Happy Holy-days

As Christmas fast approaches (it’s Christmas eve as I write this), I’ve come to realize a couple of things.

First I want to apologize to all our friends & family for not sending out Christmas cards….again! I want you to know we do think of you often. To our family & friends here in Florida to family in New Jersey, Maryland, and Canada, across the country to California and anywhere our friends have ended up in between and the many kids we’ve hosted from overseas in Spain, Macedonia, Korea, Japan and the one in Hong Kong, we want to send much love and many Christmas wishes.

I also want to say, women who work and still keep the home are truly my heroes; especially those who have kids and go to school along with everything else. How you keep a home relationship is beyond me. Just trying to work and keep things running well at home has become so hard! Being dept. head for the library at school, President of PALMS (Pinellas Association of Media Specialists or inforMation Specialists), running, and just plain ol’ housework (including Gil & Jason)…. I can’t keep things organized. I wonder, now, how I kept it together last year when Gil was going through his treatments.

By the way, he is doing wonderfully. He sang in the church cantata (I helped with sound) and has been working on re-wiring the band set-up at church. Today we are hanging out with the McReynolds as there are 4 services at church today so, why bother going home to Clearwater when we just need to drive back to Tampa within a few hours.

But, back to the whole Christmas thing; I do want to thank everyone again for your support and love. We have really had a rough couple of years – Jason, 4 hurricanes, parents left “homeless” for 10 months, the loss of Nikita, Gil’s diagnosis and treatments, getting Jason through school and into college, I’m just muddling along, but we could not have done any of it without the support of our friends and family. We love you all very much.

Well, this may be a more personal blog on my side, but it's done; we are home, it's late, and it's time to go to bed.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!
Well, on Thursday, Nov. 23 I ran the 5K Turkey Trot (known as the "WingDing") in 28 minutes 41 seconds (4 minutes faster than last year). Then Gil and I went home, cleaned up and headed to SouthPort Square in Pt. Charlotte to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mom & Dad, cousing Jim and Aunt Ruth. Jason decided to stay home and take care of the dogs.

December 1st was the Anniversary Gil's first Chemo session. It came and went without much notice. But as he says, "hopefully we'll never have to do it again". We are all very thankful that it is done and over with, and that Gil is in good health to this day.

Well, December is a very busy month....Christmas performances, holiday parties, shopping, taking kids to the airport, and picking them up (ok, that's in Jan, but...), Christmas services, anniversary...oh, yeah....

December 21st we will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. Jason will be heading home Dec. 13th - we are very happy he will be able to spend the holidays with his friends and family in Hong Kong. We will be done with our Christmas cantata at church and on break from work by the time we celebrate our anniversary, so we are spending two nights at Inn at the Bay, a bed & breakfast in St. Petersburg. It will be a nice break, but we will also be looking forward to Jan...sort of.

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Well, Gil had his PET scan last Thursday. Monday he had his follow up with the Dr. and....YAHOO!!!....he is ahead of schedule. In fact, he won't have another PET scan until March (but he will continue to have blood work done every three months). There was even more significantly less swelling in the lymph nodes around the neck (ok, how many are there and how big are they supposed to be anyway?). So he is healing wonderfully, and his blood work looks great, which makes us very happy. Now, that wasn't so scary, was it?

Race for the cure

OK, I know it was a while back (Oct. 7th) and I'm not thrilled at the pictures (Running really isn't a glamorous sport), but I figured I would go ahead and make the post. On Oct. 7th I did the "Race for the Cure": a 5K to raise money for the Susan G. Koman foundation for Breast Cancer awareness. I'm #24; Geri Craven (the other orange shirt #26) was my partner representing Seminole High.
I know I did the run in 32 minutes (which is pretty good considering there were about 10,000 people probably in the race; walking & running!).

Fun, fun, fun!

Umm… don't ask who the guy is, we really don't know...he was just an innocent bystander who looked into the lens at an inopportune time.

It is Finished!?

Well, sort of.
The port is now out. The last vestiges of cancer treatment are gone. The only thing left is the scar on his chest and the patch of hair missing on the back of his head. Now, all we have to deal with are the follow-up exams - Oct. 24th is his next PET scan.
Such fun. I will try to get pictures soon...

De-ported?

That's what Gil keeps calling it. On August 24th around 10am, Gil will officially be rid of all remnants of cancer treatment - he gets the port out. YEAH! We are very excited about all this.

In the meantime, we now have to figure out how to keep his blood pressure up and his triglycerides (a component of cholesterol) down. Is that possible? Should be fun.

TTFN!

Free & Clear

"Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last"
OK, Gil didn't say that (Martin Luther King Jr. did), but I think that's how he felt when Dr. Ball gave him the all clear. There is some swelling of lymph node(s) in the neck area but is suspected to be scarring and dormant, so he is cured. Now we are just waiting for an appointment to get the port out, and from here on out, it's just a matter of follow up exams (3 months until his next PET scan & Dr. appt).
So, CELEBRATE!
It's Over!

Oh, sorry...no pics yet. My goal is to get one of Gil & I, and one of David in his pretty pink cast (which will be sometime next week?).

About David...

OK, I promised a pic of Gil, but haven't managed it yet (someone out there also wants to see my hair and how it's grown, so...)... I will get it in time.

In the meantime...some "Breaking News"...Literally!
David broke his right ankle just a few hours ago while skateboarding. It seems he "dropped in" on the 4' half pipe (pike?) and, well, we're not really sure but we guess he came off the board on the slope. Anyway, at this time it looks to be a compound fracture and there will be surgery involved. Please pray for him and his family. He was supposed to be starting marching band this year, but now, will probably be out of commission about 2 months or more.

If you would like to send him anything, let us know. Also, if you do contact him, send him good, positive messages. He has already said he is giving up skateboarding, but he was also probably in a bit of shock at the time. I hate to see him give up an activity because of injury.

When you fall off the horse, ya' gotta pick yourself up, dust your self off and get right back on!

PET scan done!

PET scan is done. All went well...except for a couple of sore shoulders. Now we just wait for the results - which we won't get until July 31st when he has his follow-up appointment.
Please pray that all goes well, we can schedule to have the port removed, and resume a somewhat normal life.
Thank you all, again, for your prayers and support. Keep it comin'...we're not quite through yet.
Next post...I promise to have a pic of Gil (you gotta see his "new" hair).

re-schedule

The CAT scan/PET scan machine got fried in a lightning storm yesterday, so Gil's appointment has been moved to Friday the 14th (oooohhh...sounds almost scary).
He's one of about 10 people that needed to be rescheduled. Bummer...we were so looking forward to getting this done and scheduling the follow-up.
Waaaaa!

What we have been up to...

Ah the lazy day's of summer. Not much to do and no time schedule to get things done. I know I haven't posted in a while, but not much has been really going on. Let's see...

We painted/remodeled one of our bathrooms...





I (Carol) turned 40 on June 11th. That week I ran sound for VBS (vacation bible school) at our church...






That weekend we "demo'd" the youth room at church...







Then this last week of June we had David over for a skateboard camp at a skate park nearby (688 Skate park)....


And the small things like taking "training" classes, helping Jason get registered for classes at St. Petersburg College, Cleo (cat) having a massive urinary infection (pill & fluid therapy...I get to stick the cat with a needle...ewwww), having lunch with Gil at the print shop, Gil running the music for July 2nd service at church.

This week is July 4th - Happy Independence Day! Happy Birthday USA!! And July 5th is Gil's Birthday - Woo Hoo. Then on the 6th, he goes in for his PET scan...hopefully THE test that will bring us good news that this cancer ordeal is over.

Hope your having as much fun as we are!

Good News!

Now, for some really good news! Gil had his follow up appointment with the radiologist and he says everything looks very good. If there is anything there, he can't feel it. Gil does need to use moisturizer on the area, but that's about it. So - the radiologist say's he's clean! *sigh*

But that is not the definitive test. July 6th is the Pet Scan and those results will tell us what is next, if anything. So, hold your breath just a little longer...it's almost over.

Greetings from Key West

I finally got a chance to sign on and we are preparing to leave. Probably just as well I didn't sit on this thing all day. I am writing to you from a place called Bad A** Coffee drinking a frozen coffee thing and Gil is watching Law and Order on a flat screen. If there is air conditioning, I can't tell.
Anyway...here are a few pics....

Jason's graduation...YEAH!!

Just a few pics of Jason's big day... I couldn't get him to take the gown off (especially after he got a discount at Steak-n-Shake). Sorry - I couldn't get the pictures in the order they were taken - besides, he say's I don't take enough pics! HA!

The Mask

No, we are not talking about the Jim Carrey movie...but, silly me, I should have waited before making the previous post for this...

Jason had fun trying on Gil's radiation mask.

It's not quite what I expected, but now I understand what he meant about being locked down to a table. You can see the markings where he is supposed to get radiated in the second pic.
~WOW~!

Burns & Boils

Two more treatments to go! Woo Hoo. In the meantime, Gil is dealing with what looks like a nasty sunburn on his face (it's even peeling) and a mouthful of sores. He's lost some weight again due to the inablity to eat at times, but his energy has stayed up and his attitude is good. We are all counting down the days - 2 more treatments, 3 days until graduation and 4 days till vacation!

Gil is told that in about 3 weeks this should all be behind him. I hope that is right. He gets his next pet scan July 6th and I hope that means he is done! All Done!

In the meantime - my next post should be from the sunny island of Key West. Till Then....

Good News?

Well, for a while there we thought we were going to be able to report some great news, but, alas, we were told a little different.

The other day, Gil was told that Friday would be his last radiation treatment (yeah!), but he wanted to meet with the Dr. to be sure. Well, it does turn out that Friday his treatment will change from the general area to a more pinpointed treatment for the next 10 treatments using the information from his last Pet Scan (and I would guess the x-rays they take might help).

Over the weekend I noticed a patch of hair on the back of his head was starting to thin and by Monday it was gone! It seemed so sudden. His jaw is very sore and he is using Orajel to help with the gum soreness.

Other than that all is good. I have Advanced Placement tests happening in the library this week and have started inventory. Gil put in the new soundboard at church...I'll be going with him Wednesday to help finish up what he couldn't complete Tuesday night, and Thursday I will help out with band practice. Jason has been checking on his college application status - looks like he might be spending one semester at SPC before going to a University. So, we are trudging on with life. Hope everyone out there is doing well! ~ Love to all ~

What happens when Gil gets radiated?

Well, apparently not a whole lot! He has said he has some issues with the back of his tongue and his teeth, but no hair loss, no problems with the sun, no tiredness (other than what he has had recovering from Chemo) - at least nothing yet, and the Dr. is very surprised.

It looks like his radiation should be done by May 12, assuming there are no problems with the machines again like earlier this week.

As of today (4/24) he is looking at finishing up May 15th due to maintenance on the machines.

We got our tickets for our mini-vacation coming up in May -
May 18th Jason graduates and May 19th we put Jason on a plane back to Hong Kong, Mom & Dad (Horton) will come up to house sit and we take off for Ft. Myers. On the 20th we catch a boat to Key West where we will spend 2 days of fun in the sun (well, as much as Gil is allowed) before coming back.

We are VERY excited and counting down the days!

Well, until next posting...

Holy, Holy week!

What a way to spend Holy week. At school I'm dealing with SRI testing, running the library, and today I had massive muscle spasms in my neck and right shoulder. Gil has work, started radiation and we are both dealing with services at church (actually, he was only home Monday, but I had a SAC meeting that night).

Anyway, last Wed. Gil had his fitting. As it was told to me, he was strapped down to a table and a heated cheesecloth like mold was stretched across his face, clamped down and he was left to cool & harden. No movement for several minutes! And guess what they used for a handle – one super pointy nose! When Gil saw the mask, he told the nurse he knew his nose was pointy, but it’s not that pointy. She had to excuse herself from the room – to laugh!

As for the radiation, his first day was like a blind amusement ride. They had to do x-rays and the radiation treatment at 2pm Tuesday (4/11). He said he was strapped down, his masked clamped on (which is evidently very uncomfortable) then he rolled around from the x-ray machine to radiation machine in the same room and it was all done. All of about 15 minutes! Now his standing appointment is 4:45pm every weekday for the next 4 weeks.

Only one more month and life will simplify – school will be over, Jason will graduate, radiation & chemo will be behind us, it will be time to relax (a little).

Radiation schedule

OK, here we go adding to "Gil's glowing personality" as he puts it.

April 5th he has a fitting for his "iron mask" (another Gil term). His mask will leave the jaw line and part of his neck exposed.

Radiation starts April 10th and should be about 15 minutes from entry to exit (only about 2 minutes of actual radiation). He should expect some hair loss at the exposed part on the back of his neck, a sore throat and some tiredness (about what he already experienced with Chemo). Realistically, this will just kind of slow down his recovery from the Chemo.

But he has been complemented that he is a big, strong guy and if he could make it through Chemo with one of the WORST drugs (adriamycin), then he should make it through radiation just fine.

That’s my man!

Not over yet

Well, it's not quite over yet. Gil had his PET scan last Friday (3/17 - one week after chemo; too early?) and it is still showing a reactive node along the jaw line near his right ear.

Radiation is the next step. He meets with Dr. Gauwitz on Wednesday and we'll find out how many sessions we are looking at. In the meantime, the hair is coming back (and it looks black!), his blood levels are better (no more booster shots) and things are beginning to return to normal.

Spring break is about to start and I'm going to be taking a little break by visiting my parents in Pt. Charlotte. It should be fun to do nothing for a few days - although I may pay for it when I get home (hahaha). I think it will be a welcome break for all of us... I will get some time away from the house duties for the weekend;
Jason and I get some time off from school; and hopefully Gil will get something out of it too.

Happy Spring Break everyone!

Chemo is over!!!!

I apologize for posting so late. We were not sure how he was going to be feeling today and I did the "Wonder Walk" earlier to help raise money for the Tampa United Methodist Charities.

Well, chemo is over! Yeah! Gil is feeling pretty good...suprisingly good according to him. I guess those booster shots really did some good. He is growing a bit of a mustache (we swear it's coming in thicker than ever before). Anyway...the man himself has a few things to say:

A few things I've learned during this period in my life!

#1 When your doctor looks at you and say's "You've got Cancer", you will fall apart! Maybe not right when they say it, and maybe not in front of anyone, but trust me you will! And from there on your life is forever changed!

#2 While you go through treatment (chemo/radiation), it is not a 'Brave' choice, it is the only choice! Survival is the only option! I know this sounds a little 'Dark' for me, but I can't make this sound fun in anyway.

#3 Your life as I said earlier will change. People will treat you differently. Your family will act differently. You will act differently, and you can't wait for things to return to "normal" (whatever that is)!

#4 Getting a "Port" put in is the best thing I could have ever done, but getting it out will be even better. While it is the [best] way to get the chemicals in your body without doing any damage to your veins, in me, it has never felt like a part of my body.

#5 I MISS MY HAIR - PERIOD! [and he means not just the hair on his head] There is nothing else I can say. People can say I look good, I look younger. The best looking bald man I know is Bruce VanWingerden, not me!

Well those are some of my "Grand" insights to having Hodgkins. I want to thank everyone for all their support, especially Carol my wife, and Jason (our exchange student), My parents, and sisters, and everyone at TTUMC for helping me through this time. It's not over yet! I still have a test or 2 to go through [Blood work March 16; PET scan March 17], and some radiation treatments possibly, but I beleive I am now through the worst of this. For now all I want is MY HAIR!

Gil

208 105/68

Last treatment

Sorry I haven't posted lately. I guess between blogger having server issues and me dealing with craziness at school and home...well, you know.
Tomorrow is the last chemo treatment! YA HOO!!!
Everything looks good so far. Gil has developed a bit of a cold (it's been going around school, church, Jason had it, I'm avoiding it so far...). I will try to give more of an update before Saturday.
Hope everyone has a good weekend. I'll be at the Wonder Walk Saturday raising money for the Tampa Untied Methodist Centers. Pray for me...us...just pray!

Love to all!

And we start

THE LAST ROUND!!! Woo Hoo!!
Well, I have to say tonite was not exactly a good start to the weekend; I guess I didn't pick the best meal for dinner.
But...Most everything is pretty normal in the way of his blood work. Feeling pretty good; the booster shots have done thier work. Hemoglobin is up, potassium is good, he's a little tired, but feeling good.

So, coming up....
March 9th is the last chemo (YEAH!)
March 16th is blood work
March 23rd he sees the Dr. for follow-up and to schedule the PET scan to see what, if anything, is next.


208 122/78

This week

Gil had his blood work done this week. Earlier in the week we got a phone call that his potassium was a little low (which would explain the cramping and muscle spasms he has been having). They gave him some pills to take over three days. Also he had another booster shot for his hemoglobin - current count is 11.7, good, but not great.

It's time to fight to make it through the next two treatments.

Jensen has come for the weekend, so we are going to take the boys to Ellenton Prime Outlet mall tomorrow. They love thier shopping, and I need new shoes! Merlyn has chewed on another pair; they are still wearable, but...

This is a picture Jason took with his phone back in August, ; I think it's really cute. That's Merlyn, by the way...the one with the ears ;)

Oops!

I made just one little mistake on the last post - Gil has not had his hair cut since Dec. (not Sept.).

One more round to go

Well, Gil will soon be in the home stretch of the chemotherapy. Right now he is dealing with a lot of fatigue and low hemoglobin. He was given some kind of blood booster shot with this last round. His blood count was down to 11.2 (below 11 and it's no more chemo - which may or may not be a good thing). He still has prickly peach-fuzz on the head, but then again, he hasn't had a haircut since Sept.

t's been one crazy couple of days. My supervisor wouldn't give me credit for a training day Monday because I had to leave early to pick up Jason. Jason's toilet got plugged Wed. nite, and out heat went out Thurs. AM. We had to replace our entire air unit!

Please, God - NO MORE!!

Well, keep the prayers coming. Pray for Gil's hemoglobin count to go up! (that should help A LOT with the fatigue). And pray nothing else, living or non-living, breaks down on us.

207 112/64

Check this out!

It's an article on Jason!
It references an article that was done about him and his parents 17 years ago.

If the article doesn't show, go to www.sptimes.com and do a search for Jason Yeung. It brings up 3 articles (2 from 1988, and the current one). Too bad they don't publish the pictures.

Also, we were told by USF (I called them) that his admissions letter is in the mail, but they would not tell us if he got in over the phone.

Pray Hard!!

Thus begins...

Round 3
Gil's doing pretty good. The hemoglobin is a bit low, but due to a calculation error, a count of 12.6 is ok. It's when the count gets to 11 that we have to worry. How do you get your hemoglobin up? I still have yet to really research that. Blood pressure is still a little low. All of this seems to be a rest issue. The Dr. feels he is doing outstandingly well; keep up the good attitude.

Jason has shut down. After crossing the line with me and wanting to do...whatever, but can't because he doesn't have a car. He want's more freedom than we can rightfully give. Don't know what to do about that.

Me, I'm just kind of trying to keep my sanity. When you get so focused on taking care of everyone else, it's hard to make time for yourself.

210 120/80

Blood Work

Well, sorry I have been so remiss in keeping up here.
Gil has been pretty tired lately. As it turns out his hemoglobin is low...12.5; it needs to be at 13 or above for him to be able to have his chemo this week. He needs to get rest (yeah, right...if you know Gil, he hasn't slowed down much) and ...I'm not sure what, but I'm going to try to get him to take some iron pills this week. I know he's not really into leafy greens, so that's the best I can do.

He still hasn't quite shaved his head. He keeps meaning to, but the between his business and the hairstylist next to his shop, it's just been to busy. So everyday, I wait to see if he comes home shaved. His hair is very sparse - his eyebrows have thinned alot, it takes better than a week for any growth to even be felt on his face; the biggest thing we have noticed are some body odors and uncontrolled sweating around the mouth (maybe more than should be known, but...).

OK, well, now that I have overshared...

This week we have chemo coming up, if all is good with his blood count. Gil is hoping to talk the Dr. down to only 2 more treatments, but I'm not sure it's going happen...but I suppose if everything is really going better than anyone hoped for...who knows what could happen.
I will hope to have some happy news this weekend!

Lyrics

Just some lyrics that I have found most interesting at this time in our lives:

Some of us laugh, some of us cry,
Some of us smoke, some of us lie,
But it's all just the way that we cope with our lives.
~ ~ "Some Of Us" by Starsailor ~ ~

Falling from the rooftop
Crashing like a raindrop
Can you make my heart stop
Shaking like a leaf
Standing at the floodgate
Steady as an earthquake
Can you hear my heart break
Tearing at the seams
~ ~ "Drifting" by Bebo Norman ~ ~ (btw - this whole song is GREAT!!!)

Just thought I'd share. It's been kind of a rought day for Gil - he's been a bit sick today. A little suprising after had such a good weekend.

Half Way Point!

Jan 12 was Gil's 4th treatment (end of round 2 and the half-way point).
They backed off things to the same level they were during the first 2 treatments, so he is doing much better than after the last treatment. The benadryl was the only thing kept at a higher level. Also he is back to taking his old anti-nausea medication (a generic Compazine).

Monday he will probably remove what hair he has left. We have found that baby shampoo (actually body wash/shampoo) is best for his super senstive skin right now. Regular shampoo was starting to really irritate his scalp.

He say's he actually feels pretty good right now. We have this week off from church, for which I am grateful - even if he is feeling ok. I was so afraid he would be so sick like he was last time...I glad Phil took my suggestion to the next level, even if Gil wasn't.

Anyway...
4 down, 4 to go!


209 116/76

Rough week

Well, this last Thursday (12/29/05) they had increased his medication - the preventative drugs (benadryl, change in anti-nausea, saline). Unfortunately this created some side effects we were not expecting. Nausea has actually increased, low grade fever, along with general weakness and being tired. I'm also wondering if he has caught a cold (he has a stuffy nose which is not a typical side effect of the chemo that I'm aware of). I'm not sure what to do at this point. I know he has another treatment coming Jan. 12, but I'm worried that he may not have recovered from this treatment completely. He sees the Dr. at his Jan. 12 appointment, so I'm sure he will mention all this to her.

Other than that - Mom & Dad (Horton) will be coming to visit Saturday, and Jensen returns from Hong Kong Sat. evening. We are all back at work - Jason and I went back to school Monday (1/2) and Gil went back today (1/3). None of really wanted to go, but...such is life.

WAAaaaaa!!

Happy New Year!!!

It’s 11:58 pm on Dec. 31st. I’m about to ring in the new year sitting on my front porch, sparkling grape juice at my feet (and I just set my glass on a slug – eww), David’s next to me and Merlyn is on a leash. The fog has rolled in - or is it smoke from the fireworks?
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Ah – fireworks, sirens, whining dog whom David just took for a little walk. I hear distant voices probably wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Gil is asleep, Jason is playing Chinese chess and David made it back awefully quick from a walk down the street. I’m truly surprised Merlyn isn’t barking.
Well, I suppose I should be getting off to bed. Hopefully this next year will be better – no more hurricanes, no major sicknesses, Jason will be heading off to college….all I can ask for is a slightly more calm and quiet new year.
God bless.

K-bang – that one was close!

C