We often hear God only gives you what can handle I just wish he didn't trust me so much.
To say things have been hectic in our lives since my last post seems like an understatement. I'll start with Brett as I am very happy to report he is doing very well. For those of you that don't know he hurt his neck and was in some severe pain and after a few rough weeks of doctors, chiropractors and many a sleepless nights. The MRI indicated surgery a must. We saw the surgeon on Wednesday and he was admitted on Thursday. The exact procedure and terminology I don't know but his C5, 6 and 7 had basically collapsed on his spinal cord. He is in a neck collar which as you can imagine looks and is extremely uncomfortable having worn it for 5 weeks now we are going back to see the surgeon next week hoping he will move onto the next step which is a soft collar for a few more weeks that only needs to be worn during activity. He has done amazingly well, was relieved of pain basically the day after surgery and once he came home really didn't need any. I have not been used to being the nurse and I believe Brett will agree I am not good at it.
On another very positive note, Luke is doing great. After threatening to put him in a bubble or lock him in his room so nothing could happen to him he is enjoying baseball and doing very well in school.
Now for my update I wish I could give you all good news however my cancer has yet again progressed. My tumor markers made quite a jump in the wrong direction so we have done another PET Scan and found new spots in my lung and liver. So we are yet again on to another drug called GEMZAR it is a weekly treatment similar to the others. I had my first and my counts went down quite a bit causing us to have to hold off a week. I just had another last Friday and again we play the game waiting to find out if I can get a hold of the cancer before it gets me. I recently heard another metastatic patient say her body just likes to make cancer and that is what is happening to me. The drugs often work for a period of time until the cancer just figures out how to get around it so we take one step forward just to be set back by two. I can only hope that eventually we can kick its ass. We went to see the doctor in Boca we have seen a few times for his opinion and he recommended GEMZAR with another drug I have had before however the concern is two fold it can be dangerous to my heart and my levels will ultimately drop with the stronger treatment. I right now have chosen to do the weekly GEMZAR with the simple hope of at least getting that in me weekly. I am not sure this is the right decision but the best one I can make right now. I have also started to work with an acupuncturist and specialist with oriental medicine needless to say I have gotten an education on herbs, QI, cleansing, teas some not so good. I drink two glasses of tea that I brew myself and my first shot at it was something out of a Harry Potter movie I could not determine if there was something alive in that cup or not so although I tried drinking it was not an option. Luke and Brett had to leave the house for a while just to recover from the smell.
We are all a part of this war and it is because of each of you that we will continue to fight for a cure. I will continue to wage war in what ever way I can so I will continue to take chemotherapy, brew teas, get accupuntured and fight for my life but I couldn't if it weren't for each of you. Your well wishes, prayers and love are just what keep us going. Thank you!
