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We had a nice Christmas with the Bogners. On Christmas Eve we went to the 5 o'clock church service. Afterwards the boys opened their presents to each other before eating. After opening presents Christmas morning, we went to Jason's parents. Curt was able to rest before going there. Jason's Grandmother and Uncle's family were also there (13 total). They opened presents, played games and had a nice meal (including Swedish potato sausage). The weather that day reminded us of Oregon (rain and around 40 degrees). However, on our way home that evening, it started to snow and the next day Schaumburg got about a foot of snow. Curt's younger brother (Gary and Linda) managed to drive back up from the Quad Cities that day (Saturday), so we had another nice visit with them. They returned to the Quad Cities the next day. Curt didn't go to church on Sunday. Beth and I did some exchanging, and Jason's parents came for another visit in the afternoon. Beth got us to the airport after 8:30 on Monday for our 10:40 flight back to Oregon. We checked our bags relatively quickly and got in the long security line. Curt started to feel weak and thought he might collapse. I managed to get the attention of a TSA guy who came right over and helped him to a chair near the scanners. Curt had one last Ensure in his bag and drank that and took an Excedrin. We then waited about half an hour for a wheelchair. We had to go under the tunnel to get to our gate in the C Concourse. We didn't have to wait long to board the plane. We took off a few minutes late, but were about 25 minutes early to Portland. Curt ate a little there before we caught the shuttle to Corvallis. It was sunny in Portland, but we ran into fog in Salem for the rest of the way home. After getting a few groceries, we were home before 6. We both slept well last night. I played tennis at 8:15 this morning and got a few more groceries.
Curt is still bothered by his runny nose and circulation in his legs, etc. His next appointment is Monday, January 4. We are planning to go to the Bakers for New Years Eve and Day to celebrate with them.

Stinky Snot

We just spent about 6 1/2 hours in Alexian Brothers Hospital Emergency Room in Hoffman Estates. Curt has been having a lot of discharge (snot) that is thick and yellow and really stinks. This happens especially when he lies down. Yesterday he called OHSU and they said as long as he didn't have a temperature or extreme pain, it should be okay. However, the nurse said she didn't think it was a side effect of the chemo. We were concerned that he could have an infection in his sinuses, or somewhere else. Beth and the boys took us there about 10:30 AM and stayed until he finally saw a doctor after a couple hours (there were a couple computers in the children's waiting area). Beth got me something to eat before leaving. I brought an Ensure for Curt. We thought they were going to do a blood test, but they did do a CT scan about 1:45. They gave us a CD with the scan and a written report. The doctor came back after 2:30. She said the scan was hard to read because of all the things that had happened in Curt's head, and they didn't have anything to compare it with. She wanted to talk to Dr. Chui at OHSU. She thought there could be a "fissure" or something else that could be draining dead cells from the tumor or other cells that would stink. Beth left the boys with a neighbor and came back about 4. Finally after 4:30 the doctor said they hadn't heard from OHSU, but to be safe, she would prescribe an antibiotic. If his temperature rises above 100 or he has extreme pain, he should return. Then as we were leaving, they finally heard from OHSU. They said the same thing she said. We finally got out of there about 5. It was snowing an icy snow. We stopped at Walgreens on the way home to leave his prescription. When we got home, Jason was busy with the snowblower after mixing up and putting in the oven the meatloaf I was going to fix for supper. He took Curt back to get the medicine. It does seem like Curt is feeling a little better. Right now he is playing Royal Rummy.

Schaumburg, Illinois

We had a good trip here on the limousine and airplane. Our plane was actually about one half hour early. Jason was there to pick us up. Curt slept most of the way and went to bed soon after we arrived at their house (after 8:30 PM). Both of his brothers drove from Moline to see us on Friday and Saturday. Curt was not up to going out on Friday, so we brought food in. Curt had to go lie down a couple times. Aaron went to a pre-party before a 5th Grade Dance that night. We did go out to lunch on Saturday with Denny and Sandy before they returned to Moline. At 6 that night we went to watch Sam in his Free Throw contest (he made 8 of 25). Aaron was at a birthday party at that time. Then Beth and Jason had their church group (5 other couples) over at 7:30 for game night. Curt went to bed when the boys did, but I played Progressive Rummy with the group. Sunday we all went to church. Jason took the boys sliding in the afternoon (there has been snow since we arrived), and the rest of us stayed home. Today Curt had a nice visit with his former catcher from grade school through high school. He also drove from Moline (about 2 1/2 hour drive) to see Curt. We went out to lunch with him and he visited here for awhile. Curt then rested while the boys went to a birthday party and Beth and I shopped this afternoon.
Curt has been disappointed that he has not had more energy (still rests a lot) and still gets a little pain by his ear (taking a couple Excedrin a day). He has also had a lot of discharge - mostly through his nose. He still complains about the "numbness" in his feet. He is not eating that well either.
I got a cold the day before we left (last Wednesday), but it is better now. However, I have been sleeping in Sam's room the past couple nights because of my snoring. Sam is sleeping in Aaron's room.
We are looking forward to watching the Beavers in the Las Vegas Bowl tomorrow night. We will go to the 5 o'clock church service on Christmas Eve and then come home. On Christmas Day we will go to Jason's parents'.
Merry Christmas!

Blood Transfusion

It seemed like another long day today. We left here after 8 and were a few minutes late to his 10 o'clock appointment. I don't drive as fast in the rain, and we ran into a traffic jam in Portland. They had trouble drawing blood again from his Port, but it didn't matter for this. He got a little clear fluid before starting the 2 units of blood. The transfusion was just like a chemo treatment - just added blood and did not remove anything. It was almost 3 PM when it finished. His BP was low before they started (117 over 70 something). After the first unit, it went up to 134/80. The nurse slowed up the process a little on the second unit. She said it was probably low due to the lack of red blood cells. He weighed about 163 lbs. after getting all these fluids the past 2 days. The nurse said it will take a couple days for him to perk up. After the tranfusion, he got his shot to buiild up his white blood cells. When we got home, Curt took an Excedrin for "a little bit" of pain. We are looking forward to riding in a limousine to the airport this Thursday and heading to Chicago.

Treatment #8

Today was a long day. We left after 7:30 AM and got home after 7:30 PM. They had a little mix up and got Curt started later than 9:30. They took his "vitals" before seeing the Nurse Practioner (he usually sees the doctor or NP first). He weighed about 157.6 lbs. (4 pounds less than last week), his BP was 121/77, and his temperature was 99.3 (slightly higher). Maybe that is why the NP asked us if we were visiting a big city with hospitals available in case of infection or something. She told Curt to wash his hands a lot and move away from anyone coughing or sneezing on the airplane. He could wear a mask if he wants (he doesn't want). We told the NP about Curt's tiredness (he has been sleeping A LOT) and doesn't have any energy. The blood test showed he is severely anemic (his "RBC" and "HGB" were half of what they should be), but the white count and other things were good enough for him to have the treatment. The good news is that Curt took an oxycodone at 7:00 am before we left (he had been alternating between oxycodone and Excedrin every 4-6 hours) and has not had to take another oxycodone or excedrin all day. Tomorrow we are returning at 10 AM for him to have a blood transfusion (2 units). Hopefully this transfusion will do as good a job of raising the red cell count (and restoring energy) as the treatment did for his pain. I guess the transfusion takes about 4 hours. After that he will get his followup shot for the white blood cell count there. We didn't get out of OHSU until 4 PM. We then stopped by the Bakers for about half an hour and ate supper in Albany. It was a nice drive up in the morning, but it was raining hard driving home in the dark. We are cancelling our trip to California at the end of January (for now). They have scheduled another treatment on January 4 and possibly another on January 25. Curt might have another MRI around this time depending on how he feels.

Dr. Chui

Curt weighed about 161 lbs. and his bp was 134/84 today. He saw another Resident Doctor before seeing Dr. Chui. Curt told them about the pain in his ear (we think they already knew about that) and his mouth (caused partly by his difficulty with chewing and biting his tongue) , his tiredness, and his tingly feet and ankles. They recommended he take the oxycodone for the pain (the pain is not much better with the drops). The nurse recommended another over-the-counter stool softener/laxative to take for his oxycodone side effects. The tiredness is from the chemo and tumor. The tingly feet and ankles are also from the chemo (it can destroy muscles, and his kidneys might not be taking care of potasium and magnesium that could cause this feeling - Dr. Chui will watch this, because this could also lead to his heart stopping). Dr. Chui also thought Curt's eye was drooping more (I think so too) and wanted to restart the chemotherapy ASAP. It will be the same thing (taxotere and cisplatin). They didn't have time until next Monday, December 14. Right after Dr. Chui said he wanted to start ASAP, he left the room. Shortly after a nurse came in to help us schedule it. We had a few more questions to ask, but asked the nurse some and will ask about going to California at the end of January (one of the 3 week treatments would be right in the middle of our week at San Diego) next week. We asked about going to Illinois from December 17-28 and didn't get a direct answer. However, we are assuming that will be okay. We also don't know for sure how many more treatments he will receive (that will probably depend on several things), but they did say they would be 3 weeks apart. Hopefully we will find out more about that next week too and these treatments will help!