Just Another Day in Paradise?!?!?!

No, no really.  Got your attention though, huh?  I had another typical cruddy day.  Went to the doctor's office for my routine INR (blood clot test) and bandage change on my PICC line.  My blood tests were okay but they decided to check my electrolytes since I have been having so many problems keeping stuff down.  Ended up getting fluids there so was stuck sitting in their crappy recliner for over 2 hours.  They thought the fluids would make me feel a bit better - they thought wrongly :(  

We stopped at my mom's for a bit afterwards to visit and the came home.  I have done nothing since but lay down and rest/sleep.  Guess if that is what my body needs, that is what it will get.  Just makes for very monotonous days/weeks/months......

It all just seems to run together.  I figure if I can keep plugging away something has to change, hopefully for the better.  Brenda is out in this nasty weather getting me some needed medications.  Bless her heart, I know I would not have made it this far without her love and support.  But I still worry for her health.  I wish I could do more for myself.  Most days I am still took weak to even get my sorry butt outta bed without a gentle push from Brenda.  No strength at all in my upper body or so it seems.

Enough prattling for now.  Enjoyed the comments from the last blog entry.  Keep them coming - PLEASE!  It is one of my few pleasures in life, just to see that people still care and have not forgotten about me.  Take care and God Bless!

Yes - Way Overdue

Yep, life happens - just keeps getting in the way. I have just not felt like taking the time to update this blog.  I felt like nobody was reading it since few or no comments have  been getting posted.  I have had a bunch of people ask me recently why no updates.  When I ask for comments, I am not asking for lengthy ones.  Just a friendly how-de-do or thinking of you and your family Kim goes a long way.

I will now update the medical side of things.  My current chemotherapy drugs are: Oxaliplatin (which causes a weird side effect of making me very intolerant to cold things,) Epirubicin (which can cause hair loss and more nausea,) and Capecitabine (also known as Xeloda, which is the only oral med of the group.)  I get the first two drugs via my PIC line and the Xeloda via mouth for the rest of the three week cycle.  Then more blood tests and another round if tests are good.  I will start my third cycle next Tuesday.  Not feeling any better but not too much worse.  I really hate the cold intolerance.  Ice cream feels like biting into electricity.  Not worth the pain.  About 5-10 days after chemo the effect wears off and I get cold stuff for a short time before the next round starts.  No hair loss yet.  Actually had Brenda cut my hair because it was getting pretty bushy around the ears.  I am still taking a cough syrup every 4 hours and an anti-nausea drug every 6 hours.  Plus my usual anti-depression drug and stuff for constipation.

Physically, I am still pretty weak most of the time.  Easy to lose my balance too.  We got a scooter for me to use.  Got a heck of a deal on one we just couldn't pass up ($375 for a retail value scooter of $1700.)  The guy said he just didn't like it.  Insurance paid for most of it I guess.  I dunno but it is brand new and works great.  Just used it today at Farm & Fleet. I felt good enough for a little shopping.  I was in the doc's Thursday for a blood thinning test and dressing change on my PIC line.  My red blood count was way low so they gave me a shot to boost that up.  Guess it helped my energy level some.

Emotionally I am still pretty down most days.  The days seem to take forever and I don't sleep well at night.  Kids are pretty rambunctious and noisy alot and that wears me down too.  Kids will be kids but I do wish they would take my feelings into consideration some times.

As for the rest of the family, we are all going through various stages of a cold.  Brenda's feet are finally healing and she doesn't hobble around so bad now.  Cherae, Trey, and Daveon all are in basketball.  Brenda and Pierre have to do alot of running around for practices.  The first games are on Sunday.  Hope I feel up to going.  Kids are a hoot to watch trying to play basketball.

That about all I have for now.  PLEASE leave a comment if you read this.  Just say Hey if nothing else.  Then I know I am not wasting my time typing all this.  It does take energy, which I don't have alot to spare most days.  Take care and God Bless!

Pictures - for your enjoyment

Pierre's Cool Haircut

Pierre has been a great help to me and the family through this whole ordeal.  He is always asking what he can do for me.  I don't know what I would have done without his help and support.

Miracle - our royally spoiled kitten - recently turned 1 year old

Miracle - in one of her favorite boxes

Some recent pix of the kids

 

Trey and Daddy doing some snuggle time

Hope you enjoyed a peek into my world! 

The secret to Life: Live IT!  Treat every day like it could be your last because you just never know what curve balls life will throw at you.

Back - By Popular Demand

Yeah, I know it has been ages since my last update.  Hadn't been feeling too well and then I had major computer problems.  I had to get a new hard drive and added more RAM for good measure.  Took forever to get the hard drive loaded back up properly.  Good news is that it works like a champ now.  Cruises along like it should, no more Low System Resource errors like I was used to seeing frequently.  Amazing what Windows will do when you give it the horsepower it wants.  The hard drive is a bit faster than the old one.  Upped the RAM from 1.5 GB to 4.0GB.  Of course, XP only reports 3.5GB but it was a significant upgrade.

Alot has happened since my last update.  The heart scan was good so I was able to start chemo again.  I hate chemo but if it helps keep me alive I will tolerate it.  First I had to get a PIC line installed.  It is similar to having the infusion port in that it gives them easy access.  Basically, I have an IV port hanging from my right arm.  It keeps taped up in place pretty well.  It is located just above my right elbow.  It can also be used to draw blood for tests so that part is nice.  I hate getting stuck, especially since my veins are not in very good shape any more.

I got my PIC line put on Monday, the 8th and started chemo the next day.  I got two different drugs via the PIC line (Unfortunately I can't find the info on the names of those 2.)  The third drug I take orally, 2 tablets, twice daily.  That one is called Xeloda and it is used to make 5FU internally.  That is what I used to have to get via infusion pump all week.  So this is definitely easier to do.

I went back last Tuesday, the 15th, to get the PIC line flushed out and my blood tested.  I am still on warfarin, the blood thinner, so they have to keep a close eye on my levels.  Fortunately the levels are staying right where they want them so I have not had to increase the dosage.  I surely do not want to be in any position to bleed to death.  Can't win for losing LOL!

Trying my best to stay positive but it has been difficult to do with everything that has been going on.  Pierre did a pretty cool thing awhile ago.  He got a hair cut and had the words FIGHT and IT shaved into his hair.  I got pictures I will try to post here.  We all wear periwinkle blue rubber bracelets that have Say it - Fight It - Cure it on them.  Periwinkle blue is the color for gastric and esophageal cancer.  Pierre continues to be great help to me and the family.

I will sign off for now.  Going to try to find those pictures and get them posted here soon.  Take care and God Bless.

No Good News

I ended up seeing my oncologist on Tuesday.  My blood clot has pretty much gone away.  My left arm is back to normal size.  I still have to take the blood thinner for awhile.

My CT scan showed two new growth spots on my liver, plus the original spot had gotten bigger, after months of no growth.  Since it has been over 3 months since my last chemo I guess it could be worse.  Brenda and I have both been pretty well bummed out by the news though.  I have to have a heart scan next Monday to see if it is strong enough to handle the new chemo drugs the doc wants me on.  Guess they can cause damage to the heart valves.  Assuming I test out okay with that, the following Monday I will get a PIC line put in for chemo.  That is put into my right arm and gives them a place to put the chemo drugs, since my infusion port had to be removed.  The PIC line gets put in at like 6am and then I go right over to the oncologist's office to start chemo. 

I was so hoping that I was done with chemo since it drags me out so bad.  But I have to try everything they have.  I am not a quitter and the stakes are rather high.

My blood tests were all good though.  My liver is fighting tooth and nail and my kidneys are hanging tough.  I am a tough old bird and am not going down easy.  Must be the Ziegler side of my family.

Not going to say much about Sabian.  He has called several times about getting his clothes.  He doesn't bother to ask about me.  The family really could have been using his help through this.  He rather spend his time drinking and doping.  If that is the best way he can think of to handle this mess then good riddance to him.  We were always there for him, regardless of the circumstances.  Nice way to repay us.  I will not be saying any more about him in the future.  Makes me too sad and he is not worth my tears any more.

I am getting pretty tired.  Been a long day of fighting computers and no real nap to speak of.  I will say so long for now.  Look forward to hearing from anybody willing to speak at me.  Take care and God Bless.

Gimme A Break!

It just keeps getting worse.  Or maybe I am just getting so wore down it seems that way.  My arm is almost back to normal size.  Still taking oral meds for the blood clot.  Go to the doc Monday for a blood test to see where I stand there.

Had my CT scan and full blood workups Friday.  Have to wait until next Wednesday for the results.  Don't know why I can't just talk to the doc on Monday.  He should have the results by then.  I know Monday's are busy over there but I hate playing the waiting game.  Especially when the stakes are so high.  It has been 3 months since I stopped chemo.  If there is new growth I don't know what options I would have left since I do not have the infusion port now.  I don't think I could do chemo without having a port.

Brenda has been limping around here.  She managed to get burns on the bottoms of both of her feet.  She was messing around at the burning barrel in her bare feet. 

No updates on Sabian.  He is about done at school.  Keeps getting suspended for not following the rules.  He is flunking almost all of his classes so we don't know why he bothers even going.  Such a shame.  He is a smart kid, just extremely lazy.  Plus he has always seemed to think that the universe revolves around him and that everybody should do what he thinks.  World has never worked that way buddy boy.  Grow up and get over it!

Yesterday was one of the worse days I have had in awhile.  Kept getting sick and was so tired.  I had woke up at 2:30am and couldn't go back to sleep so I just got up and worked in the back room.  Slept okay last night so I feel a little better today.  Have lots of stuff to do so will get to it.

Thanks for checking back.  Please comment or email me.  God Bless!

Quote of the Day:
Life is hard. It’s even harder if you’re stupid.
--Anonymous

Life Goes On

Been quite awhile since the last update.  Sorry about that.  Many things been going on, none of them good unfortunately.

Thursday Brenda noticed that my left arm appeared to be swollen.  It was hurting or anything but she wouldn't let up on it.  She called my oncologist and he said it needed to be checked immediately.  So, off we went to Trinity for an emergency Doppler check.  Poor tech got called away from her son's ball game.  BUT, she did find a big blood clot.  So, the next stop was the Emergency Room.  They kind of lost me in there for a bit.  Once they checked me out they decided that my chemo infusion port was the cause.  So..... Friday morning a trip to Genesis to have the port removed.  That blew most of the day. Still have the clot.  On a blood thinner and a nightly shot to break it up.  Don't know what I will do if I ever need chemo again.  That port was a God send.

Sabian has not been home for about 3 weeks now.  He is mostly skipping school too.  Lost his job because of his bad attitude and poor attendance. Go figure   We have no clue what his problem is.  He is supposedly living with a known gang member and drug dealer.  He turns 18 on the 25th.  So welcome to the world of adults Buddy.  Sink or Swim, you are on your own, just how you wanted it.

I have lab tests and another CT scan on Friday.  Will know next week where I stand cancer wise.  Hoping for no growth still.

I will try to stay a little more current here.  Been having many stomach issues.  Most days I hardly want to leave the bed.   Thanks for checking back.

Quote of the Day:
Honk off, bozo.
--Eno, The Duplex