I'ts beginning to look a lot like Christmas...09

My daughter and grandson helped me to decorate my house for Christmas today. I have a cute,2 foot high, real, live tree, with roots. It is an Italian stone pine tree. In the Spring, I'll plant it outside. I had wanted a slightly larger tree to start with, but Home Depot only had these, a 5-6 foot juniper, a Norfolk pine, or a Rosemary herb tree. Since I wanted a real tree that can go outside, into the ground, We bought this.

I'm home from the hospital, with 7 new prescriptions, and a nebulizer, for breathing treatments. I had a blockage remover from my right bronchial tube on Wednesday. It had an immediate affect on my breathing. The tube was 90-95% blocked when I was breathing, and as soon as I coughed, it closed totally. It's no wonder I couldn't clear that lung...They put in a stint, to make sure the airway stays open. I feel SO much better now. I have 10 more days of 2 different antibiotics, to make sure the pneumonia is all finished. I'll be starting on the xeloda tomorrow. No more vacation for my lung tumors. I'm ready to kick tumor butt.

12/15/09

I'm back in the hospital, and I have pneumonia again. There is a small growth in my right bronchi and they will try and remove it tomorrow, thinking it is the source of the bleeding in my lungs, and the sours of the bloody phloem that I've been coughing up. Prayers are requested...

Some good news...

I met with my neurosurgeon yesterday, after a follow-up MRI on my brain. The tumor has shrunk almost 70% in just 30 days post treatment, with no sign of further bleeding or fluid in the brain. This is great news for me. He wants to follow up with another MRI in 2-3 months. I'll be totally weaned off the steroids I've been on since October 23, in another 6 days. I;m really looking forward to being steroid free, as I've been fighting with Chinese Face Syndrome, as I heard it is called. I gained over 26 pounds in the time I've been on the steroids. The good news is, while I was hospitalized for pneumonia, they put me on Lasix, and I lost over 10 pounds of excess water weight. I'm back on the Atkins diet to try and shed the rest of the weight. I can't stand being this heavy, and I'm weak from the steroids, so that just walking up 4 steps to my back door is a struggle. The last 6-7 weeks have been a real struggle for me, but I'm looking forward to the Christmas Holiday.

Unfortunately, my eyes aren't doing well. The herpes seems to be under control, but the corneas are damaged, and they haven't improved as much as the Dr would like, and I feel they are slightly worse. I saw her yesterday, and she prescribed an additional eye drop, and increased the dosage of the one I was already on. My vision is blurred almost constantly and I have a hard time reading or watching TV. Being on the computer is different, as I can get right up on the screen of my lap-top and see what is there, but it can be a strain.

Update 12/4/09

Well, my lung tumors have advanced. I'm not sure, but I think we have lost considerable ground. I feel like we are almost back at the place I was 6 months ago. The good news, I've started on an oral chemotherapy that I can take at home. I started it this morning. I will take it twice a day, every day for 2 weeks, then take a week off. I'm also going to try an alternative therapy that is compatible with the chemo. I have to order the stuff, and haven't done that yet. I haven't gotten my Dr's OK on it either.

We have snow at the farm, today. It started with rain and switched to snow about 7:30 AM. I took a bunch of pictures on my phone, but I don't have the right software on my lap top to download the pictures. I want to down load them to my desktop computer, but It won't connect with the desk top.

My eyes

...are much better. The drops are cut back to 5 times per day, from 9 times per day. I'm to continue the Valtrex, 3 times a day for 10 more days, then I'll be on it once per day for quite a while as a precaution. The Dr is concerned about my corneas. My right cornea is the worst. The Dr is taking pictures of it each time I go in. She said it isn't typical, and she is worried that I may be developing veins in them as they try to heal. For now, there isn't anything blocking my vision, so she is just watching ...

I'm seeing my oncologist tomorrow. The tumors in my lungs are growing again, due to no chemo as we deal with the tumor in my brain. I'm hoping that we will be starting chemo up again soon.

The Lyrica is continuing to help with the numbness and tingling in my hands and feet. It is nice to know that there is something I can take to help.