going home, for real this time

pop is going home today  he is waiting to get meds and will then go to radiology and then home.  the trip home will use up most of his energy today so please do not visit on friday.  if you would like to visit on saturday please keep the visits very brief and call first to make sure it is a good time.

Change of plans

Dad is not going home now. There are some things the dr wants to monitor. We will see what the next step will be.

Going home! Maybe

The plan is for dad to go home today after his 4:15 radiation treatment. He is keeping liquids down. He looks good and sounds good. They are going to walk him around to see how he does. They took him off oxygen to see how he reacts.

His vision continues to get better slowly. He has some fun looking around the room to see what he can try to figure out.

Keep the prayers coming. Only God knows what tomorrow holds. Thank you all for the prayers and encouragement.

Light ahead

Dads vision is starting to slightly clear up. He drank some juice, and had some jello, and has kept them down so far. The real test will be moving for his radiation treatment this afternoon. They say he may be able to go home Thursday if he doesn't get sick again, but dad seems apprehensive. If rolling through the hospital makes him sick I can't imagine what driving in from Advance each day would feel like.


He has a really good nurse today that seems to be proactively treating his nausea and discomfort.

Continued prayers are much appreciated. As much as dad would like to see people and thank you for your concern, his biggest need is rest.

Update

Dad had his radiation treatment this afternoon. Moving is hard on his stomach and he got sick twice. He is pretty tired right now. They moved him to a new room that is larger and closer to the nurses station so that the nurse can keep a better eye on him.

Since September 1, 2010 when dads journey with cancer began I have seen him cry twice. The first time was when we got the news that the cancer had spread and was terminal. Even then he cried not for himselfbutbecause he was upset over what mom and the rest of us who care about him would through. Today I saw him cry again. Again not for himself. When asked what prayer concerns he had he talked emotionally about his friends who do not know Jesus as their savior and how much he would like to see them meet Jesus before he dies.

So if you are one of dads friends that have not surrendered to God yet then you need to know that as dad deals with all the symptoms of the cancer, you are the focus of his prayers.

If you are a fellow follower of Jesus then I ask you to join dad in his prayer for those who need Jesus.

The first words out of dads mouth when he found out about his cancer were that it was good news for him because he gets to go to heaven. His deepest concern today is that all his friends can have that same hope.

The plan for today

I think every Dr at Baptist Hospital just came into dads room. Today they are going to start the radiation on the brain and continue the radiation treatments on his back and lung. Dad has not thrown up since Monday evening. He is hydrated and healthy in terms of nutrition. If He can show that the nausea is under control then he will beableto go home in the near future.

Thank you for the prayers. Please keep them coming.

Merry Christmas

Dad started feeling bad on Saturday and then spent all of Christmas day in bed.  That evening he developed some vision problems so we took him to Baptist Hospitol.  A brain scan revealed that there are some spots on the brain that are probably causing both the nausea and the vision problems.  Either tuesday or wednesday they will start whole brain radiation treatment to help neutralize those spots on the brain.  He will also finish up the focused radiation treatment on his back and lung.  The hope is that these two procedures, and some medicines to help swelling, will make him much more comfortable.  The doctors can't say for sure what will happen next.  As dad has said numerous times, every day is different.  Right now he just needs to be able to keep food down so that he can get enough strength to be able to go home.  It may be a couple of days before that happens.

As always, we know that God is in control.  And Dad is content to follow God's plan, no matter how unenjoyable it may be.

What a week!

We waited several days to get the radiation treatment schedule but once we did, thinks started rolling.  We went in Wed. for a trial run (I know, what?, they already drew targets on my body, now they need practice?)  Anyway, I did not feel good this week and the trial run took over an hour.

Thurs.:  First treatment at 11:00 and it took about 25 minutes.  Boy, I came out feeling fine and thinking there's nothing to this.  Not so fast Buster!  In less than an hour after the treatment, I suddenly felt nauseous
but it passed quickly.  Then, I ate.  For the next 3 hours or so I threw up and felt terrible.  I rested ok Thurs. night but no eating.

Friday:  Treatment at 11:15 - still no eating and I looked and felt awful.  I asked for meds. for nausea but of course you have to wait an hour or so to see the Dr.  (treatment was quick again).  He did give me something while I was there which helped even though I still felt awful like I was going to throw up.  After we got home, I worked on drinking, eating some soup and sandwich.  That took until about bedtime, but it did stay down.  Dr. also gave me extended pain meds. which helped me rest well.

Today:  Still not great, but I've felt better today than I have for days - still working at eating and drinking.

I don't usually share all this information but several of you express interest in knowing and we appreciate  you wanting to "do something".  For now, your continued prayers and support are the best.

My dear friend Pat sends me cards from time to time and the last one included a thought that I make part of my prayer several times every day - Lord, help me to want what you want!  What a concept.  Thanks for all your encouraging thoughts, Pat.

Busy Sat.!

Chris, Gracie, and Isaiah came over to help me plant shrubs and fill the strip between sidewalk and driveway with dirt.  Mostly Chris did the work but Gracie moved a lot of dirt and Isaiah got a lot of dirt on him - everyone had fun.  Johnson showed up when most of the work was done (of course) but we let him join in some raking and cleaning up.

Then just before dark, these members of our Bible Fellowship Class (know to us as Sunday School) showed up to sing Christmas Carols.  What a great group.

Still another direction!

Part of what we learned today at the dr. visit I think we already knew - the cancer is growing.  Dr. Aklilu recommended a couple new directions.  1)  I go again Thurs. night for another of my favorites (MRI) in preparation for radiation treatment on my back.  There is a spot on a bone that they think is causing the pain and by treating it with radiation they think that will relieve the pain.  I'm all for that!  Radiation treatment has not yet been scheduled.  2)  He has recommended a clinical trial at Duke.  We have a consultative visit at Duke 12/19/11 to find out what is available and what is involved.  I don't care for the idea of going to Duke for anything, but I'm ok with their medical expertise and reputation - just don't try to take me to Cameron Indoor Stadium for treatment!

40 YEARS!

I can't believe it's been 40 years!  Our family helped Eleanor and me celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary this week.  I don't say it very often but it's always been true - God blessed me with a wonderful partner.  She is constantly thinking of and doing for me and others.

The pictures below represent a peek at a wonderful evening provided by our children (mostly Kelly and Jen) and grandchildren.  Our dining room was specially decorated with seating for just the two of us, we were escorted to the table by grandchildren, the ladies prepared a wonderful meal, and the grandchildren served the entire meal to us, then entertained us with singing.  We always go somewhere special to eat for our anniversary and this was by far the best!  The service was fantastic!

The wonderful waiter staff

Reserved seating

Special escort to seat

Other than the celebration, it's been a tough week.  Since our dr. visit last Mon., the mouth sores returned  

and I've had to discontinue the chemo again.  Almost suddenly, the sores exploded all over my mouth so eating, etc. is challenging.  I have been able to stay in bed all night most nights with medication.  Thurs. night, we had scans and finally got away from Bapt. hospital around 10:00pm.  We have another dr. appt. Tues. morning to get results.  Please continue to pray for results, dr. decisions, and strength for us to deal with whatever actions or changes may follow.

Another Dr. appt.

We had a great Thanksgiving with children, grandchildren, my sister, brother and his wife all present.  Needless to say, there was lots of activity - it's always fun to see the grandchildren play together.  On Friday, David helped me with some winterizing chores and we finished mowing the grass.  I think we have finished turkey leftovers so Thanksgiving is over.


We had the two-week follow-up visit with the dr. today.  Since I'm still coughing, experiencing pain, and sleeping short periods only(maybe 2 hours before coughing), he wants to do scans again.  Therefore, I go for CT and MRI late Thurs. afternoon and Thurs. night this week and return to him next Tues. to find out what he sees and what do we do from there.  He suspects the cancer is growing but wants to know before we change anything.  I don't like the scans, mainly MRI, but am glad he wants to know and not just assume.  He did give me pain and sleep medications.  We'll see if they help - maybe I can sleep in bed instead of my recliner.

I've had better weeks!

The last week or so is the first time I've felt less than normal from cancer.  While taking sutent (chemo drug) I felt very fortunate that the side effects were mild but it was always nice to get a break and feel normal.  I started taking the reduced dose of afinitor last Mon. but before that, I had begun coughing more and had a dull somewhat persistent pain in my side.  I've now taken afinitor for a week with no apparent side effects but the cough persists and the pain is not better - maybe worse.  Therefore, I called the dr. today to see if we needed to check on the pain.  His response through the nurse was that the pain was probably from the cancer - hoping the afinitor may lessen the pain in time.  My next dr. appt. is next Mon.  While I'm experiencing effects for the first time, I'm not in great pain.  Coughing, most sever when I'm laying down, makes sleeping all night a challenge.   I just don't feel good, and it's easy to choose to do nothing.

As always, thanks for your concern and continued prayers for me and my family.

New drug update and golf trip

Sixteen crazy golfers just returned from Myrtle Beach after three days of golf and fun.  We had a lot of fun, some good weather (bad for Nov. Fri./Sat. but Sun. was nice), so-so to bad golf although some guys played well.  I especially enjoyed having Chris and David join us for the first time.

Today has been a busy day after returning from golf trip.  Workmen showed up at 7:30 and started working on our new circle driveway - so much for sleeping in!  It's about 5:00 now and they're long gone with the driveway complete!

We had dr. appt. at 2:00 today.  For those not aware, the mouth sores got so bad last weekend that the dr. took me off medication (10/31) until they clear up.  Today, he decided I needed another week to heal (my mouth has improved the last day or two where I can eat without great pain but I'm still well aware they're there).  I have another dr. visit next Mon. at which time I'll resume afinitor at half strength assuming my mouth has completely healed by then.  I'm hoping half strength works since I felt very good otherwise on this drug, and still do.  I felt good on the golf trip, just didn't play very well.

New drug and basketball

It's now basketball season in North Carolina!  Chris' family and Nor Nor and I went to see the Tar Heels exhibition game last night at the Dean Dome.  We didn't look very good as a team but some of the new guys showed promise and we should be deeper than I thought.  If the starters will play defense, we should be ok.  I hope not, but it may take a couple early season loses to get us to concentrate on defense - we should be able to score.  Everyone is expecting a national championship which could be dangerous. Looking forward to a great season!

Today is day 5 of new medication (afinitor).  I waited a few days to write this since I started because I had nothing to report.  In the last couple days I've gotten a couple mouth sores but other than that, I have felt no effects of the drug.  So far my system has not been affected and I feel normal.  The doctor reported that side effects would probably show up sooner rather than later so I'm hoping this is what it's going to be.  But I still realize everyone's different and things could change as time passes.  So far so good!

Thanks for your prayers!

Another detour!

We had scans and dr. appt. today and learned that sutent (the drug I've been taking) is no longer working.  Although by a small amount, the tumors have grown slightly rather than decreasing as before.  Therefore, we go in a different direction now.  After a 2-week break to clear sutent from my body, we will start a new medication, another form of chemotherapy.  It will still be in pill form taken at home on a daily basis.  However, since it is usually more tolerable to the body, there will be no break.  The scans will continue every three months to monitor progress.

Based on the information that we were given originally, this is not an unexpected development - it just came earlier than we had hoped for.  Life goes on.  God is in control!  We can only live one day at a time.

Scan time/prayer alert!

Just one more pill to take in the 6th round.  I've felt pretty good throughout this round but have had one sore on the side of my tongue where it's impossible to move my tongue without irritation.  Swish helps but it doesn't last long.  The last week or so it has been painful to eat, swallow, talk but that should end in a couple days.  I had the MRI today and am scheduled for the rest of the scans and Dr. appt. Mon.  Please pray for good results - I plan to post the results late Mon. afternoon if all goes according to schedule.

Also, pray for another good day for CityChurch.  Last sunday's service went very well with interesting stories of how God is working.  A lot of people are working together for God's purpose.

CityChurch is born!

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, CityChurch Winston will hold it's first worship service at Miller Park Recreation Center @ 10:30.  This is very exciting as Chris and Jen and many others have spent a lot of time and effort to get to this point.  Please pray that everything goes well Sunday and God's hand will be evident in whatever happens there and the will of God will always be their guide.


Health update - yes, Brad, and others - no news is generally good news.  I haven't posted anything lately mainly because I haven't had much to share.  We are in week #3 of the latest round of chemo which means fatigue is a factor - it seems to take very little effort to make me tired.  My mouth is not pepsi-worthy at this point but it seems my tongue is not as sensitive as it has been sometimes in the past although we still have over a week to go.

Otherwise, I continue to do what I normally do - yard work (plugging, seeding, etc.) and golf.  We did have two exciting events within the last couple weeks (well, I had two and we had one).  Keith, Phil, Steve, and I got to play golf at UNC Finley golf course, which I've wanted to do for a long time.  Eleanor and I went to Myrtle Beach to see the Drifters, Coasters, and Platters.  Motown rock-n-roll still lives!  The show was good - I really enjoyed the Platters.

Starting round #6

We had another routine dr. visit today - he said all is going well.  I start round #6 tonight with scans to follow on Oct. 10.

Meanwhile, life goes on.  Last week I played golf three days (2 with Chris and David), did some yard work, and thanks to some friends attended the Carolina football game Sat. - busy week but a good one.

It had been a long time since we were at Kenan.  It was great and it sure has changed a lot with both ends filled with seating now and big TV screens at each end.  I had forgotten how physical watching a game in person can be - up and down constantly, we probably stood half the game, it was a workout.  I'm used to watching a game in my easy chair and only getting up when I need something to eat/drink or going to the bathroom or maybe doing something else at halftime.

Celebrating!

I finished round #5 of chemo Mon. and I'm feeling good.  It's always nice to get to that two-week break and celebrate feeling almost normal (normal for me).  It's not time to drink pepsi yet but maybe by this weekend.  I know that's not much but that's all I have.

no news update!

Another good week - hence, no real news to update.  I spent a couple days playing golf and a couple days trimming shrubs - I think I was able to stretch a day of yard work into at least three days.  I'm finishing week #3 of chemo so I'm having to deal with mouth sores - eating and talking are not as much fun as normal but otherwise I'm feeling good.  Looking forward to this round of chemo ending 8/29.

Eleanor's eyesight has improved but she is not totally satisfied with the results.  She was hoping she would not need glasses but she sees more clearly with them.

Hopefully, we can get a good rain so I can work on the yard during the next couple weeks - lime, plugging, seed, etc.

A day of golf with the 'big' boys!

The highlight of the week so far has been playing golf with my two 6-year old grandsons, Jackson and Isaiah.  I think they had fun too.  We played 9 holes at Oak Valley just for fun - we didn't keep score so they couldn't beat me!  That also allowed me to adjust the rules as needed for pace of play and to avoid losing all our golf balls - we only lost 1 and that one was well hit into the water.  They are both big time golfers now. 

As for health, as illustrated, I'm doing well - playing golf 2-3 days a week and feeling good.  I'm in week 2 of another round of chemo and still drinking pepsi but will probably have to stop this weekend or soon after.  I'm looking forward to temperatures in the 80's rather than 90's for a few days at least.  Eleanor's eye is doing well, no problems, and eyesight seems to be improving steadily.

News worth waiting for!

All good news!  No lung cancer!

We finally had the dr. appt. today to get results of the biopsy.  Dr. Aklilu reported that the spot is kidney cancer which means we continue treatments as before.  Therefore, probably tomorrow, we'll start the next round of chemo.  It was great having 4 weeks off (especially while having the grandchildren here) but now back to business as usual - scans again after two rounds of 4 weeks of treatment with a 2-week break in between.

Waiting develops patience!

Some of you may have been wondering about the results of the biopsy I had last week.  I had told some that I would get the results at the Dr. appt. on monday.  Well, the Dr. appt. was rescheduled to Aug. 1.  But the doctor called to tell me about rescheduling and told me he would call Mon. or Tues. when he got the results and share with me.  He hasn't called and his nurse is unaware of his plan to call.  Therefore, I think we will get results on Mon. Aug. 1 at my 10:45 appt.

I'm fine with that.  I continue to have time off chemo which I'm enjoying!  There's always something to be thankful for.

Eleanor has her follow-up Dr. visit tomorrow.  Her vision is improving slowly - looking forward to hearing the doctor's report on her progress.

Thanks for continued prayers!

Praises!/Confined to home!

Eleanor and I have both completed our procedures for the day and are both confined to home for the remainder of the day.  She had a cataract removed from her left eye and seems to be doing well - so far her vision is still blurred as expected and she has these nice big shades she must wear when she goes out.  She was aware all during the process and even got play-by-play description.  She will have a checkup tomorrow.

I had a lung biopsy via a needle through the back with ct scan taking place throughout the process.  I was aware though out the process but thankfully did not get play-by-play.  They did share some info during like 'we're almost finished' which were appreciated.  The only discomfort was having to lay on my stomach with my head turned to the side without moving for approx. 40 min. - my neck hurt.  All was well once I was allowed to change positions and get up.  Overall, no biggie!
I hopefully get results on Mon.

We both plan to just relax the rest of the afternoon.

Good Report with ?

Today we got the results of last weeks scans.  Dr. Aklilu reported that the chemo continues to do its job - some spots had disappeared, others had gotten smaller or maintained as before - all this is good and means the drug is working well.  The question has to do with a spot on my lung which looks different.  Since he's not sure about it, they will be doing a biopsy some time next week and we will see the Dr. July 25 for the report and what we do next.  He thinks the possibilities are that the spot is lung cancer (different from other spots which are kidney cancer) or kidney cancer acting strangely.  Lung cancer could be treated with radiation and if it's kidney cancer probably no action would be necessary.  After either conclusion, we would then continue chemo treatments.

The good news with this (besides continued progress of course) is the fact that I will not be taking chemo until this little side trip is complete hopefully on 7/25.

No news is good news!

Today was scan day all day at Baptist Hospital.  All went well ... e x c e p t ... we did not get to see the doctor and results.  We had the doctor's last appointment of the day and he had a meeting at 4:00pm.  My MRI was scheduled for 2:30 which should have been plenty time to finish and get to doctor appt. by 3:45.

However, there was a delay with the MRI, (something about a backup due to an emergency) so they took us to another lab in the main hospital building.  They started my test after 3:15 making it after 4:00 when I got out and the doctor was not available.  Thankfully, we didn't go to the doctor's office expecting to see him - they called to tell Eleanor that the appt. was being rescheduled to Mon. @ 2:45.  Oh, well.  Good news will be even better after we wait a few days.  We don't always like or understand God's timing but we know He is in control so everything will be alright.

Results to follow here late Mon. afternoon.  Thanks for continued prayers!

Life goes on!

I haven't added anything lately because there hasn't been much happening that I thought anyone would be interested.  Since it's been hot and dry, I've tried to play golf earlier in the day (2 or 3 days a week) to beat the heat and I've had little yard work to do - grass is dying or has brown patch - frustrating.

We did participate in some interesting events this past week:

One night a group from Sunday School and others met to pray for our nation - our nation and leaders need your prayers to make decisions in God's will.

Our Calvary community group met at the Butlers for a social and prayer/praise time.

Our Bible Fellowship class met for ice cream social.

Now that I see this in print and remember that I washed windows,  I guess we had a pretty busy week.  I have completed week 3 of this round of 4 weeks of treatment and have felt fine.  I do get a little tired quicker than I'd like and I've gotten a couple mouth sores this weekend.  Thankfully, just one more week!  Then, we spend all day July 7 at Baptist hospital for scans again.  Thank you for continuing to pray that the scans will again show improvement.

Week of praises!

We have a lot to be thankful for:

We returned from a good trip to Ky. celebrating Eli's 4th birthday and visiting with the rest of the family.  I watched Batman on TV with the children and watched NBA finals game with Jackson (Jackson is amazing with his interest in the game and knowledge of players, etc.) and David.   I also got to play golf with David twice (hot weather, fast greens, deep rough).

Chris returned safely from a trip to Equador after an exciting and beneficial learning experience.  As with most mission trips, I think he and his group gained more than he gave.

I've completed week #1 of the fourth round of chemo with no problems with side effects thus far - still drinking pepsi!

Pepsi time!

Brief news flash!

I'm now able to drink pepsi again.  Still a couple small mouth sores but my mouth is almost back to normal.

More praises!

I returned last night from 4 days of golf at Myrtle Beach.  Good group, good golf courses, hot, not such good golf but lots of fun.

I had my between-rounds Dr. appt. and echo-cardiogram today.  The echo showed no damage to my heart as expected - they do that occasionally just as a safety precaution.  The dr. verified that I'm doing 'good' and my body is tolerating chemo well.

The next round of treatments start June 6 and we're scheduled for the next round of scans on July 7 (that's when we spend the day at Baptist hospital).  Thank you for your continued prayers - please continue to pray that round 4 will be even less uncomfortable and the scans will show even more reduction of tumors.

Meanwhile, God is in control - what more can we ask!

Busy Week!

Sunday will end round three of chemotherapy!  While it's not the same as being off treatment, side effects have not been bad (burned tongue, fatigue, unsettled stomach at times, acid reflux at times).  I'm very thankful that even though there are some discomforts at time, I'm able to carry on a regular schedule.
For example, this week:
We worked at Storehouse for Jesus two days(both part-days)
Played two rounds of golf (also 1 rain out)
Played monopoly one night (lost miserably)
Trimmed and mowed our grass (pushed)
Watched Gracie's soccer game but missed Isaiah's baseball game
Played 'mexican train' dominoes one night
Wrote bills (the most exhausting activity of the week)

That may not be much for a lot of you, but for an old retired person, that's a busy week.  Next week, I'm hoping to play more golf and work less.

Monday starts two weeks off and I have a Dr. appt. Thurs. - just a check-up/blood test after each round.

Thanks for the prayers!

I know it's been a while since I last posted anything.  Sorry.  I'm doing well and going about doing my regular "stuff" so I haven't had anything worth saying.  I could tell you how often I've been playing golf but that could sound like bragging.  Or, I could tell you my golf scores but that would be embarrassing...to me!  Therefore, I've just not written anything.  But I know and have been assured that many of you continue to pray even if I don't write anything and I thank you for that.

This weekend completes week 3 of this cycle and effects have been minimal.  One more week and I get another break.  Thanks again for your continued support and prayers.

Normal again!

OK, OK, I know, some of you are already saying, 'you've never been normal a day in your life'.  I'll accept that but I feel normal for me with the chief indicator being that I am able to enjoy drinking pepsi again and eat whatever, including some spicy stuff, and things taste normal.

I'm half way through my two weeks off meds and going about life one day at a time - playing golf, yard work, some of Nor Nor's to-do list, and enjoying warmer weather.  It's hard finding time to do all I want to do - how do people have time to work???? or travel?

Another good day in Carolina - the last piece of our 'championship' team announced he's coming back.
Go Heels!

Praise God!!!

What a beginning to another week!  I finished the 2nd round of chemo yesterday and spent the day at Baptist hospital today getting scanned.  It was worth it since we got great news.  Dr. Aklilu reported that the medication is working - since my last scan in Dec., the tumors have shrunk approx. 30 - 40%.  He said that maintaining the same size would be good news - this is about as good as could be expected.  My body has tolerated the chemo well and it has been effective!  Therefore, I get two weeks off again, then take pills for 28 days again before my next dr. appt.  Then, we do round 4 before we do scans again.  The side effects will hopefully decrease each round as we go forward and the hope is that shrinking will continue.  This is of course answered prayer for our family.  Thank you for your continued prayers.

Leading up to today, I spent a very special and enjoyable week last week.  David and his family have been with us for a week - he and I got to play golf together - and Chris, David, and I got to watch the Masters together.

Oh, yeah!  Some friends of ours arranged for me to attend the Masters in Augusta, Ga. both Thurs. and Friday.  I got to watch the world's best golfers on the most beautiful golf course imaginable with David on Thurs. and Chris on Friday.  It's still unbelievable to me, so I've included pictures below to prove I was there.

Prayer request

Praise - Tomorrow is the last day of this round of chemo and side effects have been very manageable.

Prayer request - I am scheduled to spend all day at Bapt. hospital getting scanned and Dr. appt. to report the results.  The request is that the scans will show that chemo has been effective (whatever that means - no tumors, shrinkage) and that God's will will be served.

Thanks again for your interest and prayers.

Lots to be thankful for!

Gracie and Isaiah spent the night and are with us for the day.
David, Kelly, Mia, Jackson, and Eli are coming later today planning to stay several days.
The weather is supposed to be nicer so we can play outside (kids and adults).
Looking forward to watching the final four with family and only one team left that we want to lose.

Physically, I'm feeling good.  So far (this is day 20 of 28) this round of chemo has had minimal effects.  Thanks for the prayers - answered.  I've been able to do whatever I do everyday (except drink pepsi).  My mouth is a little tender but still no mouth sores, little acid reflux, and I've been able to sleep normally.  The only noticeable change in appearance is my hair color - it has gotten much more silver/grey - Nor Nor says it's age but I know it's because of the medication!

Also, very thankfully looking forward to the Masters next week!

How 'bout them Heels!

Good weekend so far - Carolina won, Duke lost, and UK could lose tonight.  If they don't lose tonight, we get them Sun. and it would be up to us to send them home.  As I have said in the past, everything else is 'bonus'.  However, if we come to play, we can still win them all.  It will be fun to watch.

Physically, I'm still feeling pretty good.  I had a couple days earlier this week when I didn't feel good - (maybe overdid it) - I did play golf three days and mowed the grass.  That's a pretty good week.  Today is day 12 and I have begun to have the burned mouth feeling again so I have to be more selective about what I eat (no more pepsi for now) - no mouth sores yet.  All in all, some inconvenience but thankful for only minor problems.

Nothing but praises!

As of today, I've completed week 1 of the second round of chemo, thankfully, without negative effects.  Hopefully, that will continue another week or more.

Weather is getting better with more nice days - I have plans to play golf 2 or 3 days this week and the grass needs mowing.  Trees and flowers are blooming - what a great time of year!

The Tar Heels made it to the sweet 16 - good season already with possibility of more to come!

Syracuse lost!  Marquette is a good team but we did not match up well with Syracuse - can't play against a good (or not so good) zone.  Now, we have a week to learn how to play again.

The only real downers in the NCAA is the fact that Duke and UK are still playing.  At least they can't play each other in the finals so they both still have chances to lose.

Round 2

I haven't posted anything lately because I haven't had anything to say (especially after the ACC).  As I've said all along, our goal is for all our players to return so we have a shot at the NCAA next year.  However, since we're there, it could still happen this year.  (Who will take the Tar Heels to the championship in their bracket???)  While that's our goal, the secondary goal is to last longer than Duke and Ky. - that would make this year successful.  Go Heels!

I had a brief visit with the dr. today and start the second round of chemo today.  If all goes well, I don't have to go back to the dr. until April 11.  I'll spend the day with them on that day - scans, mri, etc. all morning and visit with the dr. in the afternoon for results.  Thanks for your continued prayers - please continue to pray that the next 4 weeks will go at least as well as the first round and there will be positive results at the end (April 11).

Finish line nears!

I thought some of you may be interested - only two days left to take the pill!  This week has been much better than last week and I was expecting it to be worse.  Praise God!  Looking forward to Sunday night-last pill and UNC vs Md.

I felt so good yesterday, we spend a good part of the day in Chapel Hill.  Chris and I decided we needed to help the Tar Heels out with a little shooting practice.

Feb. 21 - Home Stretch

It's been a week since my last Dr. visit, a very interesting week!  I felt well enough during the day to play golf two days and work in the yard a few hours over a three-day span.  Nights were not much fun - in addition to mouths sores (and throat) which make it difficult to eat and swallow, most nights I'm having acid reflux which combined make it almost impossible to sleep.  A couple days ago I was ready to stop taking the chemo so I could get some relief but my sweet wife calmly encouraged me to keep taking it at least through the weekend until I could talk to the dr.  Thankfully, the last couple days have been better and  I have been able to sleep - what a difference sleeping makes!  Today the dr. changed my blood pressure medication and gave me something for acid reflux.   It makes no sense, but I think even the mouth sores have improved a little.  I do get tired more quickly than normal but we're still trying to keep a somewhat normal schedule.
So now, I can see a dim light at the end of the tunnel - Sun. will be day 28 of 28 days of chemotherapy - the end for now!  As we get closer to that time, I feel better about being able to complete the cycle - then I get 2 weeks off!  This week, I'm still hoping to play golf and maybe mess around in the yard some.  Thanks for your interest and continued prayers.  Without answered prayers, I'm sure I could not have continued this process.  We continue to concentrate on one day at a time.

Day 15 - Dr. visit

Dr. Aklilu had very little to say today other than keep going (he's guessing the fever was from virus, infection ???).  He did change my blood pressure medication since my blood pressure is going up.  We were told at the beginning that blood pressure medication may need to be adjusted so no surprise.  Everything seems to be ok and my next appointment is in 4 weeks when we start round 2.  For now, mouth sores are the main side effect I'm dealing with - uncomfortable but not a major deal at this time.

Since the weather is supposed to be nice all week, we have a busy week planned.  Storehouse got a shipment of 30 pallets in so there is plenty of sorting to do when time permits, tomorrow I have to play golf, and I have quite a bit of yard work/trimming to be done.  Therefore, unless things change, I probably will not update the blog for several days.  No news is good news!  Thank you everyone for your interest and continued prayers.

Feb. 9 - Big Day for Tar Heels

After our team's performance last game, we're ready for Dook.  If Marshall has a game anywhere close to as good as last game, we will almost forget that Drew II was ever a part of this team.  All of a sudden, I feel like we can compete with Dook.  Can't wait for the game tonight!

Economic news - They started digging a basement or footings for a house on the vacant lot across the street from us this morning (hope it doesn't block our view of the golf course).  That's good news - we haven't seen any building happening in a while.

Healthwise, I feel good.  No fever, no problem with side effects.  Mon. we worked at Storehouse for Jesus in the morning and I played and walked 9 holes of golf in the afternoon - no negative effects.  Today is day 10 - looking forward to passing day 12 which is when the fever showed up before.  I don't think it will return but it will be a relief to get past that point.  Thanks for continued interest and prayers.
Jim

Not a good day!

Sat., Feb. 5
Quickly, let me say the title has nothing to do with my health!
The Tar Heels lost an outstanding backup point guard when Larry Drew II left yesterday and that hurts our team at an important and difficult time in the season.  I understand that he must not have been happy, but what can he do now?  And he didn't even tell his roommate he was leaving - he just left.  Oh well, we will just have to go on as we all have to do individually.

As for my health, I'm feeling good.  Still no fever and no evident side effects from chemo.  It is just day 5, so I should have another week before side effects start to show up if they are going to.  My next dr. appt. is Feb. 14.  We can only live one day at a time and I'm learning to do a better job of thinking that way.  Thanks for caring.
Jim

Thurs., Feb. 3

No fever!  I had a headache last night but no fever.  If the fever was from the chomo, the dr. thought I would start having a fever again last night.  If he was wrong, then we're on day 4 of 28.  I will feel more confident that I can continue without a fever if I stay normal tonight (ok, I know I'm not normal-I'm referring to my temperature).  Stay tuned.  If one or two of you comment occasionally, I'll know someone is reading this.  Thanks,
Jim

Wed., Feb. 2

Groundhog day - I got up too late to know what the groundhog saw but I've seen enough winter already so I've declared Spring is just around the corner.  So there!
I have not yet had a fever since I resumed taking chemo pill on Mon. evening.  Our prayer is that that condition will continue.  Our most immediate goal is to get through tonight without a fever since that will cover the dr.'s 2-day period.  Nor Nor's to-do list is not getting shorter, so I need to get started on the latest project (covering speaker wires) - trying to get something done while I'm feeling good.

Today's Dr. visit

Jan. 31, 2011
Dr. Aklilu thinks the fever is probably due to the chemo but the only way to know is to start taking the capsule again and see if the fever returns.  If the fever returns, we'll have to change to a cousin drug.  If the fever doesn't return, today is starting over at day 1 of 28 before a 2-week break.  He thinks if I'm going to have a fever again it will occur within a couple days.  We'll see.  What an adventure!