmen and Aubrey is the flower girl. We are also going to head to disney for a few days while we are there and are extremely excited for Mickey's Halloween party. Aubrey is going to be Ariel, the little mermaid. Below is a picture from Disney on Ice, before this Aubrey wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake, now she wants to be Ariel.
We also scheduled my c-section this week, our daughter will be born on December 13th. We can't wait for her to arrive, although I am already getting nervous of being sleep deprived and exhausted. Aubrey seems to be very excited as well. Hopefully only more good things to come!
Drew just bought a small salt water fish tank and has been enjoying working on it. Aubrey loves helping him feed the fish, clean the tank, and going to fish stores so it has been a good project for them to work on together. Drew went to Orlando this weekend for a bachelor party. I was extremely worried about him going but he promised he would take it easy and take care of himself so hopefully he won't overdo it. Drew just doesn't have the physical strength anymore so he really needs to rest part of each day and can't stay out too late so we will see how it goes this weekend. Our friends are getting married in 2 weeks so we are really looking forward to heading up to Orlando for the big day. Drew is a groomsmen and Aubrey is the flower girl. We are also going to head to disney for a few days while we are there and are extremely excited for Mickey's Halloween party. Aubrey is going to be Ariel, the little mermaid. Below is a picture from Disney on Ice, before this Aubrey wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake, now she wants to be Ariel.
We also scheduled my c-section this week, our daughter will be born on December 13th. We can't wait for her to arrive, although I am already getting nervous of being sleep deprived and exhausted. Aubrey seems to be very excited as well. Hopefully only more good things to come!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Date Night
I am happy to report that Drew and I have gotten to have two date nights the past two weekends! We haven't gone out just the two of us since Drew's surgery in March so the date nights were well deserved and needed. We went all the way up to PGA mall for the first date because I wanted to go to pottery barn kids for Aubrey's new room and then we went to dinner. We had a great time and decided to do it again. This past weekend we just went out to dinner and then to cheesecake factory for dessert. Drew's mom and stepdad watched Aubrey for us both nights and she had a great time with them.
Drew is doing ok. He has a some good hours each day and some bad hours each day. He has been working a lot and we have been enjoying a lot of family time together. Drew has been doing different projects around the house that keep him busy and he just started building some new shelves for Aubrey's room.
Drew is doing ok. He has a some good hours each day and some bad hours each day. He has been working a lot and we have been enjoying a lot of family time together. Drew has been doing different projects around the house that keep him busy and he just started building some new shelves for Aubrey's room.
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