So, it has taken me a couple days to get to this post. I needed some time to think about it, and some time to just gather my thoughts. We spent all day Monday at the hospital. And by all day, I mean from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. So seriously, ALL FREAKIN' DAY.
The day started out with Greg getting his PICC line. I posted a video a couple days ago about how this is done, so I won't post it again. Once Greg was taken into the operating room, it took about a half hour for the procedure to be done. Greg was worried about any pain he might feel, because it HAS to hurt having that long tube traveling through your body, but when he came back, he said he couldn't feel a thing! He was VERY happy!
So, here's a picture of the PICC line:
He only has one "lumen" and from that they can withdraw blood or give him meds. This is awesome, because that means NO MORE POKES! YAY!!!!!
Next was an appointment with the oncologist, but that wasn't until 10:45 a.m., so we had a lot of time to spare. We decided to go out for breakfast, seeing as neither of us had eaten, and we didn't know if we would have time for lunch, breakfast seemed like a good idea! We went to a place near where I work (OK, the building I used to work in), called the Blue Willow Cafe and were pleasantly surprised to find the parking lot FULL! That's always a good sign! After we sat down we saw lots of plaques on the wall that they were voted "Best Breakfast" in the area! Ended up being a great choice! Two eggs, hash browns with onions in them and whole wheat toast for $4.99! Greg had the same thing, so a good breakfast at a sit down restaurant cost us less than McDonald's! BOOM!
So, after getting back to the Cancer Center and meeting with the Oncologist, it was time to start his first chemo. Because it's so hard on the kidneys, they first have to hydrate you, and that takes an hour for the entire bag to drip. Next came the various drugs that entail the chemo cocktail. Greg had to use the restroom, and while in there, he decided to take some pictures! LOL
Of course, I got a couple too!
I really don't like how pictures post on Blogger! ACK!
To make a hectic day even more hectic, I had a doctor's appointment at 2:45 p.m. to review my meds. I figured it would work OK as my doctor is on the same campus as the Cancer Center. By the time I got back, Greg was already gone to his first radiation treatment.
The "leads" that you see on his chest are for his pacemaker. Apparently, they measure the amount of radiation his pacemaker is getting. Because of the leads and pacemaker, he had to get more tattoos! He's now got 3 or 4 purple dots on his chest so they can line everything up properly.
After the radiation, Greg got hooked up to his 5FU, which is the chemo that he will have 24/7 over the course of five days. He was given a portable infusion pump that has the chemo meds in it and has a couple of different "bags" to keep the infusion pump in, so he can move around, etc. The infusion pump looks like this:
The clear/smokey area at the bottom is where the medicine is kept. We also have an "emergency chemo bio-wipe bag," in case there would be a spill. According to the nurse, that has never happened, so we're not too concerned! The 5FU chemo will pump continuously until Friday, at which time the nurses will remove it and he'll be free for 28 days!
We finally left the hospital at 4:30 Monday afternoon. It was a completely exhausting day, for both Greg and me. We came home, ate dinner, and both of us went to bed!
Unfortunately, Greg wasn't able to sleep very well. Between the chemos and the steroids that everyone who gets chemo is put on, he was wide awake after just a couple hours. It's going to take him some time to get used to everything. In addition, the steroids make him CRANKY!
If anyone's wondering about me, well, working at home is going well and I'm very happy to be at home. It's kind of odd, because I don't even need an alarm clock! I have one set, just in case though. It is pretty awesome to be able to walk down two flights of stairs and start working! So, I guess I'm doing OK. It could be better, and it could be worse.
Just for fun, here's a picture of Greg with all the "stuff" hanging on him! I now call him "Lumpy Greg!!"
With that, I'm going to end this post. It's time for me to relax. Night all!
Blessings!
Julie
Greg's Go Fund Me
We got a call from the Cancer Center to advise us of Greg's chemo schedule. On Monday, May 1, 2017, he will have to go in and get his PICC line installed (he will not be getting a Hickman, as we previously thought). This will be a full day at the hospital. I'm not sure of the order of all of this, but here's what we will be doing. We will meet with the Oncologist to go over Greg's treatment plan. We will also meet with the Radiation Oncologist. Greg will have his first radiation treatment and then will have his first chemo treatment.
Radiation will be Monday through Friday (every day) for 6-1/2 to 7 weeks. The radiation itself is only about five minutes, and the whole appointment will be rather short. Greg will be driving himself unless and until such time comes as he's not feeling well enough to drive. If that appears to be on the horizon, we will be sure to let everyone know so we can get some volunteers to help take him, as we simply can't afford to have me take off work that much to take him. We are praying that never happens!
Greg will also have his first chemotherapy treatment on May 1. He will receive a drug called Cisplatin, which is one he had the first two times he had cancer. It takes 2-3 hours to administer the Cisplatin, so we will have some downtime while the poison is being pumped into his veins. I would apologize for calling it poison, but I'm not going to, because that is exactly what it is.
Once he's done with the Cisplatin, they will set him up with a pump, so he can receive a drug called 5FU on a continuous infusion for five days. When he goes in for radiation on Friday, they will remove the 5FU pump.
Greg will have the Cisplatin and 5FU approximately every four weeks, so he will have two courses of chemo during his radiation treatments and two courses of chemo after his radiation treatments. Based on this schedule, he should be all done with all treatment by the beginning of August. If that is the case, I'm hoping and praying that he will be feeling better (at least normal?) by the time of our son, Aaron's wedding in October.
Because I have the kind of job that United HealthCare allows telecommuters, I will start telecommuting tomorrow! I'm SO excited to be able to do this, and cannot thank my supervisor and manager enough for all their support! In order to work at home full time, I need to have a separate room for me to work. If you know what our house is like, then you know that we have an abundance of bedrooms to choose from! Ha! I chose Aaron's old room, as the heat works well in the winter, and it's always cooler in the summer, because it's in the lower level (we have a tri-level house).
In order to make that my office, I needed a desk! We went to EVERY STORE IN MARSHFIELD that sells furniture looking for a desk for me! I was amazed at what little choices we had, and quite disappointed! I did NOT want a cheap "Sauder" desk. We finally found a halfway decent desk at Walmart, and yes, it is a "Sauder" desk. 😒 Not exactly what I wanted, but it is what it is. In order to get the desk put together, we had to move the bed out of Aaron's room. Jessica and I did that, and then needed Abby's help to move it up to Erica's old room. We bought that bed when we moved to Sturtevant, in 1998. We moved up here and it went into Aaron's room. Aaron got a new bed and this one went upstairs to Erica's room. Erica got a new bed, so it went back downstairs to Aaron's room (he was not living at home any longer). And now, because Aaron's room is my new office, it has gone back up to Erica's room! That bed has gone up and down more than Seattle Slew! 😆 And, it's HEAVY! It doesn't use a box spring, as the mattress sits directly on the bed, with three drawers underneath.
Jessica and I (OK, mostly Jessica -- my dear friend and neighbor) put the desk together.
There were 18 steps to put it together! YIKES! Jessica did most of it, and I was just there for moral support and to hand her the pieces. We worked together very well, and only had to take apart one piece that we had put together wrong! I think that was pretty darned good! Abby came to help again, and put together my "cube" that you'll see in pictures below.
I'm SO happy with how my office turned out! Tomorrow is going to be a GREAT day at work! I can wake up at 6:30 and be at work by 7:00! No worries about hair, make-up, clothing, etc! And yes, I will begin each day at work in my jammies! How cool is that?!
Here's my new office:
I am so blessed to be able to work from home and to have this beautiful office to work in! We serve such an amazing God who is always good, all the time! We continue to praise Him as He guides us through this latest trial. We will get through this, with His help and grace.
Blessings to all!
Julie
Greg's GoFundMe
So, after getting back to the Cancer Center and meeting with the Oncologist, it was time to start his first chemo. Because it's so hard on the kidneys, they first have to hydrate you, and that takes an hour for the entire bag to drip. Next came the various drugs that entail the chemo cocktail. Greg had to use the restroom, and while in there, he decided to take some pictures! LOL 
