Recovery, Rehab, and A Razor

This week Wednesday marked week 1 post op. We actually came home from the hospital last week Sunday. It was a real ordeal getting B here, but we did it. By Sunday everyone had hit the wall, so we got the heck out of there Prison Break style. It was liberating....this must be the feeling that an inmate feels after getting released early on a 20 year sentence. How we all missed the touch of the sun on our faces or the smell of Wendy's in the breeze. I left the hospital first, so that I could get to CVS and get B's meds filled and then I packed the car, including both dogs, and headed back to GR. D Bone stayed behind and helped to get B discharged from the hospital and then delivered him safely back to Raymond St.

The drive to GR was about 20 minutes too long, and when B finally walked through the door, I was actually scared of him. We got him drugged and then put him to bed. While he was dreaming of sugar plum fairies, D Bone and I worked to get the house BMuttz proofed, meaning putting together and setting up all medical equipment that B needs for the next few weeks. I guess I wish I could say that thing have been easy, but that would be a lie. Things have actually been pretty hard. B has been in terrible pain and has yet to do much walking. The Dr's diagnosed him with sciatica. I know, you all are thinking, yeah right! This must be a joke because they have been through enough already, but this is no lie, I am a truth teller. They say that the hip area is very swollen from the surgery, radiation, and chemo, and that the hip and butt muscles are pressing on the sciatic nerve, causing terrible pain. The pain has been so bad that we had to take B to a pain clinic. The Dr., Dr. # 10, changed B's meds, and increased the dose and that seems to have helped a bit, and I mean a bit, and from what I hear this Dr was really nice and was really good looking.....isn't that right B Done? They put B on methodone which justifies a previous post on B feeling like a crack head. Nonetheless, B is heroin free and en route to a full recovery....we hope....knock on wood....fingers crossed....lucky rabbit foot rubbed....insert your lucky superstition here.

We have had many sleepless nights, and many tense moments, but that is bound to happen when NO ONE is sleeping. But I guess you look for silver lining where you can find it. On a high note, the GIANT tumor that had single-handedly destroyed B's hip is long gone. And the mini tumors that had spread to the pelvis are also gone, and B has a new hip and should be walking soon. Not to mention that the tumor was still alive and they hope to give us some concrete news this Tuesday when we meet with Dr # 4 for chemo treatment # 2....so there is your silver lining. We are not looking forward to chemo, with B being in so much pain now. We both wonder how he is going to make it, but he will for me and for himself. The only way to make him better is to make him really sick first. B also had an emergency blood transfusion this week to boost some blood levels so he can go through with his chemo treatment. Friday B was at the cancer center all day, hooked up to an IV blood drip, and as far as we know, we are a go for Tuesday.

Lastly B got a makeover of sorts this week. We began to notice quite a bit of hair loss mid week, and he begged me for the clipper # 1 special. For those of you who don't know what that means just think of your typical 5 o'clock shadow. This was particularly hard for me, and I cried and cried. It is not like I didn't think that B had cancer before, but now he has the typical cancer look and it was a huge slap of cancer reality in our face. He still looks sexy, but different. He is also losing arm and leg hair, but we have yet to shave that. I know that hair is hair, but it has been a really really hard week. However, I am giving a shout of to Juancho, Brad, and Mike, who also shaved their heads in support of B. What great family and friends we have.

Also we want to thank all of our family and friends for their support over the past few months. There is no way that we can ever repay the kindness, however we have talked about throwing a huge party when all of this is over...so plan on being there. Please keep praying for us and we will be sure to update again soon.

A Real Peroneal Pain

Today marks day numero quatro in the penthouse at Beaumont Hospital. I say the penthouse because B and I have been living out of the 9th floor in the south tower for the past few days. The hospital is pretty great, and for the most part the staff have been wonderful. Our favorites are Holly, B's day shift RN, and Lisa, B's night shift RN. I have stayed here at the hosptial every night so far, on the luxury pull out couch, and have been on call to help out at night. B feels more comfortable having me here, and I guess you could say I feel the same. I hate sleeping alone. Even though we are in separate beds, I still feel like we are sleeping together.

B went into surgery on Wednesday for a new hip, and a chance at regaining some independent mobility. The surgery lasted about 3 hours. We had a whole team of support here and tons of games to pass the time. Big D and Nanc came in and I was glad to have them here. Big D and Nanc showed up in true form, with a packed lunch for everyone to share. After getting B off and into surgery we all settled at a table in the surgery waiting room. The Homrich clan got into a heated battle of rummy....I am not sure who officially won but there was some cheating that went on.....you know who you are (Nanc). We waited for what seemed like an eternity and then Dr. Les appeared. She reported that the surgery was a success and that B had a whole new hip and then some. They had to put in a cage to replace the socket. The tumor had done a number on the ball and socket joint, but Dr. Les said that they got all of the cancer out. She said that the tumor looked to be alive, which is what we thought, but not what we hoped. That means that the radiation did not work, and that is the reason the cancer spread locally in the hip. However since the tumor was very much still alive they will be able to run all the necessary tests to ensure that B is receiving the most targeted therapy to kicks this cancer's ass the hell out of B's body. The results should be in in the next few days so we are a bit anxious to say the least.

And I know that you all are wondering about B and his new mobility. Well unfortunately there has not been much walking. B has a new hip but also a new pain, which showed up post surgery. He has a terrible pain in his right calf. Actually as they were rolling him out of the OR and into the recovery room he was already yelling about the calf. B later appeared again on the 9th floor wrapped up like a mummy yelling "L, I need you to rub my calf", and mind you he still had a ton of drugs in his system. The Dr's think it is due to the way they positioned him on the OR table, however it is so bad that B is not getting around too well. He has taken a few steps here and there, but I guess we both thought he would be doing better by now. If it weren't for the pain in the calf he would be walking and there would be talk of discharge. This right calf of his is really holding up the show! They also mentioned something along the line of stretching the peroneal nerve during the operation. The only cure for a stretched nerve is nothing.....you just need to give you body time to heal. B seems a bit discouraged and wants nothing more to get out of here and to get to his Tuesday class, so that is our goal for now. He has a pretty good battle scar and has had a few blood transfusions due to low hemoglobin, but he is hanging in there. We are just taking one day at a time at this point. No news as to when B is expected to be discharged, but as soon as we find out we will let you all know.

On the upside of things, B had been on quite a dose of meds. And these meds have led to some pretty interesting conversation with both me and D Bone. I think the funniest to date goes something like this....image B in his hospital bed, holding onto his lung spirometer, drifting in and out of consciousness, all while trying to have a conversation with D Bone and I. Both D Bone and I thought that B was finally out, when he suddenly came to life again and said " D Bone when are you going to get your baby bottle tattoo?" We could not help but laugh, however B did not find much humor in this. I think both D Bone and I want some of those drugs...hahahah!

We have had great support here in the hospital and from afar too. Thanks to all of those who have visited and to all of those who have sent prayers, love, and gifts.I will try again to update soon, and I hope that I have better news to report. We still got this, but it might take a little longer to get where we are going. Thanks again for following the blog.
Love,
L and B

Hips Official

Well we finally received some news today that brought us to tears, and for once in a good way. Ben is officially scheduled for surgery tomorrow. There were a few tests that B had to have today to clear him for surgery and he did just that....passed with flying colors. Can you say white blood cell count off the charts. With B starting Chemo last week there was a chance that his white blood cell count would drop too low, preventing him from having surgery. With surgery on the line, Dr # 4 decided that B would need to get a shot to boost his white blood cell count and it seemed to work. So we are booked to get this rotten hip fixed tomorrow.

I know that tomorrow will be emotional for many reasons. For one, this is the first major surgery B will be having. He is nervous, and that is only natural. Also the thought that he could be walking in a month and weight bearing as early as tomorrow on his bad leg almost makes me cry as I am typing it. We have been through a ton these past few months, but I know that tomorrow will mark day 1 of getting B back on 2 feet and out on the links. And don't think for 1 second that I am going to give him a break out on the course....I mean a win is a win, even with a bum leg right?

Last week was very very hard. Chemo caused extreme muscle, bone, and joint pain. I am not sure that we got 1 hour of sleep. I know now for sure that I have what it takes to be a mom. Waking up with a sick kid seems like small beans now, not to discredit those moms out there, but this puts things in perspective. We are both pretty tough though and when 1 is down the other is up. We were able to weather the storm with long hot baths, tons of meds, and tons of TLC. D Bone was once again in town to help, and we needed it. Glad to say that round 1 of Chemo is now in the rear view mirror and we are moving forward on the road to recovery. B is physically feeling much better today, but I know that he is very anxious about the upcoming meeting with the OR Room.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I will do my best to update the blog some time later this week. And watch out for post op pics.....I am so excited to get B walking and to get this show on the road. I would wager to say that I might be more excited than I was the night before our wedding.

Last week was our 8 month anniversary, and I would say that seeing B walk in the next few days will be the best anniversary present for both of us.

The 1st day of the road to recovery

A ton has happened since the last update so I am going to lay it out here. Today, as many of you know, marked day number 1 of chemo for B. D Bone has been in town since Saturday and took B to treatment. Today started very early, with a 7 am wake up call for everyone...well everyone but B. He was already up because he never quite fell asleep last night. B had to be to Lemmen Holton by 8 am and they got things underway right away.

B started the day with a special drip of Zomata, which is the drug used to make the bone in B's hip super strong. The down side, of course, is that it makes B's body ache, which builds to the problem at hand....B is super sore already in both the hip and the neck. That drip was followed up by 2 different anti-nausea drugs. These first 3 bags took about 1.5 hours. Then came the all important chemo drips. I guess you could say that we have been looking forward to starting the chemo since it means that the drugs in the chemo IV are working to kill the cancer cells in B's body and to prevent/control further spread. That makes me feel much better....get that shit out of there already! B's chemo drips were super long...the first was more than 3 hours and the second was about 1 hour 15 minutes. Not to mention all the saline shots in between...and the 2 morphine shots to help B get comfortable.

We packed a bag to keep the day interesting......cards, sudoku, backgammon, and books. B and D Bone were in a private room with a bed and a TV so that B could rest, if he needed, and since we are not getting much sleep these days we thought that the bed would be a great benefit. With my office being so close, I just walked through the tunnel and stopped over for a visit on my lunch hour. D Bone and B were playing cards, and D Bone was quick to let me know that she was kicking B's ass in a friendly game of gin....love it! They were also watching HGTV, also love it! As D Bone said, it was a nice day with her son, just terrible circumstances, but we have to make good moments out of the bad these days. And B didn't seem to mind it too much, either. Even though at one point he had 3 different tubes hooked into his arm. Good thing that kid has the easiest veins EVER! Dr. #4 even said B didn't need the usual chemo port because it's so easy for B to give blood and take infusions.

We all enjoyed a lunch and then we returned back to the private room. I was a bit out of routine today and had a hard time pushing the IV at a good pace. I forget that B is on crutches so I pushed the IV way too fast and damn near pulled the line out of B's arm....I did not have my normal A game today and felt bad all day not being there with him. Not to mention when we got back to the room B was resting comfortably and I decided to sit on the bed with him and landed right on the control that operates the bed. This error caused B's leg to shift and he yelled out....again not on my A game. So day numero uno is almost done and we still don't quite know what we have in store. The staff did say that B is going to be sore from the chemo too, and he probably will lose the hair, but big deal. Let's just hope he doesn't react too bad to the drugs.

In addition to starting chemo today, there was some other big news from an appointment on Monday with Dr # 4. He decided that we needed to move into a full court press approach. He said that we were going to start chemo this week, and then have surgery on the hip next week. You heard it right, the surgery is back on!! Dr # 4 wants to be aggressive, and until B has the hip surgery he will not be walking and will continue to be in terrible pain. Dr. # 4 thinks that chemo will be much more difficult if B is not walking, so surgery is back on. B's having surgery next week...Wednesday in D Town. It is going to be pretty major, but the good news is that he will be weight bearing that same day. Surgery will be somewhere around 5-8 hours, and he'll be in the hospital for about a week or so. The hope is that B will be walking by June....I could almost cry thinking about that. Dr. # 4 said that there is obvious concern because the disease has progressed, but he did follow that up by saying that we aren't sure what is going to happen since this is our first attack on the cancer. He said that B could respond to the chemo and that this could work to control things...so let's just hope that we get a break these next few months.

After the surgery and recovery we're back home to GR for the second round of chemo. This next month or so it going to be hell, but we got this. We Got This!!! Dr. # 4 also hopes to be able to use the tissue from the hip for the genetic testing, and hopefully, by treatment number 3, we should have a good read on what we are dealing with and if we need to make any changes in treatment.

It's going to be a rough road and we need all the prayers and positive energy we can get. Thanks again for all the support and for keeping the blog alive.

Bald is Sexy!

The last time we filled ya'll in, we were certain that a hip replacement was on the schedule. Well, it still is.....just a little later than we first had anticipated. Yesterday, B had an MRI on his neck. Because of the pain he was describing, we were all pretty certain that it was nothing more than a terrible neck 'sprain' or stiff neck....after all, he has been sleeping on 1 side for the last 3-4 weeks.

Well, we got the MRI results back late yesterday afternoon, and it appears there are some small spots in B's neck. We don't know where they spread from, but we do know that means the tumor is spreading, and we have to get at it quick.

So, the official treatment plan has finally been finalized. B will start chemo on Tuesday. He'll get 2 drugs instead of the original plan of 3. The one that is being left out has something to do with blood vessels, and if they gave that to B, surgery would be out of the question for a long while.


The plan is to have B do 2 rounds of this chemo treatment...1 infusion every 3 weeks. This should stop the spreading and kill any of the small spread that's taken place up to now (i.e. neck and hip). After the 6 weeks are up, B will have another CT scan or MRI and we'll see if the drugs did their job. If everything looks good, then B can have the hip surgery.

Dr. #4 is pretty certain that the chemo won't damage the tissue in B's hip. That means that when B goes under the knife for the hip replacement, Dr. #8 should still be able to get enough good tissue for the tests. The test results will help us treat the whole cancer on a more specific regimen, i.e. chemo with specific drugs or Tarceva or some other drug. Considering we still aren't certain on the source, those tests of the hip tissue will tell us a lot....when we get there.

In the meantime, we're both happy B will finally be getting some systemic treatment. It seems like it's been forever since the original diagnosis, and this whole time we've been doing nothing to stop or kill the cancer. So, yes, it sucks that we are forced into playing the chemo card, but we're relieved that something is finally going to get done.