John is doing OK right now, but we are hoping that he will be feeling better soon! His body has just been through the wringer with the combination of dialysis, cancer treatment (Torisel) and low blood counts. He is wiped out pretty much all of the time. Imagine having the worst flu you have ever had and then working out for an hour without any water you might come close to how he feels! With that being said he still makes it a point not to complain or get too down in the dumps. I have been and continue to be so amazed at his strength!
Because of dialysis, and probably Torisel, John has become very anemic. The drug that is usually given to dialysis patients to get them back to a normal level has the potential to spread cancer, so for him to get his levels up and start to regain some of his strength he must have blood transfusions. This Saturday will be his second one. We are praying that he will feel better afterwards. We just purchased a new treadmill so that he can work on getting strength back in his legs.
We do have some good news! The first good news is; John's PET scan came back that the cancer has not gone into any of his organs or into his bones (we were concerned that it may have gone into his bone because of his legs hurting so badly). Also the cancer has shown very small growth! The second good news is we have one of the best Radiation Oncologist in the state who is willing to do radiation for John! When we first found out that his cancer had spread we asked about radiation and were told that it was too advanced and no one would do radiation. Thankfully we have been fortunate to have the team of doctors working with us who are willing to be aggressive with their treatment. The great thing about doing the radiation is the fact that it does not have harsh side effects on John's body! Dr. Briggs is the Radiation Oncologist; the main Oncologist is Dr. Choi who is keeping Dr. Brown in Tucson updated. The awesome thing about Dr. Choi is he knows John's Nephrologist (Kidney Doc) so everyone that is treating John is communicating. How wild is that!
As I said in the beginning, we have been very busy in the appointment department! Monday Wednesday and Friday John has dialysis, Tuesday cancer treatment and soon he will be adding radiation to the regiment. Add that to an occasional Saturday 5 hour blood transfusion. That means 6 days of treatment sometimes! Obviously with a schedule like that we have to have help with Alaina, and we have been crazy blessed with lots of people "watchting" her at the drop of a hat! So for the ones that have helped out over the last year in helping to keep us at peace, you all get a big THANK YOU! And Nana you get an extra one for watching the wild dogs too! :) and keeping me from getting behind in my laundry!!!
Some of you have said you want to call but you don't want to bother us ~ please don't worry. If we can't answer the phone we won't! And if John isn't feeling good I will tell him you called :)
We love you all! Enjoy!
1 comment:
Hey sis!
I just got finished checking your blog. Your families story is inspiring! Sheri and I continue to keep you in our prayers. I've been through the radiation thing and it's not so bad, especially considering all the other stuff John is going through. He's one tough guy!
Love you!
Jeff Henson
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