I'm not going to lie. This has been a hard week. We've settled into a routine, we're over halfway done, but we're not close enough to feel relief. The treatments are accumulating in Cara's system. All that adds up to Cara feeling miserable. She hurts, she's really tired, she can't always relax so that she can rest.
We talked to the Dr. today and he is giving her a day off tomorrow. She'll appreciate the break, although it will extend the treatments into Monday, Aug. 23.
Some good news--Lexi is back from Pennsylvania. She got to go to the beach and the theme park in Hershey--I forgot to ask if she could smell the chocolate. She spend some good time with Uncle Evan and Aunt Jenny as well as the other housemates--Ben (who's actually coming back to Kansas to go to school at Washburn) and Jeff and his girlfriend, Audrey.
This Sunday, August 15 is Cara's 31st birthday. We have tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at Starlight, an outdoor ampitheater in Swope Park here in KC. The heat (it's been 100 or so every day for a couple of weeks) is supposed to break, so it should be a lovely evening.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. This will all be over soon and we will be able to go on to new adventures!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Halfway done
Cara's reached the halfway point in her treatments--10/20. We're looking forward to a quite weekend to catch up on chores and relax a little bit. Cara's feeling pretty good, we went shopping for awhile this afternoon and it tired her out, but she's doing OK and certainly being a good sport about the whole thing. Lexi is in Pennsylvania with her Uncle Evan and Aunt Jenny--I've heard rumors about a theme park tomorrow....
I hope you all have a great weekend.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
No News is Good News
I haven't posted in a few days because thankfully, there's not much new to report. Cara generally feels tired and achy, but she's able to get around and even do some things. Yesterday we went to WalMart for a little bit in the afternoon and went to the movies in the evening. She held up pretty well, but was really tired this morning. Lexi and I left her alone this afternoon to rest.
Lexi is leaving tomorrow to go to Lancaster, PA for about a week to stay with her Uncle Evan. I've heard about plans to go to New York City for a day--beyond that, the trip is a mystery. Lexi's been pretty good about entertaining herself but it's pretty boring around here--a change of scenery will do her lots of good. It's her first plane ride by herself but the flight is nonstop, so I think she'll be OK.
Hannah has kept us all entertained. She's looking forward to starting school on the 16th. Summer is almost gone. I so appreciate everyone's prayers and good wishes. Thanks for all your support.
Lexi is leaving tomorrow to go to Lancaster, PA for about a week to stay with her Uncle Evan. I've heard about plans to go to New York City for a day--beyond that, the trip is a mystery. Lexi's been pretty good about entertaining herself but it's pretty boring around here--a change of scenery will do her lots of good. It's her first plane ride by herself but the flight is nonstop, so I think she'll be OK.
Hannah has kept us all entertained. She's looking forward to starting school on the 16th. Summer is almost gone. I so appreciate everyone's prayers and good wishes. Thanks for all your support.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A Quiet Weekend
It's Sunday--two days since Cara's last treatment. She's doing pretty well--moving a little slow, but felt well enough to take the girls to the park for awhile yesterday afternoon. She had a rash on her legs yesterday, but it's disappeared today. The site where her line is on her chest itches "like sandpaper underwear".
It's quiet around here this morning. We're going to get the kids out of here to remove their heebie-jeebies this afternoon. More treatments tomorrow. They told Cara that Monday would be a rough day after the weekend off, so we'll enjoy the day, the sunshine, and the relative calm.
It's quiet around here this morning. We're going to get the kids out of here to remove their heebie-jeebies this afternoon. More treatments tomorrow. They told Cara that Monday would be a rough day after the weekend off, so we'll enjoy the day, the sunshine, and the relative calm.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
A Better Day
Today went a lot better. Cara slept all day yesterday, but felt much better this morning. She met with the doctor's office this morning and they think it was a combination of the treatment, the sedative from the placement of the line, and the medicine they gave her for nausea.
She woke up this morning and wasn't exactly raring to go, but she seemed much more like her old self. The treatment went well today. She hopes that she has a lot more of these days--me, too!
She woke up this morning and wasn't exactly raring to go, but she seemed much more like her old self. The treatment went well today. She hopes that she has a lot more of these days--me, too!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day 3 Mission Accomplished
Today was a tough day. We went to the hospital early this morning to have the PICC line inserted. The radiology folks were able to use some dye to determine what was going on with the veins and it showed that they are a tangled mess around that scar. So--they went directly into her jugular and her "line" is located in her chest.
Following the procedure, we went over to the cancer center so that Cara could get her next treatment. They had sedated her for the procedure, so she was pretty nauseous and had a terrible headache. She rested while she had her treatment. She's pretty much slept since we've been back home, too. This one really wore her out.
I wish there was some way that I could make this easier for her. She's such a great mom and a great person--I hate it that she has to go through this...
More later.
Following the procedure, we went over to the cancer center so that Cara could get her next treatment. They had sedated her for the procedure, so she was pretty nauseous and had a terrible headache. She rested while she had her treatment. She's pretty much slept since we've been back home, too. This one really wore her out.
I wish there was some way that I could make this easier for her. She's such a great mom and a great person--I hate it that she has to go through this...
More later.
Monday, July 26, 2010
You Just Can't Make Up this Stuff!
Cara and I arrived at the KU Medical Cancer Center bright and early this morning to begin her chemotherapy. It felt a little like the first day of summer camp—we had to find our way around, meet new people, and get a feeling for the place.
The first task was to place a PICC line. I now know that stands for Peripheral Intravenous Central Catheter. It’s a permanent IV that goes to the vena-cava of her heart so that the chemo will be pumped directly by the heart to her entire body. The PICC nurse was named Kathy—a lovely lady who inserted 69 of these things in the last month alone—it was not her first time at the rodeo. It’s quite a production that requires masks and sterile gowns and about 20 sets of gloves. They use ultrasound and gps to determine where this line needs to go. She found the vein and it looked more than adequate for what they needed to do. She was able to insert a needle into vein quickly and easily and started to put in a guidewire that leads the way before the catheter is inserted. She was able to get in about 6-8 inches and then the wire just stopped. About 700 tries later, she finally gave up—that wire was just not going to get through the vein to the heart.
OK, so about ten years ago when Cara’s addiction and behavior issues were at their worst, she got shot. In the shoulder. So it appears that the scar tissue from the gunshot was blocking the insertion of the PICC line. So once again, her early days are coming back to haunt her.
They placed a regular IV and they were able to give her the first of her 20 treatments. From that point on, everything went smoothly. We were there for about 5 hours. It was tedious, but everyone is so nice and thoughtful, that it wasn’t really so bad.
We will go to the hospital (the Cancer Center is about 15 minutes away from the actual KU Medical Center) on Wednesday where they have people with more expertise and more equipment so that they can see exactly what is going on with the vein.
She didn’t feel much effect from the treatment right away, so we went ahead and ran some errands on our way home. By the time we’d been out for a couple of hours, she was more than ready to come home and rest. She felt feverish and tired through the evening, but she felt like eating dinner and hanging out for a bit.
The first task was to place a PICC line. I now know that stands for Peripheral Intravenous Central Catheter. It’s a permanent IV that goes to the vena-cava of her heart so that the chemo will be pumped directly by the heart to her entire body. The PICC nurse was named Kathy—a lovely lady who inserted 69 of these things in the last month alone—it was not her first time at the rodeo. It’s quite a production that requires masks and sterile gowns and about 20 sets of gloves. They use ultrasound and gps to determine where this line needs to go. She found the vein and it looked more than adequate for what they needed to do. She was able to insert a needle into vein quickly and easily and started to put in a guidewire that leads the way before the catheter is inserted. She was able to get in about 6-8 inches and then the wire just stopped. About 700 tries later, she finally gave up—that wire was just not going to get through the vein to the heart.
OK, so about ten years ago when Cara’s addiction and behavior issues were at their worst, she got shot. In the shoulder. So it appears that the scar tissue from the gunshot was blocking the insertion of the PICC line. So once again, her early days are coming back to haunt her.
They placed a regular IV and they were able to give her the first of her 20 treatments. From that point on, everything went smoothly. We were there for about 5 hours. It was tedious, but everyone is so nice and thoughtful, that it wasn’t really so bad.
We will go to the hospital (the Cancer Center is about 15 minutes away from the actual KU Medical Center) on Wednesday where they have people with more expertise and more equipment so that they can see exactly what is going on with the vein.
She didn’t feel much effect from the treatment right away, so we went ahead and ran some errands on our way home. By the time we’d been out for a couple of hours, she was more than ready to come home and rest. She felt feverish and tired through the evening, but she felt like eating dinner and hanging out for a bit.
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