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.